Four guided investigations designed to teach students how to read primary sources and construct historical narratives lie at the heart of this website. Topics are: the Spanish-American War, the Scopes Trial, Social Security, and Rosa Parks. Each topic includes a short introductory video, a timeline of events, a central question, and extension activities. For example, the Rosa Parks investigation poses the question: "Why did the boycott of Montgomery's buses succeed?"

After completing a simple login, students read annotated documents—including letters written by the boycott organizers, a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. and an interview with a woman working in Montgomery—and answer guiding questions, and draw on their responses to answer the question. The website also includes a useful introduction to the idea of historical thinking.

Developed primarily to support a PBS film, this website uses Twain's writings to illustrate his life. An interactive scrapbook, similar to the one patented by Twain, is the centerpiece of the site and provides access to nine chapters of his life. Each chapter is illustrated by period photograph—the scrapbook includes about 100 photographs—and Twain's personal observations. Excerpts of about 15 letters written by Twain are included, as are some 25 news clippings of his lectures, travels, and public appearances. Visitors can also see approximately 20 drawings from first editions of some of Twain's books. The scrapbook offers about 25 audio clips of actors—most notably Hal Holbrook—reading Twain's writings and 15 video clips of the Mississippi River and other sites important to Twain's work. An accompanying chronology lists the events of Twain's life, and Classroom Activities offers five lesson ideas for introducing middle- and high-school students to Twain and his place in American history.

The site asks for sponsorship pledges and markets the video and soundtrack, but overall this site is well designed and offers valuable material for investigating Mark Twain in historical context.

More than 300 U.S. government publications from World War II have been digitized for this site, an ongoing project that plans to add another 200 documents.

Materials include pamphlets and books emphasizing home front issues, such as air raids, preservation, child labor, and victory farms. All materials are searchable by title, author, subject, and keyword. Browsing is also available.

A companion collection of photographs, the "Melvin C. Shaffer Collection," depicts the home front situation in Germany, North Africa, Italy, and Southern France from 1943 to 1945. Shaffer was a U.S. Army medical photographer assigned to document the medical history of the war through major campaigns. Shafer took the photographs on this site—totaling approximately 340—unofficially with the goal of recording the war's impact on civilians.

Drawn primarily from documents at the National Archives' National Personnel Records Center, this exhibit explores "the contributions of the thousands of Americans, both military and civilian, who served their country during World War II." Arranged into seven sections--"Prelude to War"; "New Roles"; "Women Who Served"; "The War in the Pacific"; "The War in Europe" "Science Pitches In"; and "The War is Over"--the site presents approximately 60 photographs, editorials, letters, and governmental reports, such as General Benjamin O. Davis's 1943 report concerning racial discrimination in the military. A 3,000-word background essay narrates the materials. Though lacking in depth and limited in size, the exhibit offers a selection of valuable and interesting materials regarding the war effort.

Part of the Memory Exhibition, this site commemorates the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima through the presentation of images of the devastation in the former city and discussion of issues relating to the dropping of the bombs and historical memory of the events. The exhibit contains a slide show of 18 photographs by Japanese army photographer Yosuke Yamahata, taken in Nagasaki on August 10, 1945, the day after the bombing--"the only extensive photographic record of the immediate aftermath of the atomic bombing of either Hiroshima or Nagasaki"--with accompanying comments by Yamahata and a 1,200-word memo he wrote in 1952 on "Photographing the Bomb"; a sampling of approximately 65 recollections from people of different ages, nationalities, and ethnic backgrounds on how they learned about the bombing; excerpts from a public online forum on "the process of representing history, the inhumanity of war, the ethical responsibilities of scientists and technologists, and the historical decision to use the bomb"; and a list of 9 related films, 2 CD-ROMs, 27 books, and 13 links. A well-organized and powerfully presented exhibit.

