An Administrative History of the Disposal of Federal Records, 1789-1949

From 1789 to 1985 the federal government has created some 170 million cubic feet of records. At the end of 1984 it had accumulated over 40 million cubic feet of records, including 1.4 million cubic feet of permanent archives in the custody of the National Archives. Thus, 130 million cubic feet of federal records have been destroyed. Most of the destruction, about 120 million cubic feet, took place subsequent to the creation of the National Archives and Records Service (NARS) in 1949 and to the passage of the Federal Records Act of 1950. The success the federal government has experienced in the disposal of records with insufficient values to warrant retention during the past thirty-five years is, in part, the result of the records disposition groundwork that was laid before 1950. This groundwork, consisting of congressional legislation, archival theory, National Archives efforts, and agency practices, is little understood or appreciated by today\u27s archivists. Yet, archivists should understand and appreciate past disposition policies and practices, because much of what is done today in records disposifion is based upon the pre-1950 policies and practices

An Administrative History of the Disposal of Federal Records, 1950-1985

From 1950 to 1985 the federal government experienced much success in disposing of records with insufficient retention values. During those thirty-five years some 140 million cubic feet of records were created, and some 120 million cubic feet of records were destroyed. By way of comparison, between 1789 and 1950 the federal government created less than 30 million cubic feet of records and destroyed less than 10 million cubic feet of records. To a large extent the success the federal government has experienced in efficiently and effectively destroying temporary records, particularly during the past four decades, is the result of the records disposition activities of the National Archives. While these activities prior to 1950 are generally well known and appreciated, those since 1950 are not. What follows is a discussion of those efforts during the past thirty-five years and a brief discussion of what the future holds in store for the National Archives and the federal government

Privacy Act Expungements: A Reconsideration

Privacy, according to Justice of the United States Supreme Court William 0. Douglas, involves the choice of the individual to disclose or to reveal what he believes, what he thinks, what he possesses. The individual, he believed, should have the freedom to select for himself the time and circumstances when he will share his secrets with others and decide the extent of that sharing. For the private manuscript repository the protection of an individual\u27s right to privacy, at least that of the donor, presents no insurmountable problems. Donors may simply purge files in advance of deposit or place certain restrictions on their disclosure

PRESERVING THE REVOLUTION CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS DURING THE AMERICAN WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE 1775-1783

Explained and analyzed, in the context of the civil-military relationship, are the reasons why the American Revolution was not undermined by an American military tyranny. The early chapters are devoted to explaining the ideological and historical background of the American revolution with respect to American fears of power, anarchy, standing armies, and military despotism; the American\u27s faith in their militia; and their insistence on civil supremacy being the guiding principle of the civil-military relationship. Also detailed is how the Continental Army was created, structured, and maintained so as to minimize the possibility of it subverting the civilian governments. Additionally addressed in the early chapters are the personal and political dynamics of the civil-military relationship. How the Continental Congress and state governments controlled and directed their military forces, as well as how the military controlled themselves, is detailed in the middle chapters. Also included in these chapters is an analysis of the military\u27s often critical opinion of the civilian governments and the American people; explanations for those instances when the military threatened and violated the lives, liberties, and properties of their fellow citizens; and a discussion of the military\u27s frequent involvement in and interference with the civilian governments and the political process. The last chapters are devoted to an analysis of the civil-military relationship during the last four years of the Revolutionary War, when it was most severely tested, and when the American Revolution was most susceptible to being undermined by a domestic military tyranny. Special attention is given in these chapters to the factors which prevented the Continental Army from subverting the civilian governments, particularly during the last year of the war. Also included, in the last chapter, is an analysis, in the context of several contemporary works on civil-military affairs, of the reasons for the American Revolution not being undermined by the American military forces