Digital Public Library of America
Search more than 4,500,000 primary sources from across the country from one website!
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 March on Milwaukee Civil Rights History Project
Wisconsin teachers, bring the Civil Rights Movement home to your students with this archive of primary sources.
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.
VOCES Oral History Project
Ever wondered about the wartime experiences of Latinos and Latinas? VOCES seeks to help remedy the gap in U.S. popular historical narrative.
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?
The U.S. House of Representatives Remembers September 11
9/11 impacted more than just the nation. This repository of oral history video and audio clips reflects the tragedy from personal perspectives.
Here is New York
View photographs taken by everyday people as they came to terms with the 9/11 attacks, or watch oral histories.
September 11, 2001, Documentary Project
Access children’s pictures and Italian oral histories regarding 9/11, among other sources.
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.
D-Day
Did you know that the gear a paratrooper had to carry could weigh as much as 120 pounds?
Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project
What role have women played in war and the military?
Finishing the Dream: Learning from the Civil Rights Era
This collection of short videos recognizes the civil rights movement as ongoing struggle.
HERB: Social History for Every Classroom
Find a wide variety of classroom resources focused on social history, from classroom activities to primary sources.
Freedom Riders
Meet the American men and women who traveled the South in the name of black/white equality.
HSI: Historical Scene Investigation
Ever wanted to be Sherlock Holmes? Look at history the way a detective looks into crime.
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.
Nixtontapes.org
Teaching Watergate? Introduce students to the Nixon tapes with more than 2,000 hours of recordings.
Chicano/a Movement in Washington State History Project
Washington State educators, bring diversity and reform activism into your classroom with resources on this civil rights movement.
Old Time Radio
Let your students compare the entertainment of yesteryear—radio—with the TV shows and other media in their homes today.
Duluth Lynchings Online Resource: The Tragic Events of June 15, 1920
Leading up to the civil rights movement in a high school class? Explore 700 primary sources that examine one 1920 case of fatal racism.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
This presidential library presents sources from the 35th President’s life and times.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
Visit the Gerald Ford Presidential Library for a wealth of resources regarding Ford’s presidency.
U.S. Senate Historical Office
How much do you know about the history of the American Senate? Click here for background information on this component of our legislative branch.
The Mercury Theater on the Air
Visit this sound archive to listen to all Mercury Theatre on the Air productions, including “War of the Worlds.”
Tending the Commons: Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia
Learn about life in the Big Coal River Valley in West Virginia.
The Whole World Was Watching: An Oral History of 1968
An oral history of 1968, as told by a variety of Rhode Island residents, focusing on Civil Rights and Vietnam.
Today in History
A daily exhibit which showcases a particular event in American History each day.
The Challenge of Democracy: LBJ in the Oval Office: Johnson's Vietnam Anguish
Listen to four telephone conversations recorded by Lyndon B. Johnson related to the Vietnam War.
John Brown and the Valley of the Shadow
A comprehensive collection of primary source materials which cover the infamous Harper’s Ferry raid.
Through Our Parent's Eyes: Tucson's Diverse Community
Learn about the ethnically diverse history of Tucson, AZ.
Civil Rights Oral History Interviews: Spokane, Washington
From racism to civil rights movement music, listen to the memories of these eight individuals.
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.
Arizona State Museum
Can’t get to Arizona? You can still see local Native American artifacts online.
Communism in Washington State--History and Memory Project
Communist Russia. Communist China. Communist Washington?
Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States
Ask yourself: What did Coolidge do for our country?
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.
Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting
How does an industrial past shape current work and play? How does it affect what professions still exist in cities?
Oral History Research Center
What do Vegas showgirls have to say about their time in the city?
WPA Life Histories, Virginia Interviews
Explore Depression-era, ex-slave, and urban youth life stories.
Student Voices from World War II and the McCarthy Era
Imagine traveling from a university to work on a farm.
Living Voices, Voces Vivas
How do Native Americans preserve their heritage in the world of today?
Voices of the Colorado Plateau
There’s more to the West than cowboys.
Brooklyn's Eighteenth-Century Lott House
Conduct your own “virtual dig” of a Dutch farmhouse.
Korea + 50: No Longer Forgotten
Explore one of the country’s least discussed major military conflicts, the Korean War.
Traders: Voices from the Trading Post
Listen as traders talk about their experiences at Native American trading posts.
Archives of American Art, Oral History Collections
Interested in the life of a particular artist? Find out more about the painting and the person here.
Regional Oral History Office
Explore California oral histories, or learn to conduct your own interviews.
Free Speech Movement: Student Protest, U.C. Berkeley, 1964-65
Explore primary documents concerning the Berkeley Free Speech Movement.
To the Moon
Explore the history of the moon itself, as well as how we reached it.
A Southern Mill Village: History of Old West Durham
Follow the development of a mill town from its birth to its current status.
Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
Right this way for Seattle and Washington state history resources.
May 4 Collection, Kent State University
What can we learn from the Kent State Riots?
Kellogg African American Health Care Project: The Oral Histories
What was health care like during segregation?
