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.
Immigration from Asia Post-1970: A Guide for Pre-Service Teachers
Help students understand recent immigration history by exploring photographs of Asian immigrant communities in the U.S.
Piscataway Park and Tobacco Farming
In 1700s Maryland and Virginia, farmers lived and died by the quality of their tobacco. Teachers tour Maryland’s Piscataway Park, learning about farmers’ struggle against their environment to grow and cure the perfect crop.
Touring Monticello
Tour Monticello with TAH teachers and learn about the history behind Thomas Jefferson’s home.
Monticello: Jefferson's Experiment
TAH teachers get an introduction to Monticello as Thomas Jefferson’s ’laboratory.'
Pockets from the Past: Daily Life at Monticello
What do the contents of pockets say about their owners? TAH teachers model strategies for examining and questioning artifacts.
Slave Life at Mount Vernon
How do the buildings and artifacts at Mount Vernon reflect the lives of the people who lived and worked there? Educators explore the slave quarters and question what they find.
American Archive of Public Broadcasting
Watch and listen to thousands of public broadcasting programs from across the U.S.
100 Years of Parcels, Packages, and Packets, Oh My!
In the age of Amazon, take students back to a time when delivery in the U.S. was still developing.
Children's Lives at Colonial London Town
Invite young students into colonial history with the stories of children from three very different families.
Families on the Farm
What was life like for women and girls on late 19th- and early 20th-century farms?
Teaching with Food
Teach with all five senses, including taste!
Jennifer Orr on Experiencing History: A Visit to the Parson Weems House
First-grade teacher Jennifer Orr asks her own history questions when she visits a historic house.
Clio Visualizing History
This site offers a grab bag of digital history exhibits. Definitely worth perusal.
Probing Probate
How do we know what people in the past owned and valued?
Give Me (Nuclear) Shelter
How much do you know about these iconic emblems of Cold War fears?
Reading Photographs: Snow Day
When was this winter photo taken? See what clues you can spot!
Quilt Index
Consider broaching local or women’s history using a quilt as a gateway artifact.
Flashing Across the Country: Mr. Zip and the ZIP Code Promotional Campaign
Have you ever wondered what your zip code means or when the codes came into use?
Recipe for Victory: Food and Cooking in Wartime
Winning a war using…food? Explore sources concerning World War I and gastronomical homefront movements.
Guampedia
Guam is often left out of discussions of U.S. history. Remedy the situation!
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Virtual Museum Exhibit
What was life like in abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s home in Washington, DC? The NPS takes a look.
The Jewish Americans
This site, produced by PBS, uses multiple resources to examine the history and influence of Jewish culture in the U.S.
1804 Inventory
What can an inventory tell you about daily life in Delaware in 1804? Curator Barbara Clark Smith asks this document four questions.
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!
America's Love for the Automobile
An Exciting Whiff of Danger or La Belle Dame sans Merci?
Mission US: For Crown or Colony
Immerse your students in the 1770s with this online game.
Civil War Poster!
What can a quilt, a map, some photographs, a haversack, and a receipt tell you about the past?
Gettysburg National Military Park: Camp Life
What did soldiers do between battles? Sometimes, fought off boredom!
Civil War Letters
Historian Chandra Manning analyzes Civil War letters from black and white Union soldiers and a Confederate soldier.
Elizabeth Schaefer on a New Approach to President Lincoln
Summer is the time for professional development! Eighth-grade teacher Elizabeth Schaefer reports on her professional development experiences at DC’s Lincoln’s Cottage.
Using Historical Ephemera in the Classroom
Ticket stubs. Report cards. Photographs. All of these things have historical meaning.
Bland County History Archives
Looking for proof that students can handle extensive local history projects? You’ve found it.
Texas Archive of the Moving Image
Watch some Texas history, submit your own, or learn to make local documentaries.
HERB: Social History for Every Classroom
Find a wide variety of classroom resources focused on social history, from classroom activities to primary sources.
Yale Digital Commons
A wheeled pull toy depicting Nixon with a crown? If you’re looking for a unique object to bring up in class, start with the digital commons.
