Press Release nr99-47
Press Release · Wednesday, January 27, 1999

Washington, DC

The programs are free and open to the public and will take place at the National Archives Building, Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th and 9th Streets, NW. The public may verify times and dates by calling the National Archives public events line at (202) 501-5000. TDD users may call (202) 501-5404.

Wednesday, March 3--Women’s History Month
No Time to Starve - The Suffragists of Occoquan Workhouse. On January 10, 1917, the National Woman’s Party (NWP) began to picket the White House. Sentinels remained stationed there permanently, and on June 22, 1917, arrests of the NWP pickets began on charges of obstructing traffic. Linda Simmons, Associate Professor of History at Northern Virginia Community College, will discuss the suffragists, their continued campaign while in the workhouse, and the hunger strike that forced authorities to make a critical decision. Noon. Room 105.

Thursday, March 11--Military Aviation History/Oral History
The period between the two World Wars was considered the golden age of aviation. Never in the history of aviation was there a more exciting and colorful period of rapid development and interest with aviators and their flying machines. This was a time of air shows and races, technological innovations, and daredevil pilots. Captain E. T. Wooldridge, U.S. Navy (Ret) will discuss his book, The Golden Age Remembered: U.S. Naval Aviation, 1919-1941 (1998). Besides Captain Wooldridge’s well-researched narrative, this book includes reminiscences of legendary pilots, engineers, and innovators during the period between the World Wars. A former test pilot, Captain Wooldridge was also the executive officer of the USS Forrestal, and served on the strategic plans and policy staffs of the Navy Department and Joint Chiefs of Staff. Since 1976, Captain Wooldridge has been with the National Air and Space Museum, and from 1990 to 1994 was the Ramsey Fellow and Aviation Historian for the museum. Naval Institute Press. Noon. Room 105.

Monday, March 15--Irish History/Foreign Affairs
The Troubles: Ireland's Ordeal 1966-1996 and the Search for Peace (1996). Noted Irish journalist Tim Pat Coogan covers the tortured history of Ireland from the beginning of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, through the long, horrible years of violence, and up to the attempts to find peace. From the man widely regarded as Ireland's greatest living journalist comes this enlightening chronicle of the causes, effects, and dimensions of 30 years of violent struggle in Northern Ireland. Through research, interviews, and never-before-published data, Tim Pat Coogan illuminates a generation of warfare. Roberts Rinehart Publishing. Noon. Room 105.

Wednesday, March 17--Picturing the Century Series
In an illustrated presentation, curator Bruce Bustard will discuss his work on NARA’s latest exhibit, Picturing the Century: One Hundred Years of Photography from the National Archives. The audience may view the exhibit following the lecture. Noon. Room 105.

Thursday, March 18--Military History/Civil War
Thomas P. Lowry will discuss his book, Tarnished Eagles: The Courts-Martial of Fifty Union Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels (1998). More than 100,000 men in the Union army faced courts-martial during the years of the Civil War. In this new study, the author has chosen 50 Union colonels and lieutenant colonels to highlight the difficulties in placing civilians unfamiliar with the rigors of army life in command. The offenses include cowardice, incompetence, drunkenness, insubordination, and simple violations of regulations. The stories are humorous, tragic, and profane—all are part of the constant struggle between the habits of the citizen and the demands on a soldier in a civil democracy at war. Stackpole Books. Noon. Room 105.

Thursday, March 18--Foreign Affairs
John Hume will discuss his book, A New Ireland: Politics, Peace, and Reconciliation. The 1998 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founding member of Northern Ireland’s Social Democratic and Labour Party will talk about how the principles of the U.S. Constitution guided him. 7 P.M. Theater.

Saturday, March 20--Annual Abraham Lincoln Symposium
The Latest in Lincoln Scholarship. Seven of the nation’s Lincoln scholars will present new developments in Lincoln study. A highlight will be a demonstration of the new Lincoln Electronic Presidential Library, which promises to bring all of the sixteenth President’s papers and a host of Lincoln scholarship resources online. Featured in two other presentations will be revelations from The Lincoln Legal Papers, soon to be published on CD-ROM, and will shed light on Lincoln’s post-Emancipation Proclamation efforts to eradicate slavery. This event is co-sponsored by NARA and the Abraham Lincoln Institute of the Mid-Atlantic. 8:30 A.M.-5 P.M. Theater. Advance registration is strongly recommended. The program is free and open to the public. Call 301-495-7891 or 202-707-2017 to register.

Tuesday, March 23--White House Traditions
For historian C. L. Arbelbide, the untold "stories" hiding out in history often involve children. One such research project evolved into The White House Easter Egg Roll, the first children’s book to be published by the White House Historical Association. Today’s slide presentation will highlight the special bond between the egg rollers and the Chief Executives who, since 1878, have turned over the South Lawn on Easter Monday for a day of play, and suggestions for adults to interest children in exploring and telling their own historic discoveries. Noon. Room 105.

Wednesday, March 24--Women’s History Month
Respectful Friends: The Story of the Relationship between Jackie Kennedy and the Johnsons. Today’s lecture by Nancy K. Smith features newly released tapes from the Johnson Library, and other textual materials from the Kennedy and Johnson Libraries, that clearly show the relationship between Mrs. Kennedy and the Johnsons. What these primary sources will illustrate is that this relationship was a much warmer and more respectful one than historians have previously depicted. The materials deal with the relationship during the Johnsons’ Vice Presidential and Presidential years and right after the assassination. Nancy Smith is the director of NARA’s Presidential Materials Staff that works with the White House. Noon. Room 105.

Saturday, March 27--Overture to the Millennium
Pianists Sophia Pallas and Julian Trail return to the National Archives to perform Orchestral Masterpieces for Piano Four-Hands. The program features operatic and concert overtures, including the widely popular A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Felix Mendelssohn and Candide by Leonard Bernstein. The duo is celebrating the ten-year anniversary of their ensemble. The concert will be followed by a special tour of the Archives’ millennium exhibit, Picturing the Century, hosted by Bruce Bustard, curator of the exhibit. Join the National Archives for an overture to the new millennium with a retrospective look at America’s past. (2 hours.) 2:00 P.M. Theater.

Tuesday, March 30--Women’s History Month
Betty Boyd Caroli, formerly professor of women’s history at the City University of New York and author of First Ladies, will discuss her new book, The Roosevelt Women (1998). Caroli, one of the top experts on Presidential women, has researched the personal and public lives of women ranging from Teddy Roosevelt’s mother to the current generation. Traditional roles are explored as well as their exploits as adventurers, authors, and campaigners in lives touched by intrigue, risk, scandal, propriety, humor, and accomplishment. Basic Books. Noon. Room 105.

For additional PRESS information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at (301) 837-1700 or by e-mail.

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