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.
Open Parks Network
View over 1 million images from U.S. national parks and historic sites.
100 Years of Parcels, Packages, and Packets, Oh My!
In the age of Amazon, take students back to a time when delivery in the U.S. was still developing.
Digital Public Library of America
Search more than 4,500,000 primary sources from across the country from one website!
Penn Museum Online Collections
Exploring the material culture of Native Americans in North and South America? Search this museum’s online collections for artifacts!
After Slavery
Does your textbook make Reconstruction sound simple? Explore the real pain and complexity of Reconstruction with primary sources focusing on the Carolinas.
Creating the United States
Even the Founding Fathers wrote rough drafts! Interact with early versions of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
The website provides valuable resources for teachers that illuminate key events in U.S. and Arkansas history.
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?
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.
Creating a More Perfect Union: 1861-1865
Interested in teaching about the Civil War from a maritime perspective?
DocsTeach
Team up with the National Archives and Records Administration to bring primary sources into your classroom!
Throughout the Ages
Looking for a primary source website created especially for elementary teachers?
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.
Diary of a Civil War Nurse
What was life like for Amanda Akin, Civil War nurse in Washington, DC?
National Park Service History E-Library
Look into how historical sites are researched, prepared, and made public.
Shaping the Constitution
What role did Virginia play in defining the U.S. and upholding rights we now consider basic and essential?
Taking the Mystery out of Copyright
If you need a succinct copyright overview for your students, this is a place to start.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
Compare Republican and Democrat accounts of the great debates.
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?
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.
Union or Secession: Virginians Decide
Trace Virginia’s route to secession in the Civil War with more than 200 primary sources.
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.
Indiana Historical Society Digital Image Collections
Indiana educators, looking for visual primary sources? Search more than 38,000 photographs from the 19th century to the present.
PhilaPlace
Pennsylvania educators, or teaching urban history? Explore two neighborhoods in Philadelphia using an interactive map and more than 1,240 primary sources.
Politics of a Massacre: Discovering Wilmington 1898
This site contains sources covering and reacting to the deplorable 1898 massacre in Wilmington, NC.
Lincoln Archives Digital Project
Surf an animated timeline of Abraham Lincoln’s life and times.
Washington State Digital Archives
Attention Washington State educators! Looking for primary sources? With more than 84.5 million documents, this archive has what you need.
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.
Bubbles, Panics, and Crashes: A Century of Financial Crises, 1830s-1930s
Do your students think the Great Depression was the only previous slump in the U.S. economy?
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.
U.S. Congressional Serial Set, 1817-1994
More than 355,000 items produced by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, from 1817-1994.
National Museum of the American Indian: Beauty Surrounds Us
Online exhibit of more than 65 objects from Native cultures in North and South America.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of South Carolina
A collection of maps detailing over 80 South Carolina towns and cities.
John Brown's Holy War
A variety of resources focused on the life and times of infamous abolitionist John Brown.
Bisbee Deportation of 1917
Learn about labor history through the infamous Bisbee Deportation.
Civil War Maps
Explore the Library of Congress’ collection of Civil War maps, including maps of all major engagements.
Virginia Historical Society
View the Virginia Historical Society’s extensive collection of materials documenting Virginia history.
The Papers of George Washington
An excellent introduction to the papers of George Washington, including personal correspondence and maps.
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.
Historical Maps of the United States
A collection of U.S. and military maps useful for a variety of research.
Discovery and Exploration [Maps]
A collection of maps which chronicle the age of European discovery.
Hagley Digital Archives
Focused on business history, this gateway site connects businesses to greater cultural and social trends.
History Now: American History Online
Read this quarterly journal which focuses on a different topic in American History in each issue.
Map History/History of Cartography: The Gateway to the Subject
A collection of 3,000 historical maps and information about the history of cartography.
John Brown and the Valley of the Shadow
A comprehensive collection of primary source materials which cover the infamous Harper’s Ferry raid.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800
Looking for a one-stop spot for all your quick 1639-1800 research needs?
