Incorporating 20th Century US Environmental History in the 6-12 Classroom
This guide consists of curated primary and secondary sources to help students connect environmental history to broader themes in twentieth century US history.
Housing and Houselessness: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers
Help students understand the how policy and structural forces have shaped how people in the U.S. access housing.
Statistics in Schools
Analyze data from the U.S. Census Bureau in the social studies classroom.
American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Watch and listen to thousands of public broadcasting programs from across the U.S.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott: They Changed the World
How was the 1955–1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott covered in Montgomery? Take a look with this archive from a Montgomery newspaper!
Turning Students into Historians
How do you engage students with primary sources and their community? Jasmine Alinder shares a success story!
The March on Milwaukee Civil Rights History Project
Wisconsin teachers, bring the Civil Rights Movement home to your students with this archive of primary sources.
Transportation: Past, Present and Future
What pushes and pulls people into new ways of life? In this lesson, students use artifacts, documents, and photographs to help them answer this question.
Film Review: Prohibition
Historian Tona Hangen takes a look at Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s three-part documentary on Prohibition.
Homicide in Chicago 1870-1930
Covering urbanization and industrialization? This homicide index can help students understand social changes and tensions associated with both.
Tenement Life
Students examine primary sources related to the life of an immigrant girl and her family to discover what life might have been like at the turn of the century.
e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia
There’s far more to West Virginia than stereotypes suggest. Why not take some time to explore the state?
Puerto Rico Encyclopedia/Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico
Connect with your ELL students with this bilingual Puerto Rico Encyclopedia!
Slave Badges
Slave badges were used in Charleston to keep track of slaves. Can you build a lesson for 4th graders around them?
Gilded Age Plains City
Delve into Great Plains urban development c. 1900 by way of a compelling, unsolved murder mystery.
William Steinway Diary, 1861-1896
Daily life in 19th-century New York City, music history, and Civil War commentary all in one place.
Questioning History Using the Census
Historian Alex Stein poses questions about population shift in Detroit, and models using census data and other sources to answer his question.
Cintia Cabib's Interdisciplinary Gardening
Walk through the history of student gardening with documentarian Cintia Cabib, and see how you can use gardens in the classroom.
Intertwined Development: Railroads and Political Parties
The influence of the booming rail system on the growth and development of three political parties in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Trade Routes and Emerging Colonial Economies
The direct and indirect impacts of various trade routes during the 16th through 19th centuries.
East St. Louis Massacre
Raising “the terrible weapon of self-defense” during riots in 1917 Illinois.
Back to the Future . . .
In the year 1900, what did Americans think the next century would bring?
United We Stand: Industry and Famous Strikes
Stand up (or sit down) for better working conditions! Test your knowledge of strikes in U.S. history.
Architectural Homage
American Reproductions and Appropriations of Old World Monumental Architecture
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.
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
From 1863 to 1935, this tenement building housed working immigrant families. View photographs of their lives, and engage in interactive learning opportunities.
Quebec City Fire
Were the great fires of 1845 the result of arson or accident?
Snuff ‘n Sniff
Cities as olfactory factories and what, historically, humans have thought and done about it.
PhilaPlace
Pennsylvania educators, or teaching urban history? Explore two neighborhoods in Philadelphia using an interactive map and more than 1,240 primary sources.
The Progressive Era
Explore the ins and outs of turn-of-the-century labor law, business, housing, and immigration.
Curating the City: Wilshire Blvd
California educators, lead your students on an interactive journey down Los Angeles’s historic Wilshire Boulevard!
Third Graders Analyzing Historical Sources
A 3rd-grade teacher leads her students through analysis of child labor photographs.
The Social Museum Collection at Harvard University
More than 6,000 images related to U.S. social conditions and institutions.
Anacostia Community Museum
What is community? What does it do for us, and how does it shape who we are?
Savannah Images Project
A useful local history project which focuses on the history of Savannah and the Georgia coastline.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of South Carolina
A collection of maps detailing over 80 South Carolina towns and cities.
Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Great 1906 Earthquake and Fire
Learn about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, how it destroyed the city, and how the city was subsequently rebuilt by its inhabitants.
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series
View 22 census data samples and 65 million records from 13 federal censuses.
African American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
View 1,300 pieces of sheet music composed by and about African Americans.
National Park Service, Teaching with Historic Places
Use this website to plan and organize lessons around NPS properties and locations.
Historical Maps of the United States
A collection of U.S. and military maps useful for a variety of research.
