BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Archives -- Exhibit: Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures

DC -- Natl Archives -- Exhibit: Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures:

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Description of Pictures: Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures:
An exhibition at the National Archives, Washington, DC Opening March 21, 2014

A signature can be as routine as a mark on a form or as extraordinary as a stroke of the pen that changes the course of history. For example, the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence simultaneously committed the brave act of treason against King George III and created a new nation.
Well-known signatures are found throughout the records of the National Archives. Equally important are the multitude of marks by people unknown to history. The documents signed by these individuals represent fascinating stories to be discovered.
“Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures” features original signatures from our nationwide holdings. From developing a signature style to signing groundbreaking policy into law, they illustrate the many ways people have “made their mark” on history.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SIGN1_140318_008.JPG: Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures
2. SIGN1_140318_015.JPG: Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures: A signature can be as routine as a mark on a form or as extraordinary as a stroke of the pen that changes the course of history. Through their signatures, for example, the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence simultaneously committed the brave (or dangerously foolish) act of treason against King George III and created a new nation. Well-known signatures are found throughout the records of the National Archives. Equally important are the multitude of marks made by people unknown to history. All of these documents contain stories to be discovered. "Making Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures" features original signatures from our nationwide holdings. They illustrate the many ways people have placed their signatures on history, from developing a signature style to signing groundbreaking policy into law. The stories in these records, of famous and infamous, known and unknown individuals are part of our nation's history, all making their marks on the American narrative.
3. SIGN1_140318_018.JPG: A surprising Super Bowl win: After the New York Giants won their fourth Super Bowl (XLVI) on February 5, 2012, they also secured the title of having the worst regular season record of any team ever to win the Super Bowl. The team presented this autographed football to President Obama in 2012.
4. SIGN1_140318_026.JPG: Autographs: Imagine Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Harry S. Truman sitting at a dinner during the Potsdam Conference in 1945 making decisions for the post-World War II world. At some moment, aware of history-in-the-making or the power assembled in the room, Truman passes his menu around to be signed. Even world leaders respond to the lure of an autograph, just as people in all walks of life seek and collect signatures from athletes, actors, and singers every day. What gives an autograph its power?
5. SIGN1_140318_028.JPG: Dear Mr. President: As countless children have done, a 14-year-old boy wrote to the President and requested an autographed photograph. Today, "Dave Ferriero" is the 10th Archivist of the United States. Signed photograph of President Dwight Eisenhower that would have been sent in response to requests for autographs, May 1959, recent print.
6. SIGN1_140318_038.JPG: A First Lady: Collecting: Jackie Kennedy often asked dignitaries to autograph her seating card, a dinner menu, or reading copy of a speech they had just given. This is a reading copy for the speech Shah Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavī of Iran delivered at the State Dinner held in his honor at the White House in 1962. He inscribed and signed it to Mrs. Kennedy
7. SIGN1_140318_045.JPG: The white jersey -- A Gift of Thanks: A reason to celebrate: For nearly 20 years, Iraq's national football (soccer) team played under the oppressive and brutal leadership of Saddam Hussein's oldest son, Uday Hussein. In 2007, under new coaches, the team won the Asian Cup for the first time. The win, which signaled Iraq's return to greatness on the international football scene, united Iraqi citizens and offered hope to the war-torn nation. This jersey is signed by the 2007 team and other officials. It was presented to President Obama by Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki in 2009.
8. SIGN1_140318_049.JPG: College champions: Al-Americans Shane Battier and Jason "Jay" Williams led Duke to the 2001 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's basketball championship. This basketball, signed by the team, including coach Mike Krzyzewski, was given to President George W. Bush at a White House ceremony honoring the team.
9. SIGN1_140318_052.JPG: Michael Jackson: Defying gravity Singer, songwriter, dancer, inventor? Michael Jackson started performing at age six with his brothers as the Jackson Five, and grew up to become an internationally famous, award-winning star known as the "King of Pop." This patent for a shoe that allows the "wearer to lean forwardly beyond his center of gravity" was created by Jackson and two other designers, so he could perform live on stage a signature move that he'd previously done in the music video for "Smooth Criminal." The trick had previously been accomplished for the "Smooth Criminal" video using wires. Jackson was known for using unique moves like this and the Moonwalk to enhance his stage performances. Patent #5,255,452, submitted by Michael Jackson for "Method and means for creating anti-gravity illusion," October 26, 1993, pages 1 and 2.
10. SIGN1_140318_057.JPG: Declaration of Michael J. Jackson in Support of Establishing Status of Triumph International, Inc. as a Small Entity, August 25, 1992.
11. SIGN1_140318_065.JPG: Dinner program from Potsdam conference, July 23, 1945 Truman, Stalin, and Churchill: Taking a moment: Hosted by Crown Prince Wilhelm of Prussia at his palace, Cecilienhof, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Potsdam, Germany, as World War II was coming to an end. It would be the first and only time Truman and Stalin would meet. The three heads of government needed to agree on a few central issues: the political future of Eastern Europe; Russia's commitment to help defeat Japan (which happened on Truman and Stalin's initial meeting before the conference even began); and the future of Germany. On the fifth night of the conference, the participants took a break from their negotiations to attend a lavish dinner. During the evening, President Truman passed around his program for the attendees to sign. Harry Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin signed the cover. Inside are signatures of many who attended that night.
12. SIGN1_140318_078.JPG: Lakers Showtime Given to President Reagan in 1988, this Los Angeles Lakers shirt is signed by the team, including Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy. Credited for playing some of the best basketball ever seen, the team had the best record in the National Basketball Association for the 1987–1988 season and had just won their fifth championship of the decade.
13. SIGN1_140318_081.JPG: Short Snorter Short = less than a full measure Snort = mixed drink King George VI of England, the last Viceroy to India Lord Mountbatten, and President Franklin Roosevelt's son Elliott Roosevelt are a just a few of the 90-plus men and women who signed General Eisenhower's short snorters, a collection of 19 bank notes, representing over 10 countries. Short snorters date to the 1920s, when pilots in the Alaskan bush started the tradition of signing and exchanging currency and then sharing a drink with those they traveled with or met along the way. The tradition was adopted by the military.
14. SIGN1_140318_090.JPG: Katharine Hepburn: Vouching for "an old friend": Actress Katharine Hepburn worked with Ringgold Wilmer "Ring" Lardner, Jr., on the film Woman of the Year, for which they were both nominated for Academy Awards, with Lardner winning for best screenplay. Hepburn wrote to the U.S. Board of Parole on behalf of Lardner, Jr., on September 1, 1950. Early during the Cold War, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated allegations of Communist activity in the film industry. In 1947, Lardner, Jr., and 19 others suspected of being Communists were called to testify. After they refused to answer the Committee's questions, Lardner, Jr., and 9 others were found guilty of contempt of Congress. Blacklisted from Hollywood, they became known as the "Hollywood 10," and Lardner was imprisoned. By signing this letter, Hepburn opened herself to the risk of having her career destroyed. Few who were blacklisted were able to return to Hollywood.
