Mission Statement
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) ensures, for the citizen and the public servant, for the President the for the Congress and the Courts, ready access to essential evidence. National Archives is not a dusty hoard of ancient history. It is a public trust on which our democracy depends. It enables people to inspect for themselves the record of what government has done. It enables officials and agencies to review their actions and helps citizens hold them accountable. It ensures continuing access to essential evidence that documents the rights of American citizens, the actions of federal officials, and the national experience.
Description
The National Archives, an independent federal agency, holds the historically valuable records of the three branches of the Federal Government. These records document American History from the First Continental Congress to modern times. The National Archives and Records Administration operates a nationwide system of depositories. Among these are the Archives I in Washington, DC; Archives II in College Park, MD; nine Presidential Libraries; thirteen Records Centers; the Military and Civilian Personnel Centers in St. Louis, MO; and thirteen Regional Archives. The National Archives and Records Administration, Mid-Atlantic Region (located in Center City Philadelphia), holds the records of Federal agencies and courts in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The NARA Mid Atlantic Region has more than 60,000 cubic feet of archival holdings, including textual documents, photographs, maps, and architectural drawings, dating from 1789 to 1989. These archival holdings were created or received by the Federal courts and over 50 Federal agencies in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania,Virginia, and West Virginia. Federal law requires that agencies transfer permanently valuable, noncurrent records to NARA. Subjects covered include Chinese-Americans, the homefront during World War II, National Park Service sites, U.S. Mint, Philadelphia Naval Ship Yard, service in the merchant marine, violations of Federal laws such as tax evasion and smuggling, and the work of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In addition to the records mentioned above, we have extensive holdings of microfilm and original records of value for genealogy research, among them: Federal population censuses, 1790-1930; selected pre-World War I military service records and indexes; pension and bounty-land warrant applications for the Revolutionary War; selected passengers arrival records and indexes for Philadelphia, 1800-1945, and Baltimore, 1820-1948; World War I draft registration cards for Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia,and West Virginia; and naturalization records and indexes processed through Federal courts in Delaware,Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
