Thanks so much for your insight, which, as here, can be painful as well as inspiring. The movable wall should reveal the sacred. Maybe one of the treasures now absent is one that we should be bringing into the archives but can't because it may be missing in ourselves: our ability to feel that things matter, that they mean something beyond our own lives, that they inspire us to be part of.
Having grown up in D.C. I was dragged through all the museums by my mother. Living in town, we were the free lodging for every relative and distant friend who visited their Washington , DC., and my sister and I were the designated tour guides. I must admit, the National Archives was never on our “A” list. All I remember is the huge glass display with the Constitution in it. The GIANT flag and loads and loads of marble steps. We gravitated more to Natural History, and later Air and Space. Also both Art Museums. Archives is really “boring, Mom,”. The Supreme Court was more interesting than Archives. It’s too bad The Newseum is gone, it was pretty cool.
Dear Jean, as an historian I understand your feelings but I have "several souls in my breast" about it. The historien thinks let the full historical power of the documents work their magic, from the point of preservation it keeps the documents as save as possible and such measures will provide it and lastly when really working with original documents good facsimiles are easier to handle and even better if you can work them from your office. But of course the real inspiration, magic, and a sense of closeness to the people who held these documents in their hands suffer greatly. I wish you and your whole family a good Thanksgiving.
I have to agree with that point. Would we go to art museums to see prints of paintings? Nope, I want to see the brush strokes, the ridges in the paint.
When my husband and I took our first trip to Washington, they were refurbishing, or re-conserving, the Stars and Stripes flag. We got to look on through a glass wall as technicians worked on it in a clean room. It was kind of a weird feeling, seeing that flag treated as just an object or a project, but obviously, caring for it is necessary.
Your words are meaningful, especially in these times when history is not only forgotten but obliterated. Perhaps your jaded view had some sadness added because of the destruction of our country and liberties. No, you’re not a cranky, just sad.
Cranky has its time and place. Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter Alice famously said, “If you have nothing good to say about anybody, come and sit by me.” I could go from cranky to smiling with a bite of a pecan bar or some of that cherry cranberry delight.
I now feel fortunate to have made it to the National Archives 14 years ago, when the original documents, which were in terrible shape (especially the Declaration and the Constitution, which were so faded as to be virtually unreadable), were still on display. At that time, the reasons why the documents were in such bad shape, including previous attempts to preserve them, was part of the display. Still, seeing the originals was moving.
The sad thing is the Archives website still touts that one can (and I quote) "(e)ncounter the original founding documents of the United States in the National Archives Rotunda."
I did not visit the National Archives… you just think that our most exalted and historic documents are being well maintained and modern preservation methods are keeping them in good health for viewing.
To find out they are NOT on display, but only facsimile presentations - it’s not the same! This was disappointing to read.
In light of that… Happy Thanksgiving everyone! No facsimile for TURKEY - it’s bird day!! No halibut for you.
Archives are by definition neither slides nor facsimiles. This piece reminds me very much of your recent visit to the Louvre, but it hits home harder because it’s about our country, our history. Let’s face it, as a culture, we are not what we once were. Some would call it progress, but I was left in the dust about 15 years ago.
I don’t know what to think about Charlie’s opinion of the visit. It’s surprising. I’ve been reading both of you for quite a while now and trust you equally on a variety of topics. I hope he writes about this too.
Overall, your story represented a sad lack of awareness that describes many of our citizens. As we near our 250, perhaps some civics lessons should accompany turkey and football.
I work here in Arkansas with voter registration. We go into the schools, our wonderful library, and walk the streets during parades and other festivals. Young people especially don’t see the need to vote. They feel their voices aren’t heard. I feel this stems from a lack of knowledge about our history and its founding. I wish I could round them up and take them to DC to see all the museums. Many have never left this state, so they have no idea what’s out there in their own country.
I saw many of our main documents (and the Liberty Bell!) on the American Freedom Train during the 1976 Bicentennial. It was impressive, to say the least, and I'll never forget it. It was important enough to my Dad that I see them, that he helped chaperone my Girl Scout troop that day. It set up my, so far, unfulfilled longing to see those documents in the National Archives. But, if what you experienced was what we would see, it's doesn't really seem worth it. There's always the National Gallery, I guess.
JFR, if you are a “crank”, then sign me up to support “The Crank Rebellion”.
Perhaps I’m in a particularly rebellious or cranky mood of sorts since I’ve been soaking in Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution”. But good grief, special American things deserve sacred and special places. And people of all ages should be able to visit grand institutions that reflect the awe of our founding.
Lord knows we’ve suffered way too much trampling on our American everything of late, thanks to you-know-who. I’ve had it with dripping everything in gilded glop, or stripping things down to “DMV glare”. I’m sick of made-up nonhistory and made-up names of gulfs and departments. Down on mediocrity and just plain stupid stuff.
