#bush43

Astronaut Michael Collins, 5/27/1976, NASA records, NARA ID 17447979.

RIP Michael Collins

“I really believe that if the political leaders of the world could see their planet from a distance of, let's say 100,000 miles, their outlook would be fundamentally changed. The all-important border would be invisible, that noisy argument suddenly silenced. The tiny globe would continue to turn, serenely ignoring its subdivisions, presenting a unified facade that would cry out for unified understanding, for homogeneous treatment. The earth must become as it appears: blue and white, not capitalist or communist; blue and white, not rich or poor; blue and white, not envious or envied.” ― Michael Collins (10/31/1930 – 4/28/2021)

Star Chart from Apollo 11, NASA records, NARA ID 4958425.

President Nixon greets Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet, 7/24/1969.

President Reagan with Apollo 11 Astronauts, Reagan Library, NARA ID 75853521.

President George W. Bush with Apollo 11 Astronauts L-R Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin, 7/21/2004, 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission NARA ID 75597807.

See also:

National Archives Film Footage Fuels Apollo 11 Film

From Pictorial Parade, online here.

HAMMERIN' HANK BREAKS RUTH'S RECORD #OTD 1974

By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs

#OTD in 1974, Hank Aaron (who died in January 2021) hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s legendary record before a crowd of 53,775 people, the largest in the history of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. This achievement was bittersweet; at each step of his historic rise, he faced systemic and extreme racism that included hate mail and death threats. He described the effects of this vitriol on his family and his heart:

“It really made me see for the first time a clear picture of what this country is about. My kids had to live like they were in prison because of kidnap threats, and I had to live like a pig in a slaughter camp. I had to duck. I had to go out the back door of the ball parks. I had to have a police escort with me all the time. I was getting threatening letters every single day. All of these things have put a bad taste in my mouth, and it won’t go away. They carved a piece of my heart away.”  NYT interview.

Aaron saved many of those letters and even the death threats.

“To remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record. If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There’s not a whole lot that has changed.” USA Today interview.

Such hatred didn’t stop him. Instead, Aaron seized the opportunity for greatness and advancement on the field and beyond (from here): :

“In playing ball, and in life, a person occasionally gets the opportunity to do something great. When that time comes, only two things matter: being prepared to seize the moment and having the courage to take your best swing.” - Hank Aaron

President Carter welcomes Hank Aaron to the White House, 8/15/1978, Carter Library, NARA IDs 180805 and 180806.

“A breaker of records and racial barriers, his remarkable legacy will continue to inspire countless athletes and admirers for generations to come.” –President Carter

President George W. Bush Presents Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hank Aaron, 7/9/2002, George W. Bush Library, NARA ID 6734115.

Related online resources:

Special Topics page: Baseball at the National Archives

eBook: Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives

Related Tumblr post: Letter from Jackie Robinson to Nixon Deputy Special Assistant Roland Elliott, 4/20/1972.

Teaching with Documents, Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate

Prologue Magazine story: Jim Crow, Meet Lieutenant Robinson

Pieces of History blog post: Jackie Robinson’s 100th

Teaching Activities on DocsTeach: Analyzing Jackie Robinson’s White House Letter, Analyzing a Photograph of Jackie Robinson, Analyzing a Letter from Jackie Robinson: “Fair Play and Justice”

Online Exhibit: Letter from Jackie Robinson to IKE about the Little Rock 9

#OTD 2008- Last Game Played @ Historic NY Yankee Stadium

To mark this date, we share a variety of NY Yankees-related records.

YANKEE FAN IN SPACE!

STS-132 Mission Specialist/Yankees fan Garrett Reisman on the end of the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, Expedition 23, 5/17/2010. NARA ID 23602397.

9/11: World Series & A President’s Pitch

George W. Bush said nothing to the crowd the night he took the mound at Yankee Stadium [on October 30, 2001], only a few miles from where he had shouted through a bullhorn to people digging through the wreckage of the World Trade Center less than two months earlier.

Wearing a bulletproof vest, the president flashed a thumbs-up to the crowd, then threw a perfect strike before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks. It was a signal to the country that the healing could begin.