Spain, The United States, and The American Frontier: Historias Paralelas
If you need primary sources on the Spanish in North America, try this site.
Federal Township Plats of Illinois, 1804-1891
View maps created during the early stages of surveying Illinois.
University of Missouri-Columbia: Digital Library Collections
A hodge podge of history: England, Missouri, and the greater U.S.
Colonial Williamsburg
Experience life in Colonial Williamsburg without visiting Virginia.
Cleveland Digital Library
Explore the history of “the forest city.”
Murphy and Bolanz: Block and Addition Books, Dallas County 1880-1920
Explore the layout and businesses of turn-of-the-century Dallas.
Early Washington Maps: A Digital Collection
Washington was once part of an area contested for between the U.S. and Great Britain.
African Americans in Massachusetts
Compare perspectives on educational desegregation. How did it affect the community?
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 Hartford Black History Project
Follow the formation of the African American community in the city of Hartford, CT
The Yale Map Collection: Online Maps
What kind of map might you have used as an explorer? An early urbanite?
The Luso-Hispanic World in Maps
Peruse maps of Spanish and Portuguese colonization, exploration, and military ventures.
Historic USGS Maps of New England
Explore New England’s topography with more than 1,100 topographical maps, covering all of New England and parts of New York.
Historical Map and Chart Collection
Teaching exploration? Why not introduce your students to nautical charts?
Virginia Historical Inventory (VHI)
View Virginia’s antebellum architectural culture.
American Colonization Society Collection: Maps of Liberia, 1830-1870
View maps of Liberia acquired during efforts to restore freedmen to Africa.
Heading West and Touring West
View maps of the West, while simultaneously looking into the lives of traveling performers.
Private Passions, Public Legacy: Paul Mellon's Personal Library
Enjoy this sneak peek at the Mellon Collection of Virginia history.
A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion, 1820-1890
We all know the role of the wagon in westward expansion, but what of ships?
Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century
Compare global statistics on topics from infant mortality to literacy.
Civics Online
Gain inspiration for new ways to approach political history.
The American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts
See Revolutionary War-era maps evolve from draft to completion.
Railroad Maps, 1828-1900
View maps created for a multitude of purposes related to travel by rail.
Mapping the National Parks
Track the exploration and use of Acadia, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and the Great Rocky Mountains.
Florida Heritage Collection
Explore Florida state, regional, and local history.
Eye of the Storm
See the Civil War as it happened in Union soldier Knox Sneden’s watercolors.
Digital Map Collection
Need a historic map for any of your lessons? Check out this digital map collection!
Conservation and Environmental Maps
Looking for maps with an environmental focus? Try here.
Samuel F. B. Morse Papers, 1793-1919
Explore the thoughts of Samuel F. Morse, artist and father of the electromagnetic telegraph.
Historic Topographic Maps of California
Explore a wide range of Californian geological survey maps, dating from 1895 to present.
Reston Collection Images
Explore the planned community of Reston, VA. Gain a better sense of the town that has become a burgeoning suburb.
Harrisburg's Old 8th Ward
Visit the businesses and meet the people of Harrisonburg, PA’s 8th Ward.
Boston Streets: Mapping Directory Data
Explore the history of Boston, MA, through photographs, maps, and atlas pages.
Historical Maps Online
View 400 hundred years of cartography from the Illinois area.
Washington History
Make this your first stop for topics related to Washington state history!
Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos and Maps, 1885-1992
Take a visual journey through the development of Milwaukee, WI.
Military Campaign Maps
Where exactly were troops stationed in a given battle? Visualize the military campaigns, and imagine what the troops saw when they were able to initiate fighting.
The New Georgia Encyclopedia
Need a comprehensive site on Georgia history? Why, here you go!
The United States and Brazil: Expanding Frontiers, Comparing Cultures
How are Brazil and the U.S. similar? How are they different?
What Exit? New Jersey and Its Turnpike
Travel through history with the New Jersey Turnpike.
