Tonight! National Archives on JEOPARDY!

By Miriam Kleiman, Public Affairs

National Archives for $200: This popular TV quiz show will feature records from the National Archives TONIGHT! What is Jeopardy! of course! Tonight, Friday, July 16, Jeopardy! with guest host George Stephanopoulos will feature a category - “WORLD WAR II IN EUROPE" - using some of our Still Picture Branch images as clues!

National Archives for $400: This popular TV quiz show has worked closely with the National Archives for decades. Again, What is Jeopardy!? Given that most of our holdings are generated by the Federal Government and are in the public domain, the National Archives frequently serves as a resource for public domain images/film used on the show.

National Archives for $600: The late, great, longtime Jeopardy! host, Alex Trebek, filmed a featured category on location at this DC museum in 2010. What is the National Archives? - See background below. National Archives for $800:This Archives staffer, a huge Jeopardy! fan, spearheaded and emceed the 1st-ever Archives Jeopardy! Who is Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero? Archivist Ferriero, a huge Jeopardy! fan, seeks creative ways to engage the public and eagerly embraced the idea of Archives Jeopardy! as “a great way for us to promote the collections and let people know what we have here, the richness of the records we’re responsible for." Nearly 200 people attended the 2010 event with categories: National Archives Building; Presidential Libraries; Discovering the Civil War; America’s Milestone Documents; and, Women in the Archives.

Background The Jeopardy! “Clue Crew” first filmed at the Archives after the 2004 opening of the Public Vaults. When Trebek was Grand Marshal of the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade in 2009, then-National Archives Museum Director Marvin Pinkert offered him a tour. The show’s clue writers, producers, attorneys and the licensing team then reached out to our office (Public Affairs) to develop clues and arrange an “on-location” featured category film shoot.

Host Trebek and his team spent a day with us shooting scenes and video clues. At Trebek’s request, the filming took place on packed weekday and schoolkids swarmed him. He happily posed with fans.

The show aired January 6, 2010 (see press release, video, and transcript) and included:

For $200 - In 1940, in a letter to the president this then 14-year old future world leader asked FDR for a ten dollar bill. Yet he doesn’t cash the checks we send him for Guantanamo. Who is Fidel Castro?

For $400 - American history might have been very different if this future country had agreed to the offer of statehood contained in Article 11 of the Articles of Confederation. What is Canada?

For $600 - No one knows how it got there, but there is a handprint in the lower left hand corner of this important national document, just beneath the concluding words ‘and our sacred honor.’ What is the Declaration of Independence?

For $800 - One of the Archives’ treasures is a 1912 wax cylinder recording, like this one, of this American president talking about his Progressive Party’s movement for social and industrial justice. Who is Theodore Roosevelt?

For $1,000 - The Constitution was signed by representatives of each of the 13 colonies except for this one, which opposed increasing Federal power. Because it was the last to ratify, it is now our 13th state. What is Rhode Island?

National Archives staff gave tours to the entire Jeopardy! Team. The two staffs remain close and National Archives records are often featured on the show. Final Jeopardy! Question, 2020 Teachers Tournament.(5/29/2020) “Presidential Libraries & Museums” category: Of the 15 U.S. presidential libraries or museums, 3 are in this state, more than any other. What is Texas?

The filming in DC was an unforgettable experience. We miss Trebek, but are thrilled that #Jeopardy! continues, remain close with the incredible Jeopardy! "behind the scenes" team (shoutout to Shannon and my other friends there!) and are tickled pink when our records are used and shared with the show's many fans!

Kleiman with Trebek, Trebek in Rotunda.

Jeopardy! Records at the National Archives:

L: Trebek visits US forces, Third Marine Division, in Okinawa, 1/20/1989, NARA ID 6504005.