Making Their Mark
Stories Through Signatures
Spring 2014, Vol. 46, No. 1
Frederick Douglass wrote to President Lincoln in late August 1864, asking that his youngest son, Charles, be discharged from the Army. He noted that Charles was sick and had served for 18 months. Right: Lincoln wrote on the back: 鈥淟et this boy be discharged.鈥� (Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780's-1917, RG 94)
The act of signing your name can be routinely simple, or it can be the stroke of a pen that changes many lives鈥攁nd the course of history.
We sign for credit card purchases many times each week. We write our names and a message on cards to colleagues retiring, getting married, or ailing. We provide our signatures to acknowledge the receipt of a package. We affix our signatures to petitions with thousands of other citizens.
Our actions probably don鈥檛 change the world much.
But some figures in American history have, with a simple stroke of a pen, changed the world for thousands or millions of people, for better or worse.
John Hancock signed his name so large, and with such flair, on the Declaration of Independence that 鈥淛ohn Hancock鈥� has be come a synonym for signature.
President Harry S. Truman signed two executive orders in 1948 that desegregated the nation鈥檚 armed forces and the federal workforce. Within a year, 18 agencies had desegregated, and some agency heads who had not cooperated were removed from their positions.
President Thomas Jefferson, who held deeply contradictory beliefs about the morality and legality of slavery, signed legislation abolishing the international slave trade and hoped to finally settle one aspect of the contentious issue of slavery.
These signatures, as well as many others and a wide range of artifacts, are part of a new exhibit at the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Museum in Washington, D.C., 鈥淢aking Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures,鈥� which runs through January 5, 2015, in the Lawrence F. O鈥橞rien Gallery.
鈥淢aking Their Mark: Stories Through Signatures鈥� is made possible in part by the Foundation for the 威尼斯人娱乐场 with the generous support of Lead Sponsor AT&T. Major additional support is provided by the Lawrence F. O鈥橞rien family and members of the board of the Foundation.
The exhibit draws on the billions of government records and artifacts from 19 威尼斯人娱乐场 facilities nationwide to showcase a unique collection of signatures鈥� and signature artifacts鈥攁nd tell the stories behind them.
鈥淭his sweeping exhibit is an opportunity to showcase not only notable signatures, but the signatures and stories of people un known to history, and how they have made their mark on the American narrative,鈥欌�� said Jennifer Johnson, the curator of the exhibit.
鈥溾�楳aking Their Mark鈥欌�� uses items from all over the country,鈥� Johnson added, 鈥渁nd these records allow visitors to see the scope and breadth of the records the 威尼斯人娱乐场 preserves.鈥�
Many of the treasured documents in the immense holdings of the 威尼斯人娱乐场 are inscribed with signatures.
Many of the signatures are notable, such as those of the 56 men, including John Hancock, who signed the Declaration of Independence, becoming traitors in the eyes of George III. Others are famous individuals, such as legendary actress Katharine Hepburn and baseball great Jackie Robinson.
Hepburn, noted for her portrayals of fear less women, wrote a letter to the U.S. Board of Parole in 1950 asking that screenwriter Ring Lardner, Jr., be granted parole. Lardner had been jailed for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee investigating communism in Hollywood.
By doing so, Hepburn was putting herself and her career at risk. Nonetheless, she went on to enjoy a long and acclaimed film career despite the letter.
Then there are signatures of those whose marks on history may have been fleeting but reveal the world around them. In World War II, a Japanese American inside an internment camp signed a loyalty questionnaire. In 1938 a Jewish tailor amid the increasing Nazi presence in Europe wrote to President Franklin D. Roosevelt pleading for help in leaving Hungary because of 鈥減olitical happenings.鈥�
In the 19th century, Texas landowner Polly Lemon petitioned Congress but, unable to sign her name, only signed with her mark, an 鈥淴.鈥� So did Harriet Tubman, who served as nurse, cook, spy, and scout for the Union during the Civil War. Decades after the war, a determined Tubman, signing with an 鈥淴,鈥� sought a pension for her services during the war.
John Hancock鈥檚 famous and distinctive signature appears on the Senate 鈥渃redentials鈥� for Tristram Dalton, of Massachusetts.
