Remarks of Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero at the National History Day awards ceremony, Cole Field House, University of Maryland at College Park.
June 16, 2011
Who is the Archivist?
The Archivist of the United States is the head of our agency, appointed by the President of the United States.The AOTUS Blog
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Congratulations to all of you!
As Archivist of the United States, I am proud to be here with you on this special day.
As the nation’s record keeper I am especially proud of those of you who took advantage of the records of your country. The National Archives is a nation-wide network of 44 facilities including the presidential libraries, regional archives, and even two caves in Missouri. Our job is to preserve the records of the federal government and make the available to you. We have 10 billion records, including the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution.
And we are proud to sponsor the U.S. Constitution Award, given to junior and senior levels who created the outstanding entry in ANY category relating to the creation and ratification of the document, or on Constitutional issues throughout American history.
The National Archives has been a friend and supporter of history education with National History Day for decades.
Archive staff assist students with their research…
We serve as judges at all levels of this competition…
We coordinate contests and programs across the country…
We conduct workshops for history day teachers…
We contribute articles to the curriculum guide, and
Some of our staff were national history day participants too!
I invite you to visit the National Archives, either in person or online at archives.gov.
Also, you can keep in touch with what we’re doing on our blogs, facebook pages, and twitter accounts.
Enjoy your day and, again, congratulations on a job well done!