15. SIGN1_140318_098.JPG: "I applaud you long and loud for your reaction." After the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Texas v Johnson that burning that American flag was protected free speech, President George H.W. Bush was so outraged by the decision that he proposed a constitutional amendment banning the burning or desecration of the American flag. Francis "Frank" Albert Sinatra wrote to President Bush, "I applaud you long and loud for your reaction."
16. SIGN1_140318_109.JPG: Johnny Cash: Support from "The Man in Black": Country music artist Johnny Cash wrote to President Gerald R. Ford on September 10, 1974, expressing support for two of Ford's recent controversial decisions. Two days earlier, the President had issued an unconditional pardon of Richard Nixon for crimes he might have committed as President. That same day, Ford also revealed plans to introduce an amnesty program for Vietnam War draft resisters.
17. SIGN1_140318_118.JPG: Jackie Robinson, President Eisenhower, and comedian Joe E. Brown at the White House, 1957, recent print
18. SIGN1_140318_126.JPG: Jackie Robinson: "Oh no! Not again." "17 million Negroes cannot do as you suggest and wait for the hearts of men to change" Jackie Robinson's entry into Major League Baseball ended 60 years of racial segregation in that sport. Off the baseball field, Robinson campaigned tirelessly for civil rights for blacks. In this letter to President Eisenhower dated May 13, 1958, Robinson, then vice president of personnel at Chock Full O'Nuts, criticizes comments Eisenhower made urging blacks to have patience in their struggle for equality.
19. SIGN1_140318_132.JPG: Ezra Pound: Mollifying a future father-in-law: In his letter dated March 12, 1914, poet Ezra Pound wrote to the Consul General of the United States in London seeking information that would help him ease the reservations of his future father-in-law that Pound's marriage to his daughter would be invalid if he returned to the United States. Pound is a well-known and influential poet, but at the time of this letter, he was a struggling artist.
20. SIGN1_140318_142.JPG: Still from The Yearling, 1946
21. SIGN1_140318_144.JPG: "Your administration has given us an opportunity to begin..." On October 27, 1965, actor Gregory Peck wrote to President Lyndon Johnson expressing his thanks for being invited to dinner and his appreciation for what Johnson's administration had accomplished. A month earlier, Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, which Peck supported. Peck, best known for his Academy Award-winning role playing attorney Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for his "lifetime humanitarian achievements."
22. SIGN1_140318_150.JPG: Signature Style From signature looks to signature works, these individuals made their mark in film, photography, politicking, or their clothing choices. General Eisenhower was looking for a practical garment when he asked for the standard issue field jacket to be tailored for him, creating what came to be known as the "Ike jacket." President Johnson had a unique way of achieving his political goals, and First Lady Michelle Obama is recognized for her own signature style. What qualities makes something "signature"?
23. SIGN1_140318_155.JPG: Sending a big message: Dated November 23, 1981, this door was signed by members of a home builders association in Mississippi and sent to President Reagan. Prior to Reagan's administration, the economy had already weathered a decade of rising unemployment and inflation. And between 1978 and 1982, home sales dropped 50 percent. This door was sent "to keep you aware of the critical situation" and to seek help from the President.
24. SIGN1_140318_164.JPG: The Rosenberg Boys: "Please don't leave my brother and I without a Mommy and Daddy": In a letter to President Eisenhower, 10-year-old Michael Rosenberg and 6-year-old Robert Rosenberg pleaded for the lives of their parents, convicted spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, stating, "We love them very much." Julius and Ethel were U.S. citizens sentenced to death for passing secret information on the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Supporters of the Rosenbergs lobbied for an executive pardon, but it was not granted. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed on June 19, 1953. After their parents' deaths, the Rosenberg children were adopted by Abel and Anne Meeropol. For decades after their execution, many questioned the legitimacy of the Rosenberg's conviction. Recent evidence indicates that Julius was a Soviet spy. Ethel was most likely aware of her husband's involvement in espionage, but was probably not a spy herself.
25. SIGN1_140318_170.JPG: Poston incarceration camp, living quarters, officially known as Colorado River Indian Reservation, June 1, 1942, recent print
26. SIGN1_140318_174.JPG: Nakata Declares Loyalty: "I am willing to preserve the principles of democracy and freedom" In 1942, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which ordered the removal of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans from the west coast. Osama Nakata was incarcerated at Poston Relocation Camp in remote western Arizona, behind barbed wire and watched by armed guards. Nakata was required to fill out a loyalty questionnaire which included questions about his relatives, the newspapers and magazines he read, and his ability to read, write, and speak Japanese. The final page of his application is a signed statement answering one of the last questions, "Are you willing to serve in the armed forces of the United States on combat duty, wherever ordered?"
27. SIGN1_140318_184.JPG: Saddam Hussein: "Thank you for your kind greetings" This card was sent to President George H.W. Bush in February of 1989 by President of the Republic of Iraq Saddam Hussein to congratulate Bush on his inauguration as the new President of the United States. Most heads of states send notes such as these as a courtesy when a new President takes office.
28. SIGN1_140318_188.JPG: John Wilkes Booth: "Don't wish to disturb you. Are you at home?" Originally, John Wilkes Booth designed an elaborate plan to kidnap Abraham Lincoln and take him to Richmond. Once a hostage, the Confederacy would demand that prisoner exchanges resume. (Previously, the Union and Confederate armies had an agreement to exchange prisoners. This fell apart when the Confederacy refused to exchange black soldiers.) However, at his second inaugural, Lincoln revealed some of his early plans for Reconstruction, which included giving blacks the right to vote. It was about at that time that Booth's plans changed from kidnapping to assassination. His plan grew to involve killing numerous high-level individuals. On the afternoon of April 14, 1865, just hours before he assassinated President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth left this calling card for Vice President Andrew Johnson at his Washington, DC, hotel. Booth's co-conspirator George Atzerodt was to kill Johnson that night, but he lost his nerve and did not make an attempt. Historians continue to debate why Booth left his card with Johnson.
29. SIGN1_140318_205.JPG: President Bush's boots: President George H.W. Bush was given a pair of boots by bootmaker Tony Lama. He wore this pair while in office.
