For Us the Living
A series of five primary source based learning modules that encourage high school students to explore American history through the stories found in Alexandria National Cemetery.
Digital Public Library of America
Search more than 4,500,000 primary sources from across the country from one website!
Prohibition: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick
What did the effects of the 18th Amendment look like? Explore 1921 through 1933 through images and film.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott: They Changed the World
How was the 1955–1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott covered in Montgomery? Take a look with this archive from a Montgomery newspaper!
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.
The March on Milwaukee Civil Rights History Project
Wisconsin teachers, bring the Civil Rights Movement home to your students with this archive of primary sources.
Homicide in Chicago 1870-1930
Covering urbanization and industrialization? This homicide index can help students understand social changes and tensions associated with both.
Clio Visualizing History
This site offers a grab bag of digital history exhibits. Definitely worth perusal.
Pearl Harbor Attack Map
What did U.S. sailors mean when they refer to seeing “the meatball”? What did Japanese pilots think about the attack?
Understanding 9/11: A Television News Archive
How was the TV-viewing world introduced to the events of 9/11 in the U.S. and around the world?
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.
Memoirs v. Tapes: President Nixon and the December Bombings
Was Nixon as reluctant to initiate the Christmas bombing as his memoirs suggest, or was he as eager as he claimed Kissinger to be?
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!
Idea of America
The U.S. was formed on ideals, but how do these ideals manifest in reality? Are they ever at odds?
Red Cross: Exploring Humanitarian Law
Humanitarian law and history are hardly mutually exclusive.
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.
9/11 Memorial
What does our choice of memorial design say about the U.S. today?
Bland County History Archives
Looking for proof that students can handle extensive local history projects? You’ve found it.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the final law of the land. Uncover its intricacies with this resource from PBS.
Joe Hill
Union strikes. Murder. Itinerant songwriting. The life of martyr Joe Hill could hardly have been more dramatic or mysterious.
DocsTeach
Team up with the National Archives and Records Administration to bring primary sources into your classroom!
Finishing the Dream: Learning from the Civil Rights Era
This collection of short videos recognizes the civil rights movement as ongoing struggle.
Texas Archive of the Moving Image
Watch some Texas history, submit your own, or learn to make local documentaries.
Snag Learning
Looking for a documentary related to your classroom unit? Check Snag Learning for something pertinent or inspiration for future lessons.
Freedom Riders
Meet the American men and women who traveled the South in the name of black/white equality.
Slavery in Canada
Slavery in Canada? Who were these people? What were their lives like?
Center on Congress
What is Congress? Why should anyone care?
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.
The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Teaching media history and the spread of pop culture? Explore over 7,000 digitized programs and commercials.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library
Teaching modern presidencies and politics? Take advantage of the virtual resources of the Foundation and Library.
Seattle General Strike Project
In 1919, Seattle workers launched the first general strike in U.S. history. Explore labor history with over 100 newspaper articles and other sources on the strike.
University of Washington Libraries: Moving Image Collection
Northwest educators—need some unconventional primary sources? Check out 65 moving images from 1915 through the 21st century.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
This presidential library presents sources from the 35th President’s life and times.
John Brown's Holy War
A variety of resources focused on the life and times of infamous abolitionist John Brown.
Marian Anderson: A Life in Song
Travel through the life and works of Marion Anderson with this online exhibit.
Jefferson's Blood
Learn about Jefferson’s forgotten descendants, children of his slave mistress.
History of Presidential Elections Site
Provides a wealth of information on US presidential elections, with a particular focus on the 2000 election.
The Last Days of a President: Films of McKinley, 1901
Learn about the 1901 assassination of President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY.
Inside an American Factory: Films of the Westinghouse Works, 1904
A collection of resources pertaining to the Westinghouse Works company, including films and articles.
Origins of American Animation
A collection of early animated films useful for the study of early American animation.
Today in History
A daily exhibit which showcases a particular event in American History each day.
Through Our Parent's Eyes: Tucson's Diverse Community
Learn about the ethnically diverse history of Tucson, AZ.
Promise of Gold Mountain: Tucson's Chinese Heritage
A collection of primary sources detailing early Asian-Americans in Tucson, Arizona.
The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color
Explore World War II’s color film footage.
The Official Leonard Bernstein Site
Explore the life of a major classical conductor.
Linus Pauling and the Race for DNA: A Documentary History
Meet Linus Pauling, from his Nobel prizes to his “dirty laundry.”
Cleveland Digital Library
Explore the history of “the forest city.”
Arizona State Museum
Can’t get to Arizona? You can still see local Native American artifacts online.
The Joshua Lederberg Papers
What contributions has bacterial geneticist Joshua Lederberg made to science and healthcare?
Meeting of Frontiers
How does the settling of the Siberian frontier compare to that of the U.S. West?
RFK in the Land of Apartheid: A Ripple of Hope
Examine the impact of Robert F. Kennedy’s anti-apartheid trip to South Africa.
The Commercial Closet
How have GLBT lifestyles been portrayed and used by the commercial media?