William Steinway Diary, 1861-1896
Daily life in 19th-century New York City, music history, and Civil War commentary all in one place.
Anthony Pellegrino on Teaching Segregated History
Anthony Pellegrino explores the history of one segregated school, and complicates his understanding of a traditional textbook narrative.
What Do You Mean?: How Language Changes Over Time
This creative lesson transforms language into a historic artifact and enables students to analyze how language changes over time.
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.
Animating the Home Front
What happens when cartoon characters go to war?
African American History Month 2011
For African American History Month, don’t just focus on the heroes—use primary sources to explore the lives of ordinary people.
The Ways West
How emigrants traveled from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1830.
Tax Rates of the Mid-20th Century
Is it April 15 already? Discussing the recent past in context.
Innovation and Technology in the 19th Century
Of all the discoveries and developments that occurred in the 19th century, two proved to be the main force behind the development of the New Age.
Civilization is All Relative
Common misconceptions of the classification of civilization are debunked.
Selling a Slave
The obstacles and restraints on disposing of one’s human “property.”
Victory Vegetables
WWII Victory Gardens allowed citizens to raise food…and wage war!
Turkey Tracking
Thanksgiving—how much do you know about the history of this popular holiday?
Martha Ballard
Learning about the life of a midwife in 18th-century Maine through her diary and other sources.
Digitized Newspaper Archives
How do you go back and find “the first draft of history”?
New England Puritans
Trying to build a New Jerusalem on the coast of Massachusetts.
In Our Own Time: Native American Timekeeping
Pre-Columbian calendars were very different from the ones we use today. Are these statements about Native American timekeeping true?
Back to the Future . . .
In the year 1900, what did Americans think the next century would bring?
Thanksgiving Dinner in 1943
What traditional Thanksgiving foods would have been hard to come by during WWII?
Dance, But Not That Way . . .
Do you know how to dance the Sleigh Bell Polka? Learn the proper way to perform 19th and 20th century dances.
When Whales Lit the World
Up to the 20th century, whalers provided oil for the industrial revolution. How much do you know about these iron men and wooden ships?
Back to School
Binders, buses, and backpacks—consider the history of these back-to-school basics.
Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Culture
At the virtual home of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Culture, six exhibits highlight ethnic culture in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
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.
Colonial Teenagers
Young people in their teens were not thought of as a distinct group, but as young adults who were obliged to work for their living, whether they lived at home or not.
Conococheague
How do you pronounce (and spell) Conococheague and how do we know?
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.
My History at School
To make something real, make it personal. Abstract concepts can best be understood when applied to individual experience.
PhilaPlace
Pennsylvania educators, or teaching urban history? Explore two neighborhoods in Philadelphia using an interactive map and more than 1,240 primary sources.
Forebears’ Furniture
How would a 1790 Pennsylvania farmhouse have been furnished?
Rock Paper Scissors
Gamester extraordinaire Comte de Rochambeau?
American Indian Women
Different kinds of power in different cultures. Perceptions of dignified and proper work vary across time and place.
Mundane Lives and Extreme Adventures
What were the primary concerns of English colonists in early 17th-century America?
Everyday Life in the 19th Century
Wandering through time into our ancestors’ attic.
Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project
75 full-text cookbooks let you or your students prepare the foods from the 19th to the early 20th century.
U.S. Postal Service
Come rain or shine, the mail must go through, bringing information and tidings.
Voice of America
Find out how to pronounce tricky names, and listen to official international radio programs.
Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Design embodies both artistic ingenuity and responses to everyday problems.
Anacostia Community Museum
What is community? What does it do for us, and how does it shape who we are?
National Postal Museum
When going postal is actually a good thing! Explore the Museum’s extensive online resources, including 15 exhibits.
Peace Corps
Explore world and U.S. history simultaneously through universal development issues.
Death of the Dream: Farmhouses in the Heartland
Begin your background research on prairie farmhouses with this website.
Mount Vernon
Take a virtual tour of George Washington’s famous estate, Mt. Vernon.
The Aaron Copland Collection, ca. 1900-1990
An extensive collection of primary and secondary resources detailing the life of composer Aaron Copeland.
