Today, I am pleased to announce the launch of my blog, The Posterity Project. Here, I intend to share links to stories and events related to my professional calling -- archives and public history. I will also occasionally offer my own reflections on archives and history from my home state of Tennessee.Why "The Posterity Project"? The name for this blog was inspired in part by a chapter in Joseph Ellis's book, His Excellency: George Washington. In the book, Ellis documents George Washington's obsession with chronicling the details of his life and experiences through his paper records, correspondence and memoirs. Washington was meticulous with the arrangement and description of his personal papers. His “posterity project,” as Ellis describes it, directly influenced how history and future generations remembered Washington through his own careful management of the documentary evidence of his life.
A word from the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution also inspired the name for this blog...
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
As one of our nation's founding documents, the Constitution, as well as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights greatly influenced me at an early age to pursue archives and public history as a career. So, I thought it fitting to choose The Posterity Project as the name for this blog.
In the Delcaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson called for a "decent respect to the opinions of mankind," so I don't plan to engage in any divisive, partisan commentary on my blog. The Posterity Project is a place where archives, history and the importance of public records are celebrated, from a "Volunteer's" point of view.
I hope you enjoy reading The Posterity Project. I look forward to sharing more with you in future posts. Meanwhile, you can learn more about the blog and about me, "Your most obedient humble servant," by clicking on the About This Site and About Us links at the top of this page.
With appreciation,
- Gordon
