Open Parks Network
View over 1 million images from U.S. national parks and historic sites.
Digital Public Library of America
Search more than 4,500,000 primary sources from across the country from one website!
Children's Lives at Colonial London Town
Invite young students into colonial history with the stories of children from three very different families.
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.
Penn Museum Online Collections
Exploring the material culture of Native Americans in North and South America? Search this museum’s online collections for artifacts!
Clio Visualizing History
This site offers a grab bag of digital history exhibits. Definitely worth perusal.
Japanese American National Museum Collections
Looking for ways to grow awareness of injustice of Japanese internment? This site likely has the perfect primary source for your needs.
IWitness
View testimonies on the Holocaust, create videos, and learn the importance of ethical editing.
Maryland Historical Society Collections Online
Whether you’re bolstering your teaching of local history or the War of 1812, the MHS has artifacts to help.
Quilt Index
Consider broaching local or women’s history using a quilt as a gateway artifact.
World Trade Center: Rescue, Recovery, Response
Get out of the political arena and teach your students about the emergency response and human issues that resulted from 9/11.
A Sailor's Life for Me!
Explore Old Ironsides—live the life of a ship’s boy or learn about the people who fought aboard her.
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?
Guampedia
Guam is often left out of discussions of U.S. history. Remedy the situation!
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Virtual Museum Exhibit
What was life like in abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s home in Washington, DC? The NPS takes a look.
American Turning Point: The Civil War in Virginia
Meet Virginians from the 1860s, and learn about their lives.
Hope for America
Do you want to use humor to your advantage in the classroom? Hope for America examines comedy and satire in American popular culture and its influence on political history.
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?
Shays' Rebellion and the Making of a Nation
Engage your students in historical thinking with this interactive site on the rebellion led by Daniel Shays.
Encyclopedia of Alabama
This site is precisely what it promises. . . and more.
Gettysburg National Military Park: Camp Life
What did soldiers do between battles? Sometimes, fought off boredom!
9/11 Memorial
What does our choice of memorial design say about the U.S. today?
Sewall-Belmont House Museum Collections
Allow the National Woman’s Party to show you their collection on women’s progress to equality.
Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project
What role have women played in war and the military?
Yale Digital Commons
A wheeled pull toy depicting Nixon with a crown? If you’re looking for a unique object to bring up in class, start with the digital commons.
The Object of History
How do objects capture the past? And how do you display objects to make a point about the past?
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.”
Laura Jernegan: Girl on a Whaleship
Make whaling, a rich part of New England history, relevant to young students with the diary of a six-year-old at sea.
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.
Presidential Timeline of the Twentieth Century
Teaching 20th century presidential history or political events? Explore this site for interactive timelines, exhibits, and over 1,500 primary sources.
History Explorer
The Smithsonian offers rich resources for teachers, but tracking them down can be difficult. Use History Explorer’s rich search features to make your hunt easier!
Wisconsin State Historical Society Online Collections
Wisconsin educators, search the online collections of the oldest American historical society for 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.
Tennessee 4 Me
Three years in the making, this project of the Tennessee State Museum outlines TN state history from pre-history to the present.
National Museum of the American Indian: Beauty Surrounds Us
Online exhibit of more than 65 objects from Native cultures in North and South America.
Beyond Face Value: Depictions of Slavery in Confederate Currency
Learn about southern culture through the images on Confederate currency.
Bisbee Deportation of 1917
Learn about labor history through the infamous Bisbee Deportation.
Virginia Historical Society
View the Virginia Historical Society’s extensive collection of materials documenting Virginia history.
Wet With Blood: The Investigation of Mary Todd Lincoln's Cloak
Explore the archives of the Chicago Historical Society to learn about Lincoln’s assassination through objects.
History of Presidential Elections Site
Provides a wealth of information on US presidential elections, with a particular focus on the 2000 election.
Material History of American Religion Project
Learn about American material culture and its relation to the nation’s religious history.
Mount Vernon
Take a virtual tour of George Washington’s famous estate, Mt. Vernon.
Leslie Brock Center for the Study of Colonial Currency, University of Virginia
Learn about the American colonial economy and currency.
White Trash: The Construction of an American Scapegoat
An excellent site for new study into the “white trash” demographic.
Red Scare (1918-1921)
Could the Bolsheviks and radicalism destroy the American way of life?
Godey's Lady's Book
Explore mid-18th century women’s culture through three full-text issues of the Godey’s Lady’s Book.
For European Recovery: The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Marshall Plan
This website gives a broad introduction to the Marshall Plan and is home to over 30 primary sources.
National Postal Museum
The mail always comes, rain or shine; but how?
Fats Waller Forever Digital Exhibit
Meet legendary jazz pianist Fats Waller. Be at the forefront of musical history.
Knowing Poe
Introduce your students to one of America’s great masters of horror.
Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection
Discover the men, ideas, and process behind discovering that mosquitoes transfer yellow fever.
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.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Library and Museum
Peruse this national source for all things Eisenhower.
Bob Hope and American Variety
“When Vaudeville died, television was the box they put it in,” according to Bob Hope. Read essays on his life and career.
Arizona State Museum
Can’t get to Arizona? You can still see local Native American artifacts online.
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia
Although painful to view, racist memorabilia reminds us of past mindsets and ethics.
Harvesting the River
Explore river life—with a particular focus on food harvesting.
Museum of Musical Instruments (MoMI)
Find out about the guitar players who came before you, and perhaps, even perfect your own abilities.
Worthington Memory, Online Scrapbook
Explore the history and development of a small town. The online scrapbook provides an uncanny lens into town life.
Physical Sciences Collection: Surveying and Geodesy
What tools do men use to turn wilderness into private property?
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Contemporary art highlights and reflects societal issues following World War II.
