Library Resources

History Databases

Middletown Thrall Library provides its patrons with a number of databases and online reference works.

These databases are available at the library, and many can be accessed at home by members of Thrall.

Please click on any link below to learn what each database / reference work offers:

History Databases

Other General Research Databases to Consider

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American History Resources
in the Library Catalog

You click any of the following topics to browse
history items in the library catalog.

Jump to:

General Topics
Documents
Historic Persons
United States Presidents
Wars

General Topics

Documents

Historic Persons

United States Presidents

Wars

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Reference Works

The following titles are a very small and somewhat random sample of the many excellent history reference works available at Middletown Thrall Library's Reference Department.

The "call numbers" beneath each title indicate where in the Reference section these books can be found:

100 Key Documents In American Democracy
(REF 973 ONE)
The American Heritage Encyclopedia of American History
(REF 973.03 AME)
Encyclopedia of African American History
(REF 973.0496 ENC)
Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History
(REF 973.703 HEI)
The Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates
(REF 973.02 CAR)
Encyclopedia of American History
(REF 980.003 ENC)
Encyclopedia of American Immigration
(REF 304.873 ENC)
Encyclopedia of North American Indian Tribes
(REF 970.004 YEN)
Encyclopedia of the War of 1812
(REF 973.5203 ENC)
Everyday Life: American Social History
(REF 306.0973 EVE)
Facts About the Presidents
(REF 973.099 KAN)
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America: Primary Documents
(YA 305.40973 CUL)
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life in America
(REF 973.03 GRE)
Historic U.S. Court Cases
(REF YA349.73 HIS)
Slavery in the United States: A Social, Political, and Historical Encyclopedia
(REF 306.362 SLA)

For more titles, you can browse the History section at Reference starting with the 900s, or you can ask our librarians for assistance.

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Web Resources

Overviews of American History

AFL-CIO: Our History

"Working people built America - its buildings, institutions, cultures and values. The history of work in this country helps us understand our social and economic status today and prepares us to navigate the economy and politics of the future." Biographies, a timeline, key events, and a annotated collection of links detailing the labor movement history from colonial time through the present. Please be aware that the history is presented from a pro labor point of view. From the AFL-CIO.

American History Lives at American Heritage

Stories, photos of artifacts, and information on historical sites. Includes archives of the American Heritage magazine from 1954 through 2012.

Digital AAS (American Antiquarian Society)

Includes Virtual Programs; Open Access Digital Collections; K-12 Digital Resources; Online Exhibitions and more.

Outline of U. S. History

Adobe PDF of a 380 page text of American history from early settlement through the 2008 election. From Bureau of International Information Programs, United States Department of State.

Sage American History

"Sage American History is designed for use by undergraduate college, community college and high school teachers and students. These open educational resources may be used without charge by any academic institution or individual as long as copyrights are respected. Users should be aware that the course modules are not an objective text, but rather a detailed description of historic events as interepreted by a teaching historian who has been delivering classroom lectures for over 40 years. Thus you will find opinions, conclusions, anecdotes, comparisons and other such components designed to challenge your imagination and your own knowledge. The summaries are based on the writings of distinguished historians as well as original document sources." Provided by Northern Virginia Community College.

U.S. History

Short articles from CliffNotes:

1. U.S. History I
2. U.S. History II

See also:

History by Period:
Databases

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Founding Fathers
& the U.S. Constitution

America's Founding Documents: Explore the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. "These three documents, known collectively as the Charters of Freedom, have secured the rights of the American people for more than two and a quarter centuries and are considered instrumental to the founding and philosophy of the United States." Provided by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
The American Founders Online: An Annotated Guide to Their Papers and Publications: "The digital resources described in this guide provide online access, in varying degrees, to the personal papers and/or publications of the major founders of the American Republic -- that is, those men who served in roles of national political leadership between 1765 and 1815 -- and members of their families." Included are John Adams, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, George Washington, and others. From the Library of Congress (LOC).
Constitution: Videos: From The History Channel.
Creating the United States: "This exhibition [from the Library of Congress] offers a remarkable opportunity to learn in a fresh new way how the [U.S.] founding documents ... were forged out of insight, invention, and creativity, as well as collaboration and much compromise." The Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are featured in this exhibition. Links to other exhibits, lesson plans, and papers from some of the founding fathers are included here.
The Founders: Who Are These Men?: Brief biographies (arranged by state) from the U.S. National Constitution Center.

