General Sites
 America in the 1930s 
Travel back to the 1930s and view the period through its films, radio programs, literature, journalism, museums, exhibitions, architecture, art, and other forms of cultural expression.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Immigration: The Changing Face of America
This online presentation from the Library of Congress presentation introduces teachers and students to the topic of Immigration and features interviews with immigrants, games and activities, recipes from around the world, and lesson plans.
Intended Audience: Students and Teachers Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: No
Remembering Jim Crow
Photos, audio clips, essays, first person accountsfrom both blacks and whites, and the actual laws that denied blacks equal rights illustrate the shameful history of Jim Crow laws and segregation in the U.S.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
This companion site to the PBS series traces the history of Jim Crow Laws and segregation with an interactive timeline;first person accounts; a look at the role of Presidents, Congress, and the Supreme Court in civil rights. Interactive maps look at Jim Crow Laws, state-by-state population statistics for blacks and whites, lynching statistics, and race riots in the U.S. In the site's activity section you can explore what the voting experience was like for African Americans during the Jim Crow Era, examine the era through an image gallery, and learn about some of the unwritten practices of the Jim Crow period.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: No
Photographs from the Chicago Daily News - 1902-1933
This extensive collection at the library of Congress captures daily life and U.S. and world events in the first 30 years of the 20th century. You can search the site or browse by topic of name.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: N/A Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
20th Century Heroes and Villains
Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis, Truman and the Atomic Bomb, Winston Churchill and Dresden, Stalin and the industrialization of the USSR, Mussolini and Abyssinia.This site puts these five figures of major historical importance under the microscope. Each event is covered by an introduction and then a series of essential questions to research. Students can then vote as to wehter the figures were heroes or villains and justify their verdict.
Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Time Magazine
Keep current with national and world events at Time magazine's online site. You can search for articles dating back to 1985. You can read full articles for the past two issues, for older articles you will get a synopsis. You can subscribe to the site for full access. You can also take a trip through the history of the 20th century with a searchable Time Cover Gallery with all of the magazine covers from 1923-2003. Be sure to visit the teacher section for weekly lesson plans and activities.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes
Cold War
Timelines, primary source documents, video clips, activities, and case studies help put the Cold War in context.
Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: No
The Great War
From the causes of the war and the new technologies employed in the war to life in the trenches and the peace process this site uses primary source documents and activities to help students understand World War I.
Intended Audience: Students Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Under Fire: Images from Vietnam
This site captures the story of the Vietnam War through the lenses of the photographers who often risked their lives to capture the war. Interviews with the photographers provide additional perspective on this painful period of our history. Some of the photographers featured at the site died in the war, interviews with their colleagues and biographies profile their lives and their work.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color
Letters, color photographs and maps document events in World War II at this companion site to the PBS series. The site also has section on the psychology of war, social aspects of war, and the homefront.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: No
California Gold: Folk Music from the 1930s
This site from the Library of Congress contains sound recordings, still photographs, drawings, and written documents from a variety of European ethnic and English- and Spanish-speaking communities in Northern California. The collection comprises 35 hours of folk music recorded in twelve languages representing numerous ethnic groups and 185 musicians.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Tenement Museum
Take an online tour of a tenement in the Lower East Side of New York and find out about the lives of some of the people that lived there from 1863 through 1935.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Mining Artifacts
Incredible collection of photographs capturing the tools of coal mining and the individuals who risked their lives every time they entered a mine.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: N/A Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Against Their Will
The shameful story of North Carolina's eugenic sterilization program . The site features interviews with victims, video clips, an interactive timeline and a sample IQ test.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Yiddish Radio Project
From the 1930s to 1950, Yiddish radio was heard across the country. From serial dramas to mediation courts, this forgotten piece of American history is captured at this site. So sit back and tune in to some Yiddish radio classics. Worried about language? Don't be, the instant Yid-O-Matic English Translator is hard at work.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
After the Day of Infamy
This site from the Library of Congress features audio files with transcripts of opinions and reactions recorded in the days and months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor from over two hundred individuals in cities and towns across the United States. It is searchable by name, subject, and geographic location.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement
Trace the history of the American eugenics and learn how political and social prejudices were presented as scientific fact. The site features essays, reports, articles, charts, and pedigrees from the Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, the center of American eugenics research from 1910-1940.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Modern Times: Classic American Film
You'll find hundreds of images, sounds, and original articles at this site celebrating American film. Explore sections on Classic American films, B-movies, black Americans in early film, and comedy.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Silent Movies
You'll find hundreds of images as well as QuickTime movies at this site celebrating Silent Film.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: NA Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Posters: American Style
Posters have provided some of the country's most powerful cultural messages. This site from the Smithsonian Museum of American Art provides images of some of the great graphic images made in the United States over the past century and looks at the process of using visual imagery for communicating patriotic, commercial and propaganda messages. A special section of the site explores the historical events that inspired selected posters.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Heart and Soul: A Celebration of African American Music
Most of today's popular music has its roots in African American rhythms and culture. This site from World Book explores African American influence on spirituals, jazz, blues, rock and roll, and classical music and includes audio files as well as profiles of key African American musicians like Marian Anderson, Paul Robeson, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Louis Armstrong, Scott Joplin, King Oliver, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and Fats Domino.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Creative Americans: Portraits by Carl Van Vechten
