According to this publication seven hundred and seventy nine individuals have been held at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center (GTMO). As of January 1, 2012, 600 have left the facility and eight have died there. The U.S. government believes that 27% of former GTMO detainees were confirmed or suspected to have been engaged in terrorist or insurgent activities.
A few months ago, I shared an interesting photographic mystery that piqued our curiosity: the seated picture of a woman from our bound 1869 Senate photograph album. We at the State Library wondered—who was she? What relationship did she have with the legislature in 1869? Was she an important figure in Massachusetts history? Unfortunately, we haven’t come any closer to an answer, but these questions did engender many spirited attempts to uncover her identity—and we have had a lot of fun throughout the process.
However, she is just the beginning of many more mysteries surrounding identity. While most of the legislators and officers in our legislative photograph collection (known also as Photograph 361) have been successfully identified, there are about 70 photographs that still remain otherwise. In an effort to attach names to these faces, as well as involve the public in this fun project, we have made all of the unidentified photographs available for viewing on our State Library Flickr account.
If you recognize any of these past members of the Massachusetts General Court, or have strong suspicions that you might know who one or more of them are, let us know by contacting the State Library at reference.department@state.ma.us.
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The United States Government Manual is the official handbook of the Federal Government. It provides comprehensive and authoritative information about the legislative, judicial and executive branches of our government. Quasi-official agencies and international organizations with U.S. membership and Federal boards, commissions and committees are also included in this publication. The major focus is on programs and activities.
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Last week saw the third and final presidential debate before the 2012 November elections. As the debates are still lingering fresh in our collective mind, now is a great time to dip back into history and take a look at some notable hot-button issues and persuasive arguments delivered by Massachusetts legislators and other well-known figures.
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| Images from these two books on invention appear in our new Flickr set. Visitors familiar with State Library exhibits will recognize the cover for “Great Inventions,” which appeared in our decorated bindings exhibit. |
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| Table B-17. Real personal consumption expenditures, 1995-2010. Economic Report of the President, Transmitted to Congress, February 2011; House Document 112-2. |
This past August 26th marked the 92nd anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States! In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution was passed, which prohibits the denial of any citizen’s right to vote based on sex. While 92 years seems like such a long time ago, in retrospect it’s still very much recent history. Massachusetts was a hotbed for suffragist activities during the mid-to-late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the state was home to many notable women leading and influencing the cause. For example, in 1870, after forming the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1869 (later becoming the National American Woman Suffrage Association), activists Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, Julia Ward Howe, and other supporters of the movement formed the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association. These groups worked together, sharing goals and partaking in the same educational, promotional, and legislative lobbying activities that helped push the topic of women’s enfranchisement forward on both state and national levels.
The library has a large collection of materials on the history of women’s suffrage. Some of the most interesting items are bound pamphlets supporting and opposing the movement. One pamphlet’s title, published by the Women’s Anti-Suffrage Association of Massachusetts, glaringly claims “Woman Suffrage a Menace to Social Reform”. Another pamphlet from 1909 by the Illinois Association Opposed to the Extension of Suffrage to Women states, “Unable in spite of heroic efforts for the past twelve years to gain a noteworthy legislative advance, [Suffragists] have been at last impelled to call in the aid of the militant Suffragists of England, and in New York and Massachusetts are adopting, to a certain degree, their noisy and ill-mannered tactics.” A great example regarding British Suffragettes is Nelson Harding’s 1914 “Ruthless Rhymes of Martial Militants”. A note from the author describes his disdain for militant Suffragettes:
