History - American & World History
Featured Resources
- American Decades Primary Sources (1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s)
- A 10-volume encyclopedia spanning the entire 20th century! "American Decades Primary Sources provides fresh insight into the decade's most important events, people, and issues. Each volume of American Decades Primary Sources includes approximately 200 full or excerpted primary sources in 160-170 entries from the period representing a diversity of views that provide insight into the seminal issues, themes, movements and events from the decade." Available to members of Thrall.
- American History Resource Guide
- Overviews of American History, Founders & the Constitution, Presidents, Vice Presidents, First Ladies, Images & Documents, History by Period (Discovery - Colonial, American Revolution, 19th Century, Slavery, Civil War, 20th Century, 21st Century, Immigration, Native Americans), related databases and library materials, and more. From Middletown Thrall Library.
- Salem History
- Includes: American Immigration, Decades (The Twenties, Thirties, Forties, Fifties, Sixties, Seventies, Eighties, Nineties, 2000s in America), Great Events from History (Ancient World, Middle Ages, 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century), Great Lives from History, Milestone Documents, and more. Available to members of Thrall.
Other Resources
- The Ages of Exploration
- Topics include: Ancient Exploration; Medieval Exploration; "Age of Discovery"; and Modern Exploration. From the Mariners' Museum and Park.
- The American Presidency Project Document Archive
- Primary documents from the Presidents from Washington to the present can be found here. Search by month and year or keyword. Included are inaugural addresses, fireside chats, radio addresses, executive orders and much more.
- American Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and First Ladies
- Annotated list of websites with information on American Presidents, Vice-Presidents, and First Ladies. From Middletown Thrall Library.
- Asia for Educators
- "Resources arranged by world history time period. For students and educators at all levels." Features historical information on China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and more, including literature, culture, government, and art of East Asia. From Columbia University.
- Atomic Archive
- "This website was created for students, educators, and the general public to understand the science, history and consequences of the atomic age. It serves as an online companion to the award winning CD-ROM, Atomic Archive:Enhanced Edition." Contents include Science; History; Resource Library; Media Gallery; Almanac; and Cold War: a Brief History.
- BBC- History
- Articles on ancient history, British history, world wars and historic figures. For an example check out this article on Roman women From the BBC. These articles have been archived and are no longer updated - from BBC: "These pages are not deleted because, often, they still have value - either as a piece of content that's of continuing use or because the information they contain might be of historical interest later. It also may be the case that users have bookmarked or shared those pages, and we don't want to break those links."
- A Biography of America
- "A video instructional series on American history for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 26 half-hour video programs, coordinated books, and Web site." From the Annenberg Foundation.
- Digital Vaults
- "Exploring the Digital Vaults is easy. You can browse through the hundreds of photographs, documents, and film clips and discover the connection between some of the National Archives' most treasured records." From the U.S. National Archives.
- Digital History
- From the University of Houston, TX.
- The Empire That Was Russia: the Prokudin-Gorskii Photographic Record Recreated
- Online color photographs show the Russia of Tsar Nicholas II taken by his personal photographer. Topics include architecture, transportation, ethnic diversity, people at work and making color images. From the Library of Congress.
- Facing History and Ourselves
- Educational resources "linking history to moral choices." Focuses on historic and contemporary issues for both educators and students. Includes lesson plans, student activities, and links to related websites.
- Glossary of American History
- Click on a letter of the alphabet for a brief description. From the University of Houston.
- History World
- Consists of 400 separate histories and 4000 events. Includes timelines, tours, and special articles. WHATWHENWHERE section is searchable by theme, date, and location.
- Internet History Sourcebooks Project
- Collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use.
- Khan Academy: World History
- Video lessons on the following: 1900 - Present: the Recent Past; 1700 - 1900 Enlightenment and Revolution; 1500 - 1600: Renaissance and Reformation; Before 1300: Ancient and Medieval History; Survey of History (including United State History Overview); American Civics; Crash Course: World History.
- The Museum of the World
- From the British Museum.
- The National Archives: Educator Resources
- Sign the Declaration of Independence, Meet America's Founding Fathers, and view online exhibits including the Charters of Freedom an exhibit on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
- Smithsonian's History Explorer
- "Your gateway to innovative, standards-based online resources for teaching and learning American history, designed and developed by the National Museum of American History."
