Schools in DC

Dunlap Broadside- the first printed Declaration, made July 4, 1776

Entrance into the Public Vaults- the permanent exhibit of the Archives

Ammendment repealing Prohibition

Bill of Rights

Signatures of the 56 Framers of the Constitution

"We the People..."

The Constitution of the United States

The Actual Declaration of Independence

Rotunda at the National Archives

The Magna Carta

The past two days have been so busy at the Archives. Some people have requested that I take pictures of where I work in the Archives, so they are added below.

Thursday was a trip outside the office, to the Charles Sumner School for the district competition of We the People. There were four different schools represented there, which is double the amount from last year. All of the schools were from the northern part of DC except for Cesar Chavez, which is in the Southeast section and is often times thought of as being one of the worst places to live in DC. These were also the students who I judged last week at their school competition. I sat in on all 6 units of We the People, and got a really good overview of the program. I wish I had a chance at this when I was in high school (and if there are any government teachers reading this, I highly recommend it!). Mary Beth Tinker, who was part of a Supreme Court trial on student's rights had lunch with us, and the representative from DC, Eleanor Holmes Norton, spoke to the students about taxation withouth representation. The best part of the day came when awards were handed out, and Cesar Chavez won, and are going to nationals in April! This is such a wonderful award for them and after seeing their presentations, they deserve it after all the work they put into it. I'm excited to see them compete in April!

On Friday, a new exhibit open at the Archives about Japanese Americans and WWII. We had a lot of people wonder into the ReSource Room asking about it, and especially the Japanese surrender papers. I felt like today was also the beginning of the semester, when you are assigned all your projects for the next three weeks. I have a lot of research and catalouging to do, along with presentations and curriculum building, but it is going to be fantastic.

Friday afternoon I went up into the Treasure Vaults of the Archives, which is where the most important and valuable documents are kept. I was in the Legislative vault, which had been opened for some members of the House Appropriations committee. I saw the first pages of the House journal, which tallies the electoral votes for George Washington, and keeps track of the first details of the House. I saw two of the State of the Union addresses, impeachment papers, poilitical cartoons, the first set of MAD comic books, and some petitions sent to the House. It was the highlight of a great week, and I hope I will be able to go back up there and see a few more things.

Today it is snowing, and people are freaked out about it! I plan on sitting back and watching how the South handles the Northern cold.... :)