Maine Memory Network
Explore the history of Maine, and create your own digital album.
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.
Rare Map Collection
Explore maps from throughout America’s history, with a special focus on 19th century Georgia.
Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
Learn about the history of the United States up to 1815 with this website dedicated exclusively to early American history.
Seneca Village
One of the few resources dedicated to Seneca Village and the creation of Central Park.
Chicago Imagebase
Witness the growth of the Chicago metro area with this interactive website.
Lewis and Clark: Maps of Exploration 1507-1814
Explore cartography and the exploration of the North American continent.
Mapping History
Explore American and world history through this collection of maps.
Archiving Early America
Explore the early history of America with reproductions of important documents and newspapers.
New Jersery History Partnership Project
Use New Jersey during the American Revolution as a national microcosm.
Sullivan Clinton Campaign, 1779-2005
Explore the 1779 Sullivan-Clinton Campaign to destroy the Seneca, Cayuga, and Onondaga.
Brooklyn in the Civil War
What role did Brooklyn play in the War Between the States?
A Century of Progress: The 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair
Browse official publications from the 1933-1934 World’s Fair.
Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive
Which ethnic groups have made their homes in the Columbia River Basin?
Benjamin Franklin: In His Own Words
Get to know Benjamin Franklin through his own writings, cartoons, and letters.
Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps for Georgia Towns and Cities, 1884-1922
More than 540 urban maps of Georgia from between 1884 and 1922, detailing business locations.
A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life
Explore Jewish heritage outside of the Mid-Atlantic or the Holocaust.
Seattle Power and Water Supply Collection
Take a gander at Washington state hydroelectric engineering feats of the 1890s through 1950s.
Illinois Digital Archives
Primary sources on Illinois history with an emphasis on residential and commercial architecture.
Historic Pittsburgh
Acquaint yourself with Pittsburgh history through full texts, images, maps, census data, and lesson plans.
Portal to Texas History
Texas educators, looking for primary resources on state history? Search this portal for thousands of images and documents drawn from Texas-based archival collections.
Illinois During the Gilded Age
Listen to, read, and sing sources from the Gilded Age canvassing women, religion, and more.
World War I Sheet Music
What can the music of World War I tell us about its era?
Stephen Foster's Sketchbook
Ever wondered what a composer’s drafts look like? View Foster’s sketchbook.
Negroes With Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power
Do you think armed resistance is a justifiable reaction to racism? Explore Rob William’s motives.
Home Sweet Home: Life in 19th-Century Ohio
Examine 19th-century domestic life through sheet music and audio song files.
Gilmer Civil War Maps Collection
Explore the Civil War-era South through hand-drawn maps and renderings.
Getting the Message Out! National Political Campaign Materials, 1840-1860
What were common presidential campaign strategies between 1840 and 1860?
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819
Uncover novels, readers, hymnals, almanacs, diaries, maps, treaties, and more from between 1801 and 1819.
Madison: Celebrating 150 Years
Learn about Madison, WI, from early settlement through its time as the “queen of bootleggers.”
Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage
Explore the history of Maryland, from Edgar Allen Poe to the War of 1812.
Panoramic Maps, 1847-1929
Did you know that between 1840 and 1929 many maps were not drawn to scale?
Alabama Maps
How have boundaries changed over time? Compare the maps of yesteryear with those of today.
National Register of Historic Places Travel Itineraries
Explore the historic sites in more than 50 cities and towns across the U.S.
Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia 1876
Primary sources from Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exhibition provide a view of the U.S.’s industrial development.
Native American Documents Project
Four collections of data and documents address Federal Indian policy in the late 19th century.
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.
Public Papers of the Presidency
From Herbert Hoover to George W. Bush—discover the public messages, statements, and speeches of the presidents.
Osher Map Library
History can be revealed through the study of maps, as these exhibits containing more than 600 maps and related documents explain.
Library of Virginia Digital Library Program
Houses more than 1.2 million items on Virginia and life in the South.
