The Lindbergh Case: The Trial of the Century

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Photo, Charles Lindbergh, The Lindbergh Case: The Trial of the Century
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Created by a weekly newspaper based in Flemington, New Jersey, this site is devoted the 1932 kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby and the subsequent trial of a 35-year-old Bronx carpenter named Bruno Richard Hauptmann. Among the few primary materials included are approximately 35 photographs related to the trial and six episodes from a 1934-35 comic strip about the crime. The site offers a summary of events and biographies of the leading characters, theories about Hauptmann's innocence, a timeline, nine recent articles from the newspaper on the case and about several "Lindbergh baby claimants." Of limited value due to the site's reliance on only one newspaper for most of its documentation.

The "Inside Lindbergh Trial" menu is defunct. Use the links located throughout the page.

American Slave Narratives

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Photo, Ben Horry, American Slave Narratives
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This site contains selections from 13 interviews with former slaves conducted between 1936 and 1938 by journalists working for the New Deal Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration. Each selection is accompanied by a brief biographical sketch of the interviewee, a photograph or drawing of the interviewee taken at the time of the interview, and in one instance, an audio component. Includes guidelines for reading slave narratives, a bibliography of 16 scholarly works on the history of slavery, and 21 links to related sites in general American history, southern history, and African-American history. A useful sample of first-hand testimony on American slave experience and culture.

Children in Urban America: A Digital Archive

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Photo, Lester Earl Kesserling playing. . . , 1926, Children in Urban America
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This website offers more than 4,000 primary sources, including newspaper stories, photographs, statistics, oral histories, and personal narratives, related to children and childhood in urban America, specifically in the greater Milwaukee area, from 1850 to 2000. The search page is the most direct route to these sources and is accessible by clicking on the purple kite in the top, right corner of some pages. On other pages, "search entire site" in the footer is the only link. The site is organized around five sections-Work, Play and Leisure, Schooling, Health and Welfare, and "Through Children's Eyes." Each section offers a 150-word introduction, a gallery of five to 40 images, and approximately five "Special Topics" that combine a background essay (300 to 500 words) and a collection of five to ten relevant primary sources. "Special Topics" range from the Socialist Party, religion, and newsboys to National Child Health day and polio in Milwaukee County.

A section for teachers and students offers 25 possible research questions and tips for middle school, high school, and college and cover a host of topics, from games to newspaper coverage of children to the impact of technology on the lives of children. This website is useful for studying childhood and urbanization during a time when what it meant to be a child was changing rapidly.

Florida Folklife Collection

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Photo, Tampa tobacco industry, 1920s, Florida Folklife Collection
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This extensive archive offers more than 10,300 photographs of Florida folklife from the 1930s through 2001. The archive can be browsed or searched by keyword. The site also makes available 17 interviews with folklorists and folk artists and 24 recordings of performances by Florida blues, gospel, shape-note, and folk singers. Additionally there are also 10 "voices of Florida" collections that include recordings of performances by or interviews with folk musicians, crafters, storytellers, and folklife interpreters on subjects such as children's lore, religious traditions, Seminole culture, maritime traditions, ethnic folk culture, material culture, and occupational lore. There are also 29 brief profiles of prominent Florida folklorists.

For teachers, the site offers five educational units that offer a history section with an interview, documents and audio, photographs, and lesson plans. Unit subjects include Zora Neale Hurston's 1939 recording expedition to the turpentine camps in Cross City, the history and practices of the net-making trade, the tradition of white oak basket making, and Seminole doll making. The visitor can also search the full catalog of photos and audio recordings (46,000 photographs and 5,000 audio recordings). Also available are five film clips from early Florida Folk Festivals and the Florida Folk Arts Conference. And the website provides 30 links to related websites on folklife programs and collections.

Silicon Valley History Online

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Photo, Thin film, Intel Corporation, 2003, Silicon Valley History Online
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This small archive provides more than 850 images from the mid-18th century to the present of the Santa Clara Valley in California. Browse the archive or view images through six thematic groupings: agriculture (91 images); education (147 images); people (467 images); technology (182 items); transportation (125 items); and urban life (78 items). There is some overlap between the collections. Keyword and advanced searches are also available. There are seven lesson plans on the history of the Santa Clara Valley, primarily for high school. Topics include the 1906 earthquake, the history of technology, urban development, the Ohlone Indians, women in Santa Clara County, and transportation.

Virtual Museum and Archive of the SEC and Securities History

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Photo, Placing Orders, Early 1920s, Library of Congress
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This archive and virtual museum offers papers, photographs, and oral histories on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its role in U.S. and international markets from 1929 to the present. There are 742 papers, reports, letters, notes, memoranda, transcripts of Congressional subcommittee hearings, and other documents organized chronologically by decade. Also available are 761 photographs arranged alphabetically. These include portraits, group photos, and photos of important events in the history of the SEC. There are edited transcripts and audio recordings of 33 oral history interviews and seven SEC roundtable discussions (some include essays and video). An interactive timeline allows visitors to explore important events in the history of the SEC.

