The National Archives has been in the news lately, not so much for what is in its collection, but for what was missing. After former President Donald Trump and then-Vice President Biden held on to records when they left office that should have been sent to the Archives… we wanted to know more… about the small federal agency in charge of safeguarding America’s past.

After a few months inside, we came to appreciate that the Archives are the country’s safety deposit box, reading room, and paper shredder rolled into one.

At the heart of the institution are the documents that have been at the heart of the nation, for nearly 250 years.

Colleen Shogan: (footsteps) There’s 39 steps here that lead up to the entrance. And that’s 39 framers who signed the Constitution.

Norah O’Donnell: Oh, wow. Look at this.

Colleen Shogan, the archivist of the United States, is responsible for America’s records. The main attractions are in a building in Washington that was inspired by ancient Rome, and built to be a temple to history.

Each year, more than a million people make the trip to see these national treasures in person.

Norah O’Donnell: This building, the Rotunda, was built as a shrine for many of these documents. But they didn’t arrive until later.

Colleen Shogan: That’s correct. The building was completed in 1937. But the Declaration and the Constitution did not arrive till 1952. 

They were in the possession of the Library of Congress, which refused to turn them over, until President Truman got involved…and they were delivered from Capitol Hill by the U.S. military.

You can read a lot more in an article by Norah O’Donnell published in the 60 minutes web site at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/national-archives-history-60-minutes-transcript/.