30. SIGN1_140318_207.JPG: President Bush greets Tony Lama, February 14, 1990
31. SIGN1_140318_209.JPG: Dwight Eisenhower: The "Ike" jacket Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower considered the Army's World War II military uniform to be restricting and poorly suited for combat. Instead, he had a standard issue wool field jacket tailored to be "very short, very comfortable, and very natty looking." The resulting "Eisenhower jacket" or "Ike jacket," as it came to be known, was standard issue to American troops after November 1944. This "Ike jacket" was worn by Eisenhower.
32. SIGN1_140318_213.JPG: General Eisenhower, wearing an "Ike jacket", 1943
33. SIGN1_140318_220.JPG: The end of a 53-year drought: Major League Baseball's Giants moved from New York to San Francisco in 1957. But it wasn't until 2010 that they won the World Series for the first time in San Francisco. The team autographed this bat and gave it to President Obama in 2010.
34. SIGN1_140318_225.JPG: Jacqueline Kennedy: Jackie's pillbox hat This pillbox hat, worn during her husband's 1960 campaign for President, was one of Jackie Kennedy's signature looks. The First Lady became a fashion icon for women around the world, wearing pillbox hats, gloves above the elbow, A-line dresses, oversized sunglasses, and strands of pearls.
35. SIGN1_140318_230.JPG: Lyndon Johnson: The "Johnson Treatment" Standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall, President Lyndon Baines Johnson used his imposing stature as one tool in his own brand of political persuasion, known as the Johnson "treatment." LBJ used his "treatment," shown in these photographs, to intimidate, badger, flatter, or plead in order to achieve his political goals. President Johnson with Senator Richard Russell at the White House, December 7, 1963
36. SIGN1_140318_234.JPG: President Johnson with Louis Martin at the reception for Democratic National Committee Delegates, April 20, 1966
37. SIGN1_140318_245.JPG: Michelle Obama: Signature style First Lady Michelle Obama wore this Narcisco Rodriguez dress on the night of the 2008 Presidential election, when Barack Obama was elected as the first African American President of the United States. Since then, the First Lady's signature issues have taken the spotlight -- from helping kids get healthy, to supporting our military families, to ensuring that all our young people work hard to reach their dreams. And her clothing choices have supported her work. As Mrs. Obama said, "I always say that women should wear whatever makes them feel good about themselves. That's what I always try to do. . . . I also believe that if you're comfortable in your clothes, it's easy to connect with people and make them feel comfortable as well. In every interaction that I have with people, I always want to show them my most authentic self."
38. SIGN1_140318_246.JPG: Something to Say The boys were counting on a miracle, Einstein was hoping to educate, and the entire Hopi tribe petitioned the "Washington Chiefs" in order to organize how they saw fit. These signatures and the people behind them are captured moments in our collective history. Decades later, why do their stories and signatures continue to intrigue us?
39. SIGN1_140318_249.JPG: Message left behind: Bookbinder Joseph Brown wrote "War, war is raging" on the inside binding of this volume. His message, dated February 12, 1863, was left during the American Civil War at a time of especially high casualties at the battles of Fredericksburg and Stones River, which had been fought in December and January.
40. SIGN1_140318_254.JPG: "Havoc effect" from a thirty-two pound shell, Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 1862, recent print
41. SIGN1_140318_258.JPG: The 6th Maine Infantry penetrated the Confederate lines at this point, Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 1862, recent print
42. SIGN1_140318_264.JPG: Ansel Adams: Activism through art Ansel Adams's photographs are some of our nation's most recognizable images of the American West. Adams was an activist and an artist, and his signature black-and-white photographs were influential in the creation of new national parks and wilderness preservation efforts. In 1941 Adams was commissioned by the Department of the Interior to create a photo mural for its building in Washington, DC, with the theme "nature as exemplified and protected in the U.S. National Parks." The project was halted because of World War II and finally completed in 2010
43. SIGN1_140318_270.JPG: Dorothea Lange: Influence and Legacy Dorothea Lange believed that her role as a photographer was to promote political and social change by documenting compelling scenes, as in this photo of jobless men lined up to claim unemployment benefits. Lange worked as a photographer for several government agencies, including the Resettlement Administration (the predecessor to the Farm Security Administration) and the War Relocation Authority. Her photographs of the rural poor and migrant workers during the Great Depression, notably her "Migrant Mother," are iconic.
44. SIGN1_140318_276.JPG: Photograph of Walt Disney with Mickey Mouse, ca 1935
45. SIGN1_140318_287.JPG: Mickey and Minnie vs Milton and Mary: Few cartoon characters are more recognizable around the world than Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie Mouse. This early copyright infringement case came just a few years after Mickey and Minnie Mouse had been copyrighted and trademarked. Walt Disney won his case against the creators of Mickey and Minnie look-a-likes Milton and Mary. The defendants, the Pathe Exchange and Van Beuren Corporation, were barred from ever using Milton or Mary in another animated film.
46. SIGN1_140318_296.JPG: Behind Citizen Kane: Considered one of the best films of all time, Orson Welles' first feature film, Citizen Kane, which he co-wrote, produced, and starred in, was nominated for nine Academy Awards. Welles was sued by author Ferdinand Lundberg, who accused him of using his biography about William Randolph Hearst as his source for the screenplay for Citizen Kane. Many believed Kane to be a thinly veiled caricature of Hearst, the newspaper tycoon. Welles always denied this and insisted that Kane was a composite of several men. In this disposition, which he signed at the bottom of each page, he describes his main character, Charles Foster Kane, and how "Rosebud" came to be.
47. SIGN1_140318_318.JPG: Signed with an "X" and got a bill: "the land clamed [by Polly Lemon] is wihin the reservation for Fort Jesup; that he [the President] has referred to the Department of War, and is advised by it, that so long as Fort Jesup be occupied by the troops of the United States, the tract of land referred to will be necessary for military purposes..." -- from committee report investigating claim, 1838 Polly Lemon, a landowner in Louisiana, was one of several whose land was confiscated by the US Army. The owners did not receive payment or documentation of the land seizure. In 1833, Lemon petitioned Congress for compensation. She signed the petition by marking an "x", meaning she could not read or write. After a determined five-year appeal to Congress, the committee recommended a bill by passing for Lemon. On January 4, 1838, Congress passed HR 294, "for the relief of Polly Lemon to select six hundred and forty acres, in lieu of the same quantity of land taken from her."