Hagley Digital Archives
Focused on business history, this gateway site connects businesses to greater cultural and social trends.
American Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920
Explore the history of American landscape and architectural design from 1850-1920.
Photographer to the World-The Detroit Publishing Company
When travel wasn’t an easy option what views did people have of other places?
Federal Township Plats of Illinois, 1804-1891
View maps created during the early stages of surveying Illinois.
Civil Rights Oral History Interviews: Spokane, Washington
From racism to civil rights movement music, listen to the memories of these eight individuals.
Congress for the New Urbanism
What is New Urbanism, and does it effect you? Will it affect the way you buy a home, or where the homes are located?
National Postal Museum
The mail always comes, rain or shine; but how?
Ghost Town Gallery
Turn off the lights, and explore the ghost towns of the West.
Colonial Williamsburg
Experience life in Colonial Williamsburg without visiting Virginia.
Images of African Americans from the Cook Collection of Photographs
What might your life have been like as an African American in Virginia c. 1900?
Jacob Lawrence: Exploring Stories
Frame your lessons on the Great Migration with the life and works of Jacob Lawrence.
Cleveland Digital Library
Explore the history of “the forest city.”
Urban Planning, 1794-1918: An International Anthology
How did WWI affect urban development? How did it impact housing and business in the cities?
Streetscape and Townscape of Metropolitan New York City, 1860-1942
See uncommon photograph subjects for the turn-of-the-century, such as street peddlers.
Murphy and Bolanz: Block and Addition Books, Dallas County 1880-1920
Explore the layout and businesses of turn-of-the-century Dallas.
Early Washington Maps: A Digital Collection
Washington was once part of an area contested for between the U.S. and Great Britain.
Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered
View depictions of African American life by artist Dox Thrash.
Thomas Eakins: American Realist
Discover one of America’s great realists, and see the Philadelphia of his day.
Harvesting the River
Explore river life—with a particular focus on food harvesting.
Selected Historical Decennial Census Population and Housing Counts
What questions have past censuses posed? What were the results?
Worthington Memory, Online Scrapbook
Explore the history and development of a small town. The online scrapbook provides an uncanny lens into town life.
Working in Paterson: Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting
How does an industrial past shape current work and play? How does it affect what professions still exist in cities?
Oral History Research Center
What do Vegas showgirls have to say about their time in the city?
Digital Archive of American Architecture
Explore U.S. architectural styles and ornamentation, or date the buildings in your town.
WPA Life Histories, Virginia Interviews
Explore Depression-era, ex-slave, and urban youth life stories.
Meeting of Frontiers
How does the settling of the Siberian frontier compare to that of the U.S. West?
Student Voices from World War II and the McCarthy Era
Imagine traveling from a university to work on a farm.
The Hartford Black History Project
Follow the formation of the African American community in the city of Hartford, CT
U.S. Steel Gary Works Photograph Collection, 1906-1971
Relive the construction of the city of steel—Gary, Indiana.
Washington During the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865
What did patent examiner Taft have to say on the Civil War homefront?
The Yale Map Collection: Online Maps
What kind of map might you have used as an explorer? An early urbanite?
Historic USGS Maps of New England
Explore New England’s topography with more than 1,100 topographical maps, covering all of New England and parts of New York.
Characteristics of Census Tracts in Nine U.S. Cities, 1940-1960
How many hospital beds did New Orleans have in 1960? Was it able to accommodate the poor and sick?
Historical Map and Chart Collection
Teaching exploration? Why not introduce your students to nautical charts?
Data & Information Services Center: Online Data Archive
Ever wonder about Irish immigration to Boston or family finances in the ’60s?
Austin Treasures: Online Exhibits from the Austin History Center
Discover the depth of Austin, Texas’s urban history through 10 online exhibits containing images and essays.
Virginia Historical Inventory (VHI)
View Virginia’s antebellum architectural culture.
Labor Arts
What role has art had in the depiction and reality of U.S. labor?
The Capital and the Bay, ca. 1600-1925
What picture have people painted of the Washington, D.C. in written works?
Texts from Collections of the University of Wisconsin, Madison
Access a selection of rare 19th-century books online.
Regional Oral History Office
Explore California oral histories, or learn to conduct your own interviews.
William Gedney Photographs and Writings
See American life through Gedney’s eyes and European and Indian life through American eyes.
Pictures of the American City
See the U.S. grow before your eyes with this collection depicting two centuries of urbanization.
A Southern Mill Village: History of Old West Durham
Follow the development of a mill town from its birth to its current status.
