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Past Meeets Present
In this feature, historians offer their views on the relationship between current events and larger historical themes, between the past and the present, placing some of the most controversial political and social topics of the day in historical perspective.
There are 2443 matching records, sorted by date of article. Displaying matches 1 through 30 .
H.S.I.: Historical Scene Investigation
College of William and Mary School of Education, the University of Kentucky School of Education, and the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program. .
See JAH web review by Jason L. Endacott.
Reviewed 2013-09-01.
H.S.I.: Historical Scene Investigation models historical inquiry in the form of “cases” framed around detective investigations. The goal of the site is to provide teachers with ready-made lesson plans that feature primary sources to reduce the amount of time teachers spend on searching out materials and lessons. Each “case” is composed of four parts that mirror a historian’s research process: “Becoming a Detective” presents students with background information and the question to be answered; “Investigating the Evidence” guides students through an assortment of primary sources; “Searching for Clues” uses sets of questions to help students develop their analysis of the sources; and “Cracking the Case” is the final stage where students present their answer to the given question, supported by their evidence. Some state standards are listed for each case, but are not immediately tailored to national or all state standards.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 0000-00-00.
College of William and Mary School of Education, the University of Kentucky School of Education, and the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Program. .
See JAH web review by Jason L. Endacott.
Reviewed 2013-09-01.
H.S.I.: Historical Scene Investigation models historical inquiry in the form of “cases” framed around detective investigations. The goal of the site is to provide teachers with ready-made lesson plans that feature primary sources to reduce the amount of time teachers spend on searching out materials and lessons. Each “case” is composed of four parts that mirror a historian’s research process: “Becoming a Detective” presents students with background information and the question to be answered; “Investigating the Evidence” guides students through an assortment of primary sources; “Searching for Clues” uses sets of questions to help students develop their analysis of the sources; and “Cracking the Case” is the final stage where students present their answer to the given question, supported by their evidence. Some state standards are listed for each case, but are not immediately tailored to national or all state standards.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 0000-00-00.
The Salem Witchcraft Site
Richard B. Latner, Tulane University.
See JAH web review by Benjamin C. Ray.
Reviewed 2013-09-01.
The Salem Witchcraft Site is a teaching aid and research repository. The site has four analytical sections: Part One provides the historical context of late-17th century New England; Part Two is split into the chronological and geographical dimensions of the 1692 outbreak of witchcraft accusations; Part Three focuses on the social history of the Salem Village; and Part Four features the analytical conclusions, bibliography, notes, and credits. The site features 16 downloadable data sets
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 0000-00-00.
Richard B. Latner, Tulane University.
See JAH web review by Benjamin C. Ray.
Reviewed 2013-09-01.
The Salem Witchcraft Site is a teaching aid and research repository. The site has four analytical sections: Part One provides the historical context of late-17th century New England; Part Two is split into the chronological and geographical dimensions of the 1692 outbreak of witchcraft accusations; Part Three focuses on the social history of the Salem Village; and Part Four features the analytical conclusions, bibliography, notes, and credits. The site features 16 downloadable data sets
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 0000-00-00.
Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the American City
Created by Colin Gordon. Maintained by the University of Iowa Libraries..
See JAH web review by LaDale C. Winling.
Reviewed 2013-06-01.
Mapping Decline is a supplement to Colin Gordon’s 2008 book project of the same name. The site covers the four themes of Gordon’s study related to St. Louis from 1950–2005: white flight, race and property, municipal zoning, and urban renewal. There are separate tabs and maps to support each theme, which also include the options to overlay municipal boundaries, highways, and primary documents onto the maps. Timelines appear at the bottom of each map, which allow viewers to discover the general trends of change over time. Gordon’s analysis appears on every map, but there is little introduction to or context for the primary documents. Also, there is a lack of a zoom function, so the fine details of the visualizations and overlays could be missed depending on screen size and resolution. “About the Maps” describes the data and resources used to make each of the four interactive maps, but the data is not available for download. “Documents” refers briefly to the primary documents also featured as a layer on each of the maps. Links are available directly to the document, but full bibliographic citations and notes on the historical context are not available despite the opening paragraph’s assertion of their availability. “Links” contains a list of projects that cover a broad range of uses of mapping.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2013-05-01.
Created by Colin Gordon. Maintained by the University of Iowa Libraries..
See JAH web review by LaDale C. Winling.
Reviewed 2013-06-01.
Mapping Decline is a supplement to Colin Gordon’s 2008 book project of the same name. The site covers the four themes of Gordon’s study related to St. Louis from 1950–2005: white flight, race and property, municipal zoning, and urban renewal. There are separate tabs and maps to support each theme, which also include the options to overlay municipal boundaries, highways, and primary documents onto the maps. Timelines appear at the bottom of each map, which allow viewers to discover the general trends of change over time. Gordon’s analysis appears on every map, but there is little introduction to or context for the primary documents. Also, there is a lack of a zoom function, so the fine details of the visualizations and overlays could be missed depending on screen size and resolution. “About the Maps” describes the data and resources used to make each of the four interactive maps, but the data is not available for download. “Documents” refers briefly to the primary documents also featured as a layer on each of the maps. Links are available directly to the document, but full bibliographic citations and notes on the historical context are not available despite the opening paragraph’s assertion of their availability. “Links” contains a list of projects that cover a broad range of uses of mapping.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2013-05-01.
New York Philharmonic: Digital Archives
New York Philharmonic.
See JAH web review by Zoë Lang.
Reviewed 2013-06-01.
The New York Philharmonic has begun the arduous task of digitizing and making available the nearly 6 million pages of documents and 7,000 hours of audio and video recordings held by the institution. So far, programs, scores, parts, images, and business documents are available for what they term the International Era (1943–1970) with audio and video materials to come. To access the materials, a simple search bar appears on the main digital archives page for keyword search, which can be further filtered by a date range or format choice. Suggested materials appear at the bottom of the details page for selected objects. High resolution images are available for each object with the Document Viewer, and information about the provenance and use is included when known. The high resolution allows for close examination of the documents and images, one of the strengths of the archive. Users are able to create an account to add tags to increase the amount of information on the images, as this is the weakest aspect of the archives' efforts to provide metadata. Full-text search is a noted goal that is not yet operational. This site caters to mature researchers who are familiar with navigating digital archives.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2013-05-01.
New York Philharmonic.
See JAH web review by Zoë Lang.
Reviewed 2013-06-01.
The New York Philharmonic has begun the arduous task of digitizing and making available the nearly 6 million pages of documents and 7,000 hours of audio and video recordings held by the institution. So far, programs, scores, parts, images, and business documents are available for what they term the International Era (1943–1970) with audio and video materials to come. To access the materials, a simple search bar appears on the main digital archives page for keyword search, which can be further filtered by a date range or format choice. Suggested materials appear at the bottom of the details page for selected objects. High resolution images are available for each object with the Document Viewer, and information about the provenance and use is included when known. The high resolution allows for close examination of the documents and images, one of the strengths of the archive. Users are able to create an account to add tags to increase the amount of information on the images, as this is the weakest aspect of the archives' efforts to provide metadata. Full-text search is a noted goal that is not yet operational. This site caters to mature researchers who are familiar with navigating digital archives.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2013-05-01.
National Jukebox: Historical Recordings from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress.
See JAH web review by John W. Troutman.
Reviewed 2013-06-01.
