Washington, DC History
Topics for DC National History Day Students
Using ARC as a Resource
ARC Identifier: 546737. The Capitol Looking West to Washington Monument, 05/1973
Contents:
- About the Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
- About National History Day (NHD)
- Sample Topics Relating to DC History
- Sample ARC Searches
- Advanced Search Hints
- Next Steps
About the Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
The National Archives' (NARA's) Archival Research Catalog (ARC) is an excellent online resource for identifying primary source materials for National History Day projects. This page provides search hints to help students and teachers locate descriptions of archival materials in the catalog.
ARC: A Work in Progress
Currently over 58% of our records are described in ARC. Every two weeks new descriptions are placed in ARC. If you do not find the records you are seeking, please contact the NARA office that holds those records.
Read more about: Why aren't all Federal Archived Records Online?
About National History Day (NHD)
National History Day is a year-long educational program that helps every participant gain firsthand experience conducting historical research and producing an exhibit, documentary, essay, or performance. The program teaches students that history is more than ancient dates and facts; it's also the stories that influence how we live in our world today.
ARC Identifier: 512754. "Cardozo High School, Washington, DC." High School Victory Corps, 06/1943
Sample Topics Relating to DC History
The following list provides a few examples of topics related to DC history.
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Sample ARC Searches
ARC Identifier: 182563. Jimmy Carter with Bill Clinton, 12/01/1978
To perform a simple keyword search:
- Go to http://www.archives.gov
/research/arc/. - Press the Yellow Search button in the upper left corner of this page to go to the Basic search screen.
- Enter Bill Clinton in the Keywords box.
- Select the limit results radio button for 2000.
- (Optional) Select the box marked Descriptions of Archival Materials linked to digital copies.
- Press the Go button.
- When hits are returned for your search, view the full result of your hit by selecting the Title link.
| Sample NHD Topic | Sample ARC Keyword Search(es) |
|---|---|
| American Presidents | by president's name, for example: Franklin Delano Roosevelt (or try filtering by Presidential Library under the Locations filter ) |
| DC Mayors | DC mayor or by mayor's name, for example: Marion Barry |
| Education in DC Schools | DC and education |
| Freedmen's Bureau |
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| Georgetown |
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| March on Washington |
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| National Monuments |
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| Supreme Court |
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| Urban Renewal | DC and (urban renewal or development) |
| Watergate |
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Advanced Search Hints
- Nest keywords with parentheses and the words AND, OR, and NOT to make your search more precise. For example:
- (labor or trade or industrial) and (union or unions)
- Use the wildcard character (%) in ARC to search for all word-ending variations on a keyword simultaneously. For example, the keyword search for revolution% will retrieve any ARC descriptions that include the words revolutionary or revolutions.
- Curly braces { } allow for exact phrase searching. ARC will not recognize a dash (-) in a keyword phrase unless it is between curly braces.
- The ARC Guide for Educators and Students contains more ARC search tips and explanations of how to understand an ARC description.
- For more ARC search tips for digital copies, see our Historical Documents Online topics page. Details on how to view, print, and download digital copies in ARC are available under Illustrated Search Steps and Hints: Viewing Digital Copies of Buffalo Bill Materials
Next Steps
ARC Identifier: 547268. Aerial View of the Jefferson Memorial, 04/1973
Contact and Visit Archives I or II. If you find archival series, file units, and/or items and you would like to see them in person at our DC or College Park facility, contact the NARA unit responsible for those materials. You could arrange to visit the unit in person and conduct research at a NARA facility or order photocopies.
Questions? Find contact information for general questions about NARA. Contact the ARC staff with questions about how to search in ARC at arc@nara.gov.
