National Archives Virtual Daytime Programs in March
Press Release · Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Washington, DC

Join us for virtual programs in March as the National Archives celebrates Women’s History Month with a number of author book talks. Programs include virtual screenings for the 2022 Environmental Film Festival and a special genealogy series on the 1950 Census. On March 25, we will offer two civics programs for students in grades K–12 that are part of the National Archives’ national civic education initiative: We Rule: Civics for All of US. These livestreamed events are free and open to the public, and recordings are available afterward.

Book Talk – The First Kennedys: The Humble Roots of an American Dynasty
Tuesday, March 1, at 1 p.m. ET
Register in advance; watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
This is the story of the first American Kennedys, Patrick and Bridget, who arrived as many thousands of others did following the Great Famine—penniless and hungry. Less than a decade after their marriage in Boston, Patrick’s sudden death left Bridget to raise their children single-handedly. Her rise from housemaid to shop owner in the face of rampant poverty and discrimination kept her family intact, allowing her only son P.J. to become a successful businessman. P.J. went on to become the first American Kennedy elected to public office and launched the Kennedy dynasty in America. Neal Thompson tells the story, based on the first-ever access to P.J. Kennedy’s private papers. The First Kennedys is a story of sacrifice and survival, resistance, and reinvention. Joining the author in conversation will be author Neal Bascomb. 

1950 Census Genealogy Series – Overview of What’s on the 1950 Census 
March 2, at 1 p.m. ET
Watch on our National Archives YouTube Channel
Our Genealogy/Census Subject Matter Expert Claire Kluskens will provide an overview of what’s available (and not available) in the 1950 Census. Learn more about the 1950 Census, which will be released to the public on April 1, with our Genealogy Series. 

Book Talk – Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America
Monday, March 7, at 1 p.m. ET
Register in advance; watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
Each year nearly four million people visit Yellowstone National Park—one of the most popular of all national parks—but few know the fascinating and complex historical context behind its establishment 150 years ago this month. Megan Kate Nelson’s Saving Yellowstone is a story of adventure and exploration; Indigenous resistance; railroad, photographic, and publishing technologies; and the struggles of Black southerners to bring racial terrorists to justice. Joining Nelson in conversation will be Andrew R. Graybill, Director of the Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University.

Book Talk – Female Genius: Eliza Harriot and George Washington at the Dawn of the Constitution
Tuesday, March 8, at 1 p.m. ET
Register in advance; watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
Mary Sarah Bilder looks to the 1780s—the age of the Constitution—to investigate the rise of a radical new idea in the English-speaking world: female genius. English-born Eliza Harriot Barons O’Connor delivered a University of Pennsylvania lecture attended by George Washington as he and other Constitutional Convention delegates gathered in Philadelphia. As the first such public female lecturer, her courageous performance likely inspired the gender-neutral language of the Constitution. Female Genius reconstructs Eliza Harriot’s transatlantic life, paying particular attention to her lectures and to the academies she founded, inspiring countless young American women to consider a college education and a role in the political forum. By 1792 Harriot’s struggles reflected the larger backlash faced by women and people of color as new written constitutions provided the political and legal tools for exclusion based on sex, gender, and race. Joining the author in conversation will be Martha S. Jones, professor of history at Johns Hopkins University. Women's History Month programming is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Denise Gwyn Ferguson.

Book Talk - The Second World War and Echoes from the Past: A Conversation with Sir Antony Beevor
Tuesday, March 8, at 2 p.m. ET
Register in advance
The Second World War was a war like no other, and yet it has come to define our idea of war itself. Politicians and the mass media alike have felt compelled to dramatize the importance of a particular crisis by invoking parallels to the Second World War. And foreign dictators are constantly compared to Hitler. So, finding ourselves faced with the possibility of great power clashes once again, this is surely the time to reexamine both its characteristics and consequences. Antony Beevor’s books include Stalingrad, Berlin, D-Day, The Battle for Spain, and The Second World War. This program is sponsored by Armed Forces Thanksgiving, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, and the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan.

1950 Census Genealogy Series – Mapping the 1950 Census: Census Enumeration District Maps at the National Archives
Wednesday, March 16, at 1 p.m.
Watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
A census enumeration district was an area that could be covered by a single enumerator, or census taker, in one census period. Enumeration districts varied in size from several city blocks in densely populated urban areas to an entire county in sparsely populated rural areas. In this presentation, Brandi Oswald, a supervisory archivist in the Cartographic Branch of the National Archives, will focus on locating and using census enumeration district maps, with an emphasis on maps from the 1950 census. Learn more about the 1950 Census, which will be released to the public on April 1, with our Genealogy Series.

Book Talk – Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing and the Hidden History of Power in the 19th-Century United States
Thursday, March 17, 1 p.m. ET
Register in advance; watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
Historian Laura F. Edwards explains how textiles tell a story of ordinary people and how they made use of their material goods’ economic and legal value in the period between the Revolution and the Civil War. Edwards uncovers long-forgotten practices that made textiles—clothing, cloth, bedding, and accessories—a unique form of property that people without rights could own and exchange. The value of textiles depended on law, and it was law that turned these goods into a secure form of property for marginalized people. Edwards grounds the laws relating to textiles in engaging stories from the lives of everyday Americans and shows that these stories are about far more than cloth and clothing; they reshape our understanding of law and the economy in America. Joining the author in conversation will be Adam Rothman, professor of history at Georgetown University. Women's History Month programming is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Denise Gwyn Ferguson.