Brief Timeline of American Literature, Music, and Movies
Explore film, music, and literature in its social context and chronology. Understand the cultural dynamics that lent themselves to the media.
HistoryWired: A Few of Our Favorite Things
What American history items do Smithsonian curators like best?
Theodore Roosevelt: His Life and Times on Film
Do films capture your students’ attention? Introduce them to Roosevelt in motion.
Before and After the Earthquake and Fire: Early Films of San Francisco
See a turn-of-the-century city, San Francisco, before, during, and after the 1906 earthquake and fire (1897-1916).
The Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898-1906
View early films of New York City life.
The American Experience
Discover briefs on more than 60 iconic points in U.S. history.
WTO History Project
Take a peek at Seattle protest history through the WTO Ministerial Week.
The New Georgia Encyclopedia
Need a comprehensive site on Georgia history? Why, here you go!
What Exit? New Jersey and Its Turnpike
Travel through history with the New Jersey Turnpike.
TUPPERWARE!
Have you ever heard of a Tupperware party? Find out more about the household brand.
George Mason University Electronic Documentary History
How does a university grow into its own?
Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
Visit the companion site to the Ken Burns documentary which chronicles the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Buckaroos in Paradise: Ranching Culture in Northern Nevada, 1945-1982
Learn about ranching culture and everyday life in northern Nevada’s Paradise Valley.
Alaska's Digital Archive
View images related to Alaskan statehood and Native Americans.
Illinois Digital Archives
Primary sources on Illinois history with an emphasis on residential and commercial architecture.
Folkstreams
View streaming videos on American folk culture from fox hunting to Zydeco.
Florida Folklife Collection
Explore the folk lore of Florida—from musical performances and art to occupational lore.
The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students at UNC
What did college students think about their lives and larger issues in the 19th-century?
Turning Points in Wisconsin History
Primary documents, background information, and lesson plans for Wisconsin history.
Walt Whitman Archive
Get to know the life, mind, works, and criticisms of poet Walt Whitman.
The Dick Thornburgh Papers
Explore the positions and words of a former PA Governor and Attorney General.
Lionel Hampton: His Life and Legacy
Jazz musician Lionel Hampton and the University of Idaho shared a rich relationship, explored in this tribute site.
Fly Girls
Explore the experiences of World War II’s Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) at this companion website to the PBS American Experience documentary.
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.
The History of Social Security
We all know what the Social Security Administration does, but do you know how it was formed?
Profiles in Science
Explore the profiles of 26 scientists, physicians, and experts in biomedical research and public health.
Performing Arts in America, 1875-1923
Browse primary sources reflecting the performing arts of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gulf War
Participants in Operation Desert Storm talk about their experiences in oral history interviews.
Willa Cather Archive
Read the annotated works of author Willa Cather (1873–1947), including O Pioneer! and My Antonia.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Digital Archives
Photographs, audio clips, documents, and more preserve the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
France in America
In French and English, explore the history of the French in North America from the 1500s through the 1800s.
Television News of the Civil Rights Era
View contemporary coverage of the Civil Rights Movement from two Roanoke, VA television stations.
AIDS at 20
New York Times articles from 1981 to 2001 follow the development of the AIDS epidemic.
Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures
See how early film was used to capture and communicate the Spanish-American War.
Jewish Women's Archive
Learn more about American Jewish women’s contributions to their communities and the wider world with these exhibits and resources.
American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920
Follows the development of popular entertainment forms from the 1870s to the 1920s, through playscripts, playbills, and media clips.
Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920
Documents the birth of the conservation movement through published works, manuscripts, images, and motion picture footage.
Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project
This site examines Illinois history and the life of Abraham Lincoln in the years 1831 through 1860.
Digital History
Multimedia resources for teaching slavery, private life, technology, and film.
America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915
Collects 150 1894–1915 motion pictures on work, school, and leisure activities.
The Presidents
Profiles all 42 of the nation’s completed presidencies.
Florida State Archives Photographic Collection
Presents more than 137,000 photographs of Florida on specific localities from the mid-19th century to the present.
Vietnam Center and Archive
Browse through a multitude of resources on Vietnam and the Vietnam War, including oral histories, video interviews, and primary source documents.
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.
Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project
Presents video and audio oral histories and additional material from American veterans of 20th-century wars.
Inventing Entertainment: The Early Innovations of the Edison Companies
Early motion pictures, sound recordings, and related materials document Thomas Edison’s impact on the history of American entertainment.
Red Hot Jazz Archive: A History of Jazz before 1930
Discover over 200 jazz bands and musicians active from 1895-1929, captured here in countless audio and video files.
Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture
Explore Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin as the American cultural phenomenon it was.
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.
Alexander Street Press
Databases of digitized firsthand accounts and literary works document periods in American history, the experiences of minorities, and other topics.
Watergate Revisited
The Washington Post looks back at the Watergate scandal in this exhibit of primary sources.
September 11 Digital Archive
Records the user-contributed histories of people affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Internet Moving Images Archive
Reproduces a privately held collection of American ephemeral films produced between 1927 and 1987.
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.
Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
Access over than 78,000 digital government resources—from textual records to sound recordings and everything in between!