Women of Valor

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This site introduces Emma Goldman—an immigrant, an advocate of free love, a promoter of birth control, and an anarchist. The designers have done a splendid job in tying the many facets of Goldman's public life together into one set of interrelated narratives. An "Introduction" is divided into 13 thematically coherent sections, such as Early Years, Anarchism, Use of Violence, and Deportation. Each runs approximately 500 words. A Timeline is useful for placing Goldman into historical and cultural context.

There are several dozen artifacts, including the full text of two books, six cartoons, four historical documents, an analytical essay, two personal letters, 12 news clippings, and 16 photographs. The information is well documented, and includes a detailed bibliography.

The care that the producers took in explaining potentially confusing or problematic terms (like feminism and suffrage) makes the site particularly appropriate for high school and undergraduate students. Although not a comprehensive archive, this site nonetheless provides an informative introduction to Goldman and her role in American history.

TUPPERWARE!

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This site explores the invention and rise of Tupperware products in the 1950s, as well as its impact on women's issues, and its connection to the 20th-century consumer culture revolution. The site focuses on Earl Tupper, the inventor of Tupperware, and Brownie Wise, the woman who created the Tupperware party concept and built a Tupperware empire. Included are short (500-word) biographies of each.

In the Gallery, visitors can see 12 of Tupper's invention notebooks to examine some of his inventions that were not as successful as Tupperware, like his no-drip ice cream cone and his necktie shaper.

The Teacher's Guide offers two learning activities in each of four academic areas: civics, economics, geography, and history. A timeline spans from the 1850s to 2003 and includes events such as the invention of plastic.

Primary Sources includes transcripts of interviews with Tupper and Wise, six video clips from the late 1950s and early 1960s (documenting the annual Tupperware Homecoming Jubilees, which were large gatherings of Tupperware dealers), as well as excerpts from the first Tupperware handbook. Also included are six documents, including a 1960s training manual, How to Sell Tupperware, and a collection of Wise's Aphorisms.

Visitors can share their experiences with Tupperware, either as consumers or as Tupperware dealers, in the Share Your Story section.

Finally, the site features an interview with a noted historian of women's issues who discusses the realities of married women's employment in the 1950s, as well as the impact Tupperware had on women's opportunities.

New France, New Horizons: On French Soil in America

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Designed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the French landing in North America, this site is a collection of primary sources related to the French presence in what would later become Canada, the Great Lakes region, and Louisiana. Exhibition features 350 primary sources, including engravings, portraits, other artwork, as well as documents. They are organized by theme and are easy to find and view.

Database includes a database of more than 6,500 documents, including correspondence, reports, and maps. A special viewer allows visitors to zoom in and out of documents, making close viewing possible.

The collection is searchable by date, author, subject, or keyword. Visitors should keep in mind that although the site is written in English and French, the documents are written exclusively in French. The wealth of primary sources makes this a valuable resource for researchers, but language may prove a barrier for students and teachers.

The Zora Neale Hurston Plays

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This site offers 10 unpublished plays (four sketches or skits and six full-length plays) written by American folklorist Zora Neale Hurston. Although the plays were written and submitted to the Copyright Office between 1925 and 1944, they remained unknown until 1997. The plays reflect Hurston's life experiences.

As an anthropologist and folklorist, Hurston traveled the American South, collecting and recording the sounds and songs of African Americans. Her research in Haiti is reflected in the voodoo scenes and beliefs woven into several of the plays.

The collection holds approximately 700 digitized pages. These are scanned as she wrote them and have not been transcribed. This site would be useful for research in early-20th-century southern or cultural history.

Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories

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This site captures the recollections of 23 former slaves, born between 1823 and the early 1860s. Several of the people interviewed were more than 100 years old. In the recordings, subjects discuss their entire lives, not just their lives as slaves, but they provide an important glimpse of what life was like for slaves and freedmen. They discuss how they felt about slavery, slaveholders, how slaves were coerced, their families, and, of course, freedom.

Each of the 23 subjects' testimony is presented in four formats: Real Audio sound, MP3, Windows WAV, and transcription. Many of the subjects sang as part of their testimony; those songs are collected here, as well.

Visitors should not miss the Faces and Voices from the Presentation section, where photographs and short biographies are posted for seven of the subjects. The father and grandfather of one of the subjects, George Johnson, were owned by Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Johnson shares his recollections of Davis.

This site contains extraordinary primary sources, and is a tremendous resource for research into slavery and Reconstruction.