Tending the Commons: Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia
Learn about life in the Big Coal River Valley in West Virginia.
Inside an American Factory: Films of the Westinghouse Works, 1904
A collection of resources pertaining to the Westinghouse Works company, including films and articles.
Promise of Gold Mountain: Tucson's Chinese Heritage
A collection of primary sources detailing early Asian-Americans in Tucson, Arizona.
Florida Folklife from the WPA Collections, 1937-1942
Explore the history of Florida folklife and culture.
Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800
Looking for a one-stop spot for all your quick 1639-1800 research needs?
American Notes: Travels in America, 1750-1920
What impressions did the average citizen or foreigner form of early America and its people?
Photographer to the World-The Detroit Publishing Company
When travel wasn’t an easy option what views did people have of other places?
The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color
Explore World War II’s color film footage.
Life Interrupted: The Japanese American Experience in WW II Arkansas
What was life like during Japanese American internment?
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Teaching Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War? Explore this storehouse of Lincolnian history.
The Pilgrims in American Culture: Thanksgiving
Were the Pilgrims really shorter than us? Discover the answer to all your Thanksgiving queries here!
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?
Streetscape and Townscape of Metropolitan New York City, 1860-1942
See uncommon photograph subjects for the turn-of-the-century, such as street peddlers.
Dox Thrash: An African American Master Printmaker Rediscovered
View depictions of African American life by artist Dox Thrash.
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.
World War I History Commission Questionnaires
How did World War I change soldiers’ attitudes, religious beliefs, and employment prospects?
1939 World's Fair Photograph Collection
What images does a state choose to describe its way of life to the nation?
Encyclopedia Britannica: The 1911 Edition
Find out what people thought of everything from ablation to vinegar in 1911.
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.
Voices of the Colorado Plateau
There’s more to the West than cowboys.
History Through Deaf Eyes
What has the U.S. deaf population experienced?
Library of American Broadcasting Sound Bites
From dog food to automobiles—advertisers on the airwaves.
HistoryWired: A Few of Our Favorite Things
What American history items do Smithsonian curators like best?
Brooklyn's Eighteenth-Century Lott House
Conduct your own “virtual dig” of a Dutch farmhouse.
Virginia Historical Inventory (VHI)
View Virginia’s antebellum architectural culture.
Surveyors of the West: William Henry Jackson and Robert Brewster Stanton
Follow the journey of two men through the western United States.
AdFlip
Nostalgic for X-ray glasses advertisements?
Texts from Collections of the University of Wisconsin, Madison
Access a selection of rare 19th-century books online.
Civil War Letters of the Christie Family
What would your life be like as a Union soldier? What did it say about your personal values?
Regional Oral History Office
Explore California oral histories, or learn to conduct your own interviews.
The Daguerreian Society
Have you ever thought of teaching your students the history of photography?
William Gedney Photographs and Writings
See American life through Gedney’s eyes and European and Indian life through American eyes.
Photographs of the American West, 1861-1912
Imagine life on the western frontier.
Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century
Compare global statistics on topics from infant mortality to literacy.
Korean American Digital Archive
Meet singer Florence Ahn, minister Soon Hyun, and others.
Camping With the Sioux—Fieldwork Diary of Alice Cunningham Fletcher
What would it be like to live with the Dakota Sioux?
Quilts and Quiltmaking in America, 1978-1996
From the queer to the quite extraordinary—explore the art of quiltmaking in the Southern U.S.
The Life of a City: Early Films of New York, 1898-1906
View early films of New York City life.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online (1841-1902)
Explore the history of Brooklyn, 1841 through 1902, with historical newspaper issues.
Little Cowpuncher: Rural School Newspaper of Southern Arizona
If you were a pioneer, what would you have to say about your schooling? Students take up their pens and invoke their democratic freedom of the press.
Across the Generations: Exploring U.S. History through Family Papers
Experience Caucasian, middle-class Northeastern life through the collections of four families.
Photographs of the Historic American Buildings Survey: Georgia
What sort of structures did the WPA consider culturally important to Georgia?
National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
More than 50 virtual exhibits ranging from Julia Child to West Point.
