The Political Graveyard

Okay, I have to admit that this is not a resource that I would, at first glance, give any credence to. It's unattractive, not incredibly credible looking and has (horrors!) Google Ads. That said, fortunately I took the time to look at this site long enough to realize its value.

I found it while working on a digital project at work. I was trying to describe an item that had the names of (what I assumed were) politicians, their district in Washington State and political party. No date! Nothing! What to do, what to do. I needed an accurate description for my meta data. If I hadn't been feeling lazy, I could have gone down two floors and found a reference book to help me out. But I didn't. I Googled it - (not Bing!, GOOGLE!). This is how I stumbled upon The Political Graveyard. This lovely site helped me figure out that the item I was researching was a list of candidates in the 1910 election of U.S. Representatives from Washington State. Awesome. It even told me who won. Didn't NEED to know but it was interesting none-the-less (apparently the Republicans were popular in Washington in 1910).

So what else can this resource do for you besides find information about politicians, judges and diplomats? Well, you can also look up places and cemeteries. Want to know what politicians are buried in your local cemetery? This is the site to use!

No, this isn't a one-stop-shopping site for political information, but it is a great jumping off point. Check it out. I bet you'll spend at least a half an hour looking up politicians of the past in your area.

The National Archives at Philadelphia and Villanova University's Public History graduate program invite you to an exciting interactive presentation

Following in their Footsteps: Exploring the Paths of the Early Civil Rights Movement will be presented on Monday, May 16th, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Eastern Time.
Here is the announcement:

In this program, hosted by National Archives Education SpecialistAndrea Reidell, Dr. Judith Giesberg's public history graduate studentswill introduce us to some of the nineteenth-century's Rosa Parks andMartin Luther Kings, telling the compelling stories of women and men ofcolor who demanded access to public spaces in the post Civil War era.
The students, who conducted groundbreaking research based onnineteenth-century civil rights court cases at National Archivesfacilities throughout the country, will also provide several suggestionsfor turning these fascinating stories into public history andeducational programs. We hope these remarks will begin a conversation that will link theNational Archives with other institutions and individuals interested inCivil War sesquicentennial programming ? and the important forgottenstories of civil rights after the Civil War. This presentation is being held at the National Constitution Center inPhiladelphia and will also be available nationally via webinar. To attend the event in person: Please RSVP to andrea.reidell@nara.gov Light refreshments will be served.
To attend the event online:- Go to http://constitutioncenter.acrobat.com/civilrights/ - Enter the room as a guest by typing in your name. There will bewindows for the presentation and for a live chat feature.- Please sign on 5 -10 minutes prior to the program start time.There are a limited number of spaces in the webinar room.- For the best online experience, please use a computer with awired connection. Wireless connections may cut in and out.- If you have any problems joining the webinar, please call267-312-9833. The program will be recorded and archived at the same website. To learn more about this program and see images from the presentation,visit the program roomhttp://constitutioncenter.acrobat.com/civilrights/ and enter as a guest.

Or visit the National Archives at Philadelphia Facebook page athttp://www.facebook.com/NARAatPhiladelphia