Korean American Digital Archive
Meet singer Florence Ahn, minister Soon Hyun, and others.
Quilts and Quiltmaking in America, 1978-1996
From the queer to the quite extraordinary—explore the art of quiltmaking in the Southern U.S.
Omaha Indian Music
Listen to a century of Omaha speeches and songs. Hear the influences of Native American music on contemporary tunes.
Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns
Can you tell New Orleans jazz from Bebop? Can you hear the variations in style and instrumental parts?
Conversations with History
Brush up on your understanding of international relations with these interviews.
WTO History Project
Take a peek at Seattle protest history through the WTO Ministerial Week.
Oneida Indian Nation: Culture and History
Meet the Oneida, and discover their role in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812.
Belgian-American Research Collection
What would your life have been like as a Belgian immigrant in Wisconsin?
American Roots Music
Discover blues, country, bluegrass, gospel, Cajun, Zydeco, Tejano, and Native American music.
A More Perfect Union
Was Japanese American internment constitutional? Explore the Japanese American experience.
Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Digital Archive
Explore Brown v. Board of Education through interactive activities and personal recollections.
University of California History Digital Archives
Discover the history of the University of California through primary sources.
The Vietnam Project
A highly comprehensive look at the Vietnam War.
What Exit? New Jersey and Its Turnpike
Travel through history with the New Jersey Turnpike.
African Americans in the Spanish Civil War
Why would you volunteer to fight in another country’s war? Was it a display of patriotism?
TUPPERWARE!
Have you ever heard of a Tupperware party? Find out more about the household brand.
Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories
Hear the recollections of ex-slaves and freedmen in their own voices.
Civil Rights Movement Veterans
Access the human stories of the civil rights movement.
Freedom Bound: The Underground Railroad in Lycoming County, PA
How did the Underground Railroad work? Listen to an insider’s story.
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.
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.
Pluralism and Unity
Explore the clash of ideas and ideologies in early 20th century America.
At Home in the Heartland
Learn about family life and social history in the northern Midwest.
Excerpts from Slave Narratives
The 46 first-person accounts on this website effectively chronicle slavery in the United States.
Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s
Learn about race in American sports history through the life of Jackie Robinson.
First-Person Narratives of the American South, 1860-1920
Learn about the American south in the late 19th century through 141 firsthand texts.
A Cybrary of the Holocaust
Visit this website for a firsthand view into the horror of the holocaust.
Japanese-American Internment
Use this site as a gateway to primary sources and online resources detailing Japanese Internment
The Lindbergh Case: The Trial of the Century
Relive media coverage of the famous Lindbergh Trial through this Hunterdon County Democrat database.
American Slave Narratives
Read and listen to firsthand narratives on slave life during the 19th century.
Children in Urban America: A Digital Archive
Imagine what it might have been like growing up over 100 years ago.
Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive
Which ethnic groups have made their homes in the Columbia River Basin?
Slavery and the Making of America
An extensive glimpse into slave life and the history of slavery in the United States.
Freedom Now! An Archival Project of Tougaloo College and Brown University
Immerse yourself in the historical struggle for the African American vote in Mississippi.
A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life
Explore Jewish heritage outside of the Mid-Atlantic or the Holocaust.
Illinois Digital Archives
Primary sources on Illinois history with an emphasis on residential and commercial architecture.
Florida Folklife Collection
Explore the folk lore of Florida—from musical performances and art to occupational lore.
Jewish Women and the Feminist Revolution
What roles have Jewish women played in the Second Wave of feminism?
Louisiana State Museum Jazz Collection
Listen to New Orleans jazz while learning about Louis Armstrong and other famed musicians.
New Jersey Public Records and Archives
Familiarize yourself with New Jersey history using images, maps, and official documents.
Illinois During the Gilded Age
Listen to, read, and sing sources from the Gilded Age canvassing women, religion, and more.
Silicon Valley History Online
Silicone Valley is known as a high-tech industry center, but has it always been?
Women of Protest: Images from the Records of the National Woman's Party
See the suffragettes who gave over 50% of U.S. citizens the right to vote.
Virtual Museum and Archive of the SEC and Securities History
If you want to understand big business, it would be wise to examine the SEC’s history.
McVicar/Stein Photo Copy Service Collection
Imagine life in Madison, WI, between 1920 and 1970.
Western History Photography Collection
How does your view of the American West compare to the visual reality?
Turning Points in Wisconsin History
Primary documents, background information, and lesson plans for Wisconsin history.
Encyclopedia of Chicago, Historical Sources
Imagine your life in 19th and 20th-century Chicago with this extensive collection of images.
Documenting Our Past: The Teenie Harris Archive Project
View African American life in Pittsburgh between 1930 and 1970.
Walt Whitman Archive
Get to know the life, mind, works, and criticisms of poet Walt Whitman.
Harlem History
Explore the politics, neighborhoods, culture, and arts of Harlem.
Historic Missouri Newspaper Project
Peruse articles, images, and advertisements drawn from 14 Missouri newspapers, 1835 through 1988.