American Presidents, Vice-Presidents,
and First Ladies

Individual Presidents

Abraham Lincoln Papers: "The papers of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), lawyer, representative from Illinois, and sixteenth president of the United States, contain approximately 40,550 documents dating from 1774 to 1948, although most of the collection spans from the 1850s through Lincoln's presidency (1861-1865). Roughly half of the collection, more than 20,000 documents, comprising 62,000 images, as well as transcriptions of approximately 10,000 documents, is online. Included on this website in their entirety are Series 1-3 of the Lincoln Papers and the original materials in Series 4.Excluded from this online presentation is a sizeable portion of Series 4, which consists of printed material and reproductions of government and military documents made from originals in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration. Treasures in the collection include Lincoln's first and second inaugural addresses, his preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation, the two earliest known copies of the Gettysburg Address (the Nicolay and Hay copies), his August 23, 1864, memorandum expressing his expectation of being defeated for re-election in the upcoming presidential contest, and a condolence letter written to Mary Todd Lincoln by Queen Victoria following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.The Lincoln Papers are characterized by a large number of correspondents, including friends and associates from Lincoln's Springfield days, well-known political figures and reformers, and local people and organizations writing to their president." From the Library of Congress.
Franklin: Access to FDR's Library Digital Collection: "FRANKLIN is a virtual research room and digital repository that provides free and open access to the digitized collections of the Roosevelt Library - to everyone, anywhere in the world. Whether you are a lover of history, a student working on a school project, or a scholar, FRANKLIN allows you to keyword search for archival documents and photographs and to search, browse, and view whole files, just as you could if you came to the Library's research room in-person. Now available online are some of the most important documents of the twentieth century - primary source documentation of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's experiences leading the nation through the Great Depression and World War II." A cooperative effort supported by public, corporate and nonprofit organizations hosted by Marist College.
George Washington Digital Encyclopedia: "Explore primary source materials and objects from the Mount Vernon collection. Entries focus on the totality of Washington's life and experiences, while also covering the Mount Vernon Estate, its history, and preservation." From George Washington's Mount Vernon.
George Washington Papers: "The papers of army officer and first U.S. president George Washington (1732-1799) held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress constitute the largest collection of original Washington papers in the world. They consist of approximately 65,000 items accumulated by Washington between 1745 and 1799, including correspondence, diaries, and financial and military records. The collection documents Washington's childhood education, his first career as a surveyor, his experiences as a militia colonel during the French and Indian War, his election as a Virginia delegate to the first and second Continental Congresses, his role as general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, his presidency of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, his two terms as president (1789-1797), and his retirement. Also documented is his management of Mount Vernon, his plantation home in Virginia, and the lives of his family, servants, and slaves. Notable correspondents include John Adams, Benedict Arnold, Edward Braddock, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Because of the wide range of Washington's interests, activities, and correspondents, which include ordinary citizens as well as celebrated figures, his papers are a rich source for almost every aspect of colonial and early American life." From the Library of Congress.
Theodore Roosevelt Association Resources: Topics covered: Brief Biography (not realy so brief); Speeches; Real Teddy Bear Story; Quotations; Bibliography; and TRA Cyclopedia. The Cyclopedia includes a chronology, his family, the genealogy and public papers as Governor of New York.
Theodore Roosevelt Papers: "The papers of Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), public official, author, decorated veteran of the Spanish-American War, governor of New York, and president of the United States (1901-1909), consist of approximately 276,000 documents (roughly 461,000 images), most of which were digitized from 485 reels of previously reproduced microfilm. Held in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, these papers constitute the largest collection of original Roosevelt documents in the world. The collection contains personal, family, and official correspondence, diaries, book drafts, articles, speeches, and scrapbooks, dating from 1759 to 1993 with the bulk of material from the period between 1878 and 1919." From the Library of Congress.
Woodrow Wilson Papers: "The papers of Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), scholar, president of Princeton University, governor of New Jersey, and president of the United States (1913-1921), consist of approximately 280,000 documents, comprising approximately 620,000 images, most of which were digitized from 540 reels of previously produced microfilm. Held in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, these papers constitute the largest collection of original Wilson documents in the world. The collection contains personal, family, and official correspondence, White House executive office files, drafts and proofs of books, articles, speeches, academic lectures, scrapbooks, shorthand notes, and memorabilia dating from 1786 to 1957 with the bulk of material falling in the period between 1876 and 1924. Wilson's papers provide extensive documentation of his presidential administration and the issues it confronted, including tariff policy, the establishment of the Federal Reserve Banks, antimonopoly policies in regulating corporations, and contentious relations with Mexico. In particular, Wilson's leadership of the country during World War I and his diplomacy during that conflict and at the Paris Peace Conference are richly documented. The collection contains substantial material on his personal and family life, including correspondence with his second wife Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. Likewise, considerable correspondence and other materials document Wilson's final years after he left the White House." Includes the draft of the Covenant for League of Nations, the Peace Conference correspondence ending World War I, speeches, and letters. From the Library of Congress.

