Conflicts and Crisis
In this interactive visitors, examine previously classified documents and hear four presidents’ behind-the-scenes conversations as they confront critical situations and crises including the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The fourth Public Vault in the National Archives, “Provide for the Common Defense,” is about wars and diplomacy, where records from the Revolutionary War through the Persian Gulf War paint a vivid picture of heroism, inspiration, and sacrifice over the decades. Visitors can select a crisis and pick up the phone to hear a president’s conversation as they watch a slideshow with related original documents. At the end of each show the Enhanced Record Viewer lets visitors zoom in and explore every detail of the documents and reveal interpretive points of interest.