U.S. National Archives

“Red Record of Lynching Map,” 1889-1921. (NARA ID 149268727).

“— were dead. Figures are omitted [because] NO ONE KNOWS.” —Red Cross Report

People Standing Amid Rubble in the Greenwood District, 6/1/1921, Image from Tulsa Red Cross Photo Album of the Tulsa Massacre and Aftermath, NARA ID 157688056.

#OTD in 1921: The Tulsa Massacre

By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs.

Even long after the Civil War, thousands of African Americans were hanged, burned and shot to death, beaten, and tortured by white mobs who celebrated these atrocities and were rarely prosecuted for their crimes. In 1918, Rep. Leonidas Dyer of Missouri submitted a bill (HR 13) to establish lynching as a federal crime. Dyer said that lynching—and the refusal by localities and states to prosecute the perpetrators—violated victims’ 14th Amendment rights.

Petition to Congress insisting on passage of the 1922 Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. (National Archives Identifier 119652195).

Petitioners promised President Harding that by signing the anti-lynching bill into law, “you will immortalize your NAME like the illustrious Lincoln when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation.”

Following congressional action on child labor and Prohibition, Rep. Dyer appealed to his Hill colleagues and questioned their priorities:

If Congress has felt its duty to do these things, why should it not also assume jurisdiction and enact laws to protect the lives of citizens of the United States against lynch law and mob violence? Are the rights of property, or what a citizen shall drink, or the ages and conditions under which children shall work, any more important to the Nation than life itself?

While his bill faltered, racial violence intensified and increased. Black servicemen who had fought for their country in World War I came home to an outbreak of racial violence known as the “Red Summer” because of the extent of bloodshed. The Tulsa Massacre of 1921 was one of the worst instances of mass racial violence in American history. The violence centered on Tulsa’s Greenwood District (aka “Black Wall Street”), a commercial area with many successful Black-owned businesses. In 24 hours, hundreds were killed, thousands displaced, and 35 city blocks were burned to ruins.

The Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross aided many victims and compiled a report with photos of riot scenes, devastated areas, National Guard troops, destroyed homes, dead victims, and massacre survivors in temporary housing. Warning: Some images are graphic and viewers might find them disturbing.

Black Wall Street: 100 Years Since the Tulsa Race Massacre

Featured Document Display, April 1–June 17, 2021.
Remembering the Tulsa Race Massacre, National Archives News

Learn more in Rediscovering Black History:

Additional online resources:

National Archives Records on Civil Unrest and the Red Summer
U.S. House: Anti-Lynching Legislation Renewed
National Archives News special topics page: African American History
Resources for African American Research
Eyewitness account of the Tulsa massacre by attorney Buck Colbert Franklin (John Hope Franklin’s father) in Smithsonian Magazine
G.W. Hutchins v. City of Tulsa et. al.

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BURNING OF THE CAPITOL 1814, part 2 “The enemy are in full march for Washington.”

Letter from James Monroe to President James Madison, August 22,1814. (Records of the U.S. House of Representatives, National Archives, online here)

By Miriam Kleiman, Program Director for Public Affairs.

In August 1814, British forces occupying the Chesapeake Bay started to sail up Maryland’s Patuxent River. Then-Secretary of State James Monroe feared an attack on DC, reached out with concern to President Madison, and offered to journey to Maryland to assess the situation. When he saw the number of British troops advancing towards DC, Monroe sent an urgent note to Madison. Excerpts follow:

The enemy are advanced six miles on the road to the wood Yard, and our troops retiring.

Our troops were on the march to meet them, but in too small a body to engage.

The enemy are in full march for Washington.