- TIME Magazine Vault
- "The online archives of TIME Magazine: complete coverage since 1923" Browse by Year or by Subject. Click on the triple lines in the upper left corner and scroll down the list to find Photography; Videos; The 100 Most Influential People and many more topics. From TIME Magazine
- The Web Chronology Project
- The site consists of a series of hyperlinked chronologies developed by the instructors and historical articles prepared by students intended for use in history classes.
- Whaling History
- "Enter a person's name, a vessel name, or any other words of interest..." Includes logbooks, crew lists and more. From the New Bedford Whaling Museum and Mystic Seaport Museum.
Historic Landmarks & Sites
- Mechanical Engineering Landmarks
- "Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks are existing artifacts or systems representing a significant mechanical engineering technology. ASME has designated over 250 landmarks through its History and Heritage Landmarks Program since the program began in 1971. Explore our landmarks by designator, topic or world location." From the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
- National Historic Landmarks (NHLs)
- "National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are historic properties that illustrate the heritage of the United States. The almost 2,600 NHLs found in the U.S. today come in many forms: historic buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts. Each NHL represents an outstanding aspect of American history and culture." From the U.S. National Park Service (NPS).
- NHLs in New York State
- National Register of Historic Places
- The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. It is a broader designation than historic sites.
See also:
- Glossary of Terms
- National Park Topics From A to Z at
- Topics include Abandoned Mineral Lands; Bats; Forts; up to the Underground Railroad; Waterfalls and Gorges and World War II.
- Shared Heritage Travel Itineraries
- Not all National Historic Landmarks are open to the public.
- NYC LPC Desination Reports
- The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has created a database of the original reports that contain the " detail[s of] the historical, architectural, and cultural significance of every individual landmark or historic district approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission. The reports serve as the basis for designation and regulation of future alterations, as they describe in detail the physical appearance of each building or site at the time they receive landmark status." Search by Keyword, Landmark or District Name, Address, Borough or Type. More recent reports include photographs of the landmark. From the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission.
- State Historic Preservation Officers
- Click on a state to find contact information for your State Historic Preservation Officer, including the website. From the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers.
- UNESCO World Heritage List
- "The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity." From United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization.
Historical Markers
- HMdb: The Historical Marker Database
- "Hundreds added weekly. One of our correspondents has stood in front of each historical marker or monument, taken its picture, and entered its location and other information. An editor has reviewed and approved each entry. For the very few markers without a photograph, their location was carefully researched."
- Historical Markers in New York
- Historical Markers Near Middletown, NY
- Historical Markers within Orange County, NY
- Historical Markers: A Summary History
- From New York State Museum's Office of State History.
Rulers - Past & Present Leaders, Presidents, and World Leaders
- American President: A Reference Resource
- From the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.
- American Presidents
- From Middletown Thrall Library's American History information guide.
- Kingdoms and Monarchs of the World
- Rulers.org
- Several search modes are available. By country for a timeline of leaders. By leaders' names for a brief political description. Also by month for the years 1996 to the present for chronicle of events.
- World Leaders by Country or Region
- Categories include: Ancient and Historical Empires, Africa, Australia: Prime Ministers, Austria, Britain, Canada: Governors-General and Prime Ministers, China, Denmark: Kings and Queens, Modern Egypt, France, Germany and Prussia, India, Indonesia: Presidents, Modern Persia and Iran, Iraq, Ireland: Presidents, Israel: Prime Ministers, Japan, Jordan: Kings, Mexico: Presidents, Pakistan: Prime Ministers, Philippines: Presidents, Poland, Portugal: Kings, Queens, Presidents, Russia (since 1533), South America, Spain: Kings, Queens, Prime Ministers, Sweden: Kings and Queens, Turkey, Vietnam.
Timelines
- BBC History Timelines
- Includes timelines of the English language, Kings and Queens Through Time, British history from the Neolithic to the present, and Genocide under the Nazis.
- A Brief History of Women's Team Sports in America
- From PBS.org.
- Computer History Reference
- From 1882 to 2010. From Live Science.
- Computer History Timeline
- From DatesAndEvents.org.
- Elecric Cars
- Includes Historical Timeline (1821 - 2011); How They Work; and Major Cars in History. From the Edison Tech Center.
