The American Experience

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Visitors may browse these "website archives" to access the transcripts of 60 American Experience documentaries broadcast on PBS. In addition, the site offers transcribed interviews with the filmmakers, a timeline of events of each the of the film topic's era, and teaching guides.

Documentaries cover a wide range of topics including Harry Houdini, the Donner Party, the advent of television, and the Wright brothers. Primary source material includes pages from a colonial woman's diary, public documents from Truman's presidency, video clips of female pilots, and real audio files of three hobo songs. The site will be especially useful for teachers contemplating using films in the classroom.

Presidential Elections

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This site documents the American presidential elections from 1860 to 1912. For each election, the site provides a detailed, 3,000-word overview that places the election within political and cultural context, and discusses the major issues relevant to the election. The producers have also included an essay on the practice of campaigning (4,500 words): how it has changed over the centuries, how those changes have resulted in an increased democratization of the political process, and how the press has shaped the process. In addition, the site exhibits about 90 political cartoons (from Harpweek, Vanity Fair, and Puck, among others) from elections, and provides biographies for each of the candidates. Also included for each election are "Events" sections that discuss major events before, during, and after each election period.

Teachers should be aware that some materials contain racial epithets. Notwithstanding the relatively few primary sources, this site is an excellent introduction to the 1860 to 1912 elections.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online (1841-1902)

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The Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper was published from 1841 to 1955 and was revived for a short time from 1960 to 1963. This website covers the period from October 26, 1841, to December 31, 1902, representing half of the Eagle's years of publication.

Approximately 147,000 pages of newspaper, in various digital formats, are available. Access can be gained either by date of issue, keyword, or by eight subjects (African American history, Bridges, Crime, Draft Riot, Spanish American War, Women and Women's Suffrage, Arts and Entertainment, and Holidays). A timeline contains detailed information about the creation and development of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. For an overview, users can browse the newspaper in five-year increments.

National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center

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The highlight of the site is its Online Exhibitions section. There are currently 64 exhibits available. These include Separate is Not Equal, celebrating the 50 year anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision (including audio and video files); Bon Appetit, documenting chef Julia Child's kitchen and career (including panoramic views and virtual examination of Childs's kitchen tools); and West Point, marking 200 years of military academy training.

Parents and teachers may appreciate the Kids area with hands-on history and science. Less useful for research, this site would be most useful as a virtual visit to the Museum.

Oneida Indian Nation: Culture and History

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The Oneida Indian Nation, called the "first ally and steadfast friend" of the fledgling American republic, presents documents and historical studies focusing on the Revolutionary War period and on recent efforts to pursue land claims dating from the earlier period. Includes texts of six treaties or agreements involving the Oneida and the U.S. between 1777 and 1794; statements by the U.S. Congress, Presidents, and New York State regarding the Oneida; and President Bill Clinton's 1994 memo on "Government-to-Government Relations with Native American Tribal Governments." In addition, the site offers six essays by Nation historians and others, ranging from 1,300 to 7,400 words in length, on topics such as the roles the Oneida played in the birth of the U.S. and the War of 1812, and the land claim crusade.

Includes excerpts from an oral history project in which 13 tribal elders discuss food, herbal cures, crafts, annuity cloth, language, and land claims; a timeline; 35 press releases; a cookbook; and essays on lacrosse, legends, and the tribal creation story. The site promises in the future to include significant treaties from other Indian nations. Valuable for those studying American Indian history and culture, the Revolutionary War period, and recent legal efforts by Indian nations to pursue land claims.

The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden

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An engaging exhibit geared especially to schoolchildren, this site provides images, texts, and activities to explore the history and operation of the American presidency. Organized into four sections, the exhibit displays more than 375 images of documents, paintings, photographs, buttons, posters, paraphernalia, and objects along with short texts (50–200 words in length) explaining their significance. The Foundations pertains to the prehistory of the presidency, how the Framers defined responsibilities of the office, and the basic work that the office requires. The Campaign Trail covers the election process. Life and Death in the White House looks at the domestic world of the president, life after leaving office, and assassinations. Communicating the Presidency deals with the press, the entertainment industry, and advertising.

