Race and Ethnicity in Advertising
The definitive online exhibition and archives about how American experiences of race and ethnicity have shaped and been shaped by the development of advertising over the course of the 20th century.
Digital Public Library of America
Search more than 4,500,000 primary sources from across the country from one website!
The History of Vaccines
Do you remember when everyone got chickenpox as a kid? Your students might not! Learn about how vaccination has changed lives.
Flashing Across the Country: Mr. Zip and the ZIP Code Promotional Campaign
Have you ever wondered what your zip code means or when the codes came into use?
American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia
Meet Virginians from the 1860s, and learn about their lives.
e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia
There’s far more to West Virginia than stereotypes suggest. Why not take some time to explore the state?
Ballyhoo!: Posters as Portraiture
Think of all the celebrity advertisements you see everyday. Why pick that particular person for that particular poster?
Joe Hill
Union strikes. Murder. Itinerant songwriting. The life of martyr Joe Hill could hardly have been more dramatic or mysterious.
Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project
What role have women played in war and the military?
DocsTeach
Team up with the National Archives and Records Administration to bring primary sources into your classroom!
HERB: Social History for Every Classroom
Find a wide variety of classroom resources focused on social history, from classroom activities to primary sources.
Throughout the Ages
Looking for a primary source website created especially for elementary teachers?
Diary of a Civil War Nurse
What was life like for Amanda Akin, Civil War nurse in Washington, DC?
Children and Youth in History
Bring history home to young students with sources they can relate to—and prompt older students to think about the construction of concepts like “child” and “teenager.”
Virginia Memory
Are you a Virginia educator teaching VA state history? My your task easy! Explore the Library of Virginia’s 70 collections of digitized primary sources.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Teaching media history and the spread of pop culture? Explore over 7,000 digitized programs and commercials.
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Covering Californian urban history? Search more than 275,000 digitized images in Los Angeles Public Library’s photo archives.
Coming of the American Revolution, 1764-1776
Teaching the American Revolution and its politics? Check out 15 topical essays and a database of more than 150 primary sources.
Milwaukee Art Museum Collections
Teaching Milwaukee state history, or looking to make a connection between art and social studies? Peruse more than 20,000 works of art in these online exhibitions.
Missouri Digital Heritage
Missouri teachers looking for primary sources, look no further. Explore this portal for resources from libraries, universities, archives, and heritage sites throughout the state.
The Social Museum Collection at Harvard University
More than 6,000 images related to U.S. social conditions and institutions.
Bisbee Deportation of 1917
Learn about labor history through the infamous Bisbee Deportation.
Baseball Cards, 1887-1914
A collection of over 2,100 early baseball cards.
History of Presidential Elections Site
Provides a wealth of information on US presidential elections, with a particular focus on the 2000 election.
Liberty! The American Revolution
The companion site to a PBS documentary, this website is a useful resource for scholars of the American Revolution.
Hagley Digital Archives
Focused on business history, this gateway site connects businesses to greater cultural and social trends.
U.S. Women's History Workshop
A collection of primary source material for teaching women’s history and mid-19th century culture.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800
Looking for a one-stop spot for all your quick 1639-1800 research needs?
Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition
What was said, written, and drawn about slavery? Gain a more complete image of the institution, its evil effects, and how it felt to be a slave.
North Carolinians and the Great War
How did World War I effect the lives of the everyday North Carolinian?
Colonial Williamsburg
Experience life in Colonial Williamsburg without visiting Virginia.
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
Although painful to view, racist memorabilia reminds us of past mindsets and ethics.
Worthington Memory, Online Scrapbook
Explore the history and development of a small town. The online scrapbook provides an uncanny lens into town life.
Black Wings: African American Pioneer Aviators
What was life like for the African American pilots of World War II?
The Commercial Closet
How have GLBT lifestyles been portrayed and used by the commercial media?
Library of American Broadcasting Sound Bites
From dog food to automobiles—advertisers on the airwaves.
Phillip Morris Advertising Archive
What tactics has the tobacco industry used to sell smoking to the populace?
Labor Arts
What role has art had in the depiction and reality of U.S. labor?
The Capital and the Bay, ca. 1600-1925
What picture have people painted of the Washington, D.C. in written works?
AdFlip
Nostalgic for X-ray glasses advertisements?
Agents of Social Change: 20th-Century Women's Activism
Source documents to help you approach 20th-century feminism.
The Daguerreian Society
Have you ever thought of teaching your students the history of photography?
Women Artists of the American West
What have women artists considered worthy of depiction in the U.S. West?
Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century
Which performers, from martial artists to yodelers, traveled the Chautauqua circuit?
19th Century Advertising, Harper's Weekly
Can I interest you in a metallic artificial leg?
Florida Heritage Collection
Explore Florida state, regional, and local history.
Toledo's Attic: A Virtual Museum of Toledo, Ohio
Explore Toledo, Ohio’s entertainment, technological, business, and political history.
Gold Rush!
Bring yourself up to speed on the Gold Rush, including the minorities involved.
Great Lakes Maritime History Project
Delve into Wisconsin’s maritime history. Discover the multiple ways in which water shaped the history of the state.
WTO History Project
Take a peek at Seattle protest history through the WTO Ministerial Week.
The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden
Unsure how to teach presidential history in an engaging manner? Try these activities and lessons.
