Exhibits at the National Archives at New York City
- Exhibits at 201 Varick St.
- Special Exhibit at Federal Hall: New York - An American Capital
- Online Exhibits
Exhibits at 201 Varick St.
The National Archives at 75! - digital exhibit
As the nation's record keeper, we are a vital component of America's democracy - preserving the nation's records, past, present, and future. And we continue to broaden access to them for use by government agencies, Congress, lawyers, historians, journalists, and ordinary Americans, for tracing their family roots, learning American history, preparing legal actions, researching news or history, or documenting eligibility for government assistance, and for education.
This exhibit shares our history through images - from the construction of the main building in Washington, DC, the Charters of Freedom (The Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution, The Bill of Rights) to the establishment of the regional system, the opening of the archives in NYC (1969), select holdings of the National Archives at New York City, and images of the National Archives facilities nationwide.
See more information about the 75th Anniversary of the National Archives.
The Case Against Happy Birthday
"Happy Birthday to You" is not only one of the most beloved and common songs of all time, it is also one of the most controversial. In a series of court cases, including Jessica Hill v. Sam Harris, the writers of this 16-word song have held that use of their song without permission violated their copyright. Originally written as "Good Morning to All" by the Mildred and Patty Hill for their kindergarten class in the 1890s, the song has grown into one of the most popular and lucrative songs in the English language. In the case of Jessica Hill v. Sam Harris, et al (Equity docket No. E78-350, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY)), Jessica Hill (a younger sister of the songwriting duo) maintained that the use of the song during the musical As Thousands Cheer was done without permission and without payment of royalties.
Though the case was discontinued without prejudice and dismissed for lack of prosecution, the file contains depositions from Jessica and Patty Hill as well as songwriter Irving Berlin, part of a script from the play As Thousands Cheer, subpoenas for the defendants, and other legal documents. Our holdings also include later cases on the same issue (Jessica Hill v. Federal Broadcasting Corporation, SDNY Equity No. 79-312; The Hill Foundation, Inc. v. Clayton F. Summy Co, SDNY Civil No. 19-377; and The Hill Foundation, Inc. v. Postal Telegraph-Cable Company, SDNY Civil No. 20-439). The song "Happy Birthday to You" is still under copyright.
Special Exhibits
New York: An American Capital. A preview exhibit created in a partnership between the National Archives and the National Park Service. Please note this exhibit is at the Federal Hall National Memorial at 26 Wall Street. Learn more
Online Exhibits
Exhibits Using New York Records
Documented Rights
Camp Kilmer
Fugitive Slave Case: A Slave Named Stephen Pembrook
The Deadly Virus: The Influenza Epidemic of 1918
New York Ratification of the Bill of Rights
Martin Luther King Jr. and the "I Have a Dream Speech"
Using Accounts of African-Americans from the Holdings of the National Archives
General Slocum Disaster
National Archives Online Exhibit Hall
The Online Exhibit Hall includes links to many of the National Archives online galleries including the
Charters of Freedom and American Originals.
Documents from National Archives facilities nationwide including the New York regional office are featured on these pages.
Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
We also encourage you to see what's available through the National Archives' Archival Research Catalog (ARC), which includes
ARC Galleries featuring digital images
of records pertaining to select topics. You can also search ARC for available digital images and filter your search to include only records that we have here
at the New York regional office. See the ARC pages on Search Hints for the Northeast Region (New York City) for more information.
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More information on Adobe Acrobat PDF files is available on our Accessibility page.