Collective Websites

The American Presidency Project: The American Presidency Project was established in 1999 as a collaboration between John Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The archive of over 90,000 documents includes Executive Orders, Proclamations, Veto Messages, press conferences, State of the Union Addresses, various other presidential addresses, and election data.
American President: Resource on the US Presidents: Created by the the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs, the nation's leading research institute for the study of the American presidency. It is described as the "most comprehensive, non-partisan resource on the history and workings of the American presidency." The website includes extensive biographies of every president and first lady; richly detailed event timelines; biographies of cabinet officials, presidential staffers, advisers and multimedia resource galleries for each of the 45 presidencies.
Chronological List of Presidents, First Ladies, and Vice Presidents of the United States: Dates, names, and images. From the Library of Congress.
First Ladies of the United States: This site from the National First Ladies Library provides information about all of the First Ladies of The United States. On the linked page each First Lady is represented and a quote from each is also presented. The linked pages have biographical information on all first ladies from Washington to Trump.
List of Site: Presidents, A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary: Lists historic places related to each President of The United States from George Washington to George W. Bush. It is a good site to gather information about the lives of the Presidents of The United States. From the National Park Service (NPS).
National Archives Presidential Libraries and Museums: Use these links from the National Archives Library Information Center to find information about presidential libraries, presidential documents, the U. S. Presidents, First Ladies, and Inagurations.
The White House: The First Ladies: Biographies of the First Ladies from Martha Washington to Melania Trump.
The White House: Presidents of the United States: Includes biographies of: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester A. Arthur, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower , John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, James Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama.

See also:

U.S. Presidents in the RCLS Library System Catalog (books, DVDs, more)
Presidental Libraries