48. SIGN1_140318_323.JPG: "A Bill for the relief of Polly Lemon," January 4, 1838
49. SIGN1_140318_326.JPG: Forced out by "political happenings": "I was a tailor in Vienna and by the political happenings I was forced to leave Austria." -- Geza Bata, in a letter to President Franklin Roosevelt On the morning of March 12, 1938, the German army marched into Austria, beginning the Nazi takeover known as the Anschluss. German dictator Adolf Hitler followed his army into Austria and was greeted by cheering crowds with their arms raised, and with many holding flowers. After a three-day tour, Hitler declared, "the oldest eastern province of the German people shall be, from this point on, the newest bastion of the German Reich." One month later, a Jewish tailor, Geza Bata, who had fed the Nazis to Budapest, Hungary, signed his name to a letter that meant life or death for him, and asked President Franklin Roosevelt for help to join his family in New York. Bata initially received a response from the State Department notifying him that it would be two to three years before his turn. Bata eventually made it out of Hungary. He arrived in New York on January 2, 1939. Six months later, in June 1939, he declared his intent to become a naturalized citizen of the United States. Letter from Geza Bata to President Roosevelt, April 12, 1938
50. SIGN1_140318_338.JPG: Declaration of Intention for Geza Bata, June 1, 1939
51. SIGN1_140318_341.JPG: The Teddy Bear: This self-portrait of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Clifford Berryman shows him drawing his famous teddy bear. Berryman is credited with introducing the teddy bear into the American vernacular after president Theodore Roosevelt famously refused to shoot an old, haggard bear during a hunting trip. Berryman changed the old bear into a cute, cuddly "teddy bear" -- named for the President -- and it became a common symbol in Berryman's cartoons.
52. SIGN1_140318_350.JPG: "These two code talkers are cousins, Private First Class Preston Toledo (left), and Private First Class Frank Toledo (right)," ca. 1942, recent print
53. SIGN1_140318_354.JPG: Pledging support in any way: Signed by the chairman and vice-chairman JC Morgan and Howard w Forman on January 12, 1942, the Navajo Tribal Council passed this resolution supporting the war effort and pledging the tribe's loyalty to the United States. During World War II, more than 500 Navajos served in the US Marines, most of them as code talkers. The code talkers transmitted messages -- not one was ever decoded by the Japanese -- in their extremely complex native language.
54. SIGN1_140318_359.JPG: Mobilizing a march on Washington in 1941: Frustrated by the lack of job opportunities for blacks in defense industries and by racial segregation in the military, labor leader and civil rights advocate A. Philip Randolph wrote to New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia asking for his support. In his letter, Randolph, director the first predominately black labor union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, also proposed a march on Washington. Randolph dropped the idea after President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802, setting up the Committee on Fair Employment Practice. Later, Randolph would become a leader of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
55. SIGN1_140318_365.JPG: Conscientious objector: Raymond Dellinger wrote to his son, David, who was incarcerated in Lewisburg Federal Prison for draft violations. Even a father's plea could not dissuade his son. David had successfully protested the prison's censorship policy by engaging in a 64-day hunger strike. A life-long radical pacifist, David was arrested twice during World War II for draft violations, stating that "I am unable to cooperate in any attempt to defend America or democracy through military means," arguing that such attempts are "productive of greater evils than they seek to overcome."
56. SIGN1_140318_371.JPG: "If the present bitterness continues... we face catastrophe." Not long after the end of World War II, Albert Einstein founded the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists. He and his co-founder, scientist Leo Szilard, toured the country to educate the public on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Ironically, an earlier letter signed by Einstein -- warning President Roosevelt of the dangers of a possible German atomic bomb -- is credited with starting the US drive to establish the Manhattan Project that built the first atomic bomb.
57. SIGN1_140318_377.JPG: Photograph of the original Mercury Seven and the only time they would appear all together in pressure suits, 1960, recent print Back row: Alan B. Shepard, Virgil I. Grissom, Leroy G. Cooper; front row: Walter M. Schirra, Donald K. Slayton, John H. Glenn, M. Scott Carpenter
58. SIGN1_140318_381.JPG: Mercury 7: Not in agreement: "Propaganda-wise, we apparently stand to gain a great deal and could lose little or nothing." -- Memo from NASA regarding exchange of visits with Russian astronauts, October 21, 1959 Selected from 500 applicants, the Mercury Seven were to be the first Americans in space. Introduced to the world on April 10, 1959, the men considered themselves to be military test pilots, but became instant national heroes. However, the men were caught in the middle of the larger Cold War rivalry and space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. NASA, concerned about the growing competition between the two countries, sent this memo proposing to publicly work with Russia. Two of the seven, Walter M. Schirra and Donald K. Slayton, in an apparent protest to this, crossed their names out and did not sign.
59. SIGN1_140318_394.JPG: 75 Signatures: This letter, dated May 21, 1975, signed by 75 Senators or three-fourths of the Senate, and sent to President Gerald Ford, demonstrates the bipartisan support for Israel within that chamber. (pages four and five are facsimiles)
60. SIGN1_140318_414.JPG: Power of the Pen
61. SIGN1_140318_418.JPG: Power of the Pen With a stroke of the pen, the President's signature gives the force of authority to a law. He can extend voting rights to the disenfranchised or build highways across America. Throughout our history and all across the government, a Presidential signature changes the words on a page from an idea into a reality. Sometimes the signature changes lives for the better and sometimes for the worse. As you look at the examples of documents that, once signed, became powerful instruments of change, imagine the moment the document was signed. What did the President think while adding his signature? What affect did the decision to sign have on the lives of Americans?
62. SIGN1_140318_420.JPG: Act of Congress: Abolishing the importation of slaves: "The Migration or Importation of such Persons as any of the States now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by the Congress prior to the Year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed on such Importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each Person." -- Constitution, Article 1, Section 9 By the time of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, only Georgia still participated in the international slave trade, which had been abolished during the Revolution as part of the ban against trade with England. Nonetheless, Southern states were determined to protect the slave trade. A compromise, Article 1, Section 9, of the Constitution, placed a possible time limit on the international trade but did not end it. Twenty years later, President Thomas Jefferson, who himself held deeply contradictory beliefs about the morality and legality of slavery, signed the Slave Trade Act. Jefferson and Congress hoped to finally settle one aspect of the contentious issue of slavery by ending the international slave trade. The Slave Trade Act imposed heavy penalties on traders but did not end slavery itself. It drove the trade underground, encouraging the creation of a reverse underground railroad, and ships caught illegally trading were brought into the United States, and their passengers sold into slavery.
63. SIGN1_140318_429.JPG: Declaration for ship regarding cargo, or slaves, on board, port of Baltimore, Maryland, November 1820: Ship declarations offer a record of the domestic slave trade that continued until 1865. Upon examination of the slave ship, ship inspector Charles Robinson wrote that those aboard, except for one, "acknowledge themselves to be Slaves for Life." The only other signature on the document was George Elliott, who was a member of the Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. Ardent abolitionists, the Friends were often present at ports, questioning the captain and people aboarad to ensure that claims of ownership were legitimate.