And I wholeheartedly wish state universities or at least community colleges were free. This idea comes from a classmate from Iceland who rocked my thinking when she revealed that all university education for citizens is free, anywhere in the world. Wow. Just imagine.
Okay, stepping down from my crank soap box now. Must make cranberry cherry sauce and pecan bars.
Screens, screens, screens. I'm not a technical luddite in the slightest, but there's very little curation anywhere about when screens & other Hollywood whizzbangs like sound effects and lighting are appropriate and when they are not.
The place for facsimiles is online, in my opinion. For example, the Bodleian Library has an astonishing array of ancient manuscripts that can be examined extremely closely at high resolution, by anyone, for free. FOR FREE!
I printed transcripts of all three documents from The National Archives website a while ago. I just came across those printouts this past Sunday. I've been keeping them close ever since. They feel kind of like a security blanket. I encourage others to visit the site if going to D.C. isn't an option. 🇺🇸
I grew up with the Constitution and Deceleration of Independence table lamps, Early America Decor. We memorized them as kids. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Part of our national problem is that government and civics is no longer taught. This is part of the reason we are saddled with the current occupant of our White House. It saddens me that the Archives has turned into a sort of digital slideshow. If you are a “crank” then count me in.
Amen to that. My original degree qualified me to teach secondary history and civics. That was back when we had 40 in a class and one strict teacher. I chose to go in a different direction for various reasons.
If I *had* decided to teach high school history and civics, I would not do so now. With the current political and cultural restrictions, I would not be free to actually try to educate students. And I do agree with many that screen learning is far from sufficient. An emphasis on STEM has deemphasized the learnings from our history to the point of abject disinterest and ignorance. We can disagree about history and what it means, but we ignore it at society's peril. If we don't care about participating in a democracy, it's not a democracy anymore.
It's not Gen Z's sense of entitlement, because in Europe, there seem to be active participation and interest in politics in the young. I think that Europeans feel like they still have some control over their various situations. Our kids don't. There are many reasons for that, but they are willingly giving over their power and it's likely not going to end well, unless we figure it out.
I set out to get an Ed degree so I could teach English. I wanted to help students at least write intelligibly if I taught comp, and to have an understanding of and a passion for good writing if I taught Lit. Instead, after a prof told me I'd be fighting the system my whole career if I taught the way I wanted to, and then my own advisor told me it would be a mistake to continue, I quit. Broke my heart. But the methodology they wanted me to follow is why Johnny can't read.
You do understand, thank you. We were taught phonetic spelling. But the spelling now is atrocious. I don't know if that made the difference, or just the better teachers then. We had a grammar teacher who had taught multi-generations. She had a reputation of being a grammar-Nazi and we were scared when we got old enough to have her. But it wasn't bad at all -- provided a lot of valuable lessons that I took into college with me. And my small town graduated several internationally known writers! I know that a lot of it was because of that teacher's educating on the ground rules.
I agree completely about the grammar-Nazi teacher. That would have been me. And once upon a time, such foundations mattered. Even abstract artists were schooled in basic techniques. Not so much anymore, I'm afraid.
A couple years ago, I was hired to proofread several popular novels (read: these were not actual literature). I did four or five in quick succession, correcting the atrocious grammar, tense changes, and so on, to make them more intelligible. After that....nothing. My theory is that the authors didn't care for my pointing out the dozens and dozens of mistakes. Maybe it's considered a buzzkill these days to publish prose that makes sense?
Right there with you, Claire. To me, it's educational malpractice that civics is gone in classrooms, and history consists of cursory surveys. Yep, no wonder we're in such dire straits.
This is one of those rare times I find myself disagreeing with your good husband; in my view you are correct in everything you have written. This is not about being cranky, but, as many of us are, it's about being dismayed by the lack of interest in history and in understanding what it took to found this country. I see the same thing happening in my original country of origin (the UK).
My wife and I have lived in the US for over 30 years and been naturalized citizens for over 20 years. In my view, the founders handed the people of this country a priceless gift - the Constitution, laying out this amazing system of government which, though not perfect, is the best humanity has come up with so far. It's in danger of failing through sheer complacency.
Thanks so much for your insight, which, as here, can be painful as well as inspiring. The movable wall should reveal the sacred. Maybe one of the treasures now absent is one that we should be bringing into the archives but can't because it may be missing in ourselves: our ability to feel that things matter, that they mean something beyond our own lives, that they inspire us to be part of.
A very interesting point.