In his letter to the Continental Congress on December 20, 1783, at the end of the Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington asked how he should offer his resignation, 鈥渨hether in writing or at an audience.鈥� His deference to Congress set an important precedent for civilian rule.
The cigarette holder was one of President Franklin Roosevelt鈥檚 signature accessories. (Franklin D. Roosevelt Library)
At a dinner during the Potsdam Conference on July 23, 1945, President Harry Truman asked attendees to sign the program. Truman, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin signed the cover. (Harry S. Truman Library)
A page from a Hopi (Moqui) petition signed by all the chiefs and headmen of the tribe, asking that the federal government give the tribe collective title to their lands rather than make allotments to individuals as determined by the Dawes Act.
Frederick Douglass wrote to President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 asking that his son, the first African American to enlist in the Union Army from New York, be dis charged because of illness.
鈥淟et this boy be discharged,鈥� Lincoln wrote on the back over his signature.
Some documents are important not for the individual names but for the strength of many names brought together for a common cause. Among the petitions asking for change is a letter to President Gerald R. Ford with 75 senators signing in unity to 鈥渞eaffirm the commitment . . . that has been the bipartisan basis of American policy for over 26 years and five administrations.鈥�
Then there are those that offer a window into a very young America, such as the 1799 petition signed by all employees at the U.S. Mint, promising to return to work once the yellow fever epidemic passed. George Washington wrote to the Continental Congress humbly asking how he should resign as commander-in-chief so he could return to his home in Virginia.
As the Allied leaders met at Potsdam, Germany, in the spring of 1945 to decide the shape of the post鈥揥orld War II world, President Harry S. Truman passed around his dinner program for all to sign. Two of the signers were British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Communist Party Boss Josef Stalin.
Some signatures didn鈥檛 seem significant at the time. In 1960, a 14-year-old from Beverly, Massachusetts, wrote to President Eisenhower asking for an autographed photograph. His name was Dave Ferriero, and he was doing what millions of children have done over the years.
Today, Dave Ferriero is Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero, the person in charge of the 威尼斯人娱乐场.
"This exhibit brings a new meaning to our goal of increasing access to records at the 威尼斯人娱乐场,鈥� Ferriero said. 鈥淲e see signatures that, once affixed to a document, often produced a historic moment that changed the course of world history or the lot in life of a single individual.鈥�
President Johnson with his mentor as a senator, Senator Richard Russell, at the White House, December 7, 1963. Johnson used his imposing stature as one tool in his own brand of political persuasion, known as the "Johnson treatment."
鈥淪ignatures can also tell us a lot about their owners and the circumstances under which they were made. Hancock was defiant, Lincoln was decisive, Tubman was determined, Hepburn was fearless, and Truman was confident鈥攁ll evident in their signatures or 鈥榤arks,鈥欌�� Ferriero added.
Not everything in 鈥淢aking Their Mark鈥� is a signature on paper or parchment.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt left many famous words, but he also sought to convey confidence for a nation pulling itself out of the Great Depression and into World War II. His famous ivory cigarette holder with a quill mouth piece was his favorite and the one he used most.
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, had a signature style, in his case a jacket. He asked that the standard issue field jacket be tailored for him, and the result was the 鈥淚ke jacket,鈥� which comes just to the waist. Countless photographs show General Eisenhower in his jacket with other generals and with his troops. It became standard issue to U.S. troops after November 1944.
President Lyndon B. Johnson was known for his ability to persuade others to agree with his point of view after giving them the signature 鈥淛ohnson treatment.鈥� His large and commanding 6-foot 4-inch frame helped him convince many people to sup port his position or legislation.
A famous photograph shows Johnson leaning over Senator Richard B. Russell of Georgia, his friend and mentor in the Senate. In 1964, Johnson made clear to Russell that he was going to get the landmark civil rights legislation through the Senate despite his mentor鈥檚 opposition.
A signature tells a story. It may be at the bottom of a letter, or it may be at the bottom of legislation that will change the course of history. 鈥淢aking Their Mark鈥� invites visitors to look at a signature, imagine the moment the document was signed, and realize how the signers have made their mark on history.