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Images & Documents

American Journeys: "American Journeys contains more than 18,000 pages of eyewitness accounts of North American exploration, from the sagas of Vikings in Canada in AD1000 to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies 800 years later. " Funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum & Library Services and by private donors, American Journeys is a collaborative project of the Wisconsin Historical Society and National History Day.
America's Founding Documents: The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and more. Provided by National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (formerly American Memory Collections): An important part of the Library's National Digital Library Program are its collections of original format photos and prints. This project gives the public an opportunity to view fascinating and often unique representations of American history and life. Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies are here as are Daguerreotype portraits and views, Civil War photographs, baseball cards, quilts, and much more.
The Archive of Early American Images: "The Archive of Early American Images is drawn from the holdings of the John Carter Brown Library. The AEAI assists scholars in their quest for contemporary images to illustrate their research findings and to facilitate the study of historical images in their own right and in proper context. It is a unique resource for picture researchers, documentary filmmakers, and others looking for material for commercial use. Many of these American images come from books printed in the early modern period that have never been reproduced before." From Brown University.
Archive.org - United States Census: Contains digital versions of every census from 1790-1930.
Benjamin Franklin Papers: "The papers of statesman, publisher, scientist, and diplomat Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) consist of approximately 8,000 items spanning the years 1726 to 1907, with most dating from the 1770s and 1780s. The collection's principal strength is its documentation of Franklin's diplomatic roles as a colonial representative in London (1757-1762 and 1764-1775) and France (1776-1785), where he sought to win recognition and funding from European countries during the American Revolution, negotiated the treaty with Britain that ended the war, and served as the first United States minister to France. The papers also document Franklin's work as a scientist, inventor, and observer of the natural world, and his relations with family, friends, and scientific and political colleagues. Notable correspondents include John Adams, Sarah Franklin Bache, Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy, Edmund Burke, Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, Cadwallader Colden, Peter Collinson, Thomas Cushing, Charles-Guillaume-Frédéric Dumas, Charles James Fox, Deborah Read Franklin, William Franklin, William Temple Franklin, Joseph Galloway, George III, King of Great Britain; Rodolphe-Ferdinand Grand, David Hartley, Mary Stevenson Hewson, Jan Ingenhousz, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, John Paul Jones, the Marquis de Lafayette; Henry Laurens, Antoine Lavoisier, Arthur Lee, Jane Franklin Mecom, Robert Morris, Richard Oswald, Joseph Priestley, William Strahan, Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes; George Washington, Jonathan Williams, Jonathan Williams Jr., and more." From the Library of Congress.
Digital Collections: American History: From the Library of Congress.
Our Documents: Includes 100 "milestone documents," related resources and a teacher's toolbox - integrating documents into the classroom
Teaching American History: Document Library: "The following is a list of letters, speeches, documents, web sites, books, and articles on signifcant people and events in American political thought and history. Rather than being a comprehensive list of available resources, it is meant to be a list of the best resources available on the given subject." From the Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University.
Umbra: Search African American History: "Umbra Search is a digital library and widget that aggregates materials documenting African American history and cultural life from archives, libraries, museums, and other US repositories. Umbra Search is developed by the Givens Collection of African American Literature at the University of Minnesota Libraries' Archives and Special Collections, with Penumbra Theatre Company."

See also:

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History by Period

Jump to:

Discovery - Colonial History
American Revolution
19th Century
Civil War
20th Century
21st Century

Discovery - Colonial History

Colonial Williamsburg

"Colonial Williamsburg is the largest outdoor living museum in the country, upholding our educational mission through immersive, authentic 18th-century experiences and programming for our guests."

Resource Library: Create a free account or use their guest account to access a "variety of materials for teaching and learning American history and civics, including videos, interactive learning games, lesson plans, and more."
Trend and Tradition Magazine: "Colonial Williamsburg's full-color quarterly magazine offers articles, photography and art that showcases the life of Williamsburg's historic core and its people - then and now."

1492: An Ongoing Voyage

"1492. Columbus. The date and the name provoke many questions related to the linking of very different parts of the world, the Western Hemisphere and the Mediterranean. What was life like in those areas before 1492? What spurred European expansion? How did European, African and American peoples react to each other? What were some of the immediate results of these contacts? 1492: An Ongoing Voyage addresses such questions by examining the rich mixture of societies coexisting in five areas of this hemisphere before European arrival. It then surveys the polyglot Mediterranean world at a dynamic turning point in its development.The exhibition examines the first sustained contacts between American people and European explorers, conquerors and settlers from 1492 to 1600. During this period, in the wake of Columbus's voyages, Africans also arrived in the hemisphere, usually as slaves. All of these encounters, some brutal and traumatic, others more gradual, irreversibly changed the way in which peoples in the Americas led their lives." From the Library of Congress.

Jamestown Fact Sheets

Includes timelines and detailed information on the historical significance of Jamestown as well as historic personalities and industries. From the National Park Service.

Plymouth Colony Archive Project

"The Plymouth Colony Archive Project is designed to provide a general audience with historical analyses and original source documents concerning the Colony's existence in the period of 1620-1691. This internet project was initiated in 1998 by Patricia Scott Deetz, James Deetz and Christopher Fennell. This site is designed to make available historical constructions on various topics of the Colony's social history, and to provide interactive access to the underlying primary sources, so you can undertake your own analysis and interpretations."

The Roanoke Colonies - The First Colony Foundation

This dicusses the lost Colony of Roanoke, one of Americans earliest settlements.

Virtual Jamestown

"The Virtual Jamestown Archive is a digital research, teaching and learning project that explores the legacies of the Jamestown settlement and 'the Virginia experiment.'"