Oneida Indian Nation: Culture and History
Meet the Oneida, and discover their role in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812.
Belgian-American Research Collection
What would your life have been like as a Belgian immigrant in Wisconsin?
The Wright Brothers in Photographs
Meet the Wright Brothers and their family through photographs of friends and exploits.
SDA: Survey Documentation and Analysis
Observe statistical trends in U.S. beliefs and demographics from free speech to zodiac signs.
The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden
Unsure how to teach presidential history in an engaging manner? Try these activities and lessons.
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.
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.
Humor's Edge
Use modern political cartoons to introduce analysis of recent events.
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.
Women Working, 1800-1930
What did women think of their work at home, in the arts, and in business?
American Memory Learning Page
Try lesson plans based on the Library of Congress’ American Memory collections.
Colonial House
Companion to a PBS television program, this site provides insight into everyday colonial life.
Utah Digital Newspapers
Browse Utah newspapers from 1879 through modern day.
TUPPERWARE!
Have you ever heard of a Tupperware party? Find out more about the household brand.
WRA Photographs of Japanese-American Evacuation and Resettlement
These curious photos created by the War Relocation Authority put a positive spin on Japanese American internment.
Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories
Hear the recollections of ex-slaves and freedmen in their own voices.
The Story of Virginia
State standards require you to teach VA history? Worry not! This site covers Virginia history from prehistoric times to the present.
Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition, History
What would your life have been like as a housewife in 1850?
Bethlehem Digital History Project
Imagine life as a Moravian in Bethlehem, PA.
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.
Rare Map Collection
Explore maps from throughout America’s history, with a special focus on 19th century Georgia.
American Museum of Photography
View fantastic photography throughout the ages in over 15 exhibits.
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.
Photographs from the Fred Hulstrand and F. A. Pazandak Photograph Collections
Witness farming at the turn of the 20th century with this collection of photographs.
African American Women
Read the memoirs and letters of three 19th-century African American women on this website.
Buckaroos in Paradise: Ranching Culture in Northern Nevada, 1945-1982
Learn about ranching culture and everyday life in northern Nevada’s Paradise Valley.
Views of the Famine
Explore the Irish Famine of 1846 through the eyes of Irish and English newspapers.
Civil War Letters of Galutia York
Read about the Civil War from private Galutia York’s perspective.
The Japanese American Exhibit and Access Project
Go back in time and witness the harsh conditions at Japanese Internment Camps during World War II.
The American 1890s
Explore a unique website dedicated to American history during the 1890s.
American Slave Narratives
Read and listen to firsthand narratives on slave life during the 19th century.
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?
From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America
Peruse this online exhibit on the history of Jewish life in the United States.
Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery
Explore slavery in America from nine thematic perspectives.
Doris Ulmann Photograph Collection
See the faces of the rural South, and acquaint yourself with their folk arts.
Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive
Which ethnic groups have made their homes in the Columbia River Basin?
Adams Family Papers
You probably know about John Adam’s political career, but what of the Adams’ domestic life?
Slavery and the Making of America
An extensive glimpse into slave life and the history of slavery in the United States.
Benjamin Franklin: In His Own Words
Get to know Benjamin Franklin through his own writings, cartoons, and letters.
Brittingham Family Lantern Slide Collection
Catch a glimpse of wealthy turn-of-the-century Wisconsin life and travel in these photos.
Library of Congress: Webcasts
Access more than 500 webcasts from the Library of Congress.
A Portion of the People: Three Hundred Years of Southern Jewish Life
Explore Jewish heritage outside of the Mid-Atlantic or the Holocaust.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
What happened between 1880 and 1910 in the area where you live?
Bound for Glory: America in Color, 1939-1943
View color photographs of everyday life during the Great Depression and pre-World War II mobilization.
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.
Folkstreams
View streaming videos on American folk culture from fox hunting to Zydeco.
Florida Folklife Collection
Explore the folk lore of Florida—from musical performances and art to occupational lore.
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.
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.
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.
Frank Lloyd Wright: Designs for an American Landscape 1922-1932
Check out five design schemes created by Frank Lloyd Wright, but never implemented.