Most impressive are the many suggested activities, lesson plans, and games designed for children of varying ages. A Teacher's Manual contains five lesson plans each for grades 4–6, 7–9, and 10–12. In addition, there are activities for younger children, including analyzing letters between children and five presidents and creating a new official seal. Provides a timeline, bibliography of 88 titles arranged according to age group and exhibit section, and annotated list of 46 links to other sites. Very useful for classroom history and civics courses.

Popular American Music

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This archive of American popular songs in their original form allows the user to explore the history of popular music in the U.S. from the 1850s to the present. It offers more than 400,000 pieces of sheet music, anthologies, and orchestra and band arrangements. Also available are 62,500 recordings.

The collection includes a wide variety of music genres, from music for theater, television, and motion pictures to rhythm and blues and rock. The collection can be browsed by name, title, cover art subject, or date. Or search the archive by keyword or combination of keyword, title, description, composer, or publisher. There are 12 links to other digital sheet music collections. Those researching American popular music should find this extensive collection very useful.

Samuel F. B. Morse Papers, 1793-1919

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Offers approximately 50,000 images of 6,500 items from the papers of 19th-century American scientist and painter Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872), inventor of the electromagnetic telegraph. In addition to science and art-related papers, the materials in the collection document Morse's interest in photography and religion, as well as his involvement with the American nativist movement. Includes correspondence, diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, books, pamphlets, broadsides, maps, drawings, and other materials, primarily produced during between 1807 and 1872.

The site provides a timeline supplemented with 15 documents; a family tree; two essays of approximately 1,000 words each (entitled "The Invention of the Telegraph" and "The Lesser-Known Morse: Artist, Politician, Photographer"); a bibliography of 22 titles; and links to 16 additional sites.

Searching capabilities leave much to be desired. Keyword searching applies only to titles assigned to documents by the Library of Congress. Thus even though the finding aid lists "Nativism" as a subject, a keyword search turns up nothing. The site unfortunately is of limited use because of this shortcoming.

The History of Sanitary Sewers

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Documenting more than 5,000 years of sewage history, this site contains a plethora of sources addressing the historical, cultural, engineering, and even literary aspects of sewers. Beginning in roughly 3,500 BCE and continuing into the 20th century, the site includes a detailed timeline of major sewage developments, as well as links to histories of 14 major cities' sewage systems, including Washington, DC and Los Angeles.

In addition to two histories of the modern toilet, there are more than two dozen articles about aspects of sewage design, including short (500–1,000 word) introductions, engineering text, and even PDF diagrams. As well, there is a feature highlighting the many animals found living in metropolitan sewers and a virtual tour of the Paris, France, sewer system. A bibliography introduces users and researchers to major secondary works on sewage and sewer history. A Miscellaneous area collects literary references to sewers, including works by Robert Frost and Ben Jonson.

Washington History

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This website offers resources in Washington history through three main sections: historical records research, historical newspapers and classics in Washington history, and presentations. Historical records offers county census records, naturalization records, other miscellaneous records, and genealogical research resources, as well as searches of the state archive records and the state library catalog. The newspapers and classics feature allows visitors to search and view articles from four state newspapers dating back to 1852. Users can search the newspapers by keyword, topic, or personal name. This section also has 91 classic works on Washington history, searchable by keyword, grouped under topics of county and regional history, exploration and early travel, Native Americans, pioneer life, special collections, territorial government, and wagon trails and the Oregon Trail. Individual works can also be searched. (Newspaper articles and classics must be viewed using the DJVU plugin software, available for free download on the site.)

Additionally there is a Corps 33 bibliography of more than 35 works on the Lewis and Clark expedition. There are six presentations that allow visitors to explore Washington's territorial history through an interactive timeline featuring photographs and documents, view documents relating to World War I and profiles of Washington's soldiers, read the history and view historical photographs of cities, counties and corporations, browse a collection of historical maps of the state and the Pacific Northwest, view all 78 pages of the original Washington State Constitution and learn the history surrounding it, and explore the history of elections and voting in the state. The site also offers a collection of 96 images showing the construction and early history of the state's Legislative Building.