To fully understand the current relevance and application of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency, it helps to remember the two extraordinary wartime crises faced by Americans in the space of 10 …
When Will U.S. Libraries and Archives Reopen? The Status of COVID-19 Closures and the Global Historical Supply Chain
By Jason H. Gart, PhD, Vice President and Director of Litigation Research In early April, approximately two weeks after state and local stay-at-home orders began going into effect due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, HAI began seeing disruptions to …
Documenting Links Between Financial and Insurance Institutions and Slavery
By Janet Holsinger, Senior Historian The conversation about racism that is now occurring in the United States—and around the globe—is belatedly turning attention to the historical links between financial institutions and the slavery of people of African descent. HAI has …
Digital Research Methods: Notes from the (Teleworking) Field
The COVID-19 public health emergency has underscored the importance of digital research. While many federal, state, and local archives and record collections remain closed, our historians have continued to work with legal clients to ensure that their time-sensitive investigations continue …
The History and Use of the Defense Production Act: Part 2
The History and Use of the Defense Production Act: Part 2 Part 1 of this blog explores the historical context of the passage of the Defense Production Act. Read it here. President Harry S. Truman signed the Defense Production Act …
Investigating the Recent Historical Past: Using the Internet Archive Wayback Machine for Litigation Research
By Justin Broubalow, Research Historian Our legal clients often ask us to investigate events in the recent historical past. Roughly spanning the last twenty or so years, this encompasses a period when the fact record was likely born-digital—that is, it …
Targeting Historical Federal Contracts: Research Strategies That Work
The federal government does much of its business through contracts. These documents define the relationship between the government and its contractors. Sometimes, years later, disputes arise involving the work performed under these agreements. Knowing the terms and context of these …
Documenting Shock and Awe: Researching Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom
This post is featured on the History Associates timeline. It is ironic that our most recent military history is at risk of being lost. Changes in decades-old recordkeeping have created gaps in the historical record of 21st century military conflicts. …
WWII and Korean War Industrial Mobilization: History Programs and Related Records
This is a modified version of a presentation I did for the 2014 Society for History in the Federal Government conference in April. This version focuses on the legal usefulness, in environmental cases, of the official agency histories and records …
Notes from the Field: The Art of Crafting a FOIA Request
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is yet more proof of the adage “no good deed goes unpunished.” Though intended to facilitate greater transparency in government, as those who have submitted a FOIA request can attest, the process can be …
Time and Space: Interpreting History through GIS Mapping
GIS mapping is a powerful way to make history come to life. Combining geographic information system (GIS) data with historical information, may serve to: Present historical evidence in its precise geographical context, Visually convey geographic changes over time, or Tell …
Is Google Making You Fat? Tips for Conducting “Lean and Mean” Online Historical Research
The amount of online content continues to grow exponentially, making the Internet an indispensable tool in historical research. Clay Johnson, online database expert and author of the cleverly written book The Information Diet, contends that with so much readily available …
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