In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience
Secondary and primary sources describe 13 African American migration experiences.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Designed for historians and educators, this site provides high-quality primary sources from American history.
France in America
In French and English, explore the history of the French in North America from the 1500s through the 1800s.
Anti-Saloon League, 1893-1933
Printed materials preserve the public campaigns of the Anti-Saloon League from 1893 to 1933.
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.
Envisaging the West: Thomas Jefferson and the Roots of Lewis and Clark
Follows Jefferson’s life, political participation, and accumulation of scientific geographical knowledge from 1735 to 1804.
David Rumsey Map Collection
More than 15,800 rare historical maps focus on North and South America.
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.
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
Presents more than 550,000 images relevant to both U.S. and world history, from the earliest days of print culture to the present.
Kentuckiana Digital Library
Collects photographs, texts, and oral histories drawn from 15 Kentucky colleges, universities, libraries, and historical societies.
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.
American Journeys
Firsthand accounts of exploration range from Viking stories to early 19th-century trappers’ journals.
Africans in America
Trace the history of Africans in America through Reconstruction, with 245 images, maps, and documents.
Digital Vaults
Presents over 1,200 of the items in the National Archives and Records Administration’s collection.
Northwestern European Military Situation Maps from World War II
Displays 416 situation maps from World War II.
Tangled Roots
Primary sources point out cultural connections between the experiences of African and Irish Americans.
Map Collections: 1500-2003
16th-century to present-day maps, focusing on Americana and cartographic treasures.
The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War
A wonderful collection of chronologies, images, maps, and other materials on the Spanish-American War.
American Shores: Maps of the Middle Atlantic Region to 1850
Explore the mid-Atlantic region with more than 1,852 maps created before 1850.
Urban Experience in Chicago: Hull-House and Its Neighborhoods, 1889-1963
Peruse this collection of over 900 items relating to Chicago’s Hull House to discover its influence on 20th century urban development.
Thomas A. Edison Papers
A vast database of Thomas Edison’s papers, including correspondence, technical drawings, and clippings about the inventor.
Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps, UT
1,275 detailed historical maps, dating from 1867 through 1969, depict 40 cities in the state of Utah.
Kate and Sue McBeth, Missionary Teachers to the Nez Perce
Presents the letters and diaries of Kate and Sue McBeth, late 19th-century missionaries and teachers among the Nez Perce Indians.
Virtual Jamestown
Experience firsthand accounts of Jamestown and colonial history, dating from 1570 through 1720.
Trails to Utah and the Pacific: Diaries and Letters, 1846-1869
Get up close-and-personal with western migrants. Explore personal accounts of westward treks from the perspective of 45 men and four women.
The Kraus Collection of Sir Francis Drake
Peruse 60 primary and secondary materials concerning the voyages of Sir Francis Drake.
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.
Digital Library of Georgia
Examines the history and culture of the state of Georgia, presenting an extensive range of primary sources.
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 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
Exhibit and archive featuring an extensive collection of primary source material on the 1906 natural disaster and the fire that followed.
South Texas Border, 1900-1920: The Robert Runyon Collection
This site showcases over 8,000 images documenting the history and development of South Texas and the border.
Reclaiming the Everglades: South Florida's Natural History, 1884-1934
Contains 10,000 pages and images on Everglades reclamation efforts and the history of south Florida.
Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War
Take a closer look at the Civil War with this extensive database that offers a comparison of two Shenandoah Valley counties—Augusta County, VA and Franklin County, PA.
Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Presents the complete text of the Nebraska edition of the Lewis and Clark journals, along with supplementary secondary sources.
Do History: Martha Ballard's Diary Online
Explore the diary of midwife Martha Ballard and the creation of two modern historical studies based on the diary.
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.
Archive of Early American Images
Collects more than 4,000 images from books created in Europe between 1492 and 1825.
Archival Research Catalog (ARC)
Access over than 78,000 digital government resources—from textual records to sound recordings and everything in between!