J. Franklin Jameson (1859-1937) was a historian, writer, and editor who was instrumental in preserving the documentary history of the United States. The first managing editor of The American Historical Review, he helped to establish the National Archives and was head of the Division of Manuscripts at the Library of Congress. Michael A. Blaakman is associate professor of history at Princeton University. Sarah Barringer Gordon is the Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law and professor of history, emerita, at the University of Pennsylvania.