Rediscovering George Washington

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This site introduces users to the life of George Washington. Reflecting current scholarship, the site contains an Introduction, which is essentially a 4,000 word summary of Washington's life and career. The Timeline is a chronology of the milestones in his life, with a few references to national events. The Multimedia Room includes 11 audio clips of scholars discussing Washington's importance in the second half of the 18th century. Also included are four sound files of Pat Sajak reading memorial letters written by Thomas Jefferson and Winston Churchill, among others, and five video clips of Charlton Heston reading some of Washington's more famous letters and speeches (his Farewell Speech, for example).

The site contains a modest collection of 150 Washington letters, and a transcription of Washington's Book of Etiquette, which Washington himself transcribed when he was 16 years old. The letters are divided into pre-revolutionary, revolutionary, pre-presidential, presidential, and post-presidential collections; and include personal letters from and to Washington and his wife, as well as documents like presidential pardons, indenture documents, and land surveys. Teachers will find useful the 10 Lesson Plans (for grades 9-12), which are very detailed and include bibliographies. Listen to the audio review: .

The Story of Virginia

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This attractive website offers a presentation on the history of Virginia from prehistoric times to the present with essays, images, and teaching resources. There are 10 chapters: the first Virginians; the settlement of colonial Virginia; Virginia's society before 1775; Virginians in the American Revolution; Virginians as Southerners, Confederates, and New Southerners; Virginians in the 20th century; the struggles of African American and female Virginians for equality; and a final chapter on images of Virginia in popular culture. Each chapter has an essay featuring images of relevant items in the collections of the Virginia Historical Society.

The "resource bank" collects all 95 images from the chapters of people, documents, places, and objects. Additionally, the site offers a teacher's guide for each chapter listing the standards of learning, a summary of key points, classroom activities and lesson plans, links to related websites, and information on tours, outreach programs, and hands-on-history programs.

An excellent introduction to the history of Virginia and its people with useful resources for class projects and classroom instruction.

Presidents of the United States - POTUS

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A reference resource for basic information about the U.S. Presidents. Each president's page includes election results; cabinet members; a list of notable events during term of office; and historical documents, such as inauguration speeches, proclamations, and significant public addresses.

The site provides links to sites about important events and biographies of family and cabinet members. Audio files are available for presidents from Grover Cleveland to George W. Bush. Links to two to 10 internet biographies and one to 13 related sites are provided.

Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

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In the past decade new media and new technologies have begun to transform even the ancient discipline of history. CD-ROMs and the World Wide Web challenge historians to rethink the ways that they research, write, present, and teach about the past. The Center for History and New Media (CHNM) was established in the fall of 1994 to contribute to and reflect upon this transformation and challenge. The Center produces historical works in new media, tests the effectiveness of these products in the classroom, and reflects critically on the promises and pitfalls of new media in historical practice. The Center's resources are designed to benefit professional historians, high school teachers, and students of history.

Includes links to more than 1,000 history departments around the world; and a wide variety of teaching, scholarly, and exhibition resources—online databases, informative sites, and software. For example, Declaration: Interpreting the Declaration of Independence by Translation provides translations of the American Declaration of Independence into French, German, Polish, Russian, and Spanish, along with commentaries on the practice and problems of translating documents.

With the American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning at the City University of New York (ASHP/CML), CHNM produces History Matters, a resource site for teachers and students of American history.

A Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers

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This curriculum addresses labor politics and economics from the colonial period to the present day. Conceived and written by James D. Brown, Jr, "in cooperation with teachers from the metro Chicago area and local union members," it is divided into 11 chronological sections, each comprised of several elements: a 100–200-word overview; an inventory of major themes, episodes, and concepts; and a feature entitled "Integrating Labor History into Effective Teaching of the Period." This last portion recommends questions and lessons for students, and, for several sections, provides primary source materials. Thus "The Growth of a New Nation" outlines a lesson that asks students to compare Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence with an 1829 essay by George H. Evans—a founder of New York's Working Man's Party—entitled "The Working Men's Declaration of Independence."

The 11 sections emphasize gains achieved by organized labor and invite teachers to "highlight the stark contrast between today's working environment and the relationship between workers and owners of the past." Includes a list of 44 "Significant People in America's Labor History"; a 16-title bibliography; a link to an international news desk providing daily stories dealing with labor groups and issues; and additional material on Illinois labor history.

Some sections of the curriculum are thinner than others. More curiously, the site does not furnish any primary documents from the 20th century, and generally relies more on lists of events and issues than the sort of narrative prose that can enliven the past.