National Archives

The National Archives is a pre-war building that houses an agency that was charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records. The building is relatively undamaged, but the documents and records have mostly been destroyed or ruined. It has also become home to a patrol of super mutants, centaurs and robots, some of which have personalities. The patrol of Super Mutants have placed many traps around to keep out unwanted visitors.

It also houses the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Independence is in a small room behind a robot who claims to be the second signer of the Declaration.

Location
The National Archives are in the northeast part of The Mall. It's east of Museum of History and north of Museum of Technology (and their corresponding Museum Station exits), across the Mall battlefield.
 * It's very close to the Penn. Ave/The Mall Metro station, if you are coming from Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Building
In the first room of the building, there is a computer mounted on the wall named "National Archives Guess and Win!" with a trivia game with questions related to American history. Answering all 8 questions correctly gives the player an Archives Prize Voucher, which can be redeemed at the Prize Redemption Terminal next to the trivia terminal. The player may choose between 3 different flavored Mentats: Glamorously Grape, Brilliantly Berry, and Observantly Orange. Answering a question incorrectly will reset all questions, but the player can reattempt them with no apparent penalty. The correct answers, in order, are "The Second Continental Congress," "Thirteen," "John Hancock," "56," "Ratification," "King George III," "Happiness," and "Thomas Jefferson." There are also 6 vouchers in a locked safe in the archives administrators office.

Sydney is located in the rotunda protected from all sides by mines. She yells at you to come help her fight off the mutants and to avoid the mines. When you reach her location, a squad of Super Mutants spawn outside the door and start attacking. When you finish off the first squad another tougher squad of Super Mutant Brutes will appear with either a Minigun or Missile Launcher.

After fighting off the mutants, you may be able to join up with Sydney to find the Declaration of Independence. She will then open up a secret elevator shaft that allows you to skip a section filled with Super Mutants. (If you get the Declaration of Independence without her, she will disappear and you will not be able to purchase items from her in Underworld. If you don't want her getting in the way while you clear it of enemies, make sure you talk to her before you enter the Archival Stronghold.)

Traps
In the Ladies restroom on the ground floor, a burned corpse is face-down in a toilet with a battery and wires attached to it, apparently electrocuted. If you attempt to activate the toilet, the character will be electrocuted and take 25 points of damage. You may retrieve 35 Microfusion Cells without taking any harm if your repair skill is 20 or higher.

In the Room with the door to the Archival Strongroom, there is a Terminal that has been rigged with a grenade. It's very easy to see since the back is pried off, and there is an antenna sticking out of the top.

Notable Items

 * Duck and Cover! located in a corner in the NW room on the lower level of The National Archives, next to a cash register and two missiles.
 * Four Pre-War Books in the middle of the basement. They are on the shelf that is leaning onto 3 others.
 * Sheet Music Book in the first room after you come down the stairs to the Sub-Basement. It is on the bottom shelf of a rack on the west wall.
 * Note according to the official guide there are 5 Pre-War Books in the national archives. 4 together (described above) and 1 other. It states that all 5 are in the same room although this is contradicted in the appendix, in which it says the 5th book is in the southwest area of the archives.... probably the most vague description i've ever seen! I've checked everywhere and cannot find this 5th book in either the same room as the other 4 or anywhere else within the whole of the building. Please can someone help with this either by describing exactly where the 5th book is or confirming that it cannot be found. This is the only thing that really annoys me about these guides. They should either omit the entry if the book isn't there or at least give a pinpoint description!!!
 * I located the 5th Pre-War Book on the bookshelf just outside the stairs going to the #6 room in the guide in room #3. It is on the uppermost shelf.
 * For those without the guide, it is on the top shelf of the bookcase on the opposite side of the room with the Nuka Cola machine, just before a set of stairs
 * Metal Armor, Metal Helmet, Mini Nuke, Stealth Boy and a Duck and Cover! at the broken generator behind a Very Hard locked gate in the Sub-Basement.
 * The Bill of Rights inside a safe, Lying, Congressional Style located inside the first vault protected by two Mark II turrets in the East Archival Wing.
 * Magna Carta inside a second vault protected by two Mark II turrets in the East Archival Wing.
 * Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor located in the Archival Stronghold along with the Declaration of Independence in a safe.

Related Quests
Stealing Independence