National Archives Public Programs in September
Press Release · Thursday, August 31, 2023

Washington, DC

In September, the National Archives will present free public programs at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, at its Presidential Libraries nationwide and online. Programs this month include book talks with award-winning authors and live concerts as well as Civics for All of US offerings. 

(In person) Sunday Concert Series at the Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
September 3, 17, and 24, at 2 p.m. PT 
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, CA
Register to attend in person
September 3: Inhyn Lee and Jiyeon Lee - Duo Pianists
September 17: Yuki Mori – Violinist and Min Jung Park - Pianist
September 24: Xiao Chen – Pianist

(In person) Washington’s Iron Butterfly: Bess Clements Abell
Wednesday, September 6, at 11:30 a.m. CT
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library, Austin, TX
Register to attend in person
Join us to hear the story of Bess Clements Abell, who served as White House Social Secretary for President and Mrs. Johnson. Her Secret Service code name “Iron Butterfly” exemplified her graceful but firm management of social life in the White House, including planning not only the typical state dinners but two Presidential daughters’ weddings. Donald Ritchie, co-author of Washington’s Iron Butterfly: Bess Clements Abell, An Oral History, and Luci Baines Johnson join us to talk about Bess Abell and tell her remarkable story.

(Online) Shipwrecked: A True Civil War Story of Mutinies, Jailbreaks, Blockade-Running, and the Slave Trade
Wednesday, September 6, at 1 p.m. ET 
Watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
Historian Jonathan W. White tells the story of Appleton Oaksmith, a sea captain whose life intersected with some of the most important moments, movements, and individuals of the mid-19th century, from the California Gold Rush and filibustering schemes to the Civil War and Reconstruction. The book depicts the extraordinary lengths the Lincoln administration went to destroy the illegal trans-Atlantic slave trade during the Civil War era.

(In person) The Clinton Presidential Center Presents Best-Selling Author and Journalist Jeffrey Toobin
Thursday, September 7, at 6 p.m. CT
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, Little Rock, AR
Register to attend in person
The Clinton Presidential Center presents best-selling author and journalist Jeffrey Toobin, who will discuss his latest book, Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right Wing Extremism. Toobin will share his insight on one of the darkest chapters in modern American history, the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, and how the same radical sentiments held by the perpetrator continue to fuel political extremism and encourage other acts of domestic terrorism.

(In person) The Vice-Presidency Conference
Friday, September 8 and 9, at 6 p.m. CT 
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
Register to attend in person
The Gerald R. Ford Museum and Gerald R. Ford Foundation will host a conference to coincide with the exhibition A Heartbeat Away: The American Vice Presidency. The conference will feature an array of speakers ranging from famed Vice-Presidential scholars like Chris Whipple and Kate Andersen Brower to the Vice-Presidential photographers of Kamala Harris, George H.W Bush, Walter Mondale, and Gerald Ford. In moderated panels, these experts will explore different aspects of the often-overlooked office, including the Vice President’s role in American politics, its changing impact over time, and personal experiences.

(In person) Summer Movie: Rudy
Friday, September 8, at 7 p.m. CT
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, College Station, TX
Register to attend in person
The fourth movie of our 2023 Summer Film Series will be Rudy. In this biographical sports film from 1993, Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin) overcomes adversity to achieve his dream of playing football at the University of Notre Dame. Rudy is rated PG, and is 1 hours and 56 minutes long.

Bring your blankets and lawn chairs as we enjoy this film under the stars. Games and free snacks (while supplies last) will begin at 7 p.m., and the movie will start just after sundown. You may bring your picnics and coolers, but please no pets or glass containers. 

This movie is being shown in conjunction with our upcoming exhibit A Spirit Can Ne’er Be Told...A Century of Aggie Football. Using original artifacts, as well as historical photographs, documents, and audiovisual materials, the exhibit gives visitors an up-close look at the team’s history, from its first official football game in 1894, through the era of Coach Jimbo Fisher. A Spirit Can Ne'er Be Told.... will be on display in the Ansary Gallery of American History until April 28, 2024.

(Online) For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry’s Final Political Battle
Tuesday, September 12, at 3 p.m. ET
Watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
Historian, lawyer, and award-winning author Dr. John A. Ragosta tells the story of Patrick Henry, who, in 1799, at the behest of President George Washington, came out of retirement to defend the Constitution that he had once opposed and to thwart Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, whom Washington accused of putting party over country and threatening the fragile union. For the People, For the Country tells the remarkable story of how the most eloquent public speaker of the American Revolutionary era and a leading Antifederalist during debates over ratification of the Constitution reemerged on the side of the Federalists and once again changed history.

(In person) Sally Sierer Bethea, author of Keeping the Chattahoochee
Tuesday, September 12, at 7 p.m. ET
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta, GA
Sally Sierer Bethea was one of the first women in America to become a “riverkeeper”—a vocal defender of a specific waterway who holds polluters accountable. In Keeping the Chattahoochee, she tells stories that range from joyous and funny to frustrating—even alarming—to illustrate what it takes to save an endangered river. Bethea will be in conversation with former Mayor Shirley Franklin.

(Online) The Records of the Provost Marshal General and Enemy Prisoners of War Held in the United States During World War II
Wednesday, September 13, at 1 p.m. ET
Watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel
During World War II, the United States established hundreds of prisoner of war (POW or PW) camps, which held an estimated 425,000 German, Italian, and Japanese prisoners. Archivist Rachael Salyer will discuss the records of these camps created by the Office of the Provost Marshal General (OPMG). She will provide an overview of their establishment and construction, and then will focus on how and where to locate records related to specific camps. Finally, she will also provide suggestions for how to begin researching individual prisoners, as well as camp staff and assigned units. This presentation is aimed at an intermediate to experienced audience skill level, but all are welcome! The video and presentation materials will be available on the event day, September 13. Learn about other programs in the Know Your Records series.

