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P.S.: You Had Better Remove the Records: Early Federal Archives

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P.S.: You Had Better Remove the Records: Early Federal Archives “P.S.: You had better remove the records” Early Federal Archives and the Burning of Washington during the War of 1812 By Jessie Kratz hen British troops began to advance toward And so clerks packed Wthe United States’ new capital of Wash­ such things as the books and ington in the summer of 1814, it was clear that papers of the State Department; government leaders had not prepared an adequate unpublished secret journals of defense for the city and its government buildings. Congress; George Washington’s The British navy already had control of nearby Chesa­ commission and correspondence; peake Bay and some 4,500 troops in the port town of the Articles of Confederation; papers Benedict, Maryland—poised for an attack on the capital. of the Continental Congress; and all the Despite the show of force, the secretary of war, treaties, laws, and correspondence dating John Armstrong, was convinced the British were back to 1789. more interested in the port of Baltimore than in Along with these early records, the clerks Washington, which then had only 8,200 residents. also bagged up the Charters of Freedom—the Secretary of State James Monroe felt differently collective term for the Declaration of Indepen­ and met with President James Madison to discuss dence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. the enemy’s intentions. Then Monroe himself rode And so these three documents began a long jour­ by horse, accompanied by cavalry, into southern ney as the War of 1812 raged. Maryland to scout the situation. The journey would not end until 1952, when Upon seeing the British advancing toward all three were placed together, side by side, in special Washington, Monroe dispatched a note to Presi­ encasements in the Rotunda of the National Archives dent Madison. It said that the British were pushing Building in Washington, D.C. toward the capital, American troops were retreat- ing—and they were outnumbered. Early Federal Papers Faced “The enemy are in full march for Washington. Many Moves, Poor Storage Have the materials prepared to destroy the bridges,” Each year, millions of people visit the National Archives Build­ Monroe wrote. And in a significant postscript, he ing to view the Charters of Freedom in the Rotunda. Within the added: “You had better remove the records.” Archives’ vaults and stacks, millions of other federal records are safely Monroe’s message set off a scramble among gov­ stored, ensuring they will be available to researchers for years to come. ernment officials to round up all the records they This was not always the case. could. The British surely would burn them if they reached the capital. Andrew Ellicott’s 1794 plan of the proposed location for the city of Washington. 36 Prologue Summer 2014 Prologue 37 The Taking of the City of Washington by the British Forces under Major General Ross on August 24, 1814. Officials saved the nation’s founding documents, but many congressional records, and archives of the Navy,War, and Treasury Departments were lost in fires. Between the First Continental Con­ the new federal government would create. up furniture, books, and papers—including, gress in 1774 and the establishment of the At the same time, it left each federal depart- most likely, the Declaration, Constitution, and National Archives in 1934, the government’s ment or court responsible for keeping its the Bill of Rights (newly passed in 1791)— records lacked a stable and secure storage own archives. In doing so, Congress failed shipped them up the Delaware River, and environment. Early in the nation’s history, to create a consistent record-keeping policy carted them to Trenton, New Jersey. federal records faced a number of potential or a central, safe place for storing the new When the department moved back to calamities, including poor storage condi­ government’s records. Philadelphia, clerks took the reverse trip. tions, neglect, theft, and fire. The Residence Act of 1790 created a new They repeated this process three times, each Perhaps the most striking example of home for the federal government, in a yet- time putting the nation’s most precious his- the perilous conditions the Charters faced to-be-built city along the Potomac River on torical records in jeopardy. occurred two centuries ago during the land donated by Maryland and Virginia. The In May 1800, federal department heads War of 1812. The first Congress under the act, however, scheduled the move to the new began moving their offices and staffs to the Constitution gave the responsibility to pre­ capital for 10 years later, in 1800, and forced new federal city: Washington. The govern- serve records of the government to the new federal clerks to pack official papers and move ment loaded its books and papers, including Department of State. them from New York—the prior seat of gov- the archives and the Charters of Freedom, These early records included the papers of ernment—to Philadelphia, the interim seat of onto ships and transported them south to the old