Federal History Work
Exhibitions
by Pete Daniel January 25, 2011 Several weeks ago Victoria Harden e-mailed her enthusiasm for the new SHFG web site and also reminded me of the role that the SHFG played in writing the statement of Museum Exhibit Standards that grew out of the Enola Gay fiasco at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum back in [...]
Oral History
Rosie the Riveter & More Historians and other researchers need to know the value of the National Park Service’s extensive collection of oral histories. The NPS collection is second only in volume to that of the U.S. military services. Lu Ann Jones, staff historian with the National Park Service’s Park History Program, writes that [...]
Digital History
THATCamp at 2012 NCPH-OAH Meeting Joan M. Zenzen I attended my first THATCamp at the recent 2012 NCPH-OAH annual meeting in Milwaukee, WI, and learned the most important thing I need to know about digital history—to not be afraid to try it. THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp, www.thatcamp.org) originated in George Mason [...]
Declassification
The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) has been in operation over a year and has already made an important difference in the culture and operation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Viewing improvement in the FOIA process as central to declassification efforts, President Barrack Obama acted promptly on his first day in [...]
Archives/Electronic Records
1940 Census Released Online The National Archives released the 1940 U.S. census online on April 2, 2012, at http://1940census.archives.gov/. This census is particularly valuable as a snapshot of the population as it was emerging from the Great Depression and about to enter World War II. The population for the 48 states in 1940 was 132 million, [...]
Education
Teaching American History Program Of all the categories of federal history work, we should not forget efforts to improve teachers’ knowledge of “traditional” U.S. history. Educators in the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education are charged with improving instruction in history through better [...]
Military History
Collecting historical data for military history is a dangerous business, often done under fire. The 305th Military History Detachment (MHD), one of many such three-person teams, has been part of several major operations in Iraq and Afghanistan from start to finish, collecting as much supportive material and documentation as possible. The 305th [...]
Historical Interpretation
The management of historic sites often raises questions and opposing views from several constituencies. Ann Hitchcock of the National Park Service provided a striking example in the summer 2007 issue of The Federalist of the essential negotiations—the “Civic Engagement” process—that enabled the preservation of the Manzanar War Relocation [...]
Medicine – Science
“Ethically Impossible”: STD Research in Guatemala from 1946 to 1948 Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues Washington, DC September 2011 www.bioethics.gov Available from Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues 1425 New York Avenue NW, Suite C-100 Washington, DC 20005 202-233-3960 This [...]
Legislative
“Due to the Circumstances of Today”: The U.S. House of Representatives Remembers September 11, 2001 http://oralhistory.clerk.house.gov/historic-events/september-11/ As part of its ongoing oral history program, the Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives, unveiled a new project commemorating the 10th anniversary of the [...]
