Chronicling America

Chronicling America is a Website providing access to information about historic newspapers and select digitized newspaper pages, and is produced by the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). NDNP, a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), is a long-term effort to develop an Internet-based, searchable database of U.S. newspapers with descriptive information and select digitization of historic pages. Supported by NEH, this rich digital resource will be developed and permanently maintained at the Library of Congress. An NEH award program will fund the contribution of content from, eventually, all U.S. states and territories.

Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war. Stories are told through personal narratives, correspondence, and visual materials from soldiers from World War I to the present.

History and Legacy of the Vietnam War

Created by the United States Vietnam War Commemoration, these posters highlight microcosms of the American experience in Vietnam, from women’s military service to specific military specializations. Although their stories may not be as visible in popular narratives of the war, their service was no less significant. The website also includes video resources, maps, artifacts, and suggestions for service learning activites. 

The Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.

The Library preserves and provides access to a rich, diverse and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire, and engage you in your intellectual and creative endeavors. 

We recommend searching their digital collections.

American Archive of Public Broadcasting

The Library of Congress and WGBH in Boston have embarked on a project to preserve for posterity the most significant public television and radio programs of the past 60 years: The American Archive of Public Broadcasting. The American people have made a huge investment in public radio and television over many decades. The American Archive will ensure that this rich source for American political, social, and cultural history and creativity will be saved and made available once again to future generations.

The collection of 40,000 hours contains thousands of high quality programs that have had national impact. The vast majority of this initial American Archive content, however, consists of regional and local programs that document American communities during the last half of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first. This extraordinary collection includes local news and public affairs programs, local history productions that document the heritage of local communities, and programs dealing with education, environmental issues, music, art, literature, dance, poetry, religion, and even filmmaking on a local level.

Founders Online from The National Archives

Through this website, you can read and search through thousands of records from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison and see firsthand the growth of democracy and the birth of the Republic.

Users can freely access the written record of the original thoughts, ideas, debates, and principles of our democracy. You can search across the records of all six Founders and read first drafts of the Declaration of Independence, the spirited debate over the Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the very beginnings of American law, government, and our national story. You can compare and contrast the thoughts and ideas of these six individuals and their correspondents as they discussed and debated through their letters and documents.

The Globalizing U.S. History Project

Globalizing U.S. history education involves an “opening” of students’ conceptions of the past through expanded content, broader methodology, and units of analysis that go beyond the nation. Supporting teachers to do this is essential for their instructional shifts and integral to student success in a complex and globalized world. Therefore, the Globalizing U.S. History project is a dynamic resource (updated monthly) that addresses the scarcity of professional development programs dedicated this approach.  The assembled resources are designed to inspire, support innovation,  and develop your leadership as an advocate for teaching U.S. History in a global context.