American President: An Online Reference Resource

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Information on all 43 of the nation's presidents is presented on this website. Each president is featured individually with an in-depth biographical essay, details about the first lady and members of the Cabinet, links to the President's speeches, and discussions with current scholars. The Presidency as an institution is treated thoroughly in the "President at Work" section with essays on general areas of presidential duty: domestic and economic policy; national security; legislative affairs; administration of the government and White House; and presidential politics.

Clicking on "Presidential Oral Histories" or "Presidential Recordings" under the "Academic Programs" tab reveals an additional wealth of information. Recordings are available for Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. After tapes were prohibited from the Oval Office following the Watergate scandal, the Miller Center began to conduct oral history projects, producing hours of interviews with Presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton and their staff.

EDSITEment Spotlights Materials on the Modern Presidency

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EDSITEment, a website of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), is spotlighting classroom materials related to the Public Broadcasting Series (PBS) series, The Presidents.

Materials include lesson plans on Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and John Kennedy and link these lesson plans to related segments of online video from the series. They highlight major policies and events during each presidency within the context of the era. One lesson plan on Harry Truman, for example, examines origins of the Cold War, then discusses major policies such as the Strategy of Containment.

These lesson plans are directed towards grades 9–12, but incorporate materials that may be useful for younger students.