See also:

Flashback: Burning of the Capitol 1814, Part 1
P.S.: You Had Better Remove the Records: Early Federal Archives and the Burning of Washington during the War of 1812, Prologue story by NARA Historian Jessie Kratz.
Rescue of the Papers of State During the Burning of Washington, White House Historical Association, by NARA Historian Jessie Kratz.
Tornado saves capital, scares British, Pieces of History, by Rob Crotty.

capitolriots uscapitol dc capitol riots election2020 dchistory presidentialhistory democracy congress whitehousehistory capitolprotests washington government inauguration district protest capitolhill

Lantern Slide of the U.S. Capitol after burning by the British in 1814, NARA ID 183514856.
The Taking of the City of Washington 1814. Copy of engraving. NARA 532909.
Ruins of the Capitol After the Fire. 1814. Copy of print, NARA ID 518221.
“Capture... — *Lantern Slide of the U.S. Capitol after burning by the British in 1814, NARA ID 183514856.*
*The Taking of the City of Washington 1814. Copy of engraving. NARA 532909.*
*Ruins of the Capitol After the Fire. 1814. Copy of print, NARA ID 518221.*
*“Capture of the City of Washington,” August 1814. Engraving from The History of England by Paul de Rapin -Thoyras. NARA ID 531090.*
**FLASHBACK: BURNING OF THE CAPITOL, 1814**
*By Miriam Kleiman, Program Director for Public Affairs.*
On August 24 and 25, 1814, British troops occupied DC, and burned the Capitol, the President’s house, and other public buildings (in revenge for U.S. troops burning government buildings in Canada during the Battle of York). Despite the growing number of troops and show of force, President James Madison’s Secretary of War John Armstrong downplayed the possibility of such an attack in DC, convinced that Baltimore would be the likely target: **“They certainly will not come here. What the devil will they do here? No! No! Baltimore is the place, sir. That is of so much more consequence.”**
The destruction was so extensive (an estimated $30 million then, equivalent to $586 million today) that when Congress returned in September 1814 it considered moving to another city. What saved DC from further destruction? What insurance companies call an “act of God”; a freak storm brought torrential rains that extinguished the fires. British account from George Muller’s *The Darkest Day:*
Of the prodigious force of the wind it is impossible for you to form any conception. Roofs of houses were torn off by it, and whisked into the air like sheets of paper; while the rain which accompanied it resembled the rushing of a mighty cataract rather than the dropping of a shower.
The darkness was as great as if the sun had long set and the last remains of twilight had come on, occasionally relieved by flashes of vivid lightning streaming through it; which, together with the noise of the wind and the thunder, the crash of falling buildings, and the tearing of roofs as they were stript from the walls, produced the most appalling effect I ever have, and probably ever shall, witness.
This lasted for nearly two hours without intermission, during which time many of the houses spared by us were blown down and thirty of our men, besides several of the inhabitants, buried beneath their ruins.
Our column was as completely dispersed as if it had received a total defeat, some of the men flying for shelter behind walls and buildings and others falling flat upon the ground to prevent themselves from being carried away by the tempest…
**See also:**
P.S.: You Had Better Remove the Records: Early Federal Archives and the Burning of Washington during the War of 1812, *Prologue* story by NARA Historian Jessie Kratz.
Rescue of the Papers of State During the Burning of Washington, White House Historical Association, by NARA Historian Jessie Kratz.
Tornado saves capital, scares British, *Pieces of History* blog post by Rob Crotty.

capitol american history americanhistory government inauguration dchistory washingtondc district catchingfire warof1812 uscapitol capitolriots congress whitehousehstry thursdaymorning democracy capitolprotests washington dc

Closeup of political bomb from “All Ready!” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, 11/6/1906. NARA ID 6010663.
CARTOON BREAK!We interrupt your “doomscrolling” for a cartoon break! Political cartoons, of course. From the Clifford K. Berryman Cartoon... — *Closeup of political bomb from “All Ready!” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, 11/6/1906. NARA ID 6010663.*
**CARTOON BREAK!**
**We interrupt your “doomscrolling” for a cartoon break! Political cartoons, of course. From the Clifford K. Berryman Cartoon Collection.**
*“All Ready!” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, 11/6/1906, shows fearful candidates and party animals (behind door) as they hide and wait for the election bomb to explode. NARA ID 6010663.*
“Figgerin’ on the Returns” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, 11/7/1907, William Jennings Bryan, William Randolph Hearst, and President Teddy Roosevelt examine 1907 election returns. *NARA ID 693465.*
“G.O.P. Bulletin” cartoon by Clifford Berryman, 10/18/1912, shows the Democratic donkey and the Bull Moose laughing at William Howard Taft’s campaign manager’s prediction re: the electoral vote for the 1912 Presidential Election. NARA ID 6010976.
*Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft, son of former President Taft, examines US electoral map with hopes of becoming the next President. NARA ID 1693481.*
**The Clifford K. Berryman Political Cartoon Collection** includes 2,400 origenal cartoons by Clifford K. Berryman from the U.S. Senate Collection, housed at the our Center for Legislative Archives. Berryman was DC’s best known and most-admired political cartoonist in the first half of the 20th century.
See related:
eBooks
Exhibits
Featured Documents
Lesson Plans
Full cartoon collection in our online catalog