One Hundred Years of Photography from the National Archives
Relive the 20th century through iconic imagery—more than 70 photographs represent major U.S. events.
Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century
Compare global statistics on topics from infant mortality to literacy.
Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History
Right this way for Seattle and Washington state history resources.
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).
Railroad Maps, 1828-1900
View maps created for a multitude of purposes related to travel by rail.
The Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898-1906
View early films of New York City life.
Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns
Can you tell New Orleans jazz from Bebop? Can you hear the variations in style and instrumental parts?
Florida Heritage Collection
Explore Florida state, regional, and local history.
Toledo's Attic: A Virtual Museum of Toledo, Ohio
Explore Toledo, Ohio’s entertainment, technological, business, and political history.
The American Experience
Discover briefs on more than 60 iconic points in U.S. history.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online (1841-1902)
Explore the history of Brooklyn, 1841 through 1902, with historical newspaper issues.
Picturing Modern America Project
Create your own thematic exhibits using Library of Congress images.
WTO History Project
Take a peek at Seattle protest history through the WTO Ministerial Week.
Crime and Justice Data Online
What crimes are most common? What is the demographic composition of the police force?
Club Kaycee, Golden Age of Kansas City Jazz
Listen to jazz from the ’20s and ’40s while learning about music greats and hot spots.
Perfessor Bill Edwards Ragtime/Old-time Piano Gallery
Introduce yourself to ragtime music and the time which gave birth to it.
Pittsburgh City Photographer
See Pittsburgh, PA, the way it appeared as early as the 1890s.
Historic Topographic Maps of California
Explore a wide range of Californian geological survey maps, dating from 1895 to present.
Reston Collection Images
Explore the planned community of Reston, VA. Gain a better sense of the town that has become a burgeoning suburb.
Harrisburg's Old 8th Ward
Visit the businesses and meet the people of Harrisonburg, PA’s 8th Ward.
Boston Streets: Mapping Directory Data
Explore the history of Boston, MA, through photographs, maps, and atlas pages.
The History of Sanitary Sewers
Few engineering feats are so overlooked by history as the creation of sewers worldwide.
Historical Maps Online
View 400 hundred years of cartography from the Illinois area.
Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America
How much do you know about the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury?
Washington History
Make this your first stop for topics related to Washington state history!
Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos and Maps, 1885-1992
Take a visual journey through the development of Milwaukee, WI.
What Exit? New Jersey and Its Turnpike
Travel through history with the New Jersey Turnpike.
San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection
Imagine San Francisco as it would have been as early as 1850.
Connecticut History Online
Take a look at the “Constitution State,” with approximately 14,000 images depicting Connecticut’s history from the 19th through the 20th century.
Federal Highway Administration
Do you fit today’s transportation norms? Do you reside in a suburb or a city?
Creative Memo on Lay's Products
Potato chip marketing—how a luxury item became an everyday U.S. food.
Hard Hat Riots: An Online History Project
Learn about the Hard Hat Riots of New York with this innovative website.
A Curriculum of United States Labor History for Teachers
Learn about labor politics and economics throughout American history.
Augustana College Library, Digital Projects
Midwest teacher looking for local history primary sources? Try these nine digital collections.
Seneca Village
One of the few resources dedicated to Seneca Village and the creation of Central Park.
Chicago Imagebase
Witness the growth of the Chicago metro area with this interactive website.
The Five Points Site
Navigate a virtual exhibit of a 1991 archaeological undertaking.
Magic, Illusion, and Detection in Turn of the Century America
Learn about American culture at the turn of the 20th century.
WestWeb: Western Studies and Research Resources
This gateway site provides a wealth of resources pertaining to the American West.
History: The National Park Service
Visit this website to learn the history of many of the 384 areas under the stewardship of the National Park Service.
Washington As It Was: Photographs by Theodor Horydczak, 1923-1959
Early 20th century Washington is captured in this collection of 14,350 photographs by Theodor Horydczak.
Architecture and Interior Design for America: 1935-1955
Explore early 20th century architecture and interior design with this expansive photo gallery.
The Urban Landscape
View photographs of a variety of urban landscapes.
California Heritage Collection
View the early history of California through this collection of over 30,000 photographs.
Hiroshima Peace Site
Learn about Hiroshima and the history of nuclear warfare and non-proliferation through this website.
Remembering Nagasaki
View rare photographs of Nagasaki which chronicle the destructive power of nuclear warfare.