The National Jukebox project from the Library of Congress, draws on a collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Sony Music Entertainment to provide over 10,000 newly digitized music and spoken-word recordings from the Victor Talking Machine Company catalog (1901–1925). Future inclusions will expand into the earlier (1900–1903) discs, more selections from the 1919 edition of the Victor Book of the Opera, and begin the digitization process for additional labels, including Columbia and Okeh. The website has several ways for viewers to access and engage with the recordings. This website features robust browse and search options that allow visitors to filter by category, vocal, language, place, target audience, label, date range, composer, author, lyricist, performer, and genre. The “Jukebox Day by Day” feature allows search by specific date to find recordings made on that particular day. The “Playlist” section features recordings grouped by the Library of Congress curators. There is also an option where website visitors can save and submit their own playlists, along with a “well-written, interesting explanation,” for consideration to be added to the website. It is important to note that all recordings are streamed online and are not available for download. Finally, the interactive Victrola Book of the Opera enables visitors to page through the book and listen to select recordings. Whenever possible, the curators have included multiple recordings of the same arias to show the different musical interpretations that occurred on the most popular arias of the time.
Resources Available: TEXT, AUDIO.
Website last visited on 2013-05-01.
Library of Congress.
See JAH web review by John W. Troutman.
Reviewed 2013-06-01.
The National Jukebox project from the Library of Congress, draws on a collaboration with the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Sony Music Entertainment to provide over 10,000 newly digitized music and spoken-word recordings from the Victor Talking Machine Company catalog (1901–1925). Future inclusions will expand into the earlier (1900–1903) discs, more selections from the 1919 edition of the Victor Book of the Opera, and begin the digitization process for additional labels, including Columbia and Okeh. The website has several ways for viewers to access and engage with the recordings. This website features robust browse and search options that allow visitors to filter by category, vocal, language, place, target audience, label, date range, composer, author, lyricist, performer, and genre. The “Jukebox Day by Day” feature allows search by specific date to find recordings made on that particular day. The “Playlist” section features recordings grouped by the Library of Congress curators. There is also an option where website visitors can save and submit their own playlists, along with a “well-written, interesting explanation,” for consideration to be added to the website. It is important to note that all recordings are streamed online and are not available for download. Finally, the interactive Victrola Book of the Opera enables visitors to page through the book and listen to select recordings. Whenever possible, the curators have included multiple recordings of the same arias to show the different musical interpretations that occurred on the most popular arias of the time.
Resources Available: TEXT, AUDIO.
Website last visited on 2013-05-01.
After Slavery
Queen’s University Belfast, University of Memphis, University of London.
After Slavery: Race, Labor and Politics in the Post-Emancipation Carolinas presents sources from North and South Carolina during Reconstruction. Ten “Learning Units” cover topics including emancipation, mobilization, land and labor, black soldiers, conservative reactions, justice, gender, poverty and white supremacy, coercion and resistance, and the Republican Party. Each unit includes a 400-word introduction and six or more primary documents with discussion questions. Units can be viewed online or downloaded as PDFs. “Interactive Maps” uses Google Maps to pinpoint two events—the Hamburg Massacre and the Cainhoy Riot. “Interactive Timelines” includes three timelines of general and North and South Carolina Reconstruction events with one-sentence descriptions of each item. “Teacher Resources” currently features links to more than 30 digital collections and exhibits, research tools, military records, and audiovisual resources. Lesson plans will be added in the future.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2012-12-10.
Queen’s University Belfast, University of Memphis, University of London.
After Slavery: Race, Labor and Politics in the Post-Emancipation Carolinas presents sources from North and South Carolina during Reconstruction. Ten “Learning Units” cover topics including emancipation, mobilization, land and labor, black soldiers, conservative reactions, justice, gender, poverty and white supremacy, coercion and resistance, and the Republican Party. Each unit includes a 400-word introduction and six or more primary documents with discussion questions. Units can be viewed online or downloaded as PDFs. “Interactive Maps” uses Google Maps to pinpoint two events—the Hamburg Massacre and the Cainhoy Riot. “Interactive Timelines” includes three timelines of general and North and South Carolina Reconstruction events with one-sentence descriptions of each item. “Teacher Resources” currently features links to more than 30 digital collections and exhibits, research tools, military records, and audiovisual resources. Lesson plans will be added in the future.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2012-12-10.
Civilian Public Service Story
Robert Kreider, former professor of history, Bluffton University.
The Civilian Public Service Story answers the question, “Did individuals conscripted for World War II who were strongly opposed to killing have to fight?” The answer, something rarely discussed, is no. In the words of the site’s introductory page, “Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a program developed at the onset of WWII which provided those whose conscience forbade them to kill, the opportunity to do work of national importance under civilian direction rather than go to war. Nearly 12,000 men made this choice, and many women voluntarily joined the cause. They fought forest fires, worked in mental institutions, planted trees, did dairy testing and served as subjects for medical experiments in more than 150 camps scattered throughout the United States.” The section "The Story Begins“ consists of a brief summary of the history of conscientious objection in the U.S., beginning with colonial times. You can also find an annotated bibliography, listing approximately 18 works. Note that these works, and this site in its entirety, are intended for adult users. However, this does not preclude the information from being useful for K–12 history education. ”The People“ consists of a few statistics on the World War II CPS population as well as a database of the men and women of the CPS, reproduced with permission from the Center of Conscience and War. These records, searchable and alphabetized by last name, may include year of birth, community, religious denomination, CPS entrance and exit dates, spouse, camps and units, higher education, and pre- and post-CPS occupation. These records may be of the most use in a classroom setting, as they could spark local history or oral history projects. ”The Camps" provides a similar feature. Consider looking into CPS camps that were in your area using the map application on the site.
Resources Available: AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2011-12-27.
Robert Kreider, former professor of history, Bluffton University.
The Civilian Public Service Story answers the question, “Did individuals conscripted for World War II who were strongly opposed to killing have to fight?” The answer, something rarely discussed, is no. In the words of the site’s introductory page, “Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a program developed at the onset of WWII which provided those whose conscience forbade them to kill, the opportunity to do work of national importance under civilian direction rather than go to war. Nearly 12,000 men made this choice, and many women voluntarily joined the cause. They fought forest fires, worked in mental institutions, planted trees, did dairy testing and served as subjects for medical experiments in more than 150 camps scattered throughout the United States.” The section "The Story Begins“ consists of a brief summary of the history of conscientious objection in the U.S., beginning with colonial times. You can also find an annotated bibliography, listing approximately 18 works. Note that these works, and this site in its entirety, are intended for adult users. However, this does not preclude the information from being useful for K–12 history education. ”The People“ consists of a few statistics on the World War II CPS population as well as a database of the men and women of the CPS, reproduced with permission from the Center of Conscience and War. These records, searchable and alphabetized by last name, may include year of birth, community, religious denomination, CPS entrance and exit dates, spouse, camps and units, higher education, and pre- and post-CPS occupation. These records may be of the most use in a classroom setting, as they could spark local history or oral history projects. ”The Camps" provides a similar feature. Consider looking into CPS camps that were in your area using the map application on the site.
Resources Available: AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2011-12-27.
The Object of History
National Museum of American History in partnership with the George Mason University Roy Rosenzweig Center for New History and Media.
See JAH web review by Richard J. Cox.
Reviewed 2012-03-01.
This project models both historical thinking about artifacts as primary sources and best practices for sharing museum collections online. With the site, students can curate their own virtual history exhibits, using documents and expert interviews related to core artifacts from different time periods. The “Guide” introduces users to how and why artifacts are important to historians. Seven essays argue that artifacts tell stories, create connections between people, hold many different meanings, capture moments, and reflect changes. After learning how historians relate to artifacts, users can tour model exhibits in “Objects,” focusing on six Smithsonian-held artifacts: Thomas Jefferson’s lapdesk, the gold nugget that started the California Gold Rush, a dress that belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln, an 1898 voting machine, the Woolworth counter where a sit-in took place in 1960, and a short-handled hoe used by farmworkers in the 1960s and 1970s. An “Introduction” for each artifact includes a short introductory video placing it in historical context and a virtual version of the artifact. Users can zoom in and out on the virtual artifact, rotate it, or click to discover interactive hot spots. Clicking “Explore” in each exhibit provides further information on the object, its place in history, and its history as a museum artifact. Interviews with Smithsonian experts and related primary sources enrich “Explore” sections. “Tour” demonstrates how the interviews and sources in “Explore” can be pulled together into exhibits: either a short 4- to 5-piece “Brief Tour” or a 5- to 13-piece “Extended Tour.” “Resources” rounds up annotated links to websites with more information on topics related to each artifact. “Activity” is the heart of the site. Using the more than 220 expert interviews and primary sources from the “Object” model exhibits, students can create their own six-item exhibit. After selecting and labeling the objects with interpretative text, students can email their finished exhibits to their teacher (or to themselves).
