On October 19, 2024, Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan welcomed more than 100 guests who participated in the National Archives Sleepover at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Children between the ages of 8 and 12 and their chaperones experience the rare opportunity to sleep beside the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights. The following morning, they are treated to a pancake breakfast served by the Archivist of the United States. 🥞 National Archives photo by Susana Raab.
The next morning, Dr. Shogan, alongside National Archives Foundation Executive Director Patrick Madden, served pancakes to the guests before wrapping up another successful National Archives Sleepover. View more photos of the event here. Photograph courtesy Viktoriia Mintian for the National Archives Foundation.
On October 23, 2024, Dr. Shogan shared a blog post pledging her commitment “to deliver a fresh strategic plan, rooted in this framework, that holds the National Archives to the highest standards in governance and access, exemplifies archival standards, and delivers experiences that resonate with every American.” Read the full blog article here.
Also on October 23, 2024, Dr. Shogan invited the public to browse through the census records for U.S. presidents: https://www.archives.gov/research/census/presidents.
Census records can provide the building blocks of your research. The first Federal Population Census was taken in 1790, and has been taken every ten years since. Because of a 72-year restriction on access to the Census, the most recent year available is 1950. The 1950 Census was released on April 1, 2022.
The National Archives has the census schedules available from 1790 to 1950, and most have now been digitized by our digitization partners. Family researchers generally find it most helpful to begin with the most current census and work backwards as a strategy for locating people in earlier generations.
On October 24, 2024, Dr. Shogan shared photos on X of her visit to Penn State University where she participated in a public discussion, taped a podcast, met with the library special collections & archives team, taught a class, and more.
On October 25, 2024, Dr. Shogan shared this iconic photograph of the “Popeye” popcorn truck from our digital collection. What will you discover? Begin your research journey at the National Archives today: https://www.archives.gov/research.
On Tuesday, October 29, at 6 p.m. ET, Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan will welcome authors Dennis Hale and Marc Landy to the National Archives in Washington, DC, to ponder these questions during a discussion of their book, Keeping the Republic: A Defense of American Constitutionalism.
Follow Dr. Shogan on her official platform accounts:
Evidently Dr Shogan hasn’t read any commentary on her work at the Archives. Perhaps she is too ‘woke’. Whether you follow Tim Snyder’s advice or Mike Tyson’s, flinching before you get hit is not a formula for success.
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