The FBI files, one of the original titles we launched with on Footnote back in January 2007,  include tales of espionage during World War I, case files for German aliens who were politically suspect, records pertaining to Mexican neutrality, and reports dealing with alleged violations of Federal laws. While doing some digging in these file, our expert content specialist Beau Sharbrough uncovered some valuable gems that can be found there—The Application for Exception from Classification of Enemy Alien.

Today, I’ve resolved to tell you about one kind of record in the FBI Case Files. That record is an “Application for Exception from Classification of Enemy Alien.” It’s a mouthful.           

Read all about Beau’s discovery of Exceptional Records in the FBI Case Files from his blog.

We would like to wish you a happy Independence Day from the Footnote Team! We recognize our ancestor’s sacrifice for this country and we are grateful that we have so many of these historic documents that made this day possible. Spend some time looking at some of our historic collections, for instance the American Milestone Documents, Constitutional Convention Records, and Continental Congress Papers—all Free to view. Do you have an ancestor that fought in the Revolutionary War? See if you can find their pension record. In leaving, be sure to check out these spotlights below. One spotlighting the Transcript journals from the Continental Congress and the other highlighting the original image of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Their signatures may be fading but we won’t forget them.

You can easily embed any spotlight on your website.

Photo: Chris Willis, 2007

• Lincoln Assassination Papers
• Gettysburg Address
• Letters of George Washington
• Gen. Washington accepts the job as Commander - but with some reservations
• Truman approves dropping of Atomic Bomb

We are happy to be able to open free access to more than 1 million images and documents from The National Archives and others.

Here’s an example of a diagram found in the WWII Japanese Air Targets Analyses (WWII) documents…

…And just one of more than 5,000 images from the Brady Civil War photos:

Free on Footnote

We hope you have a chance to explore and share with us any interesting stories or images you find.

You may have noticed that on the new Title Information Pages we try to include at least a couple of sample images to give people a better idea of what they’ll find in each title.

You’ll see these images in the left hand column of the page, as in this example for the Lincoln Assassination papers. Sample images are always free.

Often we find these sample images by just poking around the title. I’ve been surprised by how easy it is to find interesting and unexpected things from any title if you just take a few minutes to browse.

Recently, I had a lot of fun looking for sample images for a couple of titles that may have slipped under the radar of most site users:

Gorrell’s History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service, 1917-1919 is a report of some of the first uses of aircraft in war. Edgar S. Gorrell was assigned to gather information that would “assist in establishing Army aeronautics on a sound basis for the future,” and this title is the result of his work.

Browsing this title, I found great descriptions of the kinds of things the military was learning about air warfare and some fascinating pictures, including stitched aerial photos that must be among the earliest precursors to Google Earth.

Historical Files of the American Expeditionary Force, North Russia, 1918-19 includes reports from the US involvement in a multinational task force that was sent to North Russia in 1918 following the signing of a treaty between Russia and Germany. I had no idea the US was involved in Russia at this time, and this title provides intimate details about what was going on.

I found lists of troop activities, reports of soldiers missing or killed, more early learnings about the military use of aircraft and much more.

These documents and those from individual Member’s shoe boxes, tell some of the most interesting stories of history. It’s our hope that as you and Footnote make more of these documents available, their stories we’ll give us not just a clear vision of the past but a better idea of how we got where we are.

If you find something that you think would make a good sample image for one of the titles on the site, please send us a link to the image and tell us why you think it would make a good sample.

We just wanted to remind everyone that some of the Footnote team will be in Ft. Wayne, Indiana this week for the FGS Conference. We will have our booth set up next to Dick Eastman and the laptop lounge. So, if you are planning on going to the conference, we would love to have you come by and visit. Plus you can relax in the laptop lounge. We look forward to seeing you and having a great conference. Look for a future post about the conference with pictures.

We will be holding a meeting of Footnote.com members at the 2007 FGS Conference in Ft. Wayne, Indiana on Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 2pm. The meeting will be held at the Grand Wayne Center Board Room. Footnote members who live in the Ft. Wayne area or who will be attending the 2007 FGS Conference, are welcome to attend. We will discuss future plans, solicit member opinions, give out door prizes and have fun with Dick Eastman and Beau Sharbrough. Anyone who is interested may attend. Seating will be limited. If interested please contact Elizabeth.

There is no master plan of History.

Events happen, we witness and, later, we try to make sense of them.

When tragic or momentous events do occur, we often seek to forgo patience for prescience. We want it all to make sense now. We want order and meaning restored.

In an age when reporting has mostly given way to analysis, a look back into history suggests that observations and facts are far more valuable since true perspective can only come with time.

As an example, I came across this letter written by Thomas Jefferson 218 years ago today:

It is vivid and striking not only because of its rich details but in its lack of any superfluous prognostication or color commentary. It’s just the facts written by a shaken but brilliantly coherent observer.

The letter describes an angry mob storming a prison, taking up arms, freeing captives and beheading authorities.

Jefferson, for all of his intellect, cannot see beyond that moment. So he writes for it. It’s what a good reporter would do.

He stands amid the chaos watching the instant one of the world’s most powerful countries begins to furiously unravel at the seams.

He witnesses the genesis of something before its consequences can be known, or before the master plan can be seen - even before it has a name: The French Revolution.

Cross-posted at Hypergene Media Blog

In July 1947, the Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) issued a press release saying they had recovered debris of a crashed “flying disc” sparking intense media interest. They later corrected themselves by stating the materials were that of a downed weather balloon.

60 years later, speculation and fascination about the incident continues. Just this week, a peculiar eyewitness report by a retired public relations officer for the base surfaced.

If you’re curious about what people have seen in the sky over the past 60 years, we might have something to keep you busy.

Footnote has free and complete access to more than 129,000 documents of Project Blue Book - investigations conducted by the US Air Force’ from 1947-1969. Note: The original Roswell incident was not covered by this series of investigations. But the reading is fascinating. First-hand accounts from everyone - farmers to fighter pilots.

You can also view more than 1,600 documents that the FBI has released.

Which two people died on the 4th of July?

• Benjamin Franklin Born: 1706
• George Washington Born: 1732
• John Adams Born: 1735
• John Hancock Born: 1737
• Thomas Jefferson Born: 1743
• Abraham Lincoln Born: 1809

Good luck.