Wright on the Web
Follow architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s career with these summaries and images.
Thar's Gold in Them Thar Hills: Gold and Gold Mining in Georgia, 1830s-1940s
Gold mining, though often portrayed as lawless, was, in some cases, big business.
Tennessee Documentary History Collection, 1796-1850
Geared toward K-12 education, this site presents antebellum life in Tennessee through letters and images.
The Eastman Project: Images of California Life
View more than 13,200 photographs of California labor and community life between 1921 and 1965.
Negroes With Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power
Do you think armed resistance is a justifiable reaction to racism? Explore Rob William’s motives.
Seattle Black Panther Party History and Memory Project
Who exactly were the Black Panthers? Explore the history and memories of the Seattle chapter.
Automobile in American Life and Society
Enter the world of automotive history through oral histories and scholarly essays.
Coming of Age in the Twentieth Century, Stories from Minnesota and Beyond
What can oral histories tell us about girlhood, adolescence, and more in the United States?
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.
Oxford African American Studies Center
Access more than 5,000 biographies, maps, and images relevant to African American history.
Lawrence Denny Lindsley Photographs
What did the Seattle area, mining, hunting, and portraiture look like c. 1900?
StoryCorps
Connect 20th-century events and daily life with real human experiences through oral history audio files.
Life After the Holocaust: Stories of Holocaust Survivors After The War
Can you imagine starting your life over in the U.S. following the Holocaust?
The African-American Mosaic
Let the Library of Congress introduce you to African-American history from colonization to the WPA.
The Sonic Memorial Project
Known for the 9/11 tragedy, the World Trade Center possesses a broader social history.
LBJ Oral History Project Online
What better way to explore Johnson’s presidency than through the words of his associates?
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.
National Security Archive: The Pentagon Papers
In 1971, the “Pentagon Papers” formed the center of a legal debate over freedom of speech. Follow the Supreme Court’s process and decisions.
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.
The History of Social Security
We all know what the Social Security Administration does, but do you know how it was formed?
Gulf War
Participants in Operation Desert Storm talk about their experiences in oral history interviews.
Remembering Jim Crow
This site offeres 30 interview excerpts and 130 photographs that examine Jim Crow from multiple perspectives.
Race and Place
Discover connections between race and place in this archive documenting the effects of Jim Crow on a Virginia town.
Oral History Digital Collection
In full-text narratives, more than 2,000 people from northeast Ohio discuss issues significant to the state and the nation.
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938
Read the accounts of former slaves in oral history interviews collected by the Federal Writers’ Project.
Studs Terkel: Conversations with America
Meet Studs Terkel—oral historian, radio host, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
Library of Virginia Digital Library Program
Houses more than 1.2 million items on Virginia and life in the South.
Truman Presidential Museum and Library
Government documents, oral histories, photographs, and political cartoons trace Harry S. Truman’s presidency.
Television News of the Civil Rights Era
View contemporary coverage of the Civil Rights Movement from two Roanoke, VA television stations.
Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
Primary and secondary sources document the minority struggle for civil rights in Seattle’s history.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
A variety of primary sources and background essays explore the 1911 fire, a hallmark tragedy of the industrial age.
Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940
Read the life histories of a range of U.S. citizens, compiled by the WPA’s Federal Writers’ Project.
Jewish Women's Archive
Learn more about American Jewish women’s contributions to their communities and the wider world with these exhibits and resources.
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.
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.
Documenting the American South
Nearly 1,400 documents covering Southern life from the 18th to early 20th centuries.
American President: An Online Reference Resource
Presents detailed information on all 43 of the nation’s presidents.
Rutgers Oral History Archives
Listen to oral history interviews with Americans who served overseas and on the home front during World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the Cold War.
Flint Sit-Down Strike
Provides a multimedia introduction to “the greatest strike in American history.”
Tangled Roots
Primary sources point out cultural connections between the experiences of African and Irish Americans.
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.
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.
Women in Journalism
Archives 44 “full-life” interviews with American women journalists.
Parallel History Project on Cooperative Security
More than 350 recently declassified documents reveal previously hidden aspects of Cold War military strategy.
Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project
Presents video and audio oral histories and additional material from American veterans of 20th-century wars.
After the Day of Infamy
Listen to more than 12 hours of oral interviews taken in the first three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project
Explore this archive of over 110 video interviews on Japanese American incarceration during World War II.
Amateur Athletic Foundation Digital Archive
Official documents and articles from periodicals record the history of the Olympics and sport.
Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World
Offers oral history resources examining life in southern textile mill towns from the 1880s to the 1930s.
Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory
Commemorates the 1871 Great Chicago Fire with an array of primary sources.
Online Archive of California
Explore California from Japanese American internment or the Free Speech Movement to oral histories.
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.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Peruse 11 exhibits, from the Gold Rush of 1849 to Japanese American internment during WWII.
Brown v. Board of Education
Examine segregation and desegregation through summaries and the court’s opinions for two major cases.
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.
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.
Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive
150 oral history interviews and 16 collections of documents address the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi.