Top Documentary Films

Image
Photo, video camera Harajuku, May 5, 2010, colodio, Flickr
Annotation

Top Documentary Films consists of a collection of more than 1800 documentaries pulled from upload sites around the web. The owner of the site claims to avoid linking documentaries which exist solely to defame individuals or organizations, suggesting that this documentary collection may contain fewer sensational works than other similar sites.

Documentaries are parceled into categories, including 9/11 and history. Guests can also run a keyword search if there are seeking films on a specific subject.

Watch a series on American art, biographies of Clinton or Ho Chi Minh, or a film on the conquistadors. Opportunities for classroom use abound if educators are willing to put in the time to determine if a particular film has merit and is appropriate for their students and subject.

Documentary Heaven

Image
Photo, Documentary Challenge, 26 April 2004, guttersnipe.76, Flickr
Annotation

Documentary Heaven collects free-to-view documentaries from around the web. While making a wide variety of content available in one location, it should be noted that quality may vary widely. Documentary Heaven supports independent documentary makers. As a result, linked videos may or may not provide trustworthy information, and some cover topics or have collected user comments which may be considered inappropriate. Educators should decide on the merit of a particular film after previewing it personally.

A natural inclination is to jump to the history section. However, this section is devoted to all of history, so you will have to comb through to find U.S. history topics. The only section uniquely devoted to U.S. history is the 9/11 category. Further browsing issues arise as it becomes apparent that, for example, the biographical documentary of a deceased artist may be located within both the artist and biography categories, but not the history category, although the artist is undoubtedly part of history.

These detriments aside, the site provides access to a wide variety of films and topics. Consider simply reading through the site's list of titles rather than browsing category by category. If you are willing to invest time to locate topics of interest or if you know a precise topic that you wish to search, the site holds great potential.

The Malcolm X Project

Image
Photo, Introductory graphic, The Malcolm X Project
Annotation

This site is dedicated to the study of the life and legacy of Malcolm X. Only one of three "initiatives" is publicly available (Columbia faculty, staff, and students may also access the site's "multi-media study environment" section). "Oral histories," "outreach," and "Malcolm X biography project" are under construction. A chronology traces Malcolm's life from his birth in May 1925 to his assassination in February 1965, with short entries on major events. "Government Documents" offers FBI files on Malcolm X—4,000 pages of surveillance reports—covering the period 1954 to 1964. A brief summary accompanies each report and the files can be searched by keyword. The site's project journal, focusing on particular themes and issues, has seven articles on Malcolm X and eight weblog postings. Additionally, the site offers an e-seminar "Life after Death: Malcolm X and American Culture" by Columbia professor Dr. Manning Marble for a fee (available free to Columbia faculty, staff, and students). When this site is completed, it will be a good starting point for researching the ideas and life of Malcolm X.

Slavery in Canada

Image
 Photo, William Henson escaped from slavery. . . , Daniel G. Hill, NYPL
Annotation

This website covers a topic that often goes overlooked—that slavery spread as far north as Canada.

Resources include portions of a slave autobiography; slave narratives; Underground Railroad stories and songs; articles from abolitionist newspapers; short timelines (1600-1699, 1700-1799, 1800-1899, and 1900-present); more than 60 biographies of slaves; 10 images, including maps, photographs, artworks, and newspaper scans; radio and documentary links; and a collection of web links relevant to the topic. The included glossary and chapter quizzes are not currently working.

However, the site could prove useful for locating primary sources which attest to the geographical breadth of slavery in North America.

Oxford African American Studies Center

Image
Lithograph c. 1850
Annotation

(Note: This website is now subscription-only.)

Designed for students, scholars, and librarians, this site provides access to thousands of primary source documents, maps, images, bibliographic entries, and subject entries drawn from reference resources in African American studies. Six published volumes furnish the majority of the resources: the Encyclopedia of African American History 1619-1895; Black Women in America, Second Edition; Africana, a five-volume history of the African and African American experience; the African American National Biography project, edited by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.; the Encyclopedia of African American Art and Architecture; and the Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature.

These sources present a wealth of primary source documents, more than 1,000 images, and close to 100 maps, which illustrate events from 1500s South America through the Clinton Presidency. The site also includes more than 5,000 biographies and 3,000 subject entries on events and people, such as 19th-century African American midwives in the Western United States, prominent abolitionists, and charts on African American professional baseball. Useful for research, reference, and class projects on all aspects of African American history.

