Toolbox Library: Primary Resources in U.S. History and Literature

This website features eight "toolboxes" designed to enable secondary teachers to enhance existing units or collaborate with university faculty and create in-depth summer seminars on prominent themes in American history. Topics include: American Beginnings: The European Presence in North America, 1492-1690; Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763; Living the Revolution: America, 1789-1820; The Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870-1912; The Triumph of Nationalism/The House Dividing: America, 1815-1850; The Making of African American Identity: Volume I, 1500-1865; The Making of African American Identity: Volume II, 1865-1917; and The Making of African American Identity: Volume III, 1917-1968. Each "toolbox" includes roughly 50 historical documents, literary texts, and works of art, divided into topics and accompanied by annotations, substantive discussion questions, an illustrated timeline of the era, and links to numerous additional online resources. Three more "toolboxes" are coming soon: The Unresolved Crisis: America, 1850-1870; Becoming Modern: America, 1918-1929; and Making the Revolution: America, 1763-1789.