The head of the Library of Congress wrote these instructions to the Marine Guard entrusted to protect the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Lincoln Cathedral’s Magna Carta at an exhibition in 1944. The Lincoln Cathedral’s Magna Carta had been in the United States when war broke out in 1939. Britain requested that it temporarily remain in America to avoid shipping it home during wartime.
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States are the principal possessions of the people of this country. In them, if anywhere, the American Idea has its visible expression and its tangible form.
Memorandum from Archibald MacLeish to the Marine Guard, October 1, 1944
Protecting National Treasures
During both world wars, the Library of Congress was a valuable partner of Congress, the executive branch, and the military. The library provided vital information, such as maps and technical information, in response to wartime requests. It was also the custodian of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Lincoln Cathedral’s Magna Carta during World War II. After the Pearl Harbor attack, the library evacuated these and other cherished collections to Fort Knox for safekeeping. The library’s extensive efforts in wartime demonstrated its central role as a keeper of knowledge—vital to the nation’s health, Congress’s work, and democracy’s future.
The head of the Library of Congress wrote these instructions to the Marine Guard entrusted to protect the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Lincoln Cathedral’s Magna Carta at an exhibition in 1944. The Lincoln Cathedral’s Magna Carta had been in the United States when war broke out in 1939. Britain requested that it temporarily remain in America to avoid shipping it home during wartime.
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States are the principal possessions of the people of this country. In them, if anywhere, the American Idea has its visible expression and its tangible form.
