National Archives and Records Administration

The Archivist of the United States is the chief official overseeing the operation of the National Archives and Records Administration. The Archivist not only maintains the official documentation of the passage of amendments to the U.S. Constitution by state legislatures, but has the authority to declare when the constitutional threshold for passage has been reached, and therefore when an act has become an amendment.

The Office of the Federal Register publishes the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and United States Statutes at Large, among others. It also administers the Electoral College.

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC)—the agency's grant-making arm—awards funds to state and local governments, public and private archives, colleges and universities, and other nonprofit organizations to preserve and publish historical records. Since 1964, the NHPRC has awarded some 4,500 grants.

The Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) resource for the public and the government. Congress has charged NARA with reviewing FOIA policies, procedures and compliance of Federal agencies and to recommend changes to FOIA. NARA's mission also includes resolving FOIA disputes between Federal agencies and requesters.

The Rotunda of the National Archives Building, where the Charters of Freedom documents are publicly exhibited

Originally, each branch and agency of the U.S. government was responsible for maintaining its own documents, which often resulted in the loss and destruction of records. Congress created the National Archives Establishment in 1934 to centralize federal record keeping, with the Archivist of the United States serving as chief administrator. R.D.W. Connor was chosen to be the first leader of the organization.[9]

After a recommendation by the first Hoover Commission in 1949, the National Archives was placed within the newly formed General Services Administration (GSA). NARA was officially given its independence from the GSA with the passing of the Records Administration Act of 1984, thus giving birth to the institution we have today.[10]

In December 1978, millions of feet of news reels were destroyed in a fire at an offsite location in Suitland, Maryland.[11] The reels, made of exceptionally flammable nitrate material, had been donated previously by Universal Pictures and were stored in special vaults intended to protect against fires. In total over 12.6 million feet of film was destroyed.[11]

In March 2006, it was revealed by the Archivist of the United States in a public hearing that a memorandum of understanding between NARA and various government agencies existed to "reclassify", i.e., withdraw from public access, certain documents in the name of national security, and to do so in a manner such that researchers would not be likely to discover the process (the U.S. reclassification program).[12] An audit indicated that more than one third withdrawn since 1999 did not contain sensitive information.[13] The program was originally scheduled to end in 2007.

In 2010, Executive Order 13526 created the National Declassification Center[14] to coordinate declassification practices across agencies, provide secure document services to other agencies, and review records in NARA custody for declassification.

The National Archives found itself under public scrutiny when it initially agreed, in 2017, to requests from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) to allow certain documents be scheduled for destruction.[15]

NARA's holdings are classed into "record groups" reflecting the governmental department or agency from which they originated.[16] Records include paper documents, microfilm, still pictures, motion pictures, and electronic media.

Archival descriptions of the permanent holdings of the federal government in the custody of NARA are stored in the National Archives Catalog.[17] The archival descriptions include information on traditional paper holdings, electronic records, and artifacts.[18] As of December 2012, the catalog consisted of about 10 billion logical data records describing 527,000 artifacts and encompassing 81% of NARA's records.[19] There are also 922,000 digital copies of already digitized materials.[19]

Most records at NARA are in the public domain, as works of the federal government are excluded from copyright protection. However, records from other sources may still be protected by copyright or donor agreements.[20] Executive Order 13526 directs originating agencies to declassify documents if possible before shipment to NARA for long-term storage,[21] but NARA also stores some classified documents until they can be declassified. Its Information Security Oversight Office monitors and sets policy for the U.S. government's security classification system.

Genealogical Requests

1930 Census Record from Naval Station Great Lakes, Lake County, Illinois.

Most people who access records at NARA are genealogists or family historians.[22] While many records are available online through the National Archives Catalog, individuals can also request paper copies and microfilm scans. When applicable, the catalog will indicate a document's physical location in a National Archives facility.

Census records are among the most frequently requested at NARA, with the oldest entries from 1790.[23] These records often contain information such as addresses and names of family members. However, all pieces of personal data are restricted for 72 years after collection; prior to then, federal agencies can only access statistical data.[24] The newest unrestricted census is from 1940 and was released to the general public in April 2012. The subsequent census from 1950 will be released in 2022.

NARA has also collaborated with Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and Familysearch.org to scan microfilms and documents of genealogical interest.[25] These digitization partners have expanded the number of genealogical sources on their respective websites, such as ship passenger lists and military records. NARA will eventually offer free access to all digitized sources through the National Archives Catalog.[26] However, many file collections are not available for public viewing either through NARA or affiliate websites. This includes naturalization records and vital records that reveal extensive personal data. Depending on a requestor's verifiable relation to a subject of interest, restricted files may be obtainable under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).[27]

Since 2005, NARA has held annual Genealogy Fairs with guest speakers and research workshops.[28] These events are free of charge and are designed for interested individuals of any skill level. Materials from past Genealogy Fairs are available on the National Archives website.           

The National Archives Building from Constitution Avenue

The most well known facility of the National Archives and Records Administration is the National Archives Building (informally known as "Archives I"), located north of the National Mall on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C.. A sister facility, known as the National Archives at College Park ("Archives II") was opened 1994 near the University of Maryland, College Park. The Washington National Records Center (WNRC), also located in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, is a large warehouse facility where federal records that are still under the control of the creating agency are stored. Federal government agencies pay a yearly fee for storage at the facility. In accordance with federal records schedules, documents at WNRC are transferred to the legal custody of the National Archives after a certain time; this usually involves a relocation of the records to College Park. Temporary records at WNRC are either retained for a fee or destroyed after retention times have elapsed. WNRC also offers research services and maintains a small research room.

Across the United States, the National Archives maintains both research facilities and additional federal records centers (FRCs). In many cases, the research rooms of regional archives are located at the same site as the federal records center, which are inaccessible to the public.

In April 2019 an unknown person set fire to an exterior wall of the archives building using a homemade incendiary device before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames.[30]

In January 2020, a Washington Post reporter noticed blurred protest signs in an image of the 2017 Women's March at the Archives' public exhibit. Some of the edited signs contained potentially offensive language, and some mentioned president Donald Trump. Besides censoring language, the changes altered the meaning of some protest signs. The agency defended the edits and said they were made "so as not to engage in current political controversy", but admitted it "made a mistake ... we were wrong to alter the image."[39][40][41]

• In 1963, Robert Bradford Murphy and his wife, Elizabeth Irene Murphy were arrested and sentenced to ten years in prison for stealing documents from several federal depositories, including the National Archives.[42]
• In 1987, Charles Merrill Mount was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for stealing 400 documents from the National Archives.[43]
• In 2002, Shawn Aubitz pleaded guilty to stealing dozens of documents and photographs from the National Archives during the 1990s.[44]
• In 2005, Sandy Berger was charged with an unauthorized removal of documents from the National Archives; sentenced to 100 hours of community service and fined $50,000.
• In 2005, Howard Harner was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $10,000 after stealing 100 documents from the National Archives.[45]
• In 2006, Denning McTague was sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined $3,000 after stealing 164 documents from the National Archives.[46]
• In 2011, Leslie Waffen was sentenced to 18 months in prison after stealing 955 recordings from the National Archives.[47]
• In 2011, Thomas Lowry was permanently banned from the National Archives after he confessed to altering the date on a presidential pardon signed by Abraham Lincoln.[48]
• In 2011, Barry Landau and Jason Savedoff were arrested and sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for stealing ten thousand documents from the National Archives.[49][50]
• In 2018, Antonin DeHays was arrested for multiple thefts of military artifacts and records from the National Archive during the mid to late 2010s.[51][52]

• 1973 National Archives Fire
• Digital preservation
• Electronic Records Archives
• List of national archives
• List of U.S. state libraries and archives
• National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program
• National Digital Library Program (NDLP)
• National Security Archive
• U.S. Constitution
• White House Millennium Council (time capsule)

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Archives and Records Administration.

• Beschloss, Michael (2006). Our Documents: 100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530959-1. Retrieved July 18, 2014.

• "Sixty-Ton Statue Is Carved from a Single Slab of Stone". Popular Mechanics. 64 (2): 256. August 1935. The statue Gladiator commissioned for the main national archive building in Washington, D.C. in 1935.
• "Ten-Ton Door Made of Bronze is Thirty Five Feet High". Popular Mechanics. 62 (4): 519. October 1934.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Archives and Records Administration and NARA images by state.

• Official NARA−National Archives and Records Administration website
• Federal Register.gov: National Archives and Records Administration
• The National Archives Catalog—of the National Archives and Records Administration
• Outdoor sculptures at the National Archives Building
• Footnote.com: NARA
• FamilySearch.org: NARA−National Archives and Records Administration—research Wiki for genealogists
• National Archives and Records Administration's Our Archives wiki—information about NARA + its archived records
• "Things to Do in D.C.—National Archives and Library of Congress"—Roaminghistorian.com on visiting the National Archives