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2012-03-27.
National Museum of American History in partnership with the George Mason University Roy Rosenzweig Center for New History and Media.
See JAH web review by Richard J. Cox.
Reviewed 2012-03-01.
This project models both historical thinking about artifacts as primary sources and best practices for sharing museum collections online. With the site, students can curate their own virtual history exhibits, using documents and expert interviews related to core artifacts from different time periods. The “Guide” introduces users to how and why artifacts are important to historians. Seven essays argue that artifacts tell stories, create connections between people, hold many different meanings, capture moments, and reflect changes. After learning how historians relate to artifacts, users can tour model exhibits in “Objects,” focusing on six Smithsonian-held artifacts: Thomas Jefferson’s lapdesk, the gold nugget that started the California Gold Rush, a dress that belonged to Mary Todd Lincoln, an 1898 voting machine, the Woolworth counter where a sit-in took place in 1960, and a short-handled hoe used by farmworkers in the 1960s and 1970s. An “Introduction” for each artifact includes a short introductory video placing it in historical context and a virtual version of the artifact. Users can zoom in and out on the virtual artifact, rotate it, or click to discover interactive hot spots. Clicking “Explore” in each exhibit provides further information on the object, its place in history, and its history as a museum artifact. Interviews with Smithsonian experts and related primary sources enrich “Explore” sections. “Tour” demonstrates how the interviews and sources in “Explore” can be pulled together into exhibits: either a short 4- to 5-piece “Brief Tour” or a 5- to 13-piece “Extended Tour.” “Resources” rounds up annotated links to websites with more information on topics related to each artifact. “Activity” is the heart of the site. Using the more than 220 expert interviews and primary sources from the “Object” model exhibits, students can create their own six-item exhibit. After selecting and labeling the objects with interpretative text, students can email their finished exhibits to their teacher (or to themselves).
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2012-03-27.
Wyandot Nation of Kansas
Wyandot Nation of Kansas, and maintained by Powersource.com.
See JAH web review by Nicole St-Onge and Kathryn Magee Labelle.
Reviewed 2012-03-01.
This website offers a wide range of primary and secondary sources about the history and culture of the Wyandot/Wendat people. Primary sources span the 17th through the 20th century and include transcriptions of treaties, newspaper clippings, missionary accounts, personal letters, government correspondence, and speeches. Secondary sources by historians, linguists, anthropologists, and archaeologists include published and unpublished articles, chapters, and essays on topics such as Wyandot burial ceremonies and the Wyandot dialect. Material is organized around ten main sections, including “History of the Wyandot,” “Wyandot Sacred Sites,” “Wyandot Treaties,” “Wyandot Lifestyle,” “Language and Literature, ”Our Wyandot Ancestors,“ and ”Missions to the Wyandot." There are a handful of broken links, but most of the material is accessible directly from the main page. This site if helpful for historians, teachers, and students who are seeking easily accessible sources on Wendat history and as a useful starting point for further research.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2012-03-27.
Wyandot Nation of Kansas, and maintained by Powersource.com.
See JAH web review by Nicole St-Onge and Kathryn Magee Labelle.
Reviewed 2012-03-01.
This website offers a wide range of primary and secondary sources about the history and culture of the Wyandot/Wendat people. Primary sources span the 17th through the 20th century and include transcriptions of treaties, newspaper clippings, missionary accounts, personal letters, government correspondence, and speeches. Secondary sources by historians, linguists, anthropologists, and archaeologists include published and unpublished articles, chapters, and essays on topics such as Wyandot burial ceremonies and the Wyandot dialect. Material is organized around ten main sections, including “History of the Wyandot,” “Wyandot Sacred Sites,” “Wyandot Treaties,” “Wyandot Lifestyle,” “Language and Literature, ”Our Wyandot Ancestors,“ and ”Missions to the Wyandot." There are a handful of broken links, but most of the material is accessible directly from the main page. This site if helpful for historians, teachers, and students who are seeking easily accessible sources on Wendat history and as a useful starting point for further research.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2012-03-27.
Puerto Rico Encyclopedia/Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican Humanities Foundation.
See JAH web review by Ismael García-Colón.
Reviewed 2013-03-01.
Visitors to this site will find more than 1,000 images and dozens of videos about the history and culture of Puerto Rico. The work of dozens of scholars and contributors, the Puerto Rico Encyclopedia reflects the diverse nature of the island: a U.S. territory, a key location for trade in the Caribbean, a Spanish-speaking entity with its own distinct culture, and a part of a larger Atlantic world. Funded by an endowment from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fundación Angel Ramos, the site is a key product from the Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades. It provides users with all content in both English and Spanish. Educators will find the site easy to navigate and conveniently categorized by themes; within each topic, appropriate subtopics provide an in-depth examination of Puerto Rican culture and history. Of particular interest to U.S. History teachers are the images and information found under History and Archeology. Here, teachers and students can explore a chronological narrative of the island’s history and role at specific moments in U.S. and Atlantic history. Other sections worth exploring are Archeology (for its focus on Native American culture), Puerto Rican Diaspora (for its look at Puerto Ricans in the U.S.), and Government (for a detailed history on Puerto Rico’s unique status as a free and associated US territory). Educators in other social science courses will also find valuable information related to music, population, health, education, and local government. In all, 15 sections and 71 subsections provide a thorough examination of Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Encyclopedia’s bilingual presentation also makes it a good site for integrating Hispanic culture into the U.S. History curriculum, as well as helping to bridge curriculum for English Language Learners (ELLs) in the classroom.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2011-10-01.
Puerto Rican Humanities Foundation.
See JAH web review by Ismael García-Colón.
Reviewed 2013-03-01.
Visitors to this site will find more than 1,000 images and dozens of videos about the history and culture of Puerto Rico. The work of dozens of scholars and contributors, the Puerto Rico Encyclopedia reflects the diverse nature of the island: a U.S. territory, a key location for trade in the Caribbean, a Spanish-speaking entity with its own distinct culture, and a part of a larger Atlantic world. Funded by an endowment from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Fundación Angel Ramos, the site is a key product from the Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades. It provides users with all content in both English and Spanish. Educators will find the site easy to navigate and conveniently categorized by themes; within each topic, appropriate subtopics provide an in-depth examination of Puerto Rican culture and history. Of particular interest to U.S. History teachers are the images and information found under History and Archeology. Here, teachers and students can explore a chronological narrative of the island’s history and role at specific moments in U.S. and Atlantic history. Other sections worth exploring are Archeology (for its focus on Native American culture), Puerto Rican Diaspora (for its look at Puerto Ricans in the U.S.), and Government (for a detailed history on Puerto Rico’s unique status as a free and associated US territory). Educators in other social science courses will also find valuable information related to music, population, health, education, and local government. In all, 15 sections and 71 subsections provide a thorough examination of Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Encyclopedia’s bilingual presentation also makes it a good site for integrating Hispanic culture into the U.S. History curriculum, as well as helping to bridge curriculum for English Language Learners (ELLs) in the classroom.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2011-10-01.
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600–2000: Scholar’s Edition
Thomas Dublin and Kathryn Kish Sklar.
See JAH web review by Louise Newman.
Reviewed 2011-06-01.
[SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED FOR FULL ACCESS] First launched in 1997, this website provides an ever-growing body of historical material on women’s involvement in social movements. The bulk of the website is made up of document projects contributed by scholars and students. Each project is focused on a historical question, such as “How Did Black and White Southern Women Campaign to End Lynching, 1890–1942?” or “How Did Gender and Class Shape the Age of Consent Campaign within the Social Purity Movement, 1886–1914?” Each project includes an interpretive essay and links to approximately 40 primary sources. The website also includes a “Movements” section and a “Teaching Tools” area. “Movements” provides brief descriptions of the organizations featured in the collections, and “Teaching Tools” offers a variety of material for teaching and learning history, including primary source analysis guides and lesson plans.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2011-06-23.
Thomas Dublin and Kathryn Kish Sklar.
See JAH web review by Louise Newman.
Reviewed 2011-06-01.
[SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED FOR FULL ACCESS] First launched in 1997, this website provides an ever-growing body of historical material on women’s involvement in social movements. The bulk of the website is made up of document projects contributed by scholars and students. Each project is focused on a historical question, such as “How Did Black and White Southern Women Campaign to End Lynching, 1890–1942?” or “How Did Gender and Class Shape the Age of Consent Campaign within the Social Purity Movement, 1886–1914?” Each project includes an interpretive essay and links to approximately 40 primary sources. The website also includes a “Movements” section and a “Teaching Tools” area. “Movements” provides brief descriptions of the organizations featured in the collections, and “Teaching Tools” offers a variety of material for teaching and learning history, including primary source analysis guides and lesson plans.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2011-06-23.
Papers of the War Department, 1784–1800
Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.
See JAH web review by Charles H. Lesser.
Reviewed 2011-06-01.
This website provides free, digital access to more than 45,000 documents of the early U.S. War Department. These materials were lost to historians after a fire in the War Office on November 8, 1800. In the 1990s, Ted Crackel started a project to recover these lost documents by locating copies in archives around the world and in 2006, the Center for History and New Media continued the project. The goal is to make available to researchers and the general public approximately 55,000 documents in a free, online format that includes extensive, searchable metadata and, eventually, transcriptions. The War Department papers include evidence on subjects ranging from Indian affairs, pensions, and procurement to Americans’ interactions with the newly-formed U.S. government. A recently-launched community transcription project will enlist the help of users to contribute transcriptions of the hundreds of thousands of handwritten pages currently available as high-resolution digital images.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2011-06-23.
Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.
See JAH web review by Charles H. Lesser.
Reviewed 2011-06-01.
This website provides free, digital access to more than 45,000 documents of the early U.S. War Department. These materials were lost to historians after a fire in the War Office on November 8, 1800. In the 1990s, Ted Crackel started a project to recover these lost documents by locating copies in archives around the world and in 2006, the Center for History and New Media continued the project. The goal is to make available to researchers and the general public approximately 55,000 documents in a free, online format that includes extensive, searchable metadata and, eventually, transcriptions. The War Department papers include evidence on subjects ranging from Indian affairs, pensions, and procurement to Americans’ interactions with the newly-formed U.S. government. A recently-launched community transcription project will enlist the help of users to contribute transcriptions of the hundreds of thousands of handwritten pages currently available as high-resolution digital images.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2011-06-23.
Laura Jernegan: Girl on a Whaleship
Martha’s Vineyard Museum.
See JAH web review by Julie Winch.
Reviewed 2013-06-01.
In 1868, Laura Jernegan, six-year-old daughter of a whaling captain, put to sea with her parents and younger brother. This website, created by the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, explores her family’s four-year whaling expedition, focusing on Laura’s own diary. Two narratives ground the exhibit: “The Story of Whaling” and “Laura’s Story.” Each narrative is divided up into three sections—“Before the Voyage,” "The Voyage“ and ”After the Voyage“—and consists of 14—15 individual ”chapters,“ each a short essay of approximately 300—1600 words. ”The Story of Whaling“ describes the rise and fall of the whaling industry and the nature of a whaling voyage, including preparation and hiring crew. ”Laura’s Story" narrates the voyage of the Roman, the ship on which Laura and her family set sail. The voyage included a stay in Hawaii, mutiny, and the Roman's sinking in the Arctic (everyone survived). “Laura’s Story” also looks at the lives of Laura and her family before and after the voyage, as young children and as adults. Each essay include links to images, descriptions, and other sections of the website that clarify and enrich the text. For Laura’s own description of her time at sea, “Explore Laura’s Journal” lets visitors browse her 43-page journal. Written in a child’s bold handwriting, the journal is short and easy to read, and can be viewed in the original scans, as a text transcript, or with a magic lens feature that translates the writing into print as the mouse runs over a page. Further background information supports the two narratives and Laura’s journal, including:
Resources Available: AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2011-03-07.
Martha’s Vineyard Museum.
See JAH web review by Julie Winch.
Reviewed 2013-06-01.
In 1868, Laura Jernegan, six-year-old daughter of a whaling captain, put to sea with her parents and younger brother. This website, created by the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, explores her family’s four-year whaling expedition, focusing on Laura’s own diary. Two narratives ground the exhibit: “The Story of Whaling” and “Laura’s Story.” Each narrative is divided up into three sections—“Before the Voyage,” "The Voyage“ and ”After the Voyage“—and consists of 14—15 individual ”chapters,“ each a short essay of approximately 300—1600 words. ”The Story of Whaling“ describes the rise and fall of the whaling industry and the nature of a whaling voyage, including preparation and hiring crew. ”Laura’s Story" narrates the voyage of the Roman, the ship on which Laura and her family set sail. The voyage included a stay in Hawaii, mutiny, and the Roman's sinking in the Arctic (everyone survived). “Laura’s Story” also looks at the lives of Laura and her family before and after the voyage, as young children and as adults. Each essay include links to images, descriptions, and other sections of the website that clarify and enrich the text. For Laura’s own description of her time at sea, “Explore Laura’s Journal” lets visitors browse her 43-page journal. Written in a child’s bold handwriting, the journal is short and easy to read, and can be viewed in the original scans, as a text transcript, or with a magic lens feature that translates the writing into print as the mouse runs over a page. Further background information supports the two narratives and Laura’s journal, including:
- “About Whales,” a mini-exhibit answering basic questions about six whale species;
- an interactive timeline reaching from 1774 to 1955, including both general world history events and whaling events;
- “Explore the Ship,” a diagram of a whaling ship that visitors can click for information on crew positions and parts of the ship; and
- a “Map of Whaling.”
Resources Available: AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2011-03-07.
Digital Harlem: Everyday Life, 1915–1930
Shane White, Stephen Garton, Graham White, and Stephen Robertson at the University of Sydney, Australia.
See JAH web review by Todd Presner.
Reviewed 2010-12-01.
This interactive digital map uses the Google Maps API to provide users with a dynamic way to interact with geospacial and temporal historical data. Users can turn on and off a wide variety of data layers, including events, people, and places. Within each of these categories users can search by keyword, and filter the results by characteristics such as date, occupation, gender, race, location, conviction, and birthplace. The project focuses on the lives of “ordinary African New Yorkers,” and pulls much of its data from legal records, which provides an entry into not only activities that one might typically consider “criminal,” such as gambling, violence, and confidence schemes, but also cultural aspects of streetlife such as music and family life. This website will be valuable to researchers and students looking for a creative and revealing way to navigate complex, intersecting historical data to explore topics such as urban life and culture, family life, public and private spaces, and crime, among many others.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2010-02-24.
Shane White, Stephen Garton, Graham White, and Stephen Robertson at the University of Sydney, Australia.
See JAH web review by Todd Presner.
Reviewed 2010-12-01.