(Online) Distance Learning Programs for Students—Civics for All of US
September 13–25, multiple times, ET
View the full schedule and Register online
We’re offering live, interactive programs for K–12 students around Constitution Day (September 17), presented as part of Civics for All of US, the national civic education initiative of the National Archives. The 30-minute webinars use primary sources to explore the big ideas of the Constitution. Each program is led by one of our educators located at National Archives sites, the Center for Legislative Archives, and Presidential Libraries across the country.

(In person) Clinton Presidential Center Presents “The Monumental Legacy of The Antiquities Act: Dinosaurs And More”
Thursday, September 14, at 6 p.m. CT
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, Little Rock, AR
Register to attend in person
The Clinton Presidential Center Presents “The Monumental Legacy of the Antiquities Act: Dinosaurs and More” with Clinton administration alumnus and professor Mark Squillace. Squillace will offer an overview of the Antiquities Act and its many controversies, focusing on the significant role that the law has played in discovering and preserving dinosaur fossils. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, in particular, which was established by President Bill Clinton, offers an object lesson on the outstanding public benefits that result, sometimes inadvertently, when we conserve our public lands.

(Online) K–12 Educators Workshop—Teaching the Constitution with the National Archives
Thursday, September 14, at 7 p.m. ET
Register online
Get ready for Constitution Day with primary sources, classroom activities, and programs from the National Archives! In this interactive virtual workshop you will explore how to make teaching the Constitution relevant to students’ lives with text analysis activities, primary sources, and online teaching activities on DocsTeach.org. This workshop is suitable for all educators. Presented as part of Civics for All of US, the education initiative from the National Archives that promotes civic literacy and engagement.

(In person) Ask an Archivist/Converse with a Curator
Friday, September 15, at 11 a.m & 2 p.m. CT
William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, Little Rock, AR
“Learning to Serve, Serving to Learn: AmeriCorps during the Clinton Administration.” To celebrate AmeriCorps 30th Anniversary, we will talk about the history of national service during the Clinton administration and our exhibits on this topic. The Clinton Library and Museum holds the program “Ask an Archivist/Converse with a Curator” on the third Friday of every month at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The program is free with paid admission to the library.

(In person) Austin Museum Day 2023
Sunday, September 17, at 10 a.m. CT
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library and Museum, Austin, TX
Register to attend in person
Families and caretakers of the Earth join the LBJ Presidential Library & Museum to celebrate Austin Museum Day and explore the ways you can be a better friend to the world we live in! From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., kids can use one of our Fujifilm Instax instant cameras for a scavenger hunt. On the hunt, explore our exhibit based on the book The Lorax, step into the Oval Office, see the President’s limousine, and much more. Experience the political and personal legacies of LBJ and Lady Bird Johnson through photography. 

(In person) The Court at War: FDR, His Justices, and the World They Made with Cliff Sloan
Sunday, September 17, at 2 p.m. ET
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park, NY
Register to attend in person
The FDR Presidential Library presents a Constitution Day Conversation and book signing with Cliff Sloan, author of The Court at War: FDR, His Justices, and the World They Made. The event will be held in the Henry A. Wallace Center. This is a free public event, but registration is required.

(Online) National Archives Comes Alive! Young Learners Program: Meet John Jay
Thursday, September 21, at 11 a.m. ET 
Watch on the National Archives YouTube Channel 
Phil Webster portrays John Jay, an attorney, diplomat, and one of the nation’s founding fathers. A delegate of the first Continental Congress, and later a member of the provincial Congress, he eventually became president of the Continental Congress. Jay was responsible for writing New York’s first Constitution. He served as a diplomat during the Revolutionary War and then authored five essays in the Federalist Papers in support of the U.S. Constitution.  Many of his papers are searchable in Founders Online. Jay was appointed first Chief Justice and served from 1789 to 1795. He negotiated the Jay Treaty of 1794 with Great Britain to settle lingering grievances from the Revolutionary War, which helped maintain neutrality for the new nation of the United States. This program is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation.

(In person) Screening of the documentary Clear Day Thunder: Rescuing the American Chestnut
Tuesday, September 26, at 6 p.m. ET
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta, GA
Register to attend in person
This inspiring documentary offers a unique opportunity to learn about the American chestnut tree, this iconic tree species that has been functionally extinct for over 100 years and is on the brink of restoration. You'll witness the tireless efforts of dedicated individuals working to save the American Chestnut from extinction and hear from people like President Carter, Dolly Parton, and Chuck Leavell. 

(In Person and online) A Celebration of Sports: An Evening with Bob Costas and Michael Wilbon
Tuesday, September 26, at 7 p.m. ET
William G. McGowan Theater, National Archives Museum, Washington, DC
Join us for an evening with sports broadcasting icons Bob Costas and Michael Wilbon. This conversation, organized in conjunction with the exhibition All American: The Power of Sports, will highlight key moments in sports history, the legacy of sports in American society, and the future of sports journalism. The program will also address the complexities of dissent and the voice of the athlete as a change maker.

This program is hosted in partnership by the National Archives and National Archives Foundation as part of All American: The Power of Sports. Programs presented in conjunction with the exhibit are made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of AT&T, AARP, and Mars, Incorporated. Additional support provided by HISTORY® and the Lawrence F. O’Brien Family.