2022 Environmental Film Festival Screenings –The River and The City
Thursday, March 17–Sunday, March 27: Films will be available for virtual viewing at the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital (dceff.org)
In partnership with the 2022 Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (celebrating its 30th year), we will screen two classic documentaries from the motion picture holdings of the National Archives.

The River (1937; 32 minutes) is Pare Lorentz’s monumental documentary about the exploitation and misuse of one of our greatest natural resources—the Mississippi River.
Directed and written by Pare Lorentz. Music: Virgil Thomson. Narrator: Thomas Chalmers.
Producer: Farm Security Administration

The City (1939, 33 minutes)
Produced for the 1939 New York World’s Fair, The City is a call to rebuild America’s cities in the form of planned communities.
Directed by Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke. Producer: American Institute of Planners. Music: Aaron Copland.   

Discussion – Working for Suffrage: How Class and Race Shaped the US Suffrage Movement
Friday, March 18, at 1 p.m. ET
Register in advance; watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
The fight for woman suffrage was a long-fought battle with support from well-organized national groups. Working-class women involved in grassroots efforts and other reform movements played a significant role in the fight for the right to vote. Historians Page Harrington, Cathleen Cahill, and Alison Parker will discuss these women and the roles they played. Women's History Month programming is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Denise Gwyn Ferguson.

Book Talk – Vesper Flights: A Conversation with Helen Macdonald
Tuesday, March 22, at 5 p.m. ET
Register in advance; watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
Presented in partnership with the Concord Museum
Henry David Thoreau once remarked: “In wildness is the preservation of the world.” One of his intellectual and spiritual heirs is Helen Macdonald, bestselling author of H Is for Hawk. Join her in a conversation about her newest collection of essays, Vesper Flights, in which she writes about “those moments where mystery arises from the meeting of human art and unpredictable natural phenomena.” At the conclusion of the forum, the Concord Museum will launch a new Thoreau microsite that was funded, in part, through the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Book Talk – The Color of Abolition: How a Printer, a Prophet, and a Contessa Moved a Nation
Wednesday, March 23, at 1 p.m. ET
Register in advance; watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
Author Linda Hirshman will discuss the alliance among Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, and Maria Weston Chapman—and how its breakup led to the success of an American social movement. In the crucial early years of the abolition movement, the Boston branch of the cause seized upon the star power of Frederick Douglass to make its case for slaves’ freedom. Journalist William Lloyd Garrison promoted emancipation, while Garrison loyalist Maria Weston Chapman, known as “the Contessa,” raised money and managed Douglass’s speaking tour.

Through incisive, original analysis, Hirshman argues that the inevitable breakup was in fact a successful failure. Eventually Douglass was able to dangle the prize of his endorsement over the Republican Party’s candidate for President, Abraham Lincoln. Two years later, the abolition of slavery became immutable law. Joining the author in conversation will be Margaret Sullivan, Media Columnist at the Washington Post.

Lunch & Learn - Home as Foundation
Thursday, March 24, at 1 p.m. ET
Register in advance
The Eisenhower Presidential Library’s 2022 Public Program annual theme is Dwight D. Eisenhower: The Making of a Leader. Programs will focus on Family, Military, President, and/or Mentorship, and how they relate to Ike’s leadership.

March’s event focuses on family. Covering both literal and figurative implications, what did the structure at 201 East South Fourth Street mean to the future general and President? Ikes’s parents, David and Ida, provided educational, moral, and spiritual guidance. But did the home and property itself influence Ike and his brothers?

Distance Learning Programs for Students—“We Rule: Civics for All of US” 
Friday, March 25, at 11:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. ET
These programs are offered as a part of We Rule: Civics for All of US, a new education initiative from the National Archives that promotes civic literacy and engagement. Our interactive distance learning programs draw upon the vast holdings of the National Archives to promote the knowledge and skills students need for civic engagement in the 21st century. Each program is led by one of our educators located at National Archives sites or Presidential Libraries across the country. Check www.archives.gov/education/civic-education for more information, including how to request a program for groups of 10 or more students. 

• The Bill of Rights Protects You (Grades 6–12)
  11:15 a.m. ET; Register online
  In this interactive program, students will explore the Bill of Rights and how it outlines both limits on government and the rights of the people. We will work together to analyze three case studies that underscore the remedies that citizens can use to address instances where their rights have been violated. This program will introduce students to the Bill of Rights and strengthen their civic understanding.

• Make Your Voice Count: Learning About the First Amendment (Grades K–2)
  1:15 p.m. ET; Register online
  During this interactive civics program, students will explore the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights using primary historical sources to learn about the importance of rights and how to exercise their freedoms. 

1950 Census Genealogy Series – The 1950 Census Website: Design, Development, and Features to Expect
Wednesday, March 30, at 1 p.m. ET
Michael Knight’s presentation will provide attendees with an overview of the design and development approach used in the creation of the 1950 Census website. Attendees will also learn about the various search and discovery features that will be available on the website when it is launched on April 1, 2022. Learn more about the 1950 Census with our Genealogy Series.