Having grown up in D.C. I was dragged through all the museums by my mother. Living in town, we were the free lodging for every relative and distant friend who visited their Washington , DC., and my sister and I were the designated tour guides. I must admit, the National Archives was never on our “A” list. All I remember is the huge glass display with the Constitution in it. The GIANT flag and loads and loads of marble steps. We gravitated more to Natural History, and later Air and Space. Also both Art Museums. Archives is really “boring, Mom,”. The Supreme Court was more interesting than Archives. It’s too bad The Newseum is gone, it was pretty cool.
Dear Jean, as an historian I understand your feelings but I have "several souls in my breast" about it. The historien thinks let the full historical power of the documents work their magic, from the point of preservation it keeps the documents as save as possible and such measures will provide it and lastly when really working with original documents good facsimiles are easier to handle and even better if you can work them from your office. But of course the real inspiration, magic, and a sense of closeness to the people who held these documents in their hands suffer greatly. I wish you and your whole family a good Thanksgiving.
I fully appreciate the problem. But there’s no point in a museum with facsimiles.
I have to agree with that point. Would we go to art museums to see prints of paintings? Nope, I want to see the brush strokes, the ridges in the paint.
When my husband and I took our first trip to Washington, they were refurbishing, or re-conserving, the Stars and Stripes flag. We got to look on through a glass wall as technicians worked on it in a clean room. It was kind of a weird feeling, seeing that flag treated as just an object or a project, but obviously, caring for it is necessary.
Your words are meaningful, especially in these times when history is not only forgotten but obliterated. Perhaps your jaded view had some sadness added because of the destruction of our country and liberties. No, you’re not a cranky, just sad.
Haha. No. I was definitely cranky!😎
Cranky has its time and place. Teddy Roosevelt’s daughter Alice famously said, “If you have nothing good to say about anybody, come and sit by me.” I could go from cranky to smiling with a bite of a pecan bar or some of that cherry cranberry delight.
I now feel fortunate to have made it to the National Archives 14 years ago, when the original documents, which were in terrible shape (especially the Declaration and the Constitution, which were so faded as to be virtually unreadable), were still on display. At that time, the reasons why the documents were in such bad shape, including previous attempts to preserve them, was part of the display. Still, seeing the originals was moving.
The sad thing is the Archives website still touts that one can (and I quote) "(e)ncounter the original founding documents of the United States in the National Archives Rotunda."
The primary original documents are still there. And yes, faded and almost impossible to read. Metaphor?
The well-intentioned restoration methods of the past were sometimes so very tragic in their outcomes years later.
I think an exhibit about the preservation process and an explanation of why past restoration efforts went awry would be so fascinating!
I did not visit the National Archives… you just think that our most exalted and historic documents are being well maintained and modern preservation methods are keeping them in good health for viewing.
To find out they are NOT on display, but only facsimile presentations - it’s not the same! This was disappointing to read.
In light of that… Happy Thanksgiving everyone! No facsimile for TURKEY - it’s bird day!! No halibut for you.
To be clear: the big ones are still there.
Archives are by definition neither slides nor facsimiles. This piece reminds me very much of your recent visit to the Louvre, but it hits home harder because it’s about our country, our history. Let’s face it, as a culture, we are not what we once were. Some would call it progress, but I was left in the dust about 15 years ago.
I don’t know what to think about Charlie’s opinion of the visit. It’s surprising. I’ve been reading both of you for quite a while now and trust you equally on a variety of topics. I hope he writes about this too.
Overall, your story represented a sad lack of awareness that describes many of our citizens. As we near our 250, perhaps some civics lessons should accompany turkey and football.
AMEN!!!!
I work here in Arkansas with voter registration. We go into the schools, our wonderful library, and walk the streets during parades and other festivals. Young people especially don’t see the need to vote. They feel their voices aren’t heard. I feel this stems from a lack of knowledge about our history and its founding. I wish I could round them up and take them to DC to see all the museums. Many have never left this state, so they have no idea what’s out there in their own country.
I saw many of our main documents (and the Liberty Bell!) on the American Freedom Train during the 1976 Bicentennial. It was impressive, to say the least, and I'll never forget it. It was important enough to my Dad that I see them, that he helped chaperone my Girl Scout troop that day. It set up my, so far, unfulfilled longing to see those documents in the National Archives. But, if what you experienced was what we would see, it's doesn't really seem worth it. There's always the National Gallery, I guess.
Was thinking about the Bicentennial the other day - a canyon of difference, and certainly not for the better.
JFR, if you are a “crank”, then sign me up to support “The Crank Rebellion”.
Perhaps I’m in a particularly rebellious or cranky mood of sorts since I’ve been soaking in Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution”. But good grief, special American things deserve sacred and special places. And people of all ages should be able to visit grand institutions that reflect the awe of our founding.
