'Big Exhibit' at the National Archives

Location show on map

Washington-Washington, DC (DC)

  • Category: museums-history
  • Section: Museums - History
The National Archives celebrated its 75th year in 2009 with an exhibition featuring big records, big events, and big ideas. BIG! opened Friday, March 13, 2009, in the Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. From the 13-foot scroll of the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, to the size 22 sneakers of basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal, the items in the exhibition were pieces of the American story-writ large. The exhibition will be on display through January 3, 2010, and is free and open to the public.

Exhibition Highlights

* A section of an enormous 13-by-13-foot Civil War-era map of the Gettysburg battlefield will be shown. With a scale of one inch to 200 feet, it shows the terrain at the site of Pickett's charge, one of the great infantry charges in military history, and the site where President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address.

* As evidence that William Howard Taft was almost certainly the biggest man to serve as President of the United States, the exhibit presents the 1909 order for a bathtub and other special items to accommodate Taft's 300-plus-pound frame. A replica of the massive tub will be on view.

* The military personnel file of General Douglas McArthur is one of the biggest in the holdings of the National Archives National Personnel Records Center. The many thousands of items in the file chronicle the famous 5-Star General's half-century of military service. Included is a Presidential directive indicating a big clash of power between military and civilian command.

* The National Archives will display one of only 25 surviving copies from the first printing of the Declaration of Independence by John Dunlap. This broadside was inserted into the "rough journal" of the Continental Congress in the July 4, 1776, entry.

Reviews about 'Big Exhibit' at the National Archives Add comment

We have no opinion yet :(
Be the first to add a review!
Your opinion
#0
Share your impressions... write something about the place...

Location on map / How to get there

Weather nearby
Today (12 December)
current weather in this location
5 ° C
0.1 ° (min)     6.6 ° (max)
0 mm
6 m/s
1026 hPa
Tomorrow (13 December)
Tomorrow weather in this location
4.6 ° C
-0.3 ° (min)     5.2 ° (max)
0 mm
3.1 m/s
1039 hPa
Show forecast for 14 days Source: openweathermap.org
Our website uses cookies to provide you with services at the highest level and for statistical and advertising purposes. By using this site, you agree to the use of cookies, more details in our cookies policy. Close