This collection of photographs by Carl Van Vecten and housed at the Library of Congress were taken between 1932 and 1964 and includes portraits of artists, actors, writers, musicians and other celebrities, as well as some key figures of the Harlem Renaissance.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: N/A Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes
Woody Guthrie: Correspondence, 1940-1950
This collection of letters at the Library of Congress contain Woody Guthrie's correspondence with the staff of the Archive of American Folk Song. In his letters he reflects on his past, his art, his life in New York City, and World War II. The site also includes a timeline of Guthrie's life and a biographical essay.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920
This site from the Library of Congress chronicles the movement to conserve and protect America's natural heritage using primary source documents including: books, pamphlets, government documents, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and motion picture footage.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes Remembering Pearl Harbor
Photos, film, and firsthand accounts recall the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor at this site from National Geographic.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
War Stories
Find out what it is like to be a war correspondent at this site from the Newseum. The site features video interviews with Dan Rather, Peter Arnett, John Quinones, Christiane Amanpour, Peter Jennings, Ted Kopel, and Edith Lederer as well as an examination of how changes in technology have changed war coverage.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Scottsboro: An American Tragedy
This companion site to the American Experience documentary includes first-person accounts, a timeline, and background information on racism in the South.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: No
Negro League Baseball
John Henry "Pop" Lloyd, Cool Papa Bell, Lorenzo "Piper" Davis, and Willie Foster might have been household names as sport legends if baseball has been integrated in the first half of the 20th century. Learn about these and other stars of the Negro Baseball League at this site that features team and player profiles, articles, and news.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Early Cinema
From the zoetrope to the vitoscope, this site traces the early development of film technology. A timeline puts events in perspective, profiles of some of the pioneers of early cinema put a human face on the technology,and essays provide perspective.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No History and Politics Out Loud
History comes alive at this site with audio files from moments of 20th Century history. From the Watergate tapes to the speeches of Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, this site lets you hear history being made.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: N/A Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Ad Access
This site from Duke University contains images and information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Ad Access concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Lost Labor
Capturing the changes in American labor in the last century, this site contains over 155 images of workers in the textile, automotive, chemical, printing, and steel industry performing jobs that are disappearing or no longer exist.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: N/A Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Breakfast Cereal Character Guide
Try this site for a fun look at American culture through cereal characters. The site features images and commentary on over 750 characters that were used to sell use cereal for that last 100 years. When you're done, try the cereal creator and see if you can come up with a new name for the next big cereal! Note: You might want to turn down your volume when you visit the site to mute the music!
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Elementary Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Cold War
Travel back to the days of bomb shelters and international espionage. This site from the Cold War Museum has an interactive timeline with articles covering key events in the cold War; online exhibits on the Berlin Wall, spy planes, and posters from the CIA; and a Cold War photo gallery.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Early Office Museum
Step back in time and take a trip through offices of the past at this image rich site. See if you can find Consul, the Educated Monkey, the mechanical multiplying machine!
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: N/A Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
World War II led to women taking the place of men not only in the workplace! After a number of minor league teams were disbanded because their players were drafted or entered into the service, Philip K. Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, began looking for a replacement. Thus was born professional women's baseball. This site traces the history of AAGPBL made famous in the movie A League of Their Own. You'll find articles, team rosters, and photographs.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle/High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Life Magazine
Although this magazine that chronicled much of the 20th century is no longer being published, it does have a web site featuring articles from the 1990's covering arts and entertainment, people, politics and war, science and health, society, and spirituality. There is also a searchable Life Cover Gallery with all of the magazine covers from 1936-1972 and a Life Picture Gallery with images that ran in the magazine.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
Did You Bring Bottles?
Bring your shopping list and explore 20th century American culture and history through the history of the grocery store. The site include a look at the architecture, stock and advertising of grocery stores and includes a timeline of grocery store history, personal recollections, feature stories, and images.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: No Searchable: Yes
The Korean War
Often the overlooked war, the Korean War claimed the lives of 36,570 American men and women. This site from the U.S. Department of Defense includes first person accounts, fact sheets, and imagesdocumenting the Korean War.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: Yes
TinFoil
Explore early sound recording and listen to early wax cylinder recordings from the Liberty Bell March recorded in 1897 to Take Me Out to the Ball Game recorded in 1908.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
It Seems Like Yesterday
Hula Hoops, Bomb Shelters, the Beatles, and Disco. This site uses magazine articles of the day to explore the 50's, 60's and 70's.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
A Visual Journey: Photographs by Lisa Law 1965-1971
In 1964 Lisa Law was an assistant to Frank Werber, manager of the Kingston Trio, when she was given a camera and asked to photograph musicians for his record company. From that moment on she managed to capture on film some of the people, places and events that came to symbolize the counterculture of the 1960's. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Janis Joplin, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, the Summer of Love in San Francisco, anti-war demonstrations, communal life; and Woodstock were all captured on film by Law.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: High School Teacher Section: No Searchable: No
Life Interrupted: Japanese American Experience in WWII
Browse through a photo album with images from the Rowher and Jerome Relocation Centers in Arkansas, look at a panoramic view of the camp sites, or view a timeline of events. The site also has links to other resources.
Intended Audience: General Reading Level: Middle School Teacher Section: Yes Searchable: No |