“It was so moving, so powerful, that it lifted our nation,” sportscaster Jim Gray said Sunday night at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. “What President Bush told us without uttering a single word, was that we could once again attempt to carry on our lives. … What an amazing symbol it was.” Dallas Morning News.

President Bush (43) arrives at Yankee Stadium on Marine One, NARA ID 5997392.

President Bush (43) throws the first pitch 10/30/2001.

YOGI BERRA PROMOTES WAR BONDS!

Treasury Dep't. poster with Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, 1951. NARA ID 23889731.

BABE AND THE IRON HORSE

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig pose together on a visit to West Point, 5/6//1927.

HOOVER AND JOE DIMAGGIO!

Former president Hoover with Joe DiMaggio, 8/8/1959.

More baseball records online:

Special Topics page: Baseball at the National Archives

eBook: Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives

Senator JFK's remarks at Yankee Stadium, 4/29/1956.

10 Football Facts Featuring U.S. Presidents, Pieces of History.

9/11: The World Series and a President’s pitch, Pieces of History

Play Ball, Mr. President! Pieces of History

Lou Gehrig’s Final Season in the News, Unwritten Record.

President Jimmy Carter welcomes Hank Aaron to the White House, 8/15/1978, from the Carter Library, NARA IDs 180805 and180806.

President George W. Bush Presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Hank Aaron, 7/9/2002, from the George W. Bush Library, NARA ID 6734115.

WE REMEMBER HAMMERIN’ HANK

By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs

“A breaker of records and racial barriers, his remarkable legacy will continue to inspire countless athletes and admirers for generations to come.”

--President Carter

Baseball legend and Civil Rights icon Hank Aaron died Friday at age 86. Aaron rose to the top of baseball while facing systemic and extreme racism that included hate mail and death threats. He described the effects of this hatred on his family and his heart:

“It really made me see for the first time a clear picture of what this country is about. My kids had to live like they were in prison because of kidnap threats, and I had to live like a pig in a slaughter camp. I had to duck. I had to go out the back door of the ball parks. I had to have a police escort with me all the time. I was getting threatening letters every single day. All of these things have put a bad taste in my mouth, and it won’t go away. They carved a piece of my heart away.”  NYT interview.

Aaron saved many of those letters and even the death threats: 

“To remind myself that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing the record. If you think that, you are fooling yourself. A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There’s not a whole lot that has changed.” USA Today interview.

But such hatred didn’t stop him. He seized the opportunity for greatness and advancement on the field and beyond (from here):

“In playing ball, and in life, a person occasionally gets the opportunity to do something great. When that time comes, only two things matter: being prepared to seize the moment and having the courage to take your best swing.”

Tweets from the Carter Library, 1/22/2021. Online here and here.

See related resources:

Special Topics page: Baseball at the National Archives

eBook: Baseball: The National Pastime in the National Archives

Related Tumblr post: Letter from Jackie Robinson to Nixon Deputy Special Assistant Roland Elliott, 4/20/1972.

Teaching with Documents, Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Advocate

Prologue Magazine story: Jim Crow, Meet Lieutenant Robinson

Pieces of History blog post: Jackie Robinson’s 100th

Teaching Activities on DocsTeach: Analyzing Jackie Robinson’s White House Letter, Analyzing a Photograph of Jackie Robinson, Analyzing a Letter from Jackie Robinson: “Fair Play and Justice”

Online Exhibit: Letter from Jackie Robinson to IKE about the Little Rock 9

Trump is leaving office with far worse approval ratings than most of his predecessors

Trump will have the worst jobs record in modern U.S. history. And it’s not just because of the pandemic. 

— The Washington Post

Obama, Clinton and Jimmy Carter 😂

Trump is a continuation of the “GOP president’s curse”.

Electing a Republican President increases the chances of a Recession by  90%  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In fact, nine of the past 10 recessions in history have begun with a Republican in the White House. And several Republican commanders in chief — Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and George W. Bush — have presided over multiple economic contractions.

Republicans are the “R” in Recession.  The fix is obvious and easy.