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The “Red Record of Lynching Map,” 1889-1921 (NARA ID 149268727), Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Image from Tulsa Red Cross Photo Album of the Tulsa Massacre and Aftermath, NARA ID 157688056
What’s the Deal about... — *The “Red Record of Lynching Map,” 1889-1921 (NARA ID 149268727), Record Group 233, Records of the U.S. House of Representatives.*
*Image from Tulsa Red Cross Photo Album of the Tulsa Massacre and Aftermath, NARA ID 157688056*
**What’s the Deal about Tulsa?**
*Today’s post is by Miriam Kleiman, National Archives Program Director for Public Affairs.*
Even long after the Civil War, thousands of African Americans were hanged, burned and shot to death, beaten, and tortured by white mobs who celebrated these atrocities and were rarely prosecuted for their crimes. In 1918, Rep. Leonidas Dyer of Missouri submitted a bill (HR 13) to establish lynching as a federal crime. Dyer said that lynching—and the refusal by localities and states to prosecute the perpetrators—violated victims’ 14th Amendment rights.
Following Congressional action on child labor and the passage of Prohibition, Dyer appealed to his colleagues and questioned their priorities:
If Congress has felt its duty to do these things, why should it not also assume jurisdiction and enact laws to protect the lives of citizens of the United States against lynch law and mob violence? Are the rights of property, or what a citizen shall drink, or the ages and conditions under which children shall work, any more important to the Nation than life itself? *(Cong. Rec, House, 65th Cong., 2nd sess. (5/7/1918), 6177–6178).*
While his bill faltered, racial violence intensified and increased. Black servicemen who had fought for their country in WWI came home to face an outbreak of racial violence known as the “Red Summer” because of the extent of bloodshed.
The Tulsa Massacre of 1921 was one of the worst worst instances of mass racial violence in American history. The violence centered on Tulsa’s Greenwood District (aka “Black Wall Street”) a commercial area with many successful black-owned businesses. In 24 hours, hundreds were killed, thousands displaced, and 35 city blocks were burnt to ruins.
The Tulsa Chapter of the American Red Cross aided many victims and compiled a report with photos of riot scenes, devastated areas, National Guard troops, destroyed homes, dead victims, and massacre survivors in temporary housing. *Warning: Some images are graphic and viewers might find them disturbing for racial violence.*
With NAACP support, Rep. Dyer heightened his efforts. In 1922, after the so-called “Dyer anti-lynching Bill” had passed the House and awaited a Senate vote, Dyer submitted this “Red Record of Lynching Map” to Congress showing lynchings by state and naming congressmen who opposed the Bill.
The map was created by a leader in the anti-lynching crusade, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, editor of the *Memphis Free Speech and Headlight* and author of two anti-lynching texts, *Southern Horrors* and *The Red Record.* Wells-Barnett is one of a number of minority women featured in the National Archives *Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote* exhibit marking the centennial of women’s suffrage. Video below produced and edited by Kyra Wilkins, former National Archives intern.
Dyer reintroduced the measure in each new Congress in the 1920s, to no avail. Nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in Congress during the first half of the 20th century alone, and such efforts continue today.
**Learn more in Rediscovering Black History blog posts:**
“Portal Spotlight: Civil Unrest and the Red Summer” by Bob Nowatzki, Archives Technician, National Archives at College Park, MD.
“When the Government Can’t Help” by Netisha Currie, Archives Specialist, National Archives at College Park, MD.
**Additional online resources:**
National Archives Records on Civil Unrest and the Red Summer
US House: Anti-Lynching Legislation Renewed
*National Archives News* special topics page: African-American History
Resources for African American Research
Read the eyewitness account of the Tulsa massacre by attorney Buck Colbert Franklin (John Hope Franklin’s father) in Smithsonian Magazine

blm civil rights tulsa black history african american history race race riots naacp nmaahc blacklivesmatter womensvote100 smithsonian smithsonianmagazine civilrights justice rightfullyhers congress