The American 1890s
Explore a unique website dedicated to American history during the 1890s.
Children in Urban America: A Digital Archive
Imagine what it might have been like growing up over 100 years ago.
Alaska's Digital Archive
View images related to Alaskan statehood and Native Americans.
Brooklyn in the Civil War
What role did Brooklyn play in the War Between the States?
A Century of Progress: The 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair
Browse official publications from the 1933-1934 World’s Fair.
H.H. Bennett: Photographer Extraordinaire
View commercial photography from the last half of the 19th century.
Vincentian Postcards
Explore 200 years of postcards which document the Vincentian religious order of educators and nurses.
Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps for Georgia Towns and Cities, 1884-1922
More than 540 urban maps of Georgia from between 1884 and 1922, detailing business locations.
A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life
Explore Jewish heritage outside of the Mid-Atlantic or the Holocaust.
Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles Collection
Search Wisconsin newspapers mainly from 1860 through 1940.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
What happened between 1880 and 1910 in the area where you live?
The History Box
Have a question about New York City or state history? More than 750 articles available.
Illinois Digital Archives
Primary sources on Illinois history with an emphasis on residential and commercial architecture.
Historic Pittsburgh
Acquaint yourself with Pittsburgh history through full texts, images, maps, census data, and lesson plans.
The Malcolm X Project
Read FBI files on and watch interviews about Malcolm X, human and African American rights activist.
Invincible Cities
Visual depictions of post-industrial urban decay in California and New Jersey.
Ancient Architects of the Mississippi
How did the Moundbuilders create the massive earthworks for which they are known?
Portal to Texas History
Texas educators, looking for primary resources on state history? Search this portal for thousands of images and documents drawn from Texas-based archival collections.
Las Vegas: An Unconventional History
Why is Las Vegas one of the world’s most popular destinations? How has it changed?
U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census counts everyone! It creates a current image of the nation with its diversity and class variations.
New Jersey Public Records and Archives
Familiarize yourself with New Jersey history using images, maps, and official documents.
Teaching Future Historians: U.S. History Lesson Plans Using Primary Documents
A diverse array of Antebellum, Civil War, and Gilded Age lesson plans for your convenience.
Illinois During the Gilded Age
Listen to, read, and sing sources from the Gilded Age canvassing women, religion, and more.
Silicon Valley History Online
Silicone Valley is known as a high-tech industry center, but has it always been?
McVicar/Stein Photo Copy Service Collection
Imagine life in Madison, WI, between 1920 and 1970.
Western History Photography Collection
How does your view of the American West compare to the visual reality?
Turning Points in Wisconsin History
Primary documents, background information, and lesson plans for Wisconsin history.
Encyclopedia of Chicago, Historical Sources
Imagine your life in 19th and 20th-century Chicago with this extensive collection of images.
Documenting Our Past: The Teenie Harris Archive Project
View African American life in Pittsburgh between 1930 and 1970.
Harlem History
Explore the politics, neighborhoods, culture, and arts of Harlem.
Historic Missouri Newspaper Project
Peruse articles, images, and advertisements drawn from 14 Missouri newspapers, 1835 through 1988.
Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for an American Landscape 1922-1932
Check out five design schemes created by Frank Lloyd Wright, but never implemented.
Wright on the Web
Follow architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s career with these summaries and images.
The Eastman Project: Images of California Life
View more than 13,200 photographs of California labor and community life between 1921 and 1965.
Minnesota Maps Online
Are you interested in cartography or the natural and social environment of early Minnesota?
Automobile in American Life and Society
Enter the world of automotive history through oral histories and scholarly essays.
Coming of Age in the Twentieth Century, Stories from Minnesota and Beyond
What can oral histories tell us about girlhood, adolescence, and more in the United States?
Unified Vision: The Architecture and Design of the Prairie School
View Prairie School works by famed architects and designers Wright, Sullivan, Elmslie, Purcell, and Maher.
Jacob Lawrence: Over the Line
Experience selected artworks by African American artist Jacob Lawrence while learning about his life.
Lawrence Denny Lindsley Photographs
What did the Seattle area, mining, hunting, and portraiture look like c. 1900?
U.S. Geological Survey
How has land use altered over time, and what did the explorers encounter?
Musicians Local No. 627 and the Mutual Musicians Foundation
Have you heard of musicians’ unions? Learn about a 20th-century African American jazz organization.
Madison: Celebrating 150 Years
Learn about Madison, WI, from early settlement through its time as the “queen of bootleggers.”
