Put Yourself in History! Times Change--Except for Bastards: Bastard Nation's Sealed Records State-by State Timeline

1935: “*Why you ungrateful brat!”* Clark Gable to Claudette Colbert, *It Happened One Night.* 1935; *Why, you ungrateful brat!* lawmakers to Arkansas and Georgia adoptees

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We all know that sealed adoption records are an archaic product of social and cultural approbation encoded into state laws decades ago. But have you ever thought where you’re placed in that history? We are, in fact, along with our sealed records, historic relics.

So. welcome to Times Change–Except for Bastards: Bastard Nation’s Sealed Records State-by State Timeline where you can plop yourself into the middle of history as a remnant of a once upon a time a long long time ago when do-gooders, social moralists, and adoptacrats decided that Class Bastard belonged locked up and sealed away in an adoptee protection program to protect us from ourselves and our families–not to mention nosy neighbors and blackmailers.

Use our timeline for amusement and education. Imagine the fun you’ll have telling your state legislators that your records were sealed before Pearl Harbor was bombed; Babe Ruth retired and Jackie Robinson broke the color line; school segregation was illegal; Social Security and the CIA existed; Watergate, Elizabeth was Queen; Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were assassinated….and before most of those lawmakers were born.

The sealing dates of some states are unknown. If we learn them we will add the information to the timeline. Some states sealed with a series of bills and we have used the year the final nail was pounded in.

Times Change–Except for Bastards

State	Year	President	Oscar	Events
Alabama*	1981	Ronald Reagan	Ordinary People	Ronald Reagan shot by John Hinkley, Jr; Prince Charles and Diana Spencer marry; MTV launched
Alaska	Never	N/A	N/A	N/A
Arizona	1981	Ronald Reagan	Ordinary People	Ronald Reagan shot by John Hinkley, Jr; Prince Charles and Diana Spencer marry; MTV launched
Arkansas	1935	Franklin D Roosevelt	It Happened One Night	Mussolini invades Ethiopia; Social Security Act signed into law; FBI kills Ma Barker
California	1936	Franklin D Roosevelt		Spanish Civil War begins; Edward VIII abdicates to “marry the woman he loves;”Bruno Hauptmann executed for Lindbergh kidnapping/murder
Colorado*	1942	Franklin D Roosevelt	How Green Was My Valley	Battle of Stalingrad begins; Bataan Death March begins; Gas rationing in US begins
Connecticut	1977	Jimmy Carter	Rocky	Apple Computer incorporated; Roots premieres; Elvis Presley dies
Delaware	1943	Franklin D Roosevelt	Mrs. Miniver	Gen. Dwight D Eisenhower named Supreme Allied Commander in Europe ;Duke Ellington plays Carnegie Hall for first time; Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles
District of Columbia	1937	Franklin D Roosevelt	The Great Ziegfeld	Buchenwald opens; Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan disappear over Pacific; Steinbeck’s Of Mine and Men published
Florida	1947	Harry Truman	The Best Years of Our Lives	Harry Truman signs an Act of Congress that implements the Truman Doctrine; CIA created; Jackie Robinson signs contract with Brooklyn Dodgers
Georgia	1935	Franklin D Roosevelt	It Happened One Night	Mussolini invades Ethiopia mSocial Security Act signed into law; FBI kills Ma Barker
Guam	unk
Hawaii*	1945	Harry Truman	Going My Way	World War II ends; Franklin D. Roosevelt dies; Cartoon character Sylvester the Cat debuts
Idaho	unk
Illinois	1946	Harry Truman	The Lost Weekend	Philippines granted independence from the US.; ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer”), the first general-purpose electronic computer unveiled at U.of PA; Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform together for first time
Indiana	1941	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Rebecca	Pearl Harbor bombed–US enters World War 2; USO created; Captain America and Wonder Woman comics debut
Iowa	unk
Kansas	never	N/A	N/A	N/A
Kentucky	unk
Louisiana	1977	Jimmy Carter	Rocky	Apple Computer incorporated; Roots premieres; Elvis Presley dies
Maine*	1959	Dwight D Eisenhower	Gigi	Alaska admitted to US; Fidel Castro takes Havana; Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, and Richie Valens killed in air crash near Clear Lake, Iowa
Marshall Islands	unk
Maryland	1947	Harry Truman	The Best Years of Our Lives	Harry Truman signs an Act that implements the Truman Doctrine; CIA created; Jackie Robinson signs contract with Brooklyn Dodgers.