This interactive digital map uses the Google Maps API to provide users with a dynamic way to interact with geospacial and temporal historical data. Users can turn on and off a wide variety of data layers, including events, people, and places. Within each of these categories users can search by keyword, and filter the results by characteristics such as date, occupation, gender, race, location, conviction, and birthplace. The project focuses on the lives of “ordinary African New Yorkers,” and pulls much of its data from legal records, which provides an entry into not only activities that one might typically consider “criminal,” such as gambling, violence, and confidence schemes, but also cultural aspects of streetlife such as music and family life. This website will be valuable to researchers and students looking for a creative and revealing way to navigate complex, intersecting historical data to explore topics such as urban life and culture, family life, public and private spaces, and crime, among many others.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2010-02-24.
Henry Hudson 400: Celebrating the History of Hudson, Amsterdam, and New York
Henry Hudson 400 Foundation.
See JAH web review by Todd Presner.
Reviewed 2010-12-01.
Commemorating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage to New York, this website allows users to explore the geospacial worlds of Amsterdam and New York through the lens of Hudson’s explorations. Built on Google’s map APIs, this website provides users with a series of georeferenced historical maps, particularly from the 17th and 18th centuries. Visitors can manipulate the historical data by turning on and off several data layers that overlay Henry Hudson’s routes, the lives of first New Yorkers, and a set of three-dimensional reconstructions of historical structures. While users cannot search or manipulate the data beyond turning layers on and off, this website remains a useful tool for researchers and students seeking to explore the world and experiences of historical New York and Amsterdam within a georeferenced environment.
Resources Available: IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-02-24.
Henry Hudson 400 Foundation.
See JAH web review by Todd Presner.
Reviewed 2010-12-01.
Commemorating the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s voyage to New York, this website allows users to explore the geospacial worlds of Amsterdam and New York through the lens of Hudson’s explorations. Built on Google’s map APIs, this website provides users with a series of georeferenced historical maps, particularly from the 17th and 18th centuries. Visitors can manipulate the historical data by turning on and off several data layers that overlay Henry Hudson’s routes, the lives of first New Yorkers, and a set of three-dimensional reconstructions of historical structures. While users cannot search or manipulate the data beyond turning layers on and off, this website remains a useful tool for researchers and students seeking to explore the world and experiences of historical New York and Amsterdam within a georeferenced environment.
Resources Available: IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-02-24.
Clio: Visualizing History
Clio Visualizing History.
See JAH web review by Peter H. Wood/update: ACH.
Reviewed 2010-09-01.
This website provides free access to a variety of visual materials and “seeks to illustrate the unique role of visual images in American history.” Clio is an educational organization developing American history projects with appeal to a wide audience, including students, educators, and researchers. This site aims to not only provide access to a variety of visual historical materials, such as photographs, illustrations, and material objects (namely quilts), but also “to promote visual literacy by exploring the variety of ways that images enhance our understanding of the past and challenge us to hone our interpretive skills.” The website is organized into three main sections. The first, "Visualizing America,“ includes two collections of modules, titled ”Picturing the Past: Illustrated Histories and the American Imagination, 1840–1900,“ and ”Quilts as Visual History.“ A second section, ”Photography Exhibits,“ includes three photography collections: one focusing on the work of Frances Benjamin Johnston, another on the work of The Allen Sisters (Mary and Frances Allen), and the Peter Palmquist Gallery. A third section, ”Creating History," examines the figure of Lowell Thomas, who became one of America’s best known journalists, as well as the media version and reality of Lawrence of Arabia. A valuable website to students and researchers alike, it suffers only slightly from a lack of search capabilities.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-11-02.
Clio Visualizing History.
See JAH web review by Peter H. Wood/update: ACH.
Reviewed 2010-09-01.
This website provides free access to a variety of visual materials and “seeks to illustrate the unique role of visual images in American history.” Clio is an educational organization developing American history projects with appeal to a wide audience, including students, educators, and researchers. This site aims to not only provide access to a variety of visual historical materials, such as photographs, illustrations, and material objects (namely quilts), but also “to promote visual literacy by exploring the variety of ways that images enhance our understanding of the past and challenge us to hone our interpretive skills.” The website is organized into three main sections. The first, "Visualizing America,“ includes two collections of modules, titled ”Picturing the Past: Illustrated Histories and the American Imagination, 1840–1900,“ and ”Quilts as Visual History.“ A second section, ”Photography Exhibits,“ includes three photography collections: one focusing on the work of Frances Benjamin Johnston, another on the work of The Allen Sisters (Mary and Frances Allen), and the Peter Palmquist Gallery. A third section, ”Creating History," examines the figure of Lowell Thomas, who became one of America’s best known journalists, as well as the media version and reality of Lawrence of Arabia. A valuable website to students and researchers alike, it suffers only slightly from a lack of search capabilities.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-11-02.
America’s Historical Newspapers
Readex, NewsBank, Inc..
See JAH web review by Bruce Chadwick.
Reviewed 2010-09-01.
[SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED] This subscription-only website presents a vast archive of American and Hispanic newspapers published in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It provides, with subscription, a comprehensive, and fully searchable, database of digital facsimiles of nearly 2,000 newspapers from all 50 states. Using the simple search function, users can explore American history and access newspaper accounts of the major, and minor, events taking place during that time. The archive is not yet complete, leading to gaps in coverage at times, but it continues to grow. For those with access, this archive of newspapers is a valuable tool for researchers, students, and teachers interested in studying America’s past through newspapers.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2010-11-02.
Readex, NewsBank, Inc..
See JAH web review by Bruce Chadwick.
Reviewed 2010-09-01.
[SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED] This subscription-only website presents a vast archive of American and Hispanic newspapers published in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It provides, with subscription, a comprehensive, and fully searchable, database of digital facsimiles of nearly 2,000 newspapers from all 50 states. Using the simple search function, users can explore American history and access newspaper accounts of the major, and minor, events taking place during that time. The archive is not yet complete, leading to gaps in coverage at times, but it continues to grow. For those with access, this archive of newspapers is a valuable tool for researchers, students, and teachers interested in studying America’s past through newspapers.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2010-11-02.
Bracero History Archive
Center for History and New Media, George Mason University, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Brown University, and The Institute of Oral History at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Between 1942 and 1964, more than four million Mexican men came to the United States on short-term, primarily agricultural labor contracts as part of the Bracero Program. While the program included legal protections designed to ensure the rights of both Mexican and domestic workers, controversies emerged surrounded the enforcement of these laws, and in many instances, growers benefited unfairly from a plentiful supply of cheap labor. This website has gathered more than 3,000 oral histories, images, and documents surrounding the Bracero Program. Visitors can listen to hundreds of hours of recent oral histories (primarily in Spanish) of Bracero workers, and examine photographs of Bracero work and the cultural events they participated in, proof of citizenship documents, vaccination and baptism certificates, and Mexican passports. A significant part of the project entails encouraging users connected to the Bracero Program to register and submit testimonies and other materials. Currently, there are 32 submissions, many from children of Bracero workers. The website also includes an extensive bibliography, and a section on teaching ideas targeted at secondary school students. Together, these materials not only shed light on labor and immigration issues, but also allow scholars, students, and teachers to explore mid-20th century race relations, gender, sexuality, the family, visual culture, and the Cold War era more generally.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO.
Website last visited on 2010-08-19.
Center for History and New Media, George Mason University, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, Brown University, and The Institute of Oral History at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Between 1942 and 1964, more than four million Mexican men came to the United States on short-term, primarily agricultural labor contracts as part of the Bracero Program. While the program included legal protections designed to ensure the rights of both Mexican and domestic workers, controversies emerged surrounded the enforcement of these laws, and in many instances, growers benefited unfairly from a plentiful supply of cheap labor. This website has gathered more than 3,000 oral histories, images, and documents surrounding the Bracero Program. Visitors can listen to hundreds of hours of recent oral histories (primarily in Spanish) of Bracero workers, and examine photographs of Bracero work and the cultural events they participated in, proof of citizenship documents, vaccination and baptism certificates, and Mexican passports. A significant part of the project entails encouraging users connected to the Bracero Program to register and submit testimonies and other materials. Currently, there are 32 submissions, many from children of Bracero workers. The website also includes an extensive bibliography, and a section on teaching ideas targeted at secondary school students. Together, these materials not only shed light on labor and immigration issues, but also allow scholars, students, and teachers to explore mid-20th century race relations, gender, sexuality, the family, visual culture, and the Cold War era more generally.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO.