The Lincoln Institute
Explore Lincoln’s presidency; and access related classroom resources, including lesson plans.
Travel, Tourism, and Urban Growth in Greater Miami: A Digital Archive
Interested in the history of tourism? This site examines the topic within Miami, FL.
The Great Seattle Fire
Delve into photographic evidence of the damage caused by the 1889 Great Seattle Fire.
Atlanta in the Civil Rights Movement
What was Atlanta’s role in the larger African American civil rights movement 1940 through 1970?
The African-American Mosaic
Let the Library of Congress introduce you to African-American history from colonization to the WPA.
Panoramic Maps, 1847-1929
Did you know that between 1840 and 1929 many maps were not drawn to scale?
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
Looking for a new way to teach history? Peruse new media and educational resources.
California Gold: Northern California Folk Music from the Thirties
Sit back and enjoy folk and popular music recordings from 1930s California natives and immigrants.
Connecticut Historical Society
Explore the political and sociocultural history of Connecticut.
The Sonic Memorial Project
Known for the 9/11 tragedy, the World Trade Center possesses a broader social history.
New York Public Library Picture Collection Online
Support visual learners with a selection of more than 30,000 historical images.
Red White Blue & Brimstone: New World Literature and the American Millennium
Texts throughout U.S. history have featured imagery from the Book of Revelations, including the the documents on this site.
History of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Follow the history of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, from its completion in 1938 to its collapse in 1940 and its 1950 reconstruction.
First Century of the First State University: The Creation of UNC
Primary sources document the history of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the first U.S. public university.
Teaching with Laurel Grove School
Local history teaches about slavery, emancipation, and freedom in Northern Virginia.
What Does It Mean to Be an American?
An 8th-grade teacher asks: Was early 20th-century America a “melting pot” or a “salad bowl”?
Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)
Looking for ways to use fiction in your elementary history curriculum? Read on for suggestions!
Home Sales During the Great Depression
Building an edifice of statistics—where can you learn about the real estate market during the Depression?
National Register of Historic Places Travel Itineraries
Explore the historic sites in more than 50 cities and towns across the U.S.
Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia 1876
Primary sources from Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exhibition provide a view of the U.S.’s industrial development.
William P. Gottlieb: Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz
Explore writer-photographer William P. Gottlieb photographs of 1938–1948 jazz culture.
History of the American West, 1860-1920
More than 30,000 photographs capture life in Colorado from 1860 to 1920.
Race and Place
Discover connections between race and place in this archive documenting the effects of Jim Crow on a Virginia town.
Child Labor in America, 1908-1912: Photographs of Lewis W. Hine
Sixty-four photographs taken by Lewis W. Hine between 1908 and 1912 document child labor conditions.
Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project
Primary and secondary sources document the minority struggle for civil rights in Seattle’s history.
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
A variety of primary sources and background essays explore the 1911 fire, a hallmark tragedy of the industrial age.
Chicago Anarchists on Trial: Evidence from the Haymarket Affair, 1886-1887
The court proceedings surrounding the Haymarket Affair look at the event that led to the first “Red Scare” in America.
Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991
Displays nearly 4,000 panoramic photographs of cityscapes, landscapes, and group portraits.
Slavery in New York
Nine galleries explore the history of slavery in New York City.
Making of America
Provides more than 1.5 million pages of text in an effort to digitize more than 11,000 volumes and 100,000 19th-century journal articles.
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.
Photographs from the Chicago Daily News: 1902-1933
Presents more than 55,000 Chicago Daily News photographs taken in the early 20th century.
Chinese in California, 1850-1925
Browse more than 8,000 objects related to Chinese immigrant life in California.
Urban Experience in Chicago: Hull-House and Its Neighborhoods, 1889-1963
Peruse this collection of over 900 items relating to Chicago’s Hull House to discover its influence on 20th century urban development.
Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps, UT
1,275 detailed historical maps, dating from 1867 through 1969, depict 40 cities in the state of Utah.
Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory
Commemorates the 1871 Great Chicago Fire with an array of primary sources.
Daguerreotype Portraits and Views, 1839-1864
Examples of early photographs preserve the likenesses of cities, famous figures, and other subjects.
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.
Digital Library of Georgia
Examines the history and culture of the state of Georgia, presenting an extensive range of primary sources.
September 11 Digital Archive
Records the user-contributed histories of people affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
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.
Accessible Archives
Presents articles from 18th- and 19th-century newspapers, magazines, and books, with a focus on the Mid-Atlantic region.