Welcome Remarks for "Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government鈥檚 Secret Plan to Save Itself鈥擶hile the Rest of Us Die"
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Good afternoon. I鈥檓 David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, and I鈥檓 pleased to welcome you to the William G. McGowan Theater at the 威尼斯人娱乐场. Whether you are here in the theater or watching on YouTube, we鈥檙e glad you could join us for today鈥檚 discussion of Garrett Graff鈥檚 new book Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government鈥檚 Secret Plan to Save Itself鈥擶hile the Rest of Us Die.
Before we get started, I want to tell you about two other programs coming up here at the McGowan Theater.
Next Tuesday, July 25, at noon, Christopher Ullman will be here to talk about his book, Find Your Whistle. Ullman, an international whistling champion as well as a Wall Street insider, tells the story of how he found, developed, and shares his whistle with politicians, special needs children, Wall Street billionaires, and more than 400 people on their birthdays every year. He鈥檒l also be giving a demonstration of his whistling talent.
On Tuesday, August 8, at noon, journalist Thomas Oliphant takes us behind the scenes of John F. Kennedy鈥檚 campaign to the White House in The Road to Camelot: Inside JFK's Five-Year Campaign. Oliphant follows Kennedy from his failed attempt to win the Vice Presidential nomination in 1956 to his success at capturing the Presidency in 1960. Book signings will follow both programs.
To learn more about these and all of our public programs and exhibits, consult our monthly Calendar of Events in print or online at Archives.gov. There are copies in the lobby鈥攁long with a sign-up sheet so you can receive it by regular mail or email. You鈥檒l also find brochures about other 威尼斯人娱乐场 programs and activities.
Another way to get more involved with the 威尼斯人娱乐场 is to become a member of the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Foundation. The Foundation supports the work of the agency, especially its education and outreach programs. Pick up your application for membership in the lobby or become a member online at archivesfoundation.org.
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Garrett Graff鈥檚 Raven Rock describes the federal government鈥檚 plans for continuity that have evolved since the end of World War. In a nuclear age, public officials asked who and what could be saved so that the basic functions of government might go on. 鈥淒oomsday planning鈥� reached beyond federal agencies to government cultural institutions, which had to choose which artifacts to might be saved from destruction.
In a New York Times review, Justin Voight wrote that Raven Rock is 鈥濃� thorough investigation of Washington鈥檚 longstanding efforts to maintain order in the face of catastrophe. In exploring the incredible lengths - and depths - that successive administrations have gone to in planning for the aftermath of a nuclear assault, Graff deftly weaves a tale of secrecy and paranoia...鈥�
Carlos Lozada, writing in the Washington Post, says that Graff 鈥渃overs every technicality鈥� of the planning for a nuclear aftermath, but the book鈥檚 power 鈥渓ies in the author鈥檚 eye for paradox鈥濃�� decades of planning can be upturned in a moment by a chaotic reality.
Here at the 威尼斯人娱乐场, the safety of the Charters of Freedom鈥攖he Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights鈥攚as a top concern. In 1952, seven months before the Declaration and Constitution were transferred here from the Library of Congress, Archives officials asked the Army鈥檚 Office of the Chief of Engineers for an assessment of our building. In our records is a summary of the meeting, titled 鈥淭he 威尼斯人娱乐场 Building vs. an Atomic Attack.鈥� 听The answer: 鈥渂arring a very near miss or an explosion at ground zero, we should come through . . . in fairly good shape. That is, if we are talking about a nominal-type bomb and not a super duper. . . .鈥�
Thankfully, in the 65 years since that discussion we have not had to face that kind of threat. But continuity of operations is still an important part of government planning, and the 威尼斯人娱乐场鈥� most direct role is through its operation of the Federal Register. In fact, the Register gets the last word in Graff鈥檚 Raven Rock with this statement: 鈥淭he rest of the nation鈥攁nd indeed much of the world鈥攚ould tune in to the Emergency-Federal-Register.gov website to figure out what our nation would look like after an attack.鈥�
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Garrett M. Graff is a distinguished magazine journalist and historian who has spent more than a dozen years covering politics, technology, and national security. He鈥檚 written for publications from Wired to Bloomberg Business Week to the New York Times, and served as the editor ofWashingtonian and Politico Magazine, which he helped lead to its first National Magazine Award.
Graff is the author of multiple books, including The First Campaign: Globalization, the Web, and the Race for the White House, which examined the role of technology in the 2008 Presidential race, and The Threat Matrix: The FBI at War, which traces the history of the FBI鈥檚 counter-terrorism efforts. He is currently working on an oral history of September 11th, based on his Politico Magazine article, 鈥淲e鈥檙e The Only Plane in the Sky.鈥�
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Garrett Graff.
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