See also:

Overviews of American History

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The American Revolution

American Battlefield Trust: Includes information about all battlefields in the United States from the American Revolution through the Civil War as well as virtual tours of many of them. It helps enhance the understanding of the American Revolution, The War of 1812 and The Civil War. A wonderful resource for those who may not be able to afford to travel to some of these places, it also includes a Civil War curriculum and videos for educators and online quizzes for enthusiasts.
The American Revolution: "This website, created by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation with support from a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, draws upon Colonial Williamsburg's eighteenth-century collections to provide visitors a unique opportunity to explore the rich interconnected nature of life in a revolutionary world. Revolutionary Williamsburg was at the core of networks of people, goods, and thoughts that bound the eighteenth-century British Empire's largest and oldest mainland North American province to the rest of the globe. Using Williamsburg as a window into a revolutionary world, the website encourages visitors to share in the story of the collapse of the British Empire and the making of an American nation through the same myriad influences that shaped the perspectives of the extraordinary people - free and enslaved, women and men, rich and poor, Native American and European - who transformed the Atlantic world in the second half of the eighteenth century."
Liberty! The American Revolution: This is the PBS companion site to its televised documentary by the same name. It provides an excellent overview of the Revolution. Its Chronicle of the Revolution link is particularly good, especially for students. Check out its clearly presented Timeline of the Revolution with textual links to key events from 1760 to 1791.
Papers of the War Department 1784-1800: Long believed to have been destroyed in the devastating fire of 1800, fifty five thousand documents in this earliest period have been painstakingly reconstructed from archives scattered across the United States. The Papers record much more than just military history, including Indian and veteran affairs. Various search options and free access are offered online. This project has been taken over by scholars at George Mason University.
Spy Letters of the American Revolution: "The exhibit is based on spy letters from the William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Gallery of Letters provides a brief description of each letter and links to more information about the stories of the spies in the letter or the secret methods used to make the letter."

See also:

Overviews of American History

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The 19th Century

The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: "This website makes available the text of the celebrated Nebraska edition of the Lewis and Clark journals, edited by Gary E. Moulton. Moulton's edition - the most accurate and inclusive edition ever published - is one of the major scholarly achievements of the late twentieth century.The site features the full text - almost five thousand pages - of the journals. Also included are a gallery of images, important supplemental texts, and audio files of selected passages plus Native American perspectives. The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Online is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Center for Great Plains Studies, the University of Nebraska Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, and University of Nebraska Press."
Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition: Created for the centennial traveling exhibition, this website hosts a virtual journey and curriculum units. Organized by the Missouri Historical Society and presented by Emerson. Virtual tour requires the Flash plug-in.
Making of America: "The Cornell University Library Making of America Collection is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. This site provides access to 267 monograph volumes and over 100,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. The project represents a major collaborative endeavor in preservation and electronic access to historical texts." Collection hosted by HathiTrust.
The War of 1812: A detailed overview from SparkNotes.
Westward Expansion (1807-1912): An overview from SparkNotes.
The World Of 1898: The Spanish American War: "This presentation provides resources and documents about the Spanish-American War, the period before the war, and some of the fascinating people who participated in the fighting or commented about it. Information about Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain, and the United States is provided in chronologies, bibliographies, and a variety of pictorial and textual material from bilingual sources, supplemented by an overview essay about the war and the period. Among the participants and authors featured are such well-known figures as Presidents Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as Admiral George Dewey and author Mark Twain (United States), together with other important figures such as Antonio Maceo and Jose Marti (Cuba), Roman Baldorioty de Castro and Lola Rodriguez de Tio (Puerto Rico), Jose Rizal and Emilio Aguinaldo (Philippines), and Antonio Canovas del Castillo and Ramon Blanco (Spain)." From the Library of Congress.

