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Letter drafted by General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the event that the D-Day Allied invasions on Normandy failed. It reads:

"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."

Note the incorrect date -- Eisenhower wrote "July 5" rather than "June."

#Era: Early Twentieth Century #World War II #World War II: America #President: #General: #Dwight D. Eisenhower #WWII: D Day #WWII: Operation Overlord

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Sgt. Harold Maus of Scranton, PA inspects an original Duerer engraving in the Merkers salt mine, where a large collection of Nazi loot was discovered by the Allies. May 13th, 1945.

#Era: Early Twentieth Century #World War II #WWII: Nazi Loot

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Born in 1907, Gladys Bentley was one of the most important and controversial musicians of the Harlem Renaissance. Openly queer during her early career, she was known for wearing men's clothing, performing bawdy songs with drag queens, and flirting with female audience members.

In the 1950s, however, she stopped dressing in her trademark top hat and tux and married a man. She described her struggles with sexual orientation as her "personal hell" in EBONY Magazine. The man she claimed was her husband would later deny that they ever married. The circumstances surrounding this chapter of her life remain controversial to this day.

She passed away in 1960.

#Era: Early Twentieth Century #Queer History #Harlem Renaissance #African American History

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Young women showing off their trendy rolled stockings, August 1926.

#Era: Early Twentieth Century #1920s: Fashion

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Left: A 1958 Braille letter from a Watertown, Massachusetts 13 year old boy to President Eisenhower, who was running for re-election. It reads:

Dear Ike,

I decided to write you a little speech which might help you to win the election.

Vote for me. I will help you out. I will lower the prices and also your tax bill. I also will help the negroes, so that they may go to school.

Good Luck in November.

John Beaulieu

Right: Eisenhower's personal response to John.

#Era: Mid Twentieth Century #President: #Dwight D. Eisenhower

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World War II anti-spying poster used from 1941 to 1945.

#World War II #WWII: Propaganda

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Members of the Indian Peace Commission, including General William T. Sherman, meet with Sioux leaders at Fort Laramie, Wyoming to discuss a peace treaty, 1868.

#Native American History #Person: #William Tecumseh Sherman

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A May 16th, 1942 letter from Dr. August Becker after an inspection trip through Eastern Europe. It details the use of "S-Wagons," which were vehicles used as mobile gas chambers. Sealed boxes were mounted on trucks, and carbon monoxide from the truck’s exhaust was pumped into the chamber. This method was most notably used at Chełmno extermination camp. Becker, an SS member and chemist, helped develop and coordinate the use of these wagons.

#Era: Early Twentieth Century #World War II #WWII: The Holocaust #Trigger Warning

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An unknown 1st Cavalry Regiment soldier holds the American flag. Santiago, Cuba, 1898.

#Spanish American War #Era: Late Nineteenth Century

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Ford Island Naval Air Station on the day of the attacks on Pearl Harbor. This photo was later used in a court case concerning the imposition of martial law in Hawaii after the attack. 

The original caption: 

“Cleaning up the apron at Ford Island, Naval Air Station at Pearl Harbor, after the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941.”

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U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger (left) swears in Sandra Day O'Connor (right) while her husband, John, looks on. September 25, 1981.

O'Connor was the first woman appointed to the Supreme court, as well as the female Justice. She would remain on the court for 25 years.

#Era: Late Twentieth Century #Person: Sandra Day O'Connor #U.S. Supreme Court

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Lyndon B. Johnson's personally annotated notes of the remarks he gave at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on November 22nd, 1963 -- the day of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. It reads:

This is a sad time for all people. We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me it is a deep personal tragedy. I know the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and the family bears. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask only for your help and God's.

#Era: Mid Twentieth Century #President: #John F. Kennedy #Lyndon B. Johnson

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The first film adaptation of The Great Gatsby was released in 1926, just a year after the novel itself was published. Co-produced by the famous Adolph Zukor, the film starred the famous silent film actors Warner Baxter as Jay Gatsby and Lois Wilson as Daisy. Most notable, however, is that George Wilson was played by William Powell, who would later go on to become one of the most famous and profitable leading men of the 1930s and 1940s due to his collaboration with Myrna Loy in the "Thin Man" films.

The film is purported to be the most faithful adaptation of the novel, but that will never be confirmed -- the film is now lost except for this trailer, which resides in the Library of Congress. 

#The Great Gatsby #Era: Early Twentieth Century #Film History #Silent Film

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Panoramas of Gettysburg National Battlefield and Cemetery, May 1909.

#American Civil War #Era: Early Twentieth Century #Gettysburg

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Coney Island, 1907.

#Era: Early Twentieth Century #Coney Island

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"Summer residence of Pres. Wm. H. Taft at Beverly, Mass." Ca. 1906.

#William Howard Taft #Era: Early Twentieth Century

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Beverly Hills, ca. 1929.

#Era: Early Twentieth Century #Beverly Hills