Reston Collection Images
Explore the planned community of Reston, VA. Gain a better sense of the town that has become a burgeoning suburb.
New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939
Learn about the New Deal through the Federal Theatre Project, designed to employ actors during the Great Depression.
Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s
Learn about race in American sports history through the life of Jackie Robinson.
Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement
Explore over 50 documents which chronicle the history of the Women’s Liberation Movement.
Powers of Persuasion: Poster Art from World War II
Explore American propaganda and advertising during the second world war.
Sixties Project & Viet Nam Generation
Learn about the Vietnam anti-war movement through this website.
Posters: American Style
Explore 20th century American poster art, from advertisements to patriotic propaganda.
A Century of Progress: The 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair
Browse official publications from the 1933-1934 World’s Fair.
Illinois Digital Archives
Primary sources on Illinois history with an emphasis on residential and commercial architecture.
The Blues, Black Vaudeville, and the Silver Screen, 1912-1930s
How was the community support for and operation of Southern African American theaters?
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819
Uncover novels, readers, hymnals, almanacs, diaries, maps, treaties, and more from between 1801 and 1819.
Manufacturers' Catalogs from the First Decade of American Automobiles
Curious about early cars? View more than 800 automobile manufacturer catalog images from 1909.
American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I, 1760-1900
Explore American life through advertisements, literature, poetry, Civil War envelopes, and more!
Travel, Tourism, and Urban Growth in Greater Miami: A Digital Archive
Interested in the history of tourism? This site examines the topic within Miami, FL.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
Through oral history interviews, audio files, texts, and other primary sources, learn about life and presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Prosperity and Thrift: Coolidge Era and the Consumer Economy
An array of primary sources follows the rise of the consumer economy under Coolidge.
Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920
Follow the rise of professional advertising with these advertising items and publications from 1850 to 1920.
Performing Arts in America, 1875-1923
Browse primary sources reflecting the performing arts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Nineteenth-century California Sheet Music
Scanned images from more than 2,700 pieces of sheet music provide insight into life in 1852–1900 California.
Civil War Treasures from the New York Historical Society
This site houses more than 1,500 Civil War items, including letters, photographs, sketches, and posters.
Alcohol, Temperance, and Prohibition
More than 1,800 primary sources provide a window into the Temperance Movement and Prohibition.
Images of Native Americans
Illustrations follow European interpretations of Native Americans, through images from popular culture, literary and political observations, and artistic representations.
SIRIS Image Gallery
Access close to 140,000 images from the Smithsonian Institution.
USC Archival Research Center
With over 126,000 photographs, maps, and other documents, this site offers a comprehensive look at the history of Los Angeles and southern California.
Naval History and Heritage Command
Teach U.S. Navy history using photographs, paintings, documents, oral histories, historical overviews, and more.
History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web
Provides links, primary sources, and eight modules for teachers and students in three main features: WWW.History, Many Pasts, and Making Sense of Evidence.
Tangled Roots
Primary sources point out cultural connections between the experiences of African and Irish Americans.
Marchand Archive
Memorializes Roland Marchand with more than 6,100 images, including more than 2,000 advertisements, and 48 lesson plans drawn from his collection.
Selling the Computer Revolution: Marketing Brochures in the Collection
Presents more than 250 computer marketing brochures from 1948 to 1988.
Making the Macintosh: Technology and Culture in Silicon Valley
Preserves the history of the Macintosh through interviews with designers, technical writers, Apple employees, and others.
Legacy Tobacco Documents Library
Houses more than 40 million pages from more than seven million tobacco industry documents.
Fifty Years of Coca-Cola Television Advertisements
Archives 50 Coca-Cola commercials, broadcast outtakes, and experimental footage.
Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943
Showcases more than 900 Work Projects Administration (WPA) posters produced as part of the New Deal.
Medicine and Madison Avenue
Provides more than 600 health-related newspaper and magazine advertisements from 1910 to 1960.
First World War: The War to End All Wars
Provides an overview of World War I through essays, diaries, posters, audio files, and other primary and secondary sources.
Ad*Access
Archives more than 7,000 newspaper and magazine advertisements printed in the U.S. from 1911 to 1955.
Jews in America: Our Story
Explores the history of Jews in America from the 17th century to the present through essays, images, video presentations, and interactive timelines.
Digital Scriptorium
12 collections provide primary sources on ads, health and medicine, the Civil War, sheet music, and more.
Digital Library of Georgia
Examines the history and culture of the state of Georgia, presenting an extensive range of primary sources.
Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials, 1952-2008
More than 250 television commercials trace campaign issues and the selling of American presidential candidates.
American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library
The Library of Congress offers an archive of more than 9 million primary sources dating from 1490 to the present.
The Stars and Stripes, 1918-1919
Peruse every edition of the “official newspaper” of the U.S. Army fighting forces during World War I.
HarpWeek: Explore History
With illustrations, articles, editorials, and overviews, 22 exhibits cover a variety of subjects dealing with 19th-century American history.
Geography of Slavery in America
Provides transcriptions and images of more than 4,000 newspaper advertisements for runaway slaves and indentured servants between 1736 and 1803.
Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Americas: A Visual Record
Showcases more than 1,230 images depicting the enslavement of Africans, the Atlantic Slave Trade, and slave life in the New World.
Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
Access over than 78,000 digital government resources—from textual records to sound recordings and everything in between!