Lord knows we’ve suffered way too much trampling on our American everything of late, thanks to you-know-who. I’ve had it with dripping everything in gilded glop, or stripping things down to “DMV glare”. I’m sick of made-up nonhistory and made-up names of gulfs and departments. Down on mediocrity and just plain stupid stuff.
And I wholeheartedly wish state universities or at least community colleges were free. This idea comes from a classmate from Iceland who rocked my thinking when she revealed that all university education for citizens is free, anywhere in the world. Wow. Just imagine.
Okay, stepping down from my crank soap box now. Must make cranberry cherry sauce and pecan bars.
Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving all!
After the rest of your comments, the last line made me laugh. Happy Thanksgiving!
Screens, screens, screens. I'm not a technical luddite in the slightest, but there's very little curation anywhere about when screens & other Hollywood whizzbangs like sound effects and lighting are appropriate and when they are not.
The place for facsimiles is online, in my opinion. For example, the Bodleian Library has an astonishing array of ancient manuscripts that can be examined extremely closely at high resolution, by anyone, for free. FOR FREE!
The National Archives are free, I will give them that.
We pay in advance , with our taxes.
Yup.
I printed transcripts of all three documents from The National Archives website a while ago. I just came across those printouts this past Sunday. I've been keeping them close ever since. They feel kind of like a security blanket. I encourage others to visit the site if going to D.C. isn't an option. 🇺🇸
I grew up with the Constitution and Deceleration of Independence table lamps, Early America Decor. We memorized them as kids. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Part of our national problem is that government and civics is no longer taught. This is part of the reason we are saddled with the current occupant of our White House. It saddens me that the Archives has turned into a sort of digital slideshow. If you are a “crank” then count me in.
Amen to that. My original degree qualified me to teach secondary history and civics. That was back when we had 40 in a class and one strict teacher. I chose to go in a different direction for various reasons.
If I *had* decided to teach high school history and civics, I would not do so now. With the current political and cultural restrictions, I would not be free to actually try to educate students. And I do agree with many that screen learning is far from sufficient. An emphasis on STEM has deemphasized the learnings from our history to the point of abject disinterest and ignorance. We can disagree about history and what it means, but we ignore it at society's peril. If we don't care about participating in a democracy, it's not a democracy anymore.
It's not Gen Z's sense of entitlement, because in Europe, there seem to be active participation and interest in politics in the young. I think that Europeans feel like they still have some control over their various situations. Our kids don't. There are many reasons for that, but they are willingly giving over their power and it's likely not going to end well, unless we figure it out.
Extremely well said, S. A.
Thx. I wasn't sure if it was overkill.
Not at all. I can completely relate.
I set out to get an Ed degree so I could teach English. I wanted to help students at least write intelligibly if I taught comp, and to have an understanding of and a passion for good writing if I taught Lit. Instead, after a prof told me I'd be fighting the system my whole career if I taught the way I wanted to, and then my own advisor told me it would be a mistake to continue, I quit. Broke my heart. But the methodology they wanted me to follow is why Johnny can't read.
The same applies to civics and history.
You do understand, thank you. We were taught phonetic spelling. But the spelling now is atrocious. I don't know if that made the difference, or just the better teachers then. We had a grammar teacher who had taught multi-generations. She had a reputation of being a grammar-Nazi and we were scared when we got old enough to have her. But it wasn't bad at all -- provided a lot of valuable lessons that I took into college with me. And my small town graduated several internationally known writers! I know that a lot of it was because of that teacher's educating on the ground rules.
I agree completely about the grammar-Nazi teacher. That would have been me. And once upon a time, such foundations mattered. Even abstract artists were schooled in basic techniques. Not so much anymore, I'm afraid.
A couple years ago, I was hired to proofread several popular novels (read: these were not actual literature). I did four or five in quick succession, correcting the atrocious grammar, tense changes, and so on, to make them more intelligible. After that....nothing. My theory is that the authors didn't care for my pointing out the dozens and dozens of mistakes. Maybe it's considered a buzzkill these days to publish prose that makes sense?
Right there with you, Claire. To me, it's educational malpractice that civics is gone in classrooms, and history consists of cursory surveys. Yep, no wonder we're in such dire straits.
This is one of those rare times I find myself disagreeing with your good husband; in my view you are correct in everything you have written. This is not about being cranky, but, as many of us are, it's about being dismayed by the lack of interest in history and in understanding what it took to found this country. I see the same thing happening in my original country of origin (the UK).
My wife and I have lived in the US for over 30 years and been naturalized citizens for over 20 years. In my view, the founders handed the people of this country a priceless gift - the Constitution, laying out this amazing system of government which, though not perfect, is the best humanity has come up with so far. It's in danger of failing through sheer complacency.
Rant over. Happy Thanksgiving to all!