See also:

Civil War
Overviews of American History

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Slavery

Aboard the Underground Railroad: "Aboard the Underground Railroad: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary introduces travelers, researchers, historians, preservationists, and anyone interested in African American history to the fascinating people and places associated with the Underground Railroad. The itinerary currently provides descriptions and photographs on 64 historic places that are listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, America's official list of places important in our history and worthy of preservation. It also includes a map of the most common directions of escape taken on the Underground Railroad and maps of individual states that mark the location of the historic properties." From the National Park Service.
The African American Mosaic: Topics include colonization, abolition and migration. From the Library of Congress.
African-American Odyssey: From the American Memory project at the Library of Congress.
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: "Focused on Black Freedom, featuring select primary source documents related to critical people and events in African American history. Our intention is to support a wide range of students (see examples for using in teaching and learning), as well independent researchers and anyone interested in learning more about the foundation of ongoing racial injustice in the U.S. – and the fights against it. By centering on the experiences and perspectives of African Americans, we hope this collection imbues the study of Black history with a deeper understanding of the humanity of people who have pursued the quest for freedom, and the significance of movements like Black Lives Matter. " From ProQuest.
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938: "Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA)."
Slavery: Voyages - The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database: "Has information on almost 35,000 slaving voyages that forcibly embarked over 10 million Africans for transport to the Americas between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. It offers researchers,students and the general public a chance to rediscover the reality of one of the largest forced movements of peoples in world history."

See also:

Civil War
Overviews of American History

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Civil War

The Civil War (1861-1865) is arguably the seminal event in American history. The Internet resources on this subject are vast and varied, with information for both the casual high school student and the serious scholar/expert.

American Battlefield Trust: Includes information about all battlefields in the United States from the American Revolution through the Civil War as well as virtual tours of many of them. It helps enhance the understanding of the American Revolution, The War of 1812 and The Civil War. A wonderful resource for those who may not be able to afford to travel to some of these places, it also includes a Civil War curriculum and videos for educators and online quizzes for enthusiasts.
The Civil War: A collection of National Park Service links to resources for learning about the Civil War through relevant historic places. Also includes the Soldiers and Sailors Database (CWSS), "a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Other information on the site includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, which will be amended over time. The CWSS is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and several public and private partners whose goal is to increase Americans' understanding of this decisive era in American history by making information about it widely accessible." From the National Park Service. ; change the URLs of the other updates.
The Civil War: Companion to Ken Burns' masterpiece, this website has short biographies, maps and statistics of key battles, and a fact sheet of fascinating information. From PBS.
The Civil War Index: An extensive list of Internet resources.
Civil War Maps: "The maps, charts, and atlases depict battles, troop positions and movements, engagements, and fortifications. Also included are reconnaissance maps, sketch maps, coastal charts, and theater of war maps." From the Library of Congress.
Disunion: "One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Americans went to war with themselves. Disunion revisits and reconsiders America's most perilous period -- using contemporary accounts, diaries, images and historical assessments to follow the Civil War as it unfolded." From the New York Times Opinion Pages.
Glossary of Civil War Terms: From the Civil War Trust.
New York City Draft Riots of 1863: This excerpt from the book "In the Shadow of Slavery: African Americans in New York City, 1626-1863" discusses the July 1863 riots in New York City that followed the enactment of a new conscription lottery law. "Throughout the week of riots mobs harassed and sometimes killed blacks and their supporters and destroyed their property." From the University of Chicago Press.
U.S. Center of Military History Staff Rides: Detailed briefing books (some available only in PDF) on the following battles: Ball's Bluff, First Bull Run, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Wilderness/Spotsylvania. Contains biographies of commanders and leaders, strategies, artillery and unit details, maps, and day by day chronologies.

See also:

Overviews of American History

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The 20th Century

The twentieth century, according to Harold Evans in his history entitled The American Century, belongs to the United States because of the "triumph of its faith in its founding idea of political and economic freedom." He credits the United States with sustaining Western civilization by "acts of courage, generosity, and vision." The internet sites included here reflect many different viewpoints and subjects relating to American civilization in the twentieth century.