HistoryWired: A Few of Our Favorite Things
What American history items do Smithsonian curators like best?
Brooklyn's Eighteenth-Century Lott House
Conduct your own “virtual dig” of a Dutch farmhouse.
Labor Arts
What role has art had in the depiction and reality of U.S. labor?
Private Passions, Public Legacy: Paul Mellon's Personal Library
Enjoy this sneak peek at the Mellon Collection of Virginia history.
Gold Rush!
Bring yourself up to speed on the Gold Rush, including the minorities involved.
National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
More than 50 virtual exhibits ranging from Julia Child to West Point.
WTO History Project
Take a peek at Seattle protest history through the WTO Ministerial Week.
The Star-Spangled Banner
What does the flag mean in the terms of forging a cohesive U.S. identity?
The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden
Unsure how to teach presidential history in an engaging manner? Try these activities and lessons.
A More Perfect Union
Was Japanese American internment constitutional? Explore the Japanese American experience.
The Pill
How has the birth control pill altered sexuality and feminine gender expectations?
Education by Design: Using Visual Aids
Seek inspiration from classroom visual aids of the past.
TUPPERWARE!
Have you ever heard of a Tupperware party? Find out more about the household brand.
Connecticut History Online
Take a look at the “Constitution State,” with approximately 14,000 images depicting Connecticut’s history from the 19th through the 20th century.
Bethlehem Digital History Project
Imagine life as a Moravian in Bethlehem, PA.
American Treasures of the Library of Congress
A collection of special documents and artifacts held within the Library of Congress.
At Home in the Heartland
Learn about family life and social history in the northern Midwest.
Posters: American Style
Explore 20th century American poster art, from advertisements to patriotic propaganda.
Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for an American Landscape 1922-1932
Check out five design schemes created by Frank Lloyd Wright, but never implemented.
Unified Vision: The Architecture and Design of the Prairie School
View Prairie School works by famed architects and designers Wright, Sullivan, Elmslie, Purcell, and Maher.
Jacob Lawrence: Over the Line
Experience selected artworks by African American artist Jacob Lawrence while learning about his life.
Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast
View more than 400 Native American objects selected and presented by the 11 represented communities.
Teaching with Laurel Grove School
Local history teaches about slavery, emancipation, and freedom in Northern Virginia.
National Register of Historic Places Travel Itineraries
Explore the historic sites in more than 50 cities and towns across the U.S.
Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains
Artifacts preserve the lifestyles of current and former American Indian tribes of the Northern Great Plains, 1870-1954.
Gulf War
Participants in Operation Desert Storm talk about their experiences in oral history interviews.
Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers
Alexander Graham Bell’s work and interests extended far beyond the invention of the telephone. Explore his papers here.
Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis and Clark and the Revealing of America
180 documents and artifacts interpret 19th-century westward exploration and the concept of Manifest Destiny.
Ohio Memory: An Online Scrapbook of Ohio History
A wealth of primary materials document Ohio life, culture, and history from prehistoric times to the recent past.
Images of Native Americans
Illustrations follow European interpretations of Native Americans, through images from popular culture, literary and political observations, and artistic representations.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Designed for historians and educators, this site provides high-quality primary sources from American history.
Jewish Women's Archive
Learn more about American Jewish women’s contributions to their communities and the wider world with these exhibits and resources.
Chicago Anarchists on Trial: Evidence from the Haymarket Affair, 1886-1887
The court proceedings surrounding the Haymarket Affair look at the event that led to the first “Red Scare” in America.
Territorial Kansas Online
Primary and secondary sources examine the growing divisions in Kansas and the nation prior to the Civil War.
Slavery in New York
Nine galleries explore the history of slavery in New York City.
First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820
Explore sources from the mid-18th-to-early-19th-century European migration into the Ohio River Valley.
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.
Readex Digital Collections
This site offers a cornucopia of documents spanning four centuries of American history.
Lakota Winter Counts
Displays, explains, and interprets the Lakota pictorial histories known as winter counts.
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.
Cultural Readings: Colonization and Print in the Americas
Examine texts about the Americas produced in Europe from the 15th to 19th centuries.
Center for Archaeological Studies
Showcases archaeological excavations at Mobile and elsewhere in Alabama through images and exhibits.
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.
Chinese in California, 1850-1925
Browse more than 8,000 objects related to Chinese immigrant life in California.
Thomas A. Edison Papers
A vast database of Thomas Edison’s papers, including correspondence, technical drawings, and clippings about the inventor.
The Wizard of Oz: An American Fairy Tale
We’re off to see the wizard! Discover the cultural impact of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Lost Museum
Recreates the P.T. Barnum Museum as an interactive 3D exhibit and an archive of images, documents, accounts, and essays on 16 original Barnum exhibits.
The Kraus Collection of Sir Francis Drake
Peruse 60 primary and secondary materials concerning the voyages of Sir Francis Drake.
Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
Explore the significance of religion in early American history and its influence on republican institutions.
Raid on Deerfield: The Many Stories of 1704
Documents the 1704 raid on Deerfield, MA, by 300 French and their Native American allies.
Plymouth Colony Archive Project
Documents and analytical essays emphasize the social history of Plymouth Colony from 1620 to 1691.
Online Archive of California
Explore California from Japanese American internment or the Free Speech Movement to oral histories.
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.
September 11 Digital Archive
Records the user-contributed histories of people affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
National Park Service: Links to the Past
Roughly 200 National Park Service locations preserve locations designated important to U.S. history and prehistory; explore their resources online here.
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.
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Website
The Holocaust must be remembered. This site will give your students a closer look at the atrocities of this genocide.
American Indians of the Pacific Northwest
Documents the lives of Native Americans in the Northwest Coast and Plateau regions of the Pacific Northwest in text and photographs.
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!