64. SIGN1_140318_439.JPG: Presidential Proclamation: The institution of slavery in a democracy: "it is hushed indeed for the moment. but this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence. a geographical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral and political, once conceived and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be obliterated; and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper." - -- Thomas Jefferson, April 22, 1820 To achieve an agreement among the states, the Founders did not fully address the issue of slavery in the Constitution but left it for future generations to resolve. As the country matured, the unresolved issue of slavery grew more contentious. The issue came to head when Missouri, which allowed slavery, applied for statehood in 1819. To maintain an equal number of free and slave states, Congress adopted legislation -- known as the Missouri Compromise -- that also admitted Maine, which had previously been part of Massachusetts, as a free state and prohibited slavery above the 36� 30 ́latitude in the Louisiana Territory. The Compromise allowed Congress to continue working and kept sectional disagreements at bay, at least temporarily. President James Monroe signed, and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams certified, Presidential Proclamation 28 on August 10, 1821, officially announcing that Missouri had entered the Union.
65. SIGN1_140318_454.JPG: Executive Order Creating a Federal policy of fair employment "The head of each department in the executive branch of the Government shall be personally responsible for an effective program to ensure that fair employment policies are fully observed in all personnel actions within his department." -- Executive Order 9980 On July 26, 1948, President Truman signed Executive Orders 9980 and 9981. The more widely known EO 9981 desegregated the Armed Forces. Executive Order 9980 was a mandate to integrate the Federal workforce. At the time, Washington, DC -- our nation's capital -- was a segregated city. "Whites only" or "Negroes" signs designated separate lunchrooms, work places, and restrooms. The Federal workforce was segregated, too, a policy implemented under President Wilson's administration. When President Truman entered the White House, only one agency -- the Department of the Interior -- was integrated. Frustrated by congressional inaction, and armed with documentation from his Committee on Civil Rights that found discriminatory practices pervaded Federal agencies, President Truman issued the executive order. To give Executive Order 9980 strength and ensure implementation, Truman made the Presidentially appointed heads of each department or agency responsible. Within a year, 18 agencies had desegregated, and some agency heads that had not cooperated were removed from their positions.
66. SIGN1_140318_462.JPG: The Federal workforce was largely segregated until President Truman signed EO #9980. These white and black women, who were census employees, did the same job but sat in different offices.
67. SIGN1_140318_469.JPG: Copy of appeal, signed by lawyer Bernard Cohen, May 27, 1966
68. SIGN1_140318_474.JPG: Supreme Court Decision Overturning the Racial Integrity Act "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, malay, and red, and he placed them on separate continents. And but for the interference with his arrangement ... the fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." -- Virginia State Judge Bazile, in his ruling convicting Richard and Mildred Loving In June 1958, Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, who identified as black and Native American, quietly married in Washington, DC. They returned home to Virginia and woke up one morning with policemen in their bedroom. The Lovings were arrested for violating the Racial Integrity Act of 1924. Richard and Mildred were found guilty and sentenced to one year in jail, or they could accept a plea bargain and leave Virginia. So they left. But by 1963, tired of visiting family and friends separately, they sought legal help. Attorneys Bernard S. Cohen and Philip J. Hirschkopf took their case to the Virginia Court of Appeals, where Judge Leon Bazile upheld the lower court's ruling. The case was sent to the United States Supreme Court. Dated June 12, 1967, and initialed by Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, this page confirms the decision the justices reached -- they voted unanimously in favor of the Lovings. The Supreme Court Justices ruled that Virginia's law violated the equal protection clause in the 14th amendment. After the Supreme Court ruling, the Lovings returned to Virginia. Decision page, initialed "EW", by Chief Justice Early Warren, June 12, 1967
69. SIGN1_140318_479.JPG: Telegram to Cohen announcing the verdict, June 12, 1967
70. SIGN1_140318_488.JPG: 50 signing pens representing 50 pieces of legislation President Kennedy and President Johnson used these pens to sign bills passed between 1961 and 1965. Presidents often use several pens to sign important legislation and present the pens as keepsakes of the occasion. The pens shown here were all given to Lawrence F. O'Brien, in whose memory this gallery is named, in recognition of his contribution to the passage of the numerous acts. Surrounding the display of pens are photos showing the laws in action.
71. SIGN1_140318_496.JPG: Tax Reduction and Reform Civil Rights Act Mass Transit Act
72. SIGN1_140318_499.JPG: Mass Transit Act Federal Pay Act and Reform Establishment of the Poverty Program
73. SIGN1_140318_507.JPG: Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Establishment of Mental Health & Retardation Program
74. SIGN1_140318_510.JPG: Establishment of the Peace Corps Juvenile Delinquency Program
75. SIGN1_140318_513.JPG: A return to tribal autonomy When the Wheeler-Howard Act, also known as the Indian Reorganization Act, passed on June 18, 1934, it brought an immediate end to the nearly 50-year Federal Indian policy of allotment. That policy enabled the government to open "excess" Indian land to non-Indian settlement, effectively destroying tribal communities. The Wheeler-Howard Act replaced the allotment policy with a new policy that encouraged the revival of tribal governments and traditional Native American culture. The legislation gave tribes the choice to vote whether or not they wished to organize under the Wheeler-Howard Act. Despite its good intentions, the act marked just a small step in the long path toward Native American self-determination -- the practice of self-government and control over their own affairs. In the decades since, tribes have continued to encounter obstacles, but the Wheeler-Howard Act is credited with laying the foundation for the revival of many tribal governments and a return to greater tribal autonomy.
76. SIGN1_140318_519.JPG: Fort Yuma Native American Fingerprint Voter Rolls, ca 1934-1936 These fingerprint voter rolls were taken during one of the votes held between 1934 and 1936 by Native Americans living on the Fort Yuma reservation as part of establishing a tribal government under the Wheeler-Howard Act.
77. SIGN1_140318_522.JPG: "Photo [of] the destroyer[s] USS Cassin and USS Downes in drydock with the battleship USS Pennsylvania in the background after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941," recent print.