American Experience: Timeline of the Great Depression: Detailed timeline from the American Experience episode: Riding the Rails.
Civil Rights Movement & Leaders: Collection of annotated links from Middletown Thrall Library's African American History Resources.
Cold War International History Project: Virtual Archive 2.0: Large collection of historic documents from the Cold War era. From the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
The Digital Collections of the National World War II Museum: Includes Oral Histories and photographic collections: Boylhart Collection (Europe and the Home Front ), Forrester Collection (an Army Nurse), Tully Collection (the 5th Army in Italy), Ives Collection (Naval battles), White Collection (training on the Home Front), Caddell Collection (the 5th Army in Italy), Normandy Collection (beaches, the invasion, and related military activities in the region), and more. From the National World War II Museum.
Edu-Topics: World War One: The United States World War One Centennial Commission. This site provides links about America's involvement in World War One. It discusses all aspects from entering the war, to background information, and making peace. See also this link, which shows each state's involvement in World War One.
The Great War: A history of World War I including maps and timelines. From PBS.
The Influenza Epidemic of 1918: This topic was created by the National Archives and Record Administration and is not part of the existing Gilder-Lehrman Insittue topics. It offers a good overview of the subject and includes documents and photos from the Archives.
The Korean War: A detailed overview from SparkNotes.
The Korean War and Its Origins 1945-1953: Collections of documents and photographs from the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum.
The Presidency and the Cold War: An online exhibition from the Smithsonian on how the ten presidents of this era shaped and were shaped by the events of the Cold War.
Remembering the Triangle Factory Fire: "This site includes selected information on a terrible and unnecessary tragedy involving the death of many young working women in a New York City sweatshop at the beginning of the 20th century and the resulting investigations and reforms. You will find original documents, oral histories, and photographs. You can hear and read first-hand accounts by survivors and others that will provide a glimpse into the lives of workers and a sense of the horrors of a factory fire that claimed the lives of 146 young workers." From Cornell University - ILR School.
The Roaring 20s: This website from the history channel breaks the 1920's down into 5 sections: The New Woman, The Birth of Mass Culture, The Jazz Age, Prohibition, and The Cultural Civil War. The 1920s were an important time in American History as it was after World War I but before the Great Depression.
World War II and New York City: "Examines the experiences of New Yorkers on the home front and those who served." From the New York Historical Society.
World War II Documents Digitized: Digitized copies of more than 300 World War II documents are now available to the public thanks to a partnership between the U.S. Government Printing Office and Southern Methodist University Central University Libraries. The collection includes informational pamphlets, government reports, regulations, and instructions.

See also:

Overviews of American History

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The 21st Century

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Includes the public papers of President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama. From the National Archives.
September 11, 2001, Documentary Project: "The September 11, 2001, Documentary Project captures the heartfelt reactions, eyewitness accounts, and diverse opinions of Americans and others in the months that followed the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93. Patriotism and unity mixed with sadness, anger, and insecurity are common themes expressed in this online presentation of almost 200 audio and video interviews, 45 graphic items, and 21 written narratives." An American Memory Project from the Library of Congress.
September 11 Digital Archive: "The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. The Archive contains more than 150,000 digital items, a tally that includes more than 40,000 emails and other electronic communications, more than 40,000 first-hand stories, and more than 15,000 digital images." From the Center for History and New Media and American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning.
START: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism: "The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, known as START, was established in 2005 to use state of-the-art theories, methods and data from the social and behavioral sciences to better understand the origins, dynamics and social and psychological impacts of terrorism.Our research informs decisions on how to disrupt terrorist networks,reduce the incidence of terrorism and enhance the resilience of our society in the face of the terrorist threat." From the University of Maryland.

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Immigration

Leaving Europe: A New Life in America: A Europeana exhibit of digitized materials arrranged in the following themes: The Homeland of Migrating Groups, Motivations and Aspirations, Departure and Arrival, Life in America, Nativism, Contact with Homelands.
Immigration to the United States 1789-1930: Aspiration Acculturation, and Impact: "Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930, is a web-based collection of historical materials from Harvard's libraries, archives, and museums that documents voluntary immigration to the United States from the signing of the Constitution to the onset of the Great Depression." From Harvard University Library Open Collections Program.

See also:

Immigration - History

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Native Americans

American Indian History and Heritage

"This Teacher's Guide will introduce you to the cultures and explore the histories of some groups within the over 5 million people who identify as American Indian in the United States, with resources designed for integration across humanities curricula and classrooms throughout the school year." Tap/click expandable sections (e.g. "Teaching Indigenous Perspectives" or "Preservation of Indigenous Culture") to explore content in those areas. From NEH/Edsitement.

