Abstract
During 1984 the National Archives celebrated its 50th anniversary and regained its status as an independent agency by the passage of legislation that separated the National Archives from the General Services Administration (GSA). This paper reviews the independence movement from its first emergence in the 1960s until October 19, 1984 when the President signed P.L. 98–497 granting independent status to the National Archives and Records Administration. In assessing the meaning of independence for the National Archives, this paper analyzes first the development of an able and vocal constituency for the National Archives which is capable of influencing the political process, and second, the expectation that while independence is not a panacea, it does provide authority for the Archives management to address many troublesome issues surrounding the retention of federal records of enduring value.
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