Website last visited on 2010-08-19.
Martha Washington: A Life
George Washington’s Mount Vernon and the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was born in the 1730s into a world of elite social custom and privilege in Virginia. This website provides materials and resources related to Martha Washington’s life, opening a window into women’s lives during the 18th century, including their access to property and education, their role in the Revolution, their thoughts on the promises of rights called for in the founding documents, and their everyday experiences of marriage, motherhood, labor, sickness, and death. Visitors may want to begin with the narrative of Martha Washington’s life, accompanied by historical images and documents. The bulk of the website is an archive of 453 letters, artwork, and objects, including an image of a brown silk gown dating to the 1790s, the only item from Martha Washington’s wardrobe to survive intact. All items are tagged with helpful search terms, such as plantation, Mount Vernon, photograph, and consumer. To accompany these materials, the website also provides a Teaching Materials section that encourages the classroom study of material culture and includes three object-based lessons on 18th-century sociability, slavery at Mount Vernon, and the Revolutionary War, as well as a bibliography of related secondary sources and websites.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-08-19.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon and the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.
Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was born in the 1730s into a world of elite social custom and privilege in Virginia. This website provides materials and resources related to Martha Washington’s life, opening a window into women’s lives during the 18th century, including their access to property and education, their role in the Revolution, their thoughts on the promises of rights called for in the founding documents, and their everyday experiences of marriage, motherhood, labor, sickness, and death. Visitors may want to begin with the narrative of Martha Washington’s life, accompanied by historical images and documents. The bulk of the website is an archive of 453 letters, artwork, and objects, including an image of a brown silk gown dating to the 1790s, the only item from Martha Washington’s wardrobe to survive intact. All items are tagged with helpful search terms, such as plantation, Mount Vernon, photograph, and consumer. To accompany these materials, the website also provides a Teaching Materials section that encourages the classroom study of material culture and includes three object-based lessons on 18th-century sociability, slavery at Mount Vernon, and the Revolutionary War, as well as a bibliography of related secondary sources and websites.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-08-19.
Teachinghistory.org
Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.
This mega-website is the central online location for accessing high-quality resources for K-12 U.S. history education. It provides teaching materials, including a tool for searching for lesson plans, reviews of 28 lesson plans, and teaching guides on 13 subjects (e.g., how to teach with political cartoons or historic maps). The history content section includes website reviews and resources for helping educators move beyond textbook narratives. Other resources include tips for teaching with technology, information on the latest issues and research in the field, examples of best practices for teaching history, and lessons learned from the federally funded Teaching American History (TAH) projects. The website also provides a forum for history educators to pose questions to experts in history, teaching, and digital education, and makes available an archive of answers that address topics such as the credibility of Wikipedia, the relative benefits of two-year vs. one-year U.S. history programs, and the role of African Americans and American Indians in the colonial and Revolutionary eras. New material is added regularly, and users are encouraged to visit often and join the vibrant conversation about teaching history.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2010-08-19.
Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.
This mega-website is the central online location for accessing high-quality resources for K-12 U.S. history education. It provides teaching materials, including a tool for searching for lesson plans, reviews of 28 lesson plans, and teaching guides on 13 subjects (e.g., how to teach with political cartoons or historic maps). The history content section includes website reviews and resources for helping educators move beyond textbook narratives. Other resources include tips for teaching with technology, information on the latest issues and research in the field, examples of best practices for teaching history, and lessons learned from the federally funded Teaching American History (TAH) projects. The website also provides a forum for history educators to pose questions to experts in history, teaching, and digital education, and makes available an archive of answers that address topics such as the credibility of Wikipedia, the relative benefits of two-year vs. one-year U.S. history programs, and the role of African Americans and American Indians in the colonial and Revolutionary eras. New material is added regularly, and users are encouraged to visit often and join the vibrant conversation about teaching history.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2010-08-19.
American Experience: Eyes on the Prize
PBS.
This website, a companion to the 14-part PBS and Blackside television documentary of the same name (1987), presents the history of the Civil Rights movement in 26 events�from the murder of Emmet Till in 1955, to the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, to the election of the first black southern mayor in 1973, through to Jesse Jackson�s Operation PUSH in 1983. Each event is accompanied by a brief introduction and contextual information, as well as a selection of roughly 10 primary source documents, music, and images, and videos. Accompanying these materials, which form the bulk of the website, is a series of profiles providing brief overviews of influential people, groups, and responses to major events, a �Milestones� section that provides short descriptions of 15 major moments in the Civil Rights movement, and a �Reflections� section that features 12 essays by people involved in with Civil Rights. The website also offers users the opportunity to submit and share their own memories and experiences of Civil Rights, and provides TV viewing schedules, as well as program transcripts, reviews, and links to further reading.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2010-08-19.
PBS.
This website, a companion to the 14-part PBS and Blackside television documentary of the same name (1987), presents the history of the Civil Rights movement in 26 events�from the murder of Emmet Till in 1955, to the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, to the election of the first black southern mayor in 1973, through to Jesse Jackson�s Operation PUSH in 1983. Each event is accompanied by a brief introduction and contextual information, as well as a selection of roughly 10 primary source documents, music, and images, and videos. Accompanying these materials, which form the bulk of the website, is a series of profiles providing brief overviews of influential people, groups, and responses to major events, a �Milestones� section that provides short descriptions of 15 major moments in the Civil Rights movement, and a �Reflections� section that features 12 essays by people involved in with Civil Rights. The website also offers users the opportunity to submit and share their own memories and experiences of Civil Rights, and provides TV viewing schedules, as well as program transcripts, reviews, and links to further reading.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2010-08-19.
The Rawn Journals, 1830–1865
Michael Barton and the Historical Soceity of Dauphin County.
Charles Coatesworth Pinckney Rawn was born in Georgetown, Washington D.C. in 1802, and went on to become a prominent lawyer Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He began keeping a journal in 1830, and wrote almost daily until his death in 1865, producing 40 volumes and more than 5,500 pages. Rather than recording personal feelings or political ideas, these pages are filled with descriptions of Rawn�s daily activities�the clients he saw, the goods he purchased at the market, his duties in the community, at church, and with his family�allowing readers an intimate view of Antebellum life and a glimpse at the early days of the Civil War. This website presents the fruits of an on-going transcription project for these materials (roughly 25% of the journals has been transcribed). Each section of transcribed materials is prefaced by a scholarly introduction, including a list of names mentioned (also available via the website’s �Index of Names� section). All transcribed journal text is fully keyword searchable and can be browsed by date.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2010-05-18.
Michael Barton and the Historical Soceity of Dauphin County.
Charles Coatesworth Pinckney Rawn was born in Georgetown, Washington D.C. in 1802, and went on to become a prominent lawyer Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He began keeping a journal in 1830, and wrote almost daily until his death in 1865, producing 40 volumes and more than 5,500 pages. Rather than recording personal feelings or political ideas, these pages are filled with descriptions of Rawn�s daily activities�the clients he saw, the goods he purchased at the market, his duties in the community, at church, and with his family�allowing readers an intimate view of Antebellum life and a glimpse at the early days of the Civil War. This website presents the fruits of an on-going transcription project for these materials (roughly 25% of the journals has been transcribed). Each section of transcribed materials is prefaced by a scholarly introduction, including a list of names mentioned (also available via the website’s �Index of Names� section). All transcribed journal text is fully keyword searchable and can be browsed by date.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2010-05-18.