Massachusetts	1964	Lyndon Johnson	Tom Jones	Civil Rights Act of 1964 enacted; Lyndon Johnson declares War on Poverty; Bewitched premieres
Michigan	1945			World War II ends; Franklin D. Roosevelt dies; Cartoon character Sylvester the Cat debuts
Minnesota	1939	Franklin D. Roosevelt	You Can’t Take It With You	Marian Anderson, African-American opera singer performs before 75,000 at Lincoln Memorial after denied use of Constitution Hall by DAR; Sit down strikes outlawed by USSC; LaGuardia Airport opens;
Mississippi	1955	Dwight D Eisenhower	On the Waterfront	Soviet Union and its Eastern Bloc allies sign the Warsaw Pact; US begins involvement in Vietnam; Mickey Mouse Club debuts
Missouri	1941	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Rebecca	Pearl Harbor bombed–US enters World War 2; USO created; Captain America and Wonder Woman comics debut
Montana	1973	Richard Nixon	The Godfather 1	AIM (American Indian Movement) occupies Wounded Knee; World Trade Center dedicated; New York Dolls release first album
Nebraska	1941	Franklin D Roosevelt	Rebecca	Pearl Harbor bombed–US enters World War 2; USO created; Captain America and Wonder Woman comics debut
Nevada	1941	Franklin D Roosevelt	Rebecca	Pearl Harbor bombed–US enters World War 2; USO created; Captain America and Wonder Woman Comics debut
New Hampshire*	unk
New Jersey	1940	Franklin D Roosevelt	Gone With The Wind	Neville Chamberlain resigns Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister; Leon Trotsky assassinated in Mexico City; F Scott Fitzgerald dies
New Mexico	1950	Harry Truman	All the King’s Men	Korean War begins; Alger Hiss convicted on 2 counts of perjury; Cisco Kid premieres
New York*	1936	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Mutiny on the Bounty	Spanish Civil War begins Edward VIII abdicates to “marry the woman he loves;” Bruno Hauptmann executed for Lindbergh kidnapping/murder
North Dakota	unk
N. Mariana Islands	unk
Ohio	1964	Lyndon Johnson	Lawrence of Arabia	Civil Rights Act of 1964 enacted; Lyndon Johnson declares War on Poverty; Bewitched premieres
Oklahoma	1939	Franklin D Roosevelt	You Can’t Take It With You	Marian Anderson, African-American opera singer performs before 75,000 at Lincoln Memorial after denied use of Constitution Hall by DAR; Sit down strikes outlawed by USSC; LaGuardia Airport opens
Oregon*	1957	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Around the World in 80 Days	Soviet Union launches Sputnik; American Bandstand goes national; First Frisbee produced
Pennsylvania	1985	Ronald Reagan	Amadeus	Mikhail Gorbachev becomes First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party; South Africa ends ban on interracial marriages; The Handmaid’s Tale published
Puerto Rico	unk
Rhode Island*	1944	Franklin D Roosevelt	Casablanca	Anne Frank & family arrested by Gestapo and shipped to Bergen-Belsen; United Negro College Fund incorporated; Glen Miller reported missing
South Carolina	1963	John F Kennedy	Lawrence of Arabia	John F Kennedy assassinated; Martin Luther King, Jr issues “Letter from a Birmingham Jail; The Feminine Mystique published
South Dakota	unk
Tennessee	1951	Harry Truman	All About Eve	22^nd Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, limiting president to 2 terms; The Catcher in the Rye published; The CBS “Eye” logo debuts on TV shows and radio printed schedules.
Texas	1957	Dwight D Eisenhower	Around the World in 80 Days	Soviet Union launches Sputnik; American Bandstand goes national; First Frisbee produced
US Panama Canal Zone	unk
US Virgin Islands	unk
Utah
Vermont	1946	Harry Truman	The Lost Weekend	Philippines granted independence from the US.; ENIAC for “Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer”), the first general-purpose computer ,unveiled at U. of PA. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis perform together for first time
Virginia
Washington	1943	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Mrs. Miniver	Gen. Dwight D Eisenhower named Supreme Allied Commander in Europe in Europe; Duke Ellington plays Carnegie Hall for first time; Zoot Suit Riots in Los Angeles
West Virginia	1944	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Casablanca	Anne Frank & family arrested by Gestapo and shipped to Bergen-Belsen; United Negro College Fund incorporated; Glen Miller reported missing
Wisconsin	unk
Wyoming	junk

Fun with Numbers

Years records were sealed

Year	# of States
1935	2
1936	2
1937	1
1939	2
1940	1
1941	4
1942	1
1943	2
1944	2
1945	2
1946	2
1947	2
1950	1
1951	1
1955	1
1957	2
1959	1
1963	1
1964	2
1973	1
1977	2
1981	2
1985	1

Presidents (though they had nothing to do with sealing–probably)

Presidents	Number of States Sealed
Franklin Roosevelt	17
Harry Truman	7
Dwight D Eisenhower	4
John F Kennedy	1
Lyndon B Johnson	2
Richard Nixon	1
Jimmy Carter	2
Ronald Reagan	3