Japanese American Internment: Ansel Adams Photos
If the U.S. interned you and your family, how would you respond?
Living New Deal Project
Live in California? Trying to find local New Deal projects?
Bridging the Gap Between Ancient and Modern Democracies
To most students, “histories” are entirely separate—different civilizations, taught at different grade levels.
The California Gold Rush
“Seeing the elephant” in California.
Yo, Ho, Ho and a . . . Bushel of Oysters?
Shellfish pirates stole from the rich to feed themselves—and make a little money on the side.
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.
A Clear Shot across the Continent
President Polk, the fortunes of war, territory, and the ever-present compromises of history.
Curating the City: Wilshire Blvd
California educators, lead your students on an interactive journey down Los Angeles’s historic Wilshire Boulevard!
The 3Cities Project
Examine the nexus of representation, modernity, and urban life.
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).
Web de Anza
Check out this site to see “how the West was won.”
Gold Rush!
Bring yourself up to speed on the Gold Rush, including the minorities involved.
Historic Topographic Maps of California
Explore a wide range of Californian geological survey maps, dating from 1895 to present.
San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection
Imagine San Francisco as it would have been as early as 1850.
U.S. Geological Survey
How has land use altered over time, and what did the explorers encounter?
Why Did President Polk Want War with Mexico?
During the 1840s, Manifest Destiny remained an effusive spirit rather than an agenda for empire.
Discovering Angel Island: The Story Behind the Poems
Learn about the experiences of immigrants detained at Angel Island and how this impacted their opinion of the US.
Nineteenth-century California Sheet Music
Scanned images from more than 2,700 pieces of sheet music provide insight into life in 1852–1900 California.
Native American Documents Project
Four collections of data and documents address Federal Indian policy in the late 19th century.
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.
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.
Amateur Athletic Foundation Digital Archive
Official documents and articles from periodicals record the history of the Olympics and sport.
California as I Saw It: First-Person Narratives of California, 1849-1900
40,000 written pages and more than 3,000 illustrations provide accounts of California history from the Gold Rush to the end of the 19th century.
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.
Online Archive of California
Explore California from Japanese American internment or the Free Speech Movement to oral histories.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Peruse 11 exhibits, from the Gold Rush of 1849 to Japanese American internment during WWII.
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.
Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar
Ansel Adams’s photographs preserve life at the Manzanar War Relocation Center during World War II.