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Category: War and Society

Handwritten copy (with deletions crossed out and additions added) of the first few sentence of Jefferson

New Collections and Highlights from 2021

Posted by: Ryan Reft

As the year draws to a close, it seems like a good time to look back and highlight some of the political, social, cultural, military, and scientific manuscript collections and resource guides that the Manuscript Division has recently made available for researchers to explore. We’re already hard at work acquiring, arranging, and describing the historical …

Handwritten copy (with deletions crossed out and additions added) of the first few sentence of Jefferson

200 Years of Clara Barton Birthdays

Posted by: Elizabeth Novara

On the 200th anniversary of Clara Barton’s birth on Christmas Day 1821, a look at Barton’s birthday diary entries and her published holiday greetings reveals the complexities of this well-known figure. Volunteer to transcribe and review newly added materials from the Clara Barton Papers on the Library of Congress’s By the People crowdsourced transcription website during Barton’s birthday month. 

Black and white photograph of lieutenant George Patton, in uniform with a pipe, standing outside of a tent.

Inside George S. Patton’s First War Diary

Posted by: Lewis Wyman

George S. Patton kept a personal journal during his involvement in the 1916 Mexican Expedition. While serving as aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing, he recorded many observations of the military campaign against Pancho Villa’s forces - everything from day to day activities, to the first use of airplanes by the U.S. Army in a combat roll and its last use of mounted cavalry. This is the first of many wartime diaries that Patton kept during his military career.

Dramatic watercolor and crayon drawing depicting a destroyed Statue of Liberty and New York City in flames.

Propaganda War: Author John Hamilton Discusses WWI and the Birth of American Propaganda

Posted by: Ryan Reft

World War I had a wide ranging impact on Europe and the United States particularly in the management of news, information, and propaganda. Join the Library of Congress Manuscript Division and author John M. Hamilton on November 10 at 12 noon for a discussion of the Committee on Public Information (CPI) and its influence on civil liberties, news gathering, and the issuance of propaganda in the United States and abroad.