This is a somewhat random collection of material designed to inform visitors about the effects of atomic weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to encourage discussions about world peace. The Hiroshima City University Department of Computer Science produced the site, which is divided into twenty pages. Pages that address the effects of the bomb include interviews of 700 to 900 words with five survivors and a survey of attitudes of second-generation Hiroshima citizens and children towards the bombing. There are 13 images of objects in the Peace Memorial Museum and 12 photographs that portray the effects of the bomb on Hiroshima. A 600-word essay describes the bomb and its physical effects. Pages that focus on peace include a tour of Peace Park, messages from the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the 19-page transcript of the Hiroshima Peace Forum, attended by Shimon Peres, Kenzaburo Ooe, and Takeshi Hiraoka. A bibliography provides titles for 37 books about the bomb and links to 30 other bomb related sites. Site may be useful for discussion of the cultural legacy of the bomb.

This exhibit documents the history of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State from inception, in November 1938, to collapse, in November 1940, and eventual reconstruction in 1950. In 1940, the original structure was the third longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge was initially referred to as "the Pearl Harbor of engineering," but the wavelike motion the bridge displayed soon earned it the nickname "Galloping Gertie." The exhibit divides the history of the infamous bridge into five themes--construction, opening, collapse, aftermath, and reconstruction--each with 15 to 30 photographs and newspaper articles accompanied by 50- to 100-word captions. A bibliography of more than 30 items rounds out this online exhibit and those interested in the impact of the bridge on the Gig Harbor Peninsula residents should visit the link Gig Harbor Museum. This is also a valuable site for anyone interested in engineering, aerodynamics, and Pacific Northwest history.

With more than 25,000 articles and 3,000 authors, this website offers students and teachers a broad scope of topics, with in-depth analysis from scholars and amateur historians across dozens of universities and historical associations. Material on the site can be accessed alphabetically, or by browsing articles using the left-hand navigation column ("title", "what", "when", "where", and "who"). In addition, the site contains three major subsections: "The Handbook of Civil War Texas," "The Texas Lighthouse Series," and "The Handbook of Texas Music." Visitors can also subscribe to the site’s RSS feed to receive a "Texas Day by Day" feature.

The Education section offers teacher resources and more than 20 lesson plans. Most of these materials are for grades four and seven (state history), but they have applications across grade levels. Lesson plans are arranged by topic, grade level, and state standards—useful for educators in Texas and across the country.

Due to the sheer volume of entries in this site, becoming familiar with the dozens of subcategories in the left-hand column is a good place to start. The search engine may also prove helpful when looking for a keyword or phrase.

Online Nevada Encyclopedia (ONE) is a succinct website focusing on themes related to the state’s history, geography, politics, economy and society. Ten thematic sections, such as "Mining," "Gaming and Tourism," and "Nuclear Nevada," appear on the left side of the homepage. When clicking on a topic, a short introduction appears followed by three to 24 article subcategories (104 subsections in all.) Educators will find the "Media Gallery" helpful in these subsections; the rich imagery is one of the positive elements of this site. Suggested readings and website links can be found at the conclusion of many articles, providing meaningful connections for teachers and students.

Viewers can easily access the virtual galleries, as well as maps that highlight popular destinations and topics of interest, from the homepage or content entries. Alphabetical indices list authors, content, and media, and exhibit galleries offer more information on people and topics in Nevada.

ONE, a project of Nevada Humanities, gives a clear representation of this state. Utilizing the website as a resource will help students understand the diversity of Nevada.

This collection presents video and audio oral histories and additional material from American veterans of 20th-century wars. Materials include memoirs (some lengthy), letters, diaries, photo albums, scrapbooks, poetry, artwork, and official documents. The website currently provides digital materials from 4,351 veterans from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan and the Iraq War, and other similar events. The 226 video interviews range from 25 minutes to two hours in length.

The material presented is part of a rapidly growing archive, the Veterans History Project, created by Congress in 2000 to collect stories from the 19 million living veterans. Other sections highlight World War I; World War II's forgotten theaters in China, Burma, and India; and 37 other unique war experiences.