78. SIGN1_140318_527.JPG: Letter signed by FDR requesting that money from the "Emergency Fund for the President" be disbursed for recovery after Pearl Harbor, December 12, 1941 Recovery and Removal: Same signature, two outcomes: The "Emergency Fund for the President," called by different titles at different times, is money reserved for a President's unanticipated needs. The emergency funds have been used under a variety of circumstances that affect national interests such as disasters, security threats, and national defense. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt used his $100 million "Emergency Fund for the President" to recover, mobilize, and protect the country as it moved from peace to war. As these two records illustrate, with the stroke of a pen, the President can bring welcome relief or implement policies that will drastically disrupt the lives of many. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, shocked and outraged the nation. Congress declared war against Japan the following day. Roosevelt quickly deployed his emergency fund to aid Hawaii and help with its recovery after the attack. A couple of months later, on February 6, 1942, President Roosevelt's signature allocated more funds for "the removal of enemy aliens ... and for transportation of their dependents, and for the relocation of and temporary aid to enemy aliens or their dependents who have been removed from such prohibited areas or whose normal means of livelihood has been interrupted."
79. SIGN1_140318_538.JPG: Letter signed by FDR requesting that money from the "Emergency Fund for the President" be disbursed for the removal of enemy aliens, February 6, 1942
80. SIGN1_140318_546.JPG: A young evacuee of Japanese ancestry waiting with family baggage before leaving by bus for an assembly center, April 1942, recent print
81. SIGN1_140318_552.JPG: Official Business The day-to-day business of the Federal Government can reveal some surprising finds. Famous names, before they became famous, appear on applications for Federal jobs. The Father of our Country asks for guidance from Congress. Draft registrations were signed by the famous and little-known alike. A famous signature can turn a routine document into a treasure. Which story in these files do you find most intriguing?
82. SIGN1_140318_554.JPG: George Washington: The commander in chief inquires how he should retire Gen. George Washington arrived in Annapolis, Maryland, on December 20, 1783, at the end of the Revolutionary War. He penned this note to the Continental Congress asking how they would like him to officially resign, "whether in writing or at an audience" so that he "may regulate his conduct accordingly." Three days later, before the assembled Congress, he announced his resignation as commander in chief. Washington set many precedents, but this resignation was a precedent in itself: many believed he could have become a king or dictator, but Washington chose to give the power back to Congress.
83. SIGN1_140318_559.JPG: Always good to rehease: On March 1, 1929, three days before the inauguration, Chief Justice of the United States William Howard Taft wrote to President Herbert Hoover detailing how he would administer the oath of office, "I thought it would be wise to put in written form the details... of taking the oath." Ironically, it was Taft who erred in the oath and said "to preserve, maintain, and defend" rather than "preserve, protect, and defend" as the oath prescribed.
84. SIGN1_140318_563.JPG: Mint Petition: U.S. Mint Employess "We do herby promise and engage to return to the service of the Mint" This petition signed by the employees of the U.S. Mint, on August 31, 1799, was their promise to return to work after the "present prevailing fever is over." Trying to survive an epidemic, these workers were reluctant to go to their workplace. Just five years earlier, a yellow fever plague took the lives of 10 percent of Philadelphia's population.
85. SIGN1_140318_567.JPG: A hollow allegiance: In signing his oath, Benedict Arnold swore his allegiance to the United States on May 30, 1778, at Valley Forge, with Brigadier General Henry Knox signing as witness. Just a year later, Arnold was spying for the British, feeding them information, and by August 1780, helping them in an unsuccessful attempt to capture West Point. His disloyalty was discovered, and he flew, narrowly escaping capture. Arnold defected to the British side, and by the winter of 1780 was fighting against the United States. With these acts, "Benedict Arnold" has made it into American vernacular meaning "traitor."
86. SIGN1_140318_574.JPG: An ironclad oath: Signed on December 3, 1883, this is the ironclad oath for James F. Wilson, a two-time Senator from Iowa. This written declaration of loyalty was added to the traditional, verbal oath that all Federal employees took in 1862 because of fears of sabotage during the Civil War. Members of Congress took it from 1864 until 1884.
87. SIGN1_140318_579.JPG: Congressional oaths: Daniel K. Inouye, a Senator and Representative from Hawaii, and decorated World War II veteran, served as a member of Congress for more than 50 years. This is one of his oaths of office for the Senate, signed January 9, 1963, and is representative of the oaths taken by all members of Congress since 1884. The Constitution provides no details on how oaths should be given, but in 1789 the First Congress developed procedures for it, and the oath has been taken by members since then.
88. SIGN1_140318_586.JPG: First impression: This letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to Lawrence Fuchs, Brandeis University professor and adviser to John F. Kennedy, expresses his lukewarm interest in meeting the then-Senator Kennedy in 1958. Initially not a fan, she changed her mind over time, ultimately writing to a friend during his Presidential campaign, "I think I am not mistaken in feeling that he would make a good President if elected."
89. SIGN1_140318_592.JPG: Barry Goldwater From Senators across the aisle to competing Presidential candidates: Signed "Barry," Senator Barry Goldwater wrote Senator Lyndon Johnson bluntly expressing his disappointment at of Johnson's acceptance of the Democratic candidacy for Vice President. He wrote, "you were intended for great things, but I don't think you are going to achieve them now." Goldwater's prediction did not quite come true, as four years later Johnson defeated Goldwater in the 1964 Presidential election by one of the largest landslides in history.
90. SIGN1_140318_601.JPG: "For all her services she only received about $200" Harriet Tubman's name is nearly synonymous with the Underground Railroad for her work helping runaway slaves escape to their freedom. But once the Civil War started and paths to freedom opened, she concentrated her efforts on helping the Union. Determined to see an end to slavery, Tubman transferred the skills she mastered working in the Underground Railroad -- to blend in and stealthily navigate backwoods areas -- to help the Union in the Civil War. While serving as a scout in the Union army, Harriet Tubman earned the distinction of being the first American woman to lead American troops into battle. She also served as a nurse, cook, and spy. After the war, she received a pension as the widow of Union veteran Nelson Davis, who had served as a private in the Eighth United States Colored Infantry, but she received very little compensation for her own service. She petitioned Congress for decades, seeking additional benefits for her service. In 1898, she marked her signature with an "x" to an affidavit that outlined her responsibilities during the war. An increase in her pension was finally granted by an act of Congress on February 28, 1899.
91. SIGN1_140318_603.JPG: A letter from Chairman of the Committee of Merchant Marine and Fisheries Sereno E. Payne to the Chairman of the Committee on Invalid Persons on behalf of Harriet Tubman's claim for an increase in her pension, February 5, 1898.
92. SIGN1_140318_608.JPG: HR 4982, a bill granting a pension to Harriet Tubman Davis, later nurse in the US Army, January 19, 1899. This bill was approved, and Harriet Tubman was granted an increase in her pension.