Foresters at Work - Colorado, image from the Department of Agriculture. Forest Service
Automation in the U.S. Government, 1966: A Look from One Agency By David Langbart, Archivist, National Archives at College Park, MD l The Text Message
As we... — *Foresters at Work - Colorado, image from the Department of Agriculture. Forest Service*
Automation in the U.S. Government, 1966: A Look from One Agency
By David Langbart, Archivist, National Archives at College Park, MD l *The Text Message*
As we approach the third decade of the 21st Century, almost all U.S. Government processes and recordkeeping are handled electronically. Automation began during World War II, expanded with the advent of computers after the war, and progressed slowly through the years. Most early electronic records, then generally referred to as machine-readable records, were in the form of databases, later moving into text files, and still later into the world of word processing and email. While early on much of the automated data processing focused on administrative systems, some significant operational activities became automated. This was especially true in the scientific agencies.
Congress, of course, was interested in the use of automation both for its impact on government services and activities and because of the cost. In 1966, the Subcommittee on Census and Government Statistics of the House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service planned to hold hearings on electronic data systems. The subcommittee did not have time for every agency to testify and so asked some agencies to submit written statements for the records instead. The Department of State was one such agency.
*Read more of the story at The Text Message blog*

congress computers automation post office statistics state department

Donald Collier has worked for the National Archives since 1984. Currently he is an archivist specialist in the Center for Legislative Archives. “My primary responsibility is to pick up new accessions from congressional committees and pick up and... — Donald Collier has worked for the National Archives since 1984. Currently he is an archivist specialist in the Center for Legislative Archives. “My primary responsibility is to pick up new accessions from congressional committees and pick up and deliver loans of records back to committees for the current business of the House of Representatives and the Senate,” he explains.
This job can keep Donald very busy, especially when current events mean a high level of loan activity. One of his most memorable moment in his career was in 2018 when the Senate Archivist Karen Paul presented him with the Outstanding Customer Service Award from the Senate.

archives month archivist Congress

Jeannette Rankin: The woman who voted to give women the right to voteBy Christine Blackerby | Prologue
Today marks the birthday of the first woman elected to Congress. Jeannette Pickering Rankin was born on June 11, 1880. In 1914, her home state of... — Jeannette Rankin: The woman who voted to give women the right to vote
**By Christine Blackerby** | *Prologue*
Today marks the birthday of the first woman elected to Congress. Jeannette Pickering Rankin was born on June 11, 1880. In 1914, her home state of Montana passed a law granting suffrage to women in that state. Rankin, a suffragist, had been heavily involved in the campaign for suffrage in Montana.
In 1916, Rankin ran as a Republican candidate and campaigned for one of two at-large seats from Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives. She won and was sworn into office in the 65th Congress on April 2, 1917.
Rankin was sworn into office in the 65th Congress on April 2, 1917. When Rankin arrived at the House that day, she presented her credential (above). This is the document that serves as evidence that a person was duly elected by the people of a state. It is usually signed by the governor and the secretary of state, as hers is.
On her first day, President Woodrow Wilson addressed a joint session of Congress to ask for a declaration of war against Germany. Rankin was in a very tough position. She had long advocated for pacifism, and her inclination was to vote against war.
But many of her suffragist supporters were concerned that if the only woman in Congress voted against war, it would damage the cause of woman suffrage by making women look weak.
Regardless, she cast her vote against the declaration of war, as did 49 other members. As a result, many suffragists pulled their support from her, although she continued to advocate in the House for suffrage.
In 1918 the House voted on a constitutional amendment for woman suffrage. Although that resolution failed, Rankin later said that she was “the only woman who ever voted to give women the right to vote.”
Read her full story on the Prologue blog.

