We’re ready for our close up during the inaugural parade! The Museum will be open on Inauguration Day, so if you are on the Mall, please come in!
The National Archives plays a critical role in the transition from one Presidential administration to another. Two big things are going on during the 75 days between the November election and Inauguration Day: assembling a new administration and winding down and packing up a Presidency that has been in office four or eight years.
Read about what our staff do in “Moving Out, Moving In” in the latest issue of Prologue, the National Archives magazine.
Want more history? You can subscribe to Prologue magazine here: http://1.usa.gov/1Imzl4p.
Photos:
Richard Nixon’s staff moves furniture and materials into the Oval Office on January 20, 1969, as the Nixon administration takes office. (Nixon Library)
Dozens of pallets are loaded onto an airliner destined for the George W. Bush Presidential Materials Project in Dallas, Texas. (George W. Bush Library)
In preparation for the move of Nixon presidential materials, a conservator carefully packs jewelry so that it will not shift during its journey to the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California. (National Archives, photo by Angela Drews)
Boxes of records and memorabilia await transport to Little Rock, Arkansas, for eventual storage in the Clinton Presidential Library. (Clinton Library)
About 7200 pages of newly declassified records from the Iran Hostage Crisis have been released and are available.
A majority of the records came from the Department of State. These records document the work done by various Department of State officials and working groups in trying to bring about a diplomatic end to the crisis. Records from the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library are also included. About 1000 pages have been scanned and are available digitally.
“My station is new; and, if I may use the expression, I walk on untrodden ground.”
–George Washington in a letter, January 9, 1790
In honor of the upcoming Presidential inauguration, Washington’s first inaugural address and the Bible that he used to swear his oath of office are on display. The Bible was loaned for the occasion by St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons, which still owns the Bible today.
George Washington set many precedents as the first President of the United States, beginning on the day he took office. The Constitution requires only that the President-elect swear or affirm an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” No particular ceremony is mandated for the occasion.
On April 30, 1789, in the temporary capital of New York City on the second floor balcony of Federal Hall, George Washington placed his hand upon a bible and publicly swore his oath before a cheering crowd. He then delivered his inaugural address to a joint session of Congress in the Senate Chamber in Federal Hall. These rituals observed during Washington’s first inauguration are the foundation upon which inaugural traditions are based today.
Learn more in today’s Pieces of History blog post.
We’ve enjoyed our Electoral College AnswerTime here on Tumblr with you!
Here’s the link to the 2016 Certificates of Vote from all 50 states and the District of Columbia: https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/2016/certificates-of-vote.html
For more Electoral College questions, please see our FAQ page at:
https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/faq.html
curiousgreenboy asked:
As federal employees we cannot personally answer your question, except to restate that we are honored to be a part of the process and we are grateful that we can play a part in providing information about the process to the American people.
rileymcdaniels asked:
The founding fathers established the Electoral College in the Constitution as a compromise between election of the President by a vote in Congress and election of the President by a popular vote of qualified citizens. (However, the term “electoral college” does not appear in the Constitution. Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment refer to “electors,” but not to the “electoral college.”)
Since the Electoral College process is part of the original design of the U.S. Constitution it would be necessary to pass a Constitutional amendment to change this system. It is possible to change from the Electoral College system to something else, but it is not an easy change to make. The Electoral College process is part of the Constitution, it can only be changed or removed by a Constitutional amendment. You can learn more about the process for amending the Constitution here: https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution
If the Electoral College were abolished, the states and federal government would need to decide who would take primary responsibility for administering a process for electing the President. Questions regarding who would provide the means to vote, who would fund the election, and who would count the votes would need to be addressed.
sleepinginyourflowerbed asked:
The term “Hamilton Electors” was used by some 2016 Presidential electors who championed the idea of that Electors do not have to vote for the candidate they were pledged to vote for. To read more about it see: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/meet-the-hamilton-electors-hoping-for-an-electoral-college-revolt/508433/
Anonymous asked:
The number of electors is determined by the State’s Congressional delegation (Members of the House of Representatives plus two Senators). The number of Representatives is set by the the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929.
http://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1901-1950/The-Permanent-Apportionment-Act-of-1929/
quebecgamersdotcomofficial asked:
We do not have any definitive documentation regarding why the “college” is a term used to describe the process. However, one of the accepted definitions of college from Merriam-Webster is “an organized body of persons engaged in a common pursuit or having common interests or duties.” This is made clearer from the Latin word “colleague,” from where “college” is derived, and is defined as “one chosen to work with another.”
As most of the founding fathers and other educated people at the time studied Latin, and it was not uncommon for groups of professionals to be referred to as a “college,” it makes sense that the gathering of electors came to regarded by this term. An example of another well-known body that engages in a similar process is the College of Cardinals which meets in the Vatican to choose a new Pope when the time comes.