Autograph Collecting-More than a Hobby

"Freedom is but one generation from extinction."
-----Ronald Wilson Reagan

"If the government were put in charge of the Sahara Desert there would be a sand shortage in less than five years."
-------Anonymous ( for fear of reprisal)

"He who controls the past, controls the future; and he who controls the present, controls the past."
----------George Orwell

There is much depressing news these days concerning the dishonesty and outright fraud in the autograph and manuscript hobby. In fact, it sometimes seems like there are no limits to the mendacity of many individuals in our field. But there is another, more important and more uplifting side to this hobby that at least in part motivates some very good people in the world of manuscripts. Autograph collectors and dealers should understand clearly that they have a potentially important role to play in preserving the history of our country separate and apart from institutions and that function may help to ensure the long term survival of our freedoms as discussed herein.

Since there is no 'American Race' our country is defined entirely by its history which includes our founding documents. Those documents encompass not only the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution but also the written and printed records of early commerce, literature and science. The importance of this material was recognized by congress in the 1800's and that is why Peter Force was commissioned to collect and thus preserve as much of the early written record of American history as possible which resulted in his nine volume work entitled American Archives***. It is tragic his effort was terminated before it was completed because of a lack of funds. As usual Ronald Reagan summed up the the importance of preserving our history in his Farewell Address January 11, 1988 as follows:

"So, we've got to teach history based not on what's in fashion but what's important: Why the Pilgrims came here, who Jimmy Doolittle was, and what those thirty seconds over Tokyo meant. You know, four years ago on the fortieth anniversary of D- Day, I read a letter from a young woman writing of her late father, who'd fought on Omaha Beach. Her name was Lisa Zanatta Henn, and she said, "we will always remember, we will never forget what the boys of Normandy did." Well, let's help her keep her word. If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are. I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit. Let's start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual. And let me offer lesson number one about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let 'em know and nail 'em on it. That would be a very American thing to do."

Indeed-If we forget what we (they did) we won't know who we are.

Orwell wrote in his classic novel 1984 that to establish a tyranny you first need to destroy a country's history. Remember, the protagonist in 1984 was Winston Smith whose job in the Ministry of Truth was to keep rewriting history so that the government would always be right. If you accept the argument that America and American exceptionalism is defined by our history it follows that each new generation of Americans must be afforded free access to the pristine letters, newspapers and documents that define our beginning history accurately so that they will understand and appreciate how important it is to perpetuate our founding principles and why they stand in part as a barrier to tyranny. One of the best ways to ensure Americans have access to their written and printed history is to keep as much of our history as possible in private hands and that is where our field comes in. Our role as historical conservationists will make certain that government never has enough credibility to proclaim that history is what they say it is. Just as environmentalists work to preserve the physical environment autographists must work to conserve our political environment including our inalienable rights and freedom. We can do without another Ministry of Truth.

One thing is clear, today the government is not the only threat to our freedoms and rights. It is now apparent that neither the American academe nor the mainstream media any longer serve the function of 'watchchdogs' of government. They now function more like cuttlefish squirting ink to obscure the aims of those who really are trying to scuttle America or at least transform it into European-style social democracy. The evidence is now overwhelming that the majority of mainstream media is thoroughly corrupt and has become nothing but a cheerleader for socialism and the destruction of America as we know it.

America has many governmental and private institutions that collect and preserve our history and many of those entities are in fact well known-The Smithsonian, The National Archives and The Presidential Library System to name a few. But it is my contention that these and similar institutions should not gain complete control over our recorded history for reasons already cited as well as the following: First, the record is now clear that many institutions have done a deplorable job in archiving and preserving the items they have been given. Thus, a recent audit of the Presidential Library system by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG)** showed that several of the libraries including the Reagan Library had inadequate staff, poor techniques of record keeping and low standards for preservation. The Reagan Library staff was given a list of 20 items they were alleged to have in their possession by the OIG and they could only find 20 per cent of them. Along the same line the OIG has launched a major criminal investigation of alleged thefts from the National Archives the exact extent of which remains unknown at present. And who can forget Sandy Berger being allowed to stuff documents in his socks and underwear and walk out of the National Archives in broad daylight only to proceed to destroy what probably were very important records of the National Security Administration effort, or lack thereof, against terrorists by the Clinton Administration. Furthermore Berger received a mere token punishment for stealing from all Americans and he is already back in the mix in national affairs. Another example of governmental incapacity and neglect surfaced recently when it was revealed by the national media that the Supreme Court had misplaced one of the Stone vellum Declarations of Independence which was only found recently behind a row of filing cabinets. Before it was found it was alleged to have been stolen. A second reason for not giving historical material to institutions is that it often becomes sequestered and thus unavailable to average citizens without something akin to an Act of Congress. Third there is the danger that the more these institutions acquire the more they want and some have shown, especially at the state level, that they will use the legal resources of government to launch replevin actions to recover items that are now in private hands but which they claim, but often fail to prove, actually belong to them. Fighting replevin is very costly to all concerned but especially for collectors and dealers. Finally as this article previously argued that the more the government controls our recorded history the more power it has to revise that history to its own ends. When President Reagan was asked how he thought he would be treated by history his response was-"It depends on who writes it."

So, to end this where we began, autograph and manuscript collectors may play an important role in preserving our history and thus the long term survival of freedom in America. Autographists can function in a sense like worker bees pollinating the next generation of freedoms. Autographists can not guarantee the outcome of the perpetual battle against government usurping our rights and freedoms but that does not negate trying. Original historical materials kept in private hands can be used by citizens to teach and educate and thus stimulate an interest in and appreciation for the importance of our history. Understanding that history gives the citizens the ammunition to oppose any public policy initiative that diminishes our political or religious freedoms. A historically literate citizenry should be able to deter government or even the academe or the media from attempting to rewrite history to advance their political ends.At the same time informed citizens can detect the frauds running for office who are often abysmally ignorant of history and often make outrageous statements like "going into Iraq was the greatest blunder in foreign policy in American history." They know not history and that lack of knowledge puts the nation in peril.

***Peter Force, ed. American Archives 9 vol 1837-1853, major compilation of documents 1774-1776.

**http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/NARA_OIG_Audit_Report_No._08-01.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/nyregion/29library.html?_r=1&oref=slogin- -------Reference to documents stolen from the New York Historical Society.