Department of Foreign Affairs; the government, then later to Washington. Washington. Unfortunately, the move did papers of the Confederation and Continen­ not immediately improve the safety and tal Congresses; George Washington’s papers The New Capital, Washington: security of federal records. as Commander of the Continental Army; No Better Place for Records Early transplants to Washington faced con- and the Declaration of Independence and While in Philadelphia, the State Depart- ditions unlike those in Philadelphia or New Constitution. ment moved to several locations around the York City. Architect Pierre L’Enfant created a The First Congress also charged the city, as well as outside of the city to avoid recur- very ambitious plan for the new city, but by Department of State with gathering and ring yellow fever epidemics. For each move the time the government began moving in, his preserving many of the important records out of Philadelphia, the department packed plan was not even close to being realized. 38 Prologue Summer 2014 and 17th Street, NW. Again, the Department of State shared space with other government offices, including the Department of War and the Department of the Navy. Though the numerous relocations did not require traveling great distances, conditions in Washington made any move difficult. In dry weather the dirt streets turned to dust bowls; in the rain the roads became rivers of mud. Getting around Washington on foot or even carriage often became a nightmare—the city had few discernible roads, no street signs, and only a handful of buildings to serve as land- marks. These were not ideal, or even suitable, conditions for transporting and safekeeping the nation’s most valuable documents. With each move within the city, the archives faced the same problems as they had before arriving in Washington—the records had to be packed up and moved, A 1792 plan for the City of Washington shows locations for the Capitol and the Presidents House and city then unpacked and stored again. boundaries. Congress had approved the site for the new seat of government in 1790. Government officials of the era knew In 1800 Washington bore little resem- icated space. For the first few months, State and that the nation’s most precious documents blance to a city, let alone the majestic seat several other government offices shared the Trea- endured inadequate storage conditions. In of empire L’Enfant had envisioned. Many sury Department Building, east of the White 1810, Congress investigated the condition of planned buildings remained under con- House on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. federal archives housed in public buildings. struction or altogether unbuilt. The city was Luckily, the State Department’s move turned During the investigation, Secretary of barely equipped to house anyone, let alone out to be very well timed. In January 1801 a State Robert Smith reported on the “ancient the federal government and its archives. fire destroyed a portion of the Treasury Depart- records and papers” in his custody. He Newly arriving government officials ment’s records, including both current docu- described how the records, which he deemed expressed their disappointment with the ments and historical records. Had State not “highly important to the History of the lack of amenities the new city offered. moved out of Treasury’s building, the nation’s United States,” were housed in trunks and One member of Congress described his sur- most important early records, including the boxes in the cramped attics in their building. roundings as “both melancholy and ludicrous Charters, likely would have burned. Smith acknowledged his department’s . a city in ruins.” Another Representative com- inability to properly store the papers and pared L’Enfant’s plan with what he actually saw: pleaded with Congress to build a fireproof Packing, Unpacking, Packing building, remove the papers from his cus- The Pennsylvania Avenue, leading, as Again Around Washington tody, and “to employ a person to arrange the laid down on paper, from the Capitol A few months later, the State Department papers in proper order.” to the President’s Mansion, was then briefly moved into a house on the north side of After all departments reported on the condi- nearly the whole distance a deep morass, Pennsylvania Avenue between 21st and 22nd tion of their archives, the committee acknowl- covered with alder bushes, which were Streets, NW. The following summer, they edged the records were in “a state of great cut through the width of the intended packed up their archives and the Charters and disorder and exposure; and in a situation nei- avenue during the then ensuing winter. moved yet again—this time into a new build- ther safe nor convenient nor honorable to the ing west of the Executive Mansion, on the site nation.” They further concluded records had By June 7, 1800, the Department of State and where the Old Executive Office Building now been exposed to fire and robbery, dangers aug- its archives, including the Charters, lacked a ded- sits at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, mented by the lack of security and fireproofing.
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