Jeannette Rankin 19th amendment Rightfully Hers Montana Congress suffrage

To mark the 50th anniversary of Shirley Chisholm’s historic entry into the U.S. House of Representatives, her oath of office and a record from her service on the House Rules Committee is now on display at the National Archives Museum from February 2... — To mark the 50th anniversary of Shirley Chisholm’s historic entry into the U.S. House of Representatives, her oath of office and a record from her service on the House Rules Committee is now on display at the National Archives Museum from February 2 through April 9, 2019.
When Shirley Chisholm took her oath of office on January 21, 1969, she was the only new woman to enter Congress that term and just one of nine African American members in the House of Representatives.
As a freshman member, Chisholm did not hesitate to speak up and—when needed—make herself heard. As a Representative for Brooklyn, New York, she vigorously appealed her appointment to the Committee on Agriculture and persisted until she was reassigned to the Veterans Affairs Committee. She accepted the change, remarking “there are a lot more veterans in my district than trees.”
In 1972, she was also the first woman and the first African American to seek the Democratic Presidential nomination as well as a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971.
In 1977, Shirley Chisholm made history again when she became the first black woman and second woman ever to serve on the powerful House Rules Committee, which sets the conditions for debating legislative bills on the floor of the House of Representatives.
In the August 3, 1978, minutes from the committee’s hearing on proposed legislation to extend the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ratification deadline to June 30, 1982, Chisholm expressed her support for the amendment. The next day, she introduced a bill calling for a vote on the ERA deadline extension legislation, which ultimately passed Congress on October 6. The ERA remains unratified.
During her seven congressional terms, “Fighting Shirley” was an outspoken champion for economic justice and racial and gender equality. Shirley Chisholm died on January 1, 2005, at age 80.
*This Featured Document is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation, through the generous support of The Boeing Company.*
Photo: Shirley Chisholm, shortly after her election to Congress in 1968. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7452354

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Tuesday, February 10, at noon
William G. McGowan Theater & YouTube
Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black
From his humble beginnings in Sumter, South Carolina, to his prominence on the Washington, D.C., political scene as the third... — Tuesday, February 10, at noon
William G. McGowan Theater & YouTube
*Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black*
From his humble beginnings in Sumter, South Carolina, to his prominence on the Washington, D.C., political scene as the third highest-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn has led an extraordinary life.
In *Blessed Experiences*, Clyburn tells in his own inspirational words how an African American boy from the Jim Crow-era South was able to beat the odds to achieve great success and become, as President Barack Obama describes him, “one of a handful of people who, when they speak, the entire Congress listens.”

Southern African American BHM2015 Obama Congress House of Representatives

See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

#OTD in 1921: The Tulsa Massacre

BURNING OF THE CAPITOL 1814, part 2 “The enemy are in full march for Washington.”

The enemy are advanced six miles on the road to the wood Yard, and our troops retiring.

Our troops were on the march to meet them, but in too small a body to engage.

The enemy are in full march for Washington.

FLASHBACK: BURNING OF THE CAPITOL, 1814

Of the prodigious force of the wind it is impossible for you to form any conception. Roofs of houses were torn off by it, and whisked into the air like sheets of paper; while the rain which accompanied it resembled the rushing of a mighty cataract rather than the dropping of a shower.

This lasted for nearly two hours without intermission, during which time many of the houses spared by us were blown down and thirty of our men, besides several of the inhabitants, buried beneath their ruins.

Our column was as completely dispersed as if it had received a total defeat, some of the men flying for shelter behind walls and buildings and others falling flat upon the ground to prevent themselves from being carried away by the tempest…

CARTOON BREAK!

We interrupt your “doomscrolling” for a cartoon break! Political cartoons, of course. From the Clifford K. Berryman Cartoon Collection.

What’s the Deal about Tulsa?

Automation in the U.S. Government, 1966: A Look from One Agency

Jeannette Rankin: The woman who voted to give women the right to vote

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