Avalon Project: Treaties Between the United States and Native Americans

Indian Nation

"IndianNation.org is dedicated to collecting and sharing the stories of the 237,000 Indians who appear in the 1900 census. By surviving, by maintaining their distinct identities in the face of concerted efforts to dissolve their culture, those Indians made the present possible." Search names or browse Native American tribes on interactive maps. From eHistory.org, the University of Georgia.

Indians/Native Americans

"This page contains links to American history relating to Native Americans." From the National Archives.

Invasion of America: How the United States Took Over an Eighth of the World

"Between 1776 and 1887, the United States seized over 1.5 billion acres from America's indigenous people by treaty and executive order. The Invasion of America shows how by mapping every treaty and executive order during that period. It also contains present-day federal Indian reservations. The data are based on the maps produced by the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1899 under the guidance of Charles C. Royce." From eHistory.org and the University of Georgia.

Learning Longhouse

Learn about the Haudenosaunee or People of the Longhouse. The Iroquois Confederacy includes the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora Nations. Topics include Art, Clans, Clothing and Shelter, Beliefs and more. From the Iroquois Indian Museum.

National Museum of the American Indian

The official web site of the National Museum of the American Indian, which has locations in Washington D.C. and New York City.

Native American Heritage Month

"November is National American Indian Heritage Month. The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the rich ancestry and traditions of Native Americans."

Native Americans

"Gather information on American Indian leaders and culture. Study essays, music, maps and images related to the treatment and portrayal of American Indians by European explorers and settlers. Examine treaties dating from 1778-1842 and images and documents relating to assimilating American Indians through education." From the Library of Congress.

Indian Affairs: Part of the American State Papers, 1789-1838. Contains legislative and executive documents concerning Native Americans.
Indian Land Sessions: U.S.Congressional Documents 1784-1894: Browse by date, tribe and state/territory. Includes maps.

Native Words Native Warriors

"The National Museum of the American Indian honors American Indian Code Talkers. This is a companion website to the traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition, Native Words, Native Warriors."

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail

"In 1838, the United States government forcibly removed more than 16,000 Cherokee Indian people from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia, and sent them to Indian Territory (today known as Oklahoma)." From the National Park Service.

From USHistory.org:

Custer's Last Stand
The End of Resistance
Life on the Reservations
The Massacre at Sand Creek
Native American Resilience and Violence in the West
Revolutionary Limits: Native Americans
The Trail of Tears - The Indian Removals
The Wounded Knee Massacre

We Shall Remain

"We Shall Remain is a groundbreaking mini-series and provocative multi-media project that establishes Native history as an essential part of American history. Five 90-minute documentaries spanning three hundred years tell the story of pivotal moments in U.S. history from the Native American perspective." This companion website provides previews, teacher's guides, links to resources, and articles. From PBS.

See also:

Ref Is Ready! (Children's Ready Reference Guide): Native Americans

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Videos

American Experience: "Watch full films online, download teacher's guides, go behind the scenes, and learn more." Topics include: Biographies, Civil Rights, Native American History, Politics, Popular Culture, Presidents, Technology, The American West, The Natural Environment, and War. From PBS.
American History TV: Includes American Artifacts ("Travel with us to historic sites, museums, and archives"), Lectures in History ("Join students in college classrooms to hear lectures on topics ranging from the American Revolution to 9-11"), Reel America ("Journey through the 20th century with archival films on public affairs"), The Civil War ("A look at the people and events that shaped the Civil War era"), The Presidency ("Hear from presidents and first ladies, and learn about their politics, policies, and legacies"), Oral Histories ("Eyewitness accounts of key events in our nation's history"), and History Bookshelf ("The country's best-known American history writers of the past decade talk about their books"). From C-SPAN.
Civil Rights History Project: "The activists interviewed for this project belong to a wide range of occupations, including lawyers, judges, doctors, farmers, journalists, professors, and musicians, among others. The video recordings of their recollections cover a wide variety of topics within the civil rights movement, such as the influence of the labor movement, nonviolence and self-defense, religious faith, music, and the experiences of young activists." From the Library of Congress.
From the U.S. National Archives (NARA): Historic Video Footage: "The video holdings of the National Archives include official U.S. Government records of permanent value and donated materials from various sources."
The National Archives on YouTube: "Watch the captured moments of our nations' history with videos from the National Archives through YouTube!"

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