Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920

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Image for Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920
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These published works, manuscripts, images, and motion picture footage address the formation of the movement to conserve and protect America's natural heritage. Materials include 62 books and pamphlets, 140 Federal statutes and Congressional resolutions, 34 additional legislative documents, and excerpts from the Congressional Globe and the Congressional Record. An additional 360 presidential proclamations, 170 prints and photographs, two historic manuscripts, and two motion pictures are available.

Materials include Alfred Bierstadt paintings, period travel literature, a photographic record of Yosemite, and Congressional acts regarding conservation and the establishment of national parks. An annotated chronology discusses events in the development of the conservation movement with links to pertinent documents and images.

History: The National Park Service

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Logo, NPS History and Culture website
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Historical aspects of many of the 384 areas under the National Park Service's stewardship are presented in this expansive site. A "Links to the Past" section contains more than 25 text and picture presentations on such diverse history-related topics as archeology, architecture, cultural groups and landscapes, historic buildings, and military history. Of particular interest to teachers, a section entitled "Teaching with Historic Places" features more than 60 lesson plans designed "to enliven the teaching of history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects" by incorporating National Register of Historic Places into educational explorations of historic subjects. Examples include an early rice plantation in South Carolina; the lives of turn-of-the-century immigrant cigar makers near Tampa, Florida; a contrast between the Indianapolis headquarters of African-American businesswoman Madam C. J. Walker and a small store in Kemmerer, Wyoming, that grew into the J. C. Penney Company, the first nationwide department store chain; the Civil War Andersonville prisoner of war camp; President John F. Kennedy's birthplace; the Liberty Bell; Finnish log cabins in Iowa; and the Massachusetts Bay Colony's Saugus Iron Works. Especially useful for teachers interested in connecting the study of history with historic sites.

Harvesting the River

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Color offset lithograph, "Whistling In," Bartlett Kassabaum, 1980
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Presents a narrative in exhibit format—with hyperlinks to archival documents and photographs—on the cultural and economic life of the people who came to the Central Illinois River region from 1875 to 1950. Organized into three sections on the harvesting of fish, waterfowl, mussels, and natural ice; transportation by boat, railroad, and plank roads; and the settlement and development of six area river towns. The site delivers oral histories (audio and video), as well as illustrations and photographs. It may serve as a useful introduction to those studying this particular region and regional history in general.

American Notes: Travels in America, 1750-1920

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Title graphic, American Notes: Travels in America, 1750-1920
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This site is a collection of 253 travel narratives written between 1750 and 1920. The narratives were written by American citizens and foreign visitors about their travels in America. Some of the accounts were written by famous Americans (James Fenimore Cooper and Washington Irving, for example), but most of the authors were not famous. The narratives include their observations and opinions about American people, places, and society; and are valuable sources for the study of early American attitudes. Most accounts are viewable either as scanned images or as transcribed texts. Also included is the 32-volume set of manuscript sources entitled Early Western Travels, 1748-1846. The collection is searchable by keyword, and may be browsed by subject, author, and title. Students and teachers will find these primary sources invaluable for research and study of the late 18th and 19th centuries.

Historic USGS Maps of New England

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Map, "Mystic, CT-NY-RI Quadrangle," 1944
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A collection of more than 1,100 topographical maps created by the United States Geological Survey from the 1890s to the 1950s covering all of New England—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut—and selected areas of New York. The maps—which reveal roads, buildings, rail lines, bodies of water, and elevations—occur in 15-minute and 7.5-minute quadrangle series (a minute is one-sixtieth of a degree of latitude or longitude). In addition, the collection includes six maps with 30-minute quadrangles.

For states other than New York, users can view a state image map and select a point within a grid marked off in 15-minute increments to find listings for available images accompanied by dates the maps were surveyed, created, and revised. Towns within each quadrangle are also listed along with names of adjacent areas. Users also may search an alphabetical list of towns within each state. For New York, only an index of quadrangles names is available. Maps are presented in JPEG format. According to the site, "Each image is typically 2 megabytes, so download times are likely to be slow." A useful site for those studying changes in the New England landscape during the first half of the 20th century.

David Rumsey Map Collection

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Image for David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
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This private collection presents more than 15,800 rare historical maps with a focus on North and South America. The collection is accessible via several formats. A standard browser (the "directory") is designed for use by the general public. In addition to two browsers and a "collections ticker" requiring Insight software (available for free download), a GIS browser shows detailed overlays of maps and geospatial data for the more serious researcher.

Many of the U.S. maps are from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and are often notable for their craftsmanship. Materials include atlases, globes, books, maritime charts, pocket and wall maps, and children's maps. Users can zoom in to view details. Overlay capabilities make this site valuable for its ability to convey how locations have changed over time.

Historical Maps of the United States

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Map, Exploration Before 1675
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This division of the Perry-Castaneda Map Collection provides access to 500 historical maps of the U.S. Maps are sorted thematically and include three maps of early inhabitants, 11 of exploration and early settlement from 1675 to 1854, and 15 of territorial growth from 1775 to 1970. Of the 95 military history maps covering engagements from 1763 to 1967, 50 are about World War II alone.

Among 183 late 19th- and 20th-century maps, there are 146 of U.S. cities produced around 1920. Historic sites, memorials, and battlefields are represented in 191 maps of sites such as Aztec ruins in New Mexico, the Bering land bridge in Alaska, and the Vicksburg battle site in Mississippi. Most of the maps are excerpted from 20th-century historical atlases. The site will be particularly useful for research in military history and early 20th-century urban history.

Historic Topographic Maps of California

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Map, San Francisco 15-minute Quadrangle, 1895
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Provides historical United States Geological Survey maps of the San Francisco Bay area, from Point Reyes in the north to Half Moon Bay, and east to San Jose. Includes maps from different time periods—the earliest is from 1895, the latest 1997—covering each 7.5-minute and 15-minute quadrangle of the area. Users may zoom in to see minute details. Searchable by quadrangle or place name. Of value for those studying change over time in the development of the Bay Area during the 20th century.

Historical Maps Online

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Map, D.B. Cooke & Co.'s railway guide for Illinois...
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This website offers more than 400 images of historic maps charting 400 years of development in Illinois and the northwest territory. The collection of maps can be browsed by state or geographic area or by categories such as early maps, topographic maps of Illinois, Indians of North America, waterways, and transportation. Types of maps include maps showing roads and canals, topographical maps, French and Spanish colonial maps, maps of railways, city maps, county and township maps, maps showing regions of settlement, and sectional state maps.

A zoom and pan feature allows the map images to be examined in detail and bibliographic information is provided with each map image. A keyword search is available. An excellent source of historic maps.

Map Collections: 1500-2003

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Image, Historia general..., Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, c. 1601-1615, LoC.
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This large collection of maps from the 16th century to the present day focuses on Americana and cartographic treasures.

Materials are organized into seven thematic categories—Cities and Towns, Conservation and Environment, Discovery and Exploration, Cultural Landscapes, Military Battles and Campaigns, Transportation and Communication, and General Maps. Sections include five special presentations.

Users may download maps or zoom in to view details. Seventeen specific map collections contained within this larger site that are of particular importance for the study of American history include "Discovery and Exploration," "The American Revolution and Its Era," "Railroad Maps, 1828–1900," "American Colonization Society Collection: Maps of Liberia, 1830–1870," "Panoramic Maps, 1847–1929," "Civil War Maps," and "Mapping the National Parks."