Finishing the Dream: Learning from the Civil Rights Era

Image
Screenshot, Remembering the Godmother of Civil Rights. . . , Finishing the Dream
Annotation

This subsection of the NBC Learn website offers 132 streaming short videos related to the civil rights movement.

Videos include commentaries following major events (closely or years in retrospect), original testimonies, and video of events such as the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Topics include Emmett Till, bus boycotts, Brown v. Board of Education, the Freedom Riders, Little Rock, African American attendance at the University of Mississippi, Medgar Evers, the March on Washington, the Birmingham Church Bombing, Malcolm X, 1964 voter registration volunteer disappearances, and King's assassination.

The last section, Finishing the Dream, contains footage from four town hall events, which brought together activists, educators, religious leaders, and high school and college students for discussion of issues related to the civil rights movement.

The 132 videos are divided into subsections by year, beginning with 1954 and continuing through 1968. All videos include a transcript. Select the clip, and the word "transcript" will appear to the right of the video. Click it to bring up a scrollable transcript alongside the film.

You may also be interested in exploring further on the NBC Learn website. However, the majority of the content is subscription-based. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial, though, in order to test the waters.

Brown v. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Digital Archive

Image
Image, Search page graphic
Annotation

A joint project between college students and a nonprofit organization, this site collects the documents, recollections, and other media relating to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. Many of the documents were submitted by visitors to the website, and the site actively solicits additional resources.

Materials include 10 documents, five video files that document interviews and panel discussions, and links to 15 outside Brown sites. The Interactive section features six interactive activities, including a map showing Jim Crow laws in various states and communities. The site includes relatively few primary sources, but the individual stories featured are valuable.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Digital Archives

Image
Image, Roosevelt Presidential Library and Digital Archives
Annotation

Offering more than 10,000 documents pertaining to Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, this website presents documents that include approximately 6,000 pieces of formerly-classified correspondence, reports, and memoranda. Topics include the Atlantic Charter; the United Nations; the Departments of War, Treasury, and State; and the Manhattan Project to develop the atom bomb.

The site also offers 1,000 documents pertaining to U.S.-Vatican relations during World War II, 2,000 documents concerning U.S.-German relations, and full texts of 30 "fireside chats." An exhibit examines "The Special Relationship" between Winston Churchill and Roosevelt and the emergence of an Anglo-American alliance. A mini-multimedia showcase contains one video clip of Roosevelt walking and 11 audio clips of speeches. The site also provides information on Eleanor Roosevelt and the Depression, and includes more than 2,000 photographs.

Jimmy Carter

Image
Photo, Jimmy Carter National Historical Site, 1966
Annotation

This well-designed website, companion to the PBS documentary, offers a wide variety of secondary material on the Carter presidency. "People and Places" offers short profiles of Carter, his wife Rosalynn, his brother Billy, Carter's White House staff (collectively known as "The Georgia Mafia"), Speaker of the House Thomas P. "Tip" O_Neill, and Vice-President Walter Mondale.

It also offers short essays on key events of Carter's presidency, including the election of 1976, the Egyptian-Israeli peace talks at Camp David, the Iranian hostage crisis, Carter's July 1979 "Crisis of Confidence" speech, and the election of 1980. Many of the essays link to special features, such as the extensive media coverage of the Iranian hostage crisis and the text of the "Crisis of Confidence" speech. "Teacher's Guide" offers nine suggestions for classroom learning activities in four categories: economics, civics, history, and geography. The site also includes a detailed chronology of Carter's life and a small photo gallery with 16 images. This site provides a useful overview of Carter's life and the political and diplomatic history of his presidency.

Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project

Image
Image for Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project
Annotation

This wealth of historical materials, in a variety of formats, addresses Abraham Lincoln's years in Illinois (1831–1860) and Illinois history during the same period. The website provides more than 2,300 transcriptions of documents, including correspondence, speeches, treaties, and other official papers. In addition, there are 295 images of Lincoln, his family, friends, associates, and contemporaries, as well as Illinois towns, homes, and businesses, and 63 recordings of songs.

Materials are organized into eight thematic sections: African American Experience and American Racial Attitudes; Economic Development and Labor; Frontier Settlement; Law and Society; Native American Relations; Politics; Religion and Culture; and Women's Experience and Gender Roles. Each theme includes a background essay, relevant documents and images, video discussions by prominent historians, and narrated slide shows. "Lincoln's Biography" divides his life into eight segments with a summary and biographical text by scholars, as well as a bibliography.