Civil War Washington
Susan C. Lawrence, Kenneth M. Price, and Kenneth J. Winkle.
See JAH web review by Rachel A. Shelden.
Reviewed 2013-12-01.
Between the years 1860 and 1865, the population of Washington D.C. tripled and the city became the most fortified in the world. This project presents a record of the complex transformations D.C. experienced over the course of these formative years, using digital tools to create visualizations of these transformations that move beyond the possibilities that print media afford. Users unfamiliar with this history may want to begin with the “Interpretations” section, which offers three essays on Washington D.C. as the nation’s strategic, symbolic, and scientific capital after 1800. The core of the website is an interactive map that offers data layers showing changes in key city landmarks over the course of the Civil War. Clicking on a landmark reveals a list of additional places and people associated with it, such as a list of patients, doctors, and nurses at a particular hospital. This data is also available as a searchable A-Z list of hundreds of names and places—from “Private William A.” to Wolfe Street General Hospital. Also included is a selection of 27 photographs and images, and eight newspaper articles, medical texts, and memoirs.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-04-28.
Susan C. Lawrence, Kenneth M. Price, and Kenneth J. Winkle.
See JAH web review by Rachel A. Shelden.
Reviewed 2013-12-01.
Between the years 1860 and 1865, the population of Washington D.C. tripled and the city became the most fortified in the world. This project presents a record of the complex transformations D.C. experienced over the course of these formative years, using digital tools to create visualizations of these transformations that move beyond the possibilities that print media afford. Users unfamiliar with this history may want to begin with the “Interpretations” section, which offers three essays on Washington D.C. as the nation’s strategic, symbolic, and scientific capital after 1800. The core of the website is an interactive map that offers data layers showing changes in key city landmarks over the course of the Civil War. Clicking on a landmark reveals a list of additional places and people associated with it, such as a list of patients, doctors, and nurses at a particular hospital. This data is also available as a searchable A-Z list of hundreds of names and places—from “Private William A.” to Wolfe Street General Hospital. Also included is a selection of 27 photographs and images, and eight newspaper articles, medical texts, and memoirs.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-04-28.
Oral History Online
Alexander Street Press.
See JAH web review by Pamela M. Henson.
Reviewed 2005-06-01.
[Subscription required for full access.] This expansive database provides access to almost 19,000 interviews spanning U.S. and world history—collected between the 1930s and today—approximately 9,400 of which are available in full text. The database also links to more than 100,000 interviews contained in other collections. The database is divided into three primary sections: “Repositories” and “Collections” provide bibliographic records to hundreds of institutions with English-language oral history holdings all over the world. “Interviews” offers more than 34,000 pages of full-text interviews, as well links to interviews on external websites. The database can be browsed by date, organized into 10-year increments; place, separated into 12 geographic regions (some of which may be drilled-down to the country level); or historical event, ranging from the Armenian Massacre of 1894–1896 to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Users can search the interviews and bibliographic records separately by keyword. Results can be further narrowed by a variety of categories such as year, subject, occupation, race, people discussed, events discussed, and collection title.
Resources Available: TEXT, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2010-04-27.
Alexander Street Press.
See JAH web review by Pamela M. Henson.
Reviewed 2005-06-01.
[Subscription required for full access.] This expansive database provides access to almost 19,000 interviews spanning U.S. and world history—collected between the 1930s and today—approximately 9,400 of which are available in full text. The database also links to more than 100,000 interviews contained in other collections. The database is divided into three primary sections: “Repositories” and “Collections” provide bibliographic records to hundreds of institutions with English-language oral history holdings all over the world. “Interviews” offers more than 34,000 pages of full-text interviews, as well links to interviews on external websites. The database can be browsed by date, organized into 10-year increments; place, separated into 12 geographic regions (some of which may be drilled-down to the country level); or historical event, ranging from the Armenian Massacre of 1894–1896 to the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Users can search the interviews and bibliographic records separately by keyword. Results can be further narrowed by a variety of categories such as year, subject, occupation, race, people discussed, events discussed, and collection title.
Resources Available: TEXT, AUDIO, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2010-04-27.
Tennessee 4 Me
Tennessee State Museum.
Explore Tennessee state history from pre-history to the present. Each of nine chronological sections—“First Tennesseans,” “Indians & Cultural Encounters,” “Frontier,” “Age of Jackson,” “Civil War & Reconstruction,” “Confronting the Modern Era,” “Depression & WWII,” “Civil Rights/Cold War,” and “Information Revolution”—begins with an introductory essay. Subsections offer essays on daily life and work, military and political history, civil rights, and other topics. Links within the essays lead to extracts from primary sources (such as the journal of early explorer Casper Mansker or a recipe for soap), answers to “Dig Deeper” historical questions, interactive activities (including a Chart of Traditional Cherokee Kinships), and related articles and sources on other websites. A slideshow of primary sources (artifacts and documents) accompanies most essays, and several include embedded audio clips. Each time period includes a “Teacher’s Page” with lessons and extension activities. Thirty-seven lessons and three extension activities are currently live on the site; broken links may be repaired in future.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO.
Website last visited on 2010-04-16.
Tennessee State Museum.
Explore Tennessee state history from pre-history to the present. Each of nine chronological sections—“First Tennesseans,” “Indians & Cultural Encounters,” “Frontier,” “Age of Jackson,” “Civil War & Reconstruction,” “Confronting the Modern Era,” “Depression & WWII,” “Civil Rights/Cold War,” and “Information Revolution”—begins with an introductory essay. Subsections offer essays on daily life and work, military and political history, civil rights, and other topics. Links within the essays lead to extracts from primary sources (such as the journal of early explorer Casper Mansker or a recipe for soap), answers to “Dig Deeper” historical questions, interactive activities (including a Chart of Traditional Cherokee Kinships), and related articles and sources on other websites. A slideshow of primary sources (artifacts and documents) accompanies most essays, and several include embedded audio clips. Each time period includes a “Teacher’s Page” with lessons and extension activities. Thirty-seven lessons and three extension activities are currently live on the site; broken links may be repaired in future.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO.
Website last visited on 2010-04-16.
Ulysses S. Grant Digital Collection
Mississippi State University Libraries.
The largest public archive of Ulysses S. Grant correspondence to date, the collection includes letters, research notes, artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia. Topics cover Grant’s childhood, military career, and experiences in the Civil War through his presidency and post-White House years. The bulk of the collection is made up of 31 full-text searchable, digitized volumes of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. Edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes comprise thousands of letters spanning from 1837, just before Grant left for the Military Academy at West Point, to his death in 1885. The volumes also contain photographs, a chronology of the correspondence, and annotations. In addition to the extensive Papers, the collection provides a sampling of digitized material from the U. S. Grant Association, including 14 multi-page compilations and 11 political cartoons from sources such as Harper’s Weekly and Puck. Items include detailed, linked metadata to assist in tracking source provenance and connecting to related sources. Additionally, all items are keyword searchable and can be browsed by format, date, or title.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-04-15.
Mississippi State University Libraries.
The largest public archive of Ulysses S. Grant correspondence to date, the collection includes letters, research notes, artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia. Topics cover Grant’s childhood, military career, and experiences in the Civil War through his presidency and post-White House years. The bulk of the collection is made up of 31 full-text searchable, digitized volumes of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. Edited by John Y. Simon, these volumes comprise thousands of letters spanning from 1837, just before Grant left for the Military Academy at West Point, to his death in 1885. The volumes also contain photographs, a chronology of the correspondence, and annotations. In addition to the extensive Papers, the collection provides a sampling of digitized material from the U. S. Grant Association, including 14 multi-page compilations and 11 political cartoons from sources such as Harper’s Weekly and Puck. Items include detailed, linked metadata to assist in tracking source provenance and connecting to related sources. Additionally, all items are keyword searchable and can be browsed by format, date, or title.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-04-15.