A galleries section combines text and images in narratives exploring themes or important periods in the SEC's history. Each includes an introductory essay by the exhibit curator and primary materials, including papers, images or video clips, and oral histories. There are edited transcripts and audio of 21 original programs broadcast from the site as well as links to 38 related websites. Search is limited to keyword searches across the entire site. This site provides useful resources for studying the history of business and is an excellent starting point for those interested in the history of the SEC or those studying the history of business, businesspeople, or corporations

Western History Photography Collection

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Photo, Black cowboy and horse, c. 1890-1920, Western History Collection
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This combined archive and exhibit contains more than 100,000 images, including photographs, broadsides, posters, maps, advertisements, and other documents. There is a keyword search but no feature for browsing the entire collection. Many of the images can be browsed, however, through nine "galleries," or thematic collections of selected images. "Scenic Rails of the West" is a large exhibit with seven image galleries that include towns, touring, railroads, native culture, and national parks. The "Photos West Classics" gallery is also large and includes the most frequently requested images. Topics include children, saloons, trails and covered wagons, famous Westerners, famous Native Americans, Wild West shows, and Western life. Other galleries include "Railroads," "Building Histories," and "Native American Women." All images are accompanied by a descriptive catalog record and are available for purchase. A learning page (accessed through "news") offers 18 lessons. This website is a valuable source of images on Western figures, culture, environment, politics, and economic development. Teachers of the American West will also find valuable instructional resources.

Encyclopedia of Chicago, Historical Sources

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Photo, Children standing in front. . . , 1917, Encyclopedia of Chicago
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This archive brings together more than 1,300 images on a wide array of topics related to Chicago, its people, and its culture. The material in the collection spans both the 19th and 20th centuries and includes photographs, advertisements, broadsides, maps, letters, newspaper articles, illustrations, and engravings. The photographs include aerial views of the Chicago cityscape, Chicago places, Chicago industries and workers performing their trades, historic photographs, Chicago events, and photographs of Chicago's people. The more than 100 maps can be browsed separately. Each item is cross-referenced to related items in the collection and many of the images are accompanied by explanatory text. The images can be enlarged and there are features for rotation and magnification.

Additionally, the site offers interpretive essays on the Plan of Chicago of 1909, "one of the most noted documents in the history of city planning" and the importance of water in Chicago's history. Other special features are a biographical dictionary, a dictionary of leading Chicago businesses from 1820-2000, and a presentation on how Chicagoans remember their history with images and brief interpretations. In addition, the entire contents of Encyclopedia of Chicago can be searched. A useful resource on the history of Chicago or urban history.

Turning Points in Wisconsin History

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Photo, Arthur M. Vinje, April 4, 1947
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This website allows visitors to explore the history of Wisconsin through essays, primary source documents, lesson plans, and maps. The main feature is 53 presentations grouped under 10 overall topics: early native peoples; early explorers, traders, and settlers; territory to statehood; immigration and settlement; Civil War era; mining, lumber, and agriculture; Progressive Era; 20th-century wars and conflicts; prosperity, depression, industrialization, and urbanization; and response to 20th-century change. Each topic offers four or more presentations with a short introductory essay; primary sources available on the site; primary sources available elsewhere; and related links.

Documents available on the site include more than 140 books, tracts, pamphlets, or papers; more than 100 images; more than 260 articles; and more than 35 manuscripts. The site also offers 95 reference maps. There are more than 45 elementary and 36 secondary lesson plans searchable by keyword, grade level, and/or topic. The advanced search allows visitors to search by fields such as agriculture, intellectual life, and politics; or by keyword, education level, topic, presentation, or type of document. Additionally, there is a tutorial on using primary documents. This website is a good starting point for teaching or researching Wisconsin or the mid-Western region.

Walt Whitman Archive

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Photo, Walt Whitman with Harry Stafford, Morand, c. 1878, Walt. .  site
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This site presents the work of one of America's most influential poets, bringing together the various editions of Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, as well as Whitman's notebooks, poetry manuscripts, prose essays, letters, and journal articles. It also makes available the introductions to each edition of Leaves of Grass, an extended biography of Whitman with links to short essays about Whitman's friends and historical events, and a chronology of Whitman's life from 1819 to 1892. All known contemporary reviews of the poet's work are available as well.

An image gallery contains 129 photos of Whitman from the 1840s through the 1890s. The site's searchable bibliography offers more than 200 books, essays, notes, and reviews about Whitman. Additionally, links are provided to Whitman's recently recovered notebooks from the 1850s and 1860s housed at the Library of Congress. A 36-second wax cylinder recording provides what is thought to be Whitman's voice reading four lines from the poem "America." A guide to Whitman's poetry manuscripts and a finding aid for Whitman manuscripts at individual repositories are also included. A teaching syllabus on Dickinson, Whitman, and American culture is available. An excellent resource for any scholar interested in Walt Whitman or his poetry.