- Energy Timelines
- Energy Timelines
- Topics include Coal, Electricity, Ethanol, Geothermal, Hydropower, Municipal Solic Waste, Natural Gas, Nuclear, Oil (Petroleum), Photovoltaic, Solar Therman, Transportation, Wind, and Wood. From U.S. Energy Information Administration.
- Fact Monster Timelines: History, Science, People, Disasters
- Search by category or enter a specific year from 1900 and up.
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
- From the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- The History of the Electric Vehicle
- Includes an overview and a timeline from 1828 - 2021. From Historycooperative.org.
- History of Women in Sports
- Click on the individual sports on the left side of the page for specific sports timelines. From Elmira College.
- History World
- Contains more than 300 narrative World Histories and Timelines.
- Interactive WWI Timeline
- From the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
- Invention Timelines
- Numerous timelines on various inventors and their creations throughout history. ThoughtCo.com.
- Lewis and Clark: A Timeline of the Extraordinary Expedition
- From History.com.
- Milestones in Women's Athletics Competition
- Emphasizes international athletics from 1921 to 2020. From World Athletics (formerly known as Internationall Association of Athletics Federations).
- Timeline Archive
- Topics include: World History, Country History, U.S. History, Society and Culture, Disasters, Biography, Sports, Entertainment, Health and Science.
- Timeline for the History of Judaism
- From the Jewish Virtual Library.
- Timeline of Chinese History and Dynasties
- From Columbia University.
- Timeline of Computer History
- Computer software and hardware, microchips, microprocessors, CPUs, and more. From the Computer History Museum in California.
- A Timeline of Fossil Discoveries
- From the Australian Museum.
- Timelines of Modern Art
- These timelines "graphically and logically illustrate the progression of modern art." Includes: Movements Timeline ("major trends and movements in modern art"), The Top 50 Timeline ("the most important works in modern art"), The Modern Sculpture Timeline, The Abstract Expressionism Timeline, and The Jewish Achievements Timeline ("the most important achievements by Jewish artists in the last 150 years").
- Timelines: Sources from History
- "This British Library timeline allows you to explore collection items chronologically, from medieval times to the present day. It includes a diverse combination of texts: those that allow glimpses of everyday life (handbills, posters, letters, diaries), remnants of political events (charters, speeches, campaign leaflets), and the writings of some of our best known historical and literary figures. Launch the interactive Flash timeline, or explore each of the historical sources in the centuries" [by clicking on any Century listed down the page]. From the British Library.
- TimeMaps History Atlas
- "The 'Time-Map' concept was originally conceived to offer a visual framework for history topics. A map combined with a timeline lets users see where an event is happening, both in time and space." There is also a TimeMaps History Encyclopedia. From TimeMaps.com.
- Video Game History Timeline
- From the 1940s to the present. From the Strong National Museum of Play.
- The War of 1812
- From the New York State Museum.
- Women in Sports: From Mt. Olympus to Cooperstown, NY
- From Ancient History to 2015. From Infoplease.com.
- Women's History Timeline (4000 BC - Present)
- Archived website. Please scroll down their page to see the timelines, facts, and links to historic periods. From Gale Cengage Learning.
- World War I: Comprehensive Year-by-Year Timelines with Photos
- Titles include: War Erupts; A Global Conflict; The Blood Letting; The Rage of Men; and A Fateful Ending. From TheHistoryPlace.com.
Videos
- Associated Press (AP) Video Archive on YouTube
- "The Associated Press and British Movietone, one of the world's most comprehensive newsreel archives, are together bringing more than 1 million minutes of digitized film footage to YouTube. Showcasing the moments, people and events that shape the world, it will be the largest upload of historical news content on the video-sharing platform to date. The two channels will act as a view-on-demand visual encyclopedia, offering a unique perspective on the most significant moments of modern history. Available for all to explore, the channels will also be powerful educational tools and a source of inspiration for history enthusiasts and documentary filmmakers. The YouTube channels will include more than 550,000 video stories dating from 1895 to the present day." See also:
- British Movietone
- "Spanning the period 1895 to 1986."
- The History Channel
- Topics include: American Revolution, Ancient History, Black History, British History, Cold War, Exploration, First Ladies, Inventions, Mexico, Native American History, U.S. Presidents, U.S. States, Vietnam War, Women's History, World War I, and World War II. Note: please scroll well down their page for the history topics and use the Plus Sign (+) links to reveal videos for each topic.