93. SIGN1_140318_617.JPG: Richard Nixon: A future President for FBI special agent Here we see Richard M. Nixon's famous signature from a time when his future was unknown. Upon graduating from Duke Law School in 1937, Nixon submitted this application to be a special agent in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). After his interview with the FBI, he never received a response. Assuming he didn't get the job, Nixon returned home to California, passed the bar, and began practicing law. It wasn't until Nixon was Vice President of the United States that he learned what happened with his application. Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover told him that he had been accepted as a special agent, but that due to budget cuts, his appointment was held back.
94. SIGN1_140318_626.JPG: First woman appointed to the Supreme Court: Sandra Day O'Connor, who spent part of her childhood on a family ranch in Arizona, grew up to become the first female Supreme Court justice. She graduated from Stanford with a law degree, and, at a time when opportunities were limited for women, worked for free for the San Mateo county attorney. Eventually, she served as Arizona's assistant attorney general from 1965 to 1969, and also served two terms in the Arizona state senate. Nominated in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan, her appointment to the Supreme Court garnered unanimous Senate approval. After serving 24 terms, she wrote a letter to President George W. Bush in 2005 indicating her retirement once a successor was in place. This volume shows O'Connor registered as an attorney in Arizona in 1958.
95. SIGN1_140318_639.JPG: Sandra Day O'Connor being sword in as Supreme Court Justice by Chief Justice Warren Burger as her husband, John O'Connor, looks on, September 25, 1981, recent print
96. SIGN1_140318_647.JPG: Fearless Merian C. Cooper, best known for co-writing, co-directing, and appearing in the movie King Kong, was an adventurer at heart. He left the US Naval Academy in his senior year to help chase Pancho Villa in Mexico. As a bomber pilot during World War I, he was shot down over Germany. Presumed dead, his parents were sent this death certificate, but eventually it was discovered that he had survived and was in a POW camp. He later signed his own death certificate, which included the Mark Twain quote, "Your death has been greatly exaggerated."
97. SIGN1_140318_655.JPG: Bittersweet news: News that the son of the US Ambassador to Great Britain was missing in action during World War II made headlines worldwide. So receiving a letter signed by Secretary of War Henry Stimson could be an occasion for celebration or mourning. In this case, it was both. Ambassador Winart learned that his son was alive but was a German prisoner of war. Lieutenant Winant was held by the Nazis as one of the Prominente -- prisoners related to Allied political figures. They were intended to be used as bargaining chips in the final days of the war, but instead, most were released just as the war in Europe was ending.
98. SIGN1_140318_661.JPG: Drafted men reporting for service, Camp Travis, San Antonio, Texas, ca 1917, recent print
99. SIGN1_140318_666.JPG: Selective Service Cards: Registering for the World War I draft As World War I began, the United States Army was fairly small, and by 1916, it was clear that more troops were needed if the United States were to enter the conflict. Initially, President Wilson desired an army made up of volunteers and wanted 1 million men, but six weeks after declaring war, only 73,000 had volunteered to serve. On May 18, 1917, Congress passed the Selective Service Act. It authorized the Federal Government to expand the military. The act provided that all men between the ages of 21 to 30 were required to register for military service. Later, it was amended to include men up to age 45. The significant difference for this draft from the previous one, which was for the American Civil War, was that men were not allowed to hire a substitute if they did not want to serve. Approximately 24 million men registered, which was almost a quarter of the population in 1918. Not all men who registered actually served. By the end of World War I, 2.8 million had been drafted and 2 million men had volunteered. When the armistice ending the war was signed on November 11, 1918, the activities of the Selective Service System greatly decreased, and by 1919 all activities were terminated.
100. SIGN1_140318_671.JPG: Norman Rockwell registration card
101. SIGN1_140318_676.JPG: Robert Frost registration card
102. SIGN1_140318_679.JPG: Harry Handcuff Houdini registration
103. SIGN1_140318_682.JPG: Edward Kennedy ("Duke") Ellington registration
104. SIGN1_140318_686.JPG: John Augustin Ford registration
105. SIGN1_140318_689.JPG: Alphonse Capone registration
106. SIGN1_140318_696.JPG: Marcus Garvey registration
107. SIGN1_140318_700.JPG: George Herman ("Babe") Ruth registration
108. SIGN1_140318_704.JPG: Letter from Stephen Wise, President of the American Jewish Congress and founder of the World Jewish Congress, to President Roosevelt, December 2, 1942.
109. SIGN1_140318_713.JPG: Letter from "Miss South Carolinian" to President Roosevelt, April 10, 1933. "Since it may be in your power..." "I don't know whether I am doing a right deed as to plead to you. But I do know that I am all right to plead for my race... I am a Southern colored girl in New York." -- Miss South Carolinian, April 10, 1933 Clarence Norris, Charlie Weems, Haywood Patterson, Ozie Powell, Willie Robertson, Eugene Williams, Olen Montgomery, Andy Wright, and Ray Wright were known as the "Scottsboro Boys." In 1931, the nine African Americans were tried and convicted of assault and rape in Alabama by all-white juries within two weeks. Eight were sentenced to death. In this letter to Franklin Roosevelt, "Miss South Carolinian" asked for the President's help. The initial speedy trials, the young age of the defendants, the racial bias of the juries, and the severity of the sentences led to arguments that the defendants never received fair trails and a movement to free them. Their case went to the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled they were denied the right to counsel, violating their right to due process under the 14th Amendment. Eventually, their sentences were commuted, and charges against four were dropped, but their lives were forever changed as most spent years in jail. On November 21, 2013, posthumous pardons were issued by the state of Alabama to Charlie Weems, Andy Wright, and Haywood Patterson.
110. SIGN1_140318_720.JPG: Stolen History: Safe passport, but not safe from the hands of thieves... Between 1786 and 1836, the United States made treaties with the Barbary Coast nations of Tunis, Tripoli (today Libya), Algeria, and Morocco, which included provisions to protect American ships from acts of piracy from those nations. To ensure safe passage, American ships carried Mediterranean Passports, like the two shown here, bearing the signatures of the President and the Secretary of State. Due to their high historic and monetary value, records with Presidential and other important signatures -- like the passport with the signature clipped out -- can be targets for theft.
111. SIGN1_140318_734.JPG: From Quills to Pixels: Today, when you make a credit card purchase, sign a mortgage contract, or even a marriage license, your signature is likely to be electronic. Legislation allowing electronic signatures to formalize interstate or foreign transactions, or using the autopen to authenticate a law is leading us farther away from personalized marks, symbolized by John Hancock's famous and distinctive signature. Technology is changing how we sign our names. Will handwritten signatures someday become obsolete?
112. SIGN1_140318_737.JPG: The real John Hancock This certificate of election, or credentials, was signed by John Hancock for Tristram Dalton, a Senator for Massachusetts. After a new Senator was chosen by the state legislature, a formal certificate was submitted to be signed by the state governor. In 1789, John Hancock -- whose name now means "signature" -- was Governor of Massachusetts and signed the credentials. Each Congressman presented his credentials when reporting to Congress.