Tennessee Documentary History Collection, 1796-1850
Geared toward K-12 education, this site presents antebellum life in Tennessee through letters 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.
Liberian Letters
What was life like for freed slaves returned to Africa? Read letters to former owners.
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?
Jacob Lawrence: Over the Line
Experience selected artworks by African American artist Jacob Lawrence while learning about his life.
Dolley Madison Digital Edition
Read Dolley Madison’s personal correspondence from her youth through her widowhood.
Listening to Our Ancestors: The Art of Native Life Along the North Pacific Coast
View more than 400 Native American objects selected and presented by the 11 represented communities.
Home Sweet Home: Life in 19th-Century Ohio
Examine 19th-century domestic life through sheet music and audio song files.
Probing the Past
What might you have owned in Maryland or Virginia in 1740-1810? (Lesson plans included!)
Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819
Uncover novels, readers, hymnals, almanacs, diaries, maps, treaties, and more from between 1801 and 1819.
StoryCorps
Connect 20th-century events and daily life with real human experiences through oral history audio files.
Madison: Celebrating 150 Years
Learn about Madison, WI, from early settlement through its time as the “queen of bootleggers.”
American Broadsides and Ephemera, Series I, 1760-1900
Explore American life through advertisements, literature, poetry, Civil War envelopes, and more!
Life After the Holocaust: Stories of Holocaust Survivors After The War
Can you imagine starting your life over in the U.S. following the Holocaust?
Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage
Explore the history of Maryland, from Edgar Allen Poe to the War of 1812.
The African-American Mosaic
Let the Library of Congress introduce you to African-American history from colonization to the WPA.
Connecticut Historical Society
Explore the political and sociocultural history of Connecticut.
The Franklin County Publication Archives Index
Explore 19th-century life through newspaper articles from the 1870s.
Monticello: The Home of Thomas Jefferson
Have you ever wondered how Thomas Jefferson spent his days?
New York Public Library Picture Collection Online
Support visual learners with a selection of more than 30,000 historical images.
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.
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!
Messages of Houses and Their Contents, 1780-1820
Examining changes in early American homes helps interpret the past. It reflects the transitions that occurred in that community, as well as within the household.
Abraham Lincoln
This lesson leads students to see how Lincoln’s life in Springfield influenced important national issues.
From Medieval Europe to Colonial America
What did Colonial America and Medieval Europe have in common?
National Register of Historic Places Travel Itineraries
Explore the historic sites in more than 50 cities and towns across the U.S.
Indian Peoples of the Northern Great Plains
Artifacts preserve the lifestyles of current and former American Indian tribes of the Northern Great Plains, 1870-1954.
History of the American West, 1860-1920
More than 30,000 photographs capture life in Colorado from 1860 to 1920.
African-American Perspectives: Pamphlets from 1818-1907
Pamphlets and documents from 1875 to 1900 highlight African American leaders and organizations.
Voices from the Dust Bowl: 1940-1941
Great Depression documentation of migrant work camps in central California.
Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
With over 300,000 pages available for full-text searching, this is one of the richest collections of anti-slavery and Civil War materials in the world.
Race and Place
Discover connections between race and place in this archive documenting the effects of Jim Crow on a Virginia town.
Oral History Digital Collection
In full-text narratives, more than 2,000 people from northeast Ohio discuss issues significant to the state and the nation.
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.
African-American Experience in Ohio: From the Ohio Historical Society
Take a look through more than 30,000 items relating to African American life in Ohio between 1850 and 1920.
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) Photographs
Close to 200 photographs document the work of Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA).
Territorial Kansas Online
Primary and secondary sources examine the growing divisions in Kansas and the nation prior to the Civil War.
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.
First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820
Explore sources from the mid-18th-to-early-19th-century European migration into the Ohio River Valley.
Envisaging the West: Thomas Jefferson and the Roots of Lewis and Clark
Follows Jefferson’s life, political participation, and accumulation of scientific geographical knowledge from 1735 to 1804.
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.
Lakota Winter Counts
Displays, explains, and interprets the Lakota pictorial histories known as winter counts.