Telling Their Stories: Oral History Archives Project
Urban School of San Francisco.
This archive provides a growing collection of oral history interviews researched, conducted, and produced by high school students at the Urban School of San Francisco and McComb High School in Mississippi. The website provides an oral history archive of people whose experiences inform our understanding of 20th-century American and world history. Students learn history content at the same time they learn the skills and practice of “doing” history, and contribute an invaluable historical resource to the larger community. Interviews are organized in five sections: “Stories of the Civil Rights Era”; “Holocaust Survivors and Refugees”; “WWII Camp Liberators/Witnesses”; “Japanese American Internees”; and “Fillmore Redevelopment/Dislocation” (coming soon). Each section includes up to 12 interviews, with transcripts, on topics including: life during the civil rights movement; experiences during the Holocaust and in concentration camps; and Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Subjects covered in interviews range from childhood, education, and military service, to challenges stemming from segregation, racism, war, and genocide. The website is not searchable, but most interviews are divided into topical chapters to aid in navigation.
Resources Available: TEXT, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2010-04-14.
Urban School of San Francisco.
This archive provides a growing collection of oral history interviews researched, conducted, and produced by high school students at the Urban School of San Francisco and McComb High School in Mississippi. The website provides an oral history archive of people whose experiences inform our understanding of 20th-century American and world history. Students learn history content at the same time they learn the skills and practice of “doing” history, and contribute an invaluable historical resource to the larger community. Interviews are organized in five sections: “Stories of the Civil Rights Era”; “Holocaust Survivors and Refugees”; “WWII Camp Liberators/Witnesses”; “Japanese American Internees”; and “Fillmore Redevelopment/Dislocation” (coming soon). Each section includes up to 12 interviews, with transcripts, on topics including: life during the civil rights movement; experiences during the Holocaust and in concentration camps; and Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Subjects covered in interviews range from childhood, education, and military service, to challenges stemming from segregation, racism, war, and genocide. The website is not searchable, but most interviews are divided into topical chapters to aid in navigation.
Resources Available: TEXT, VIDEO.
Website last visited on 2010-04-14.
Separate Is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History.
See JAH web review by Mary L. Dudziak.
Reviewed 2006-12-01.
A companion website to the National Museum of American History’s 2004 exhibition, Separate Is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education, is organized into five sections: “History,” "Reflections,“ Exhibition,” "Public Programs,“ and Resources.” The website serves as a digital exhibit documenting the background and details of the Brown v. Board court decision, and as a promotional page for the physical exhibit (that ended in 2005). “History” provides a series of narrative essays that, in concert with a rich array of images from the collection, provide a history of segregation and the legal campaign to end it. Images include visual representations of segregation, from advertisements for race-restricted housing in Los Angeles to poll tax receipts. The website also details the grassroots legal challenge to segregated education by profiling the five communities involved in the famous case. “Resources” provides background through an annotated bibliography, timeline, and a 35-page essay by co-curator Alonzo N. Smith. Of special use to educators, the “Resources” page also includes a Teachers Guide and two “Electronic Field Trips.” This website is valuable to teachers and students as a rich source for images and an overview of the Brown v. Board of Education case and history, with particular focus on the five communities that made the case possible.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-04-09.
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History.
See JAH web review by Mary L. Dudziak.
Reviewed 2006-12-01.
A companion website to the National Museum of American History’s 2004 exhibition, Separate Is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education, is organized into five sections: “History,” "Reflections,“ Exhibition,” "Public Programs,“ and Resources.” The website serves as a digital exhibit documenting the background and details of the Brown v. Board court decision, and as a promotional page for the physical exhibit (that ended in 2005). “History” provides a series of narrative essays that, in concert with a rich array of images from the collection, provide a history of segregation and the legal campaign to end it. Images include visual representations of segregation, from advertisements for race-restricted housing in Los Angeles to poll tax receipts. The website also details the grassroots legal challenge to segregated education by profiling the five communities involved in the famous case. “Resources” provides background through an annotated bibliography, timeline, and a 35-page essay by co-curator Alonzo N. Smith. Of special use to educators, the “Resources” page also includes a Teachers Guide and two “Electronic Field Trips.” This website is valuable to teachers and students as a rich source for images and an overview of the Brown v. Board of Education case and history, with particular focus on the five communities that made the case possible.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-04-09.
Brown@50: Fulfilling the Promise
Howard University School of Law.
See JAH web review by Mary L. Dudziak.
Reviewed 2006-12-01.
Created for the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, this website provides the legal history of the court case, and focuses attention on Howard University’s contributions. The website is divided into five main sections. “Chronology” presents a timeline of events and offers links to external resources. “Brief History” is a concise background of the Brown v. Board case and an overview of the case details and impact. “Cases & Other Law” provides a "legal road to Brown," with court decisions leading up to and following the Brown decision. “Biographical Sketches” introduces key figures. And “Educational & Other Resources” links to a wide variety of external websites and resources pertaining both to Brown v. Board of Education and to civil rights more generally. Brown@50 will be especially useful to those researching the legal arguments of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2010-04-09.
Howard University School of Law.
See JAH web review by Mary L. Dudziak.
Reviewed 2006-12-01.
Created for the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, this website provides the legal history of the court case, and focuses attention on Howard University’s contributions. The website is divided into five main sections. “Chronology” presents a timeline of events and offers links to external resources. “Brief History” is a concise background of the Brown v. Board case and an overview of the case details and impact. “Cases & Other Law” provides a "legal road to Brown," with court decisions leading up to and following the Brown decision. “Biographical Sketches” introduces key figures. And “Educational & Other Resources” links to a wide variety of external websites and resources pertaining both to Brown v. Board of Education and to civil rights more generally. Brown@50 will be especially useful to those researching the legal arguments of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case.
Resources Available: TEXT.
Website last visited on 2010-04-09.
Trails of Hope: Overland Diaries and Letters, 1846–1869
Lee Library, Brigham Young University; Utah Academic Library Consortium.
See JAH web review by Fritz Umbach.
Reviewed 2004-09-01.
This website provides access to a digital archive of 59 diary volumes, 82 photographs and illustrations, 43 maps, and seven trail guides, all about the experiences of traveling the Mormon, California, and Oregon trails in the mid-19th century. The website also provides short biographies of the people whose diaries are digitized in the collection. Metadata is hyperlinked to easily connect similar topics, keywords, people, and places. The archives can be search by keyword overall, or by keyword within a specific category (such as diaries). Users also have the option of browsing the collections by diary topics such as, children, Indian encounters, discipline, or women. Four essays introduce and contextualize the collection. An interactive map allows visitors to browse points on the California, Oregon, and Mormon trails and link to images and photographs of map locations. For those interested in the creation of digital archives, the website also includes discussions of “Building the Digital Collection” and “Building the Metadata,” in which the website creators discuss the methodology of building the website.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-04-09.
Lee Library, Brigham Young University; Utah Academic Library Consortium.
See JAH web review by Fritz Umbach.
Reviewed 2004-09-01.
This website provides access to a digital archive of 59 diary volumes, 82 photographs and illustrations, 43 maps, and seven trail guides, all about the experiences of traveling the Mormon, California, and Oregon trails in the mid-19th century. The website also provides short biographies of the people whose diaries are digitized in the collection. Metadata is hyperlinked to easily connect similar topics, keywords, people, and places. The archives can be search by keyword overall, or by keyword within a specific category (such as diaries). Users also have the option of browsing the collections by diary topics such as, children, Indian encounters, discipline, or women. Four essays introduce and contextualize the collection. An interactive map allows visitors to browse points on the California, Oregon, and Mormon trails and link to images and photographs of map locations. For those interested in the creation of digital archives, the website also includes discussions of “Building the Digital Collection” and “Building the Metadata,” in which the website creators discuss the methodology of building the website.
Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES.
Website last visited on 2010-04-09.