113. SIGN1_140318_747.JPG: A duplicating device: The polygraph, or duplicating device, was invented by John Isaac Hawkins in 1803, and quickly found an enthusiast in Thomas Jefferson. The polygraph simultaneously produces a copy while writing the original. Our third President had one by 1804, and because of his prolific writing, historians have a rich source, including duplicates, or his letters.
114. SIGN1_140318_760.JPG: The Autopen: The autopen machine, a modern duplicating device, was developed in the 1930s. Appealing because it leaves a mark less impersonal than a stamp or copy of a signature, the autopen produces a duplicate signature that is almost impossible to distinguish from the original. However experts can recognize an autopen signature because it is applied using an even pressure, while an individual applies uneven pressure to the pen. President Truman may have been the first President to use the autopen for correspondence. Although President George W. Bush sought a legal opinion from the Justice Department, which rules that it was legal to use, President Obama was the first President to use the autopen to sign legislation.
115. SIGN1_140318_778.JPG: The exhibit allows you to get your own John Hancock signature
116. SIGN1_140318_785.JPG: Autopen or not? Thurgood Marshall's nomination to be an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States was signed by President Lyndon Johnson. How do we know it was Johnson signing and not an autopen? When Johnson signed something himself, he often marked a dot under his signature.
117. SIGN1_140318_810.JPG: Autopen for Gerald Ford
118. SIGN1_140318_813.JPG: Autopen for Lyndon Johnson
119. SIGN2_140318_014.JPG: Notes between Bob Hope and Ronald Reagan then governor of California, about attending an event that Hope was hosting, March 13, 1971
120. SIGN2_140318_016.JPG: Letter from Katharine Hepburn to the US Board of Parole on behalf of Ring Lardner, Jr., September 1, 1950
121. SIGN2_140318_019.JPG: Letter from Howard Hughes to President Truman thanking him for writing after his airplane accident, August 27, 1946
122. SIGN2_140318_023.JPG: Letter from Frederick Douglass to President Lincoln on August 29, 1864 asking Lincoln to discharge his son, Lewis, from the Army because of illness. Lewis Douglass was the first African American to enlist as a Union soldier from New York.
123. SIGN2_140318_028.JPG: Lincoln's response on back, top left: "Let this boy be discharged." September 1, 1864
124. SIGN2_140318_033.JPG: Letter from Jackie Kennedy to former President Hoover expressing her gratitude to have met him, and that she found him "wiser and kinder than I could have imagined," January 1956
125. SIGN2_140318_041.JPG: Letter from the Dalai Lama to President Johnson about the rights of the Tibetan people, November 18, 1964
126. SIGN2_140318_046.JPG: Letter from Booker T. Washington, principal at the Tuskegee Institute, to the Haskell Institute, a school for Native American boys and girls, May 18, 1909
127. SIGN2_140318_049.JPG: Letter from Chevy Chase to President George H.W. Bush, after they'd met at a dinner, June 17, 1991
128. SIGN2_140318_063.JPG: Letter from Alfred Hitchcock to Ronald Reagan, then governor of California, after a constituent used Reagan's office to get in touch with Hitchcock, December 21, 1970
129. SIGN2_140318_068.JPG: Letter from television personality Dick Clark thanking Governor Ronald Reagan, for presenting at the American Music Awards, March 12, 1974
130. SIGN2_140318_072.JPG: Letter from aviatrix Amelia Earhart to President Roosevelt explaining her preparations for flight circumnavigating the globe and asking him for support from the US Navy, November 10, 1936
131. SIGN2_140318_080.JPG: Letter from Helen Keller to President Hoover requesting that he appear with her in a newsreel promoting sound recordings for the blind -- so that the "blind will read a book by ear," February 5, 1933
132. SIGN2_140318_090.JPG: Letter from Marie Curie, the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in physics, to President Hoover, November 3, 1929
133. SIGN2_140318_093.JPG: Letter from President George HW Bush to former President Ronald Reagan after watching Reagan's appearance on Larry King Live, January 11, 1991
134. SIGN2_140318_103.JPG: Letters between Rose WIlder Lane and "Mama Bess," Laura Ingalls Wilder, as they worked on what became the "Little House" books, January 21 and January 28, 1938
135. SIGN2_140318_126.JPG: Letter from Mahatma Ghandi to President Franklin D. Roosevelt explaining his proposal that Great Britain should end their rule to India, July 1, 1942
136. SIGN2_140318_136.JPG: Letter from Pope Paul VI to President Johnson about peace initiatives in Vietnam, October 16, 1965
137. SIGN2_140318_142.JPG: Saddam Hussein "Thank you for your kind greetings" This card was sent to President George H.W. Bush in February of 1989 by President of the Republic of Iraq Saddam Hussein to congratulate Bush on his inauguration as the new President of the United States. Most heads of states send notes such as these as a courtesy when a new President takes office.
138. SIGN2_140318_150.JPG: Adolf Hitler "Are you willing to take Our Fuehrer Adolf Hitler as your husband" In the early morning of April 29, 1945, as Soviet troops closed in on his bunker, Adolf Hitler married his longtime companion Eva Braun. Less than 40 hours after their marriage, the newlyweds committed suicide together. In his will, Hitler states that Eva "goes to death with me as my wife, according to her own desires." Marriage certificate: In this volume is Adolf and Eva Hitler's marriage certificate signed by them and by witnesses Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann, as well as the registrar of marriage they pulled in from Berlin just before 1am to perform the ceremony. Final will and testament: Also in this volume is Adolf Hitler's final will and political testament, signed by him and by witnesses Joseph Goebbels, Martin Bormann, and Lt. Col. Nicholaus von Below. This was created and made official the night he married Eva Braun. Three copies were made and sent out of Berlin.
139. SIGN2_140318_155.JPG: Signed by My Fuehrer Adolf Hitler Miss Evan Braun
140. SIGN2_140318_158.JPG: Eva Braun's signature with the "B" crossed out and before writing "Hitler" and then "nee Braun". Underneath is Joseph Goebbels and Martin Borman's signatures.
141. SIGN2_140318_173.JPG: Medicare pen Voting Rights Poll Tax Repeal pen
142. SIGN2_140318_176.JPG: Land and Water Conservation Wilderness Act Nurses Training Act
143. SIGN2_140318_182.JPG: Welfare and Pension Plans Disclosure Act Establishment of the Educational Television Program
144. SIGN2_140318_183.JPG: Housing Act Establishment of the Alliance for Progress
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