Kentuckiana Digital Library
Collects photographs, texts, and oral histories drawn from 15 Kentucky colleges, universities, libraries, and historical societies.
Documenting the American South
Nearly 1,400 documents covering Southern life from the 18th to early 20th centuries.
Core Historical Literature of Agriculture
Searchable facsimiles of 1,850 monographs and 288 journal volumes related to agriculture in the U.S. between 1806 and 1989.
Colonial Connecticut Records, 1636-1776
Explore the 15-volume Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, from April 1636 to October 1776.
Center for Archaeological Studies
Showcases archaeological excavations at Mobile and elsewhere in Alabama through images and exhibits.
Picturing America
Presents 27 iconic works of art as examples for the use of art and primary sources in history classrooms.
Nineteenth-Century American Children and What They Read
Examines 19th-century children in America: what they read, what was written about them, and what was written for them.
Diary, Correspondence, and Papers of Robert "King" Carter, 1701-1732
Offers letters and diary entries by Robert “King” Carter (1663–1732), wealthy Virginian landowner and public figure.
America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915
Collects 150 1894–1915 motion pictures on work, school, and leisure activities.
Tangled Roots
Primary sources point out cultural connections between the experiences of African and Irish Americans.
Marchand Archive
Memorializes Roland Marchand with more than 6,100 images, including more than 2,000 advertisements, and 48 lesson plans drawn from his collection.
Florida State Archives Photographic Collection
Presents more than 137,000 photographs of Florida on specific localities from the mid-19th century to the present.
Historic Government Publications from World War II: A Digital Library
Includes more than 300 U.S. government pamphlets and books on home front issues from World War II.
The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip
Archives audio files of more than 700 folk tunes recorded in the South in 1939.
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.
Small-Town America: Images from the Robert Dennis Collection, 1850-1920
More than 12,000 stereoscopic photographs depict life in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut small towns and rural areas from 1850 to 1920.
Prairie Settlement: Nebraska Photographs and Family Letters
Nearly 3,500 images and approximately 318 letters illuminate life on the Great Plains from 1862 to 1912.
Kate and Sue McBeth, Missionary Teachers to the Nez Perce
Presents the letters and diaries of Kate and Sue McBeth, late 19th-century missionaries and teachers among the Nez Perce Indians.
Sunday School Books: Shaping the Values of Youth in 19th-Century America
Provides full-text transcriptions and page images of 1815–1865 Sunday school books addressing religious instruction for youth.
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.
Virtual Jamestown
Experience firsthand accounts of Jamestown and colonial history, dating from 1570 through 1720.
Plymouth Colony Archive Project
Documents and analytical essays emphasize the social history of Plymouth Colony from 1620 to 1691.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Peruse 11 exhibits, from the Gold Rush of 1849 to Japanese American internment during WWII.
Internet Moving Images Archive
Reproduces a privately held collection of American ephemeral films produced between 1927 and 1987.
The Stars and Stripes, 1918-1919
Peruse every edition of the “official newspaper” of the U.S. Army fighting forces during World War I.
The Great Depression to World War II: Photos from the FSA-OWI
Explore this database of over 150,000 photographs that capture the true nature of this crisis and its solutions.
South Texas Border, 1900-1920: The Robert Runyon Collection
This site showcases over 8,000 images documenting the history and development of South Texas and the border.
Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive
150 oral history interviews and 16 collections of documents address the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi.
Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar
Ansel Adams’s photographs preserve life at the Manzanar War Relocation Center during World War II.
American Indians of the Pacific Northwest
Documents the lives of Native Americans in the Northwest Coast and Plateau regions of the Pacific Northwest in text and photographs.
Geography of Slavery in America
Provides transcriptions and images of more than 4,000 newspaper advertisements for runaway slaves and indentured servants between 1736 and 1803.
Do History: Martha Ballard's Diary Online
Explore the diary of midwife Martha Ballard and the creation of two modern historical studies based on the diary.
Accessible Archives
Presents articles from 18th- and 19th-century newspapers, magazines, and books, with a focus on the Mid-Atlantic region.
Typical in the 1930s
A panel of judges enlisted by the New York World’s Fair Corporation looked to Texas to find this family.