History

This page is divided into sections on American History and World History. There are several sections under American History; The Age of Exploration, The American Colonial Period, The Revolutionary War, The Civil War, Westward Expansion, Immigration and Genealogy, The Gilded Age thru 1920, The 1920s and 1930s, The 1940s and WWII, The 1950s and 1960s, The 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

American History

American Memory: This site, from the Library of Congress, now features "7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections." A virtual museum of American history.
American Memory Timeline: Links at this site are organized by eras in our nation's history. Click on the era you're interested in for a list of appropriate exhibits from the collection.
Hitchhiker's Guide to American History: This site is maintained by Stanley K. Schultz, a professor of history at The University of Wisconsin, for his history class covering the Civil War to the present. An excellent site, it includes a great deal of information regarding American history, covering such topics as: the effects of the Civil War, the "Old West", Spanish-American War, Prohibition, the Great Depression, Civil Rights Movement, Nixon and Watergate, and much more.
How Much is That Worth Today?: Compare the buying power of a dollar between 1720 and 2000. Stats are from Historical Statistics of the United States. Few graphics, loads quickly.
Black History: Exploring African-American Issues on the Web: The 'Subject Sampler' has article-style presentations. Links to external sites are also provided in the 'Black History Hotlist.'
National Parks Service Links to the Past: The search engine here can search the Park System (there's more to it than you might think),or the Internet (using Go.com). "Cultural Resource Subjects" may help your search. In "Past Features," Gettyburg Camp Life is recommended.
The History Net: From "The World's Largest Publisher of History Magazines," the site has feature articles from its magazines.
Radio Days: Hear clips from news broadcasts and old radio shows.

The Age of Exploration

Columbus and the Age of Discovery: Materials in this huge database are arranged by topic, such as history, geography, fine arts, archaeology, and literature. Under the topic of history is a collection of full-text articles from journals and magazines.
Discoverer's Web Homepage: This is an extensive collection of links about exploration and discovery. It is not limited to the traditional "age of discovery" time period. A good starting point for your research on explorers.

The American Colonial Period

Archiving Early America: This site provides a look at 18th-century America troygh newspaper articles, maps, magazines, and other writings of the period. The site is searchable, and a link is provided to current and back issues of the Early American Review, a journal of fact and opinion on colonial America.
Mayflower History.com: The site includes the history of each passenger, history of the ship, its crew, its inventory, and an account of the voyage itself. Produced by Caleb Johnson, a descendant of Mayflower voyagers.
About.com: Colonial America: Links to resources on the daily life and history of the original thirteen colonies. Each recommended web site has a short description.
Salem Witch Trials: Read a brief guide to the witchcraft phenomenon of Salem (now Danvers, MA), explore rare documents of the time, view maps, visit historical Danvers sites, and search the archives. From the University of Virginia.
The Declaration of Independence: From the National Archives and Records Administration, this site includes the text of the document, an image of the original, and articles about the document and its signers.

The Revolutionary War

Military History of the American Revolution 1777-1783: This is a chapter, titles "The Winning of Independence," from a U.S. Army historical series. Numerous maps and drawings.
The Revolutionary War--from about.com Revolutionary War Timeline

Westward Expansion

Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery: This site is a companion to Ken Burns' film of the same title. There are short biographies of every member of the party, a list of supplies they took with them, articles on every tribe they encountered, a timeline, maps, and many other explanatory articles.
WestWeb: WestWeb is a topically-organized website about the study of the American West created and maintained by Catherine Lavender of the City University of New York. Not every topic has articles at the site, as the site is still under development, but all topics have links to recommended web resources.
War of 1812: Articles include army life, battles, biographies, forts, general, naval, regiments, and uniforms & equipment. There is also a timeline of events, quizzes, and information about reenactments in Great Britain and the United States.
The Battle of Lake Erie: From the National Park Service.

The Civil War

About.com: Civil War Menu: Easily access biographies, photographs, battles, documents, and explanations of the political and economic problems of the period.
The American Civil War Homepage: This is truly a mega-site. Find anything here--from music and photographs to the causes of the war, through the surrender. State and local sources are included. This page, from the University of Tennessee's School of Information Sciences, is considered to be the Civil War study portal.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System: This site, from the National Park System, is dedicated to the stories of the men who fought the war. Click on the Exhibit page to see what life was like for soldiers. See the History page to learn how African Americans were involved in the war. There is a database of soldiers that can be searched by name, regiment, battles, prisoners, and more.
Aboard the Underground Railroad: This 'itinerary' from The National Register provides descriptions and photographs on 50 historic places that are listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, America's official list of places important in our history and worthy of preservation. It also includes a map of the most common directions of escape taken on the Underground Railroad and maps of individual states that mark the location of the historic properties.
The Menare Foundation's North Star Web Site: Includes names of operators by state and county.
National Geographic Online presents The Underground Railroad: Follow a slave's journey to freedom with Harriet Tubman. The pull-down contents can also guide you through this site.

Native American Resources

Immigration and Genealogy

The Ellis Island Immigration Museum: Find out what it was like to be an immigrant arriving in America. Click on the site map for the easiest navigation of this site. There are some links to genealogy sites here, too.
Explore your family history at Ellis Island: If you have an ancestor who arrived at Ellis Island between 1892 and 1924, you can find their passenger record here. You must register to use the service, but it's quick and free.
Immigration in American Memory: This site, from the Library of Congress, presents the history of immigration from the 1700s through today. Helpful links appear throughout the site.
Ancestry.com: This site will help you get started with your research. Under 'Learn,' click 'Getting Started' to learn the basics of organizing your search, using a computer for your search, legal basics, etiquette and ethics. 'Reference' has links to state and country resources, and naps and gazeteers. The public library has a subscription to this site.
Genealogy for Students: You may find some of the web links you'll find here helpful. Also includes a section on how to get started with your search.
Social Security Death Index: Useful for charting a family tree. Even if you don't know exactly when or how your ancestor died, you can narrow it down fast with this source. You will need to go to the public library to get full records.

The Gilded Age & Progressive Era thru World War I and the 19th Amendment (1890 - 1920)

Gilded Age and Progressive Era Resources: This is a large collection of links from Tennessee Tech. University.
Progressive Era to New Era, 1900-1929: This is an American Memory site from the Library of Congress. Topics include, automobiles, conservation, American involvement in WWI, women's suffrage, immigration and prohibition.
The World of 1898: The Spanish American War: This presentation, from the Library of Congress, provides information and documents about the war, the time leading up to the war, and some of the people who participated in it.
The Theodore Roosevelt Association: Chartered by Act of Congress in 1920, The Theodore Roosevelt Association provides authoritative information on the life and ideals of Theodore Roosevelt.
The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie
Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment: Primary sources, activities, and links to related web sites for educators and students from the National Archives and Records Administration.
World War I Document Archive: This large collection of primary source documents is maintained by the library at Brigham Young University. The documents include diaries, treaties and official papers, military documents, and photographs. There are sections on the maritime war and the medical front.
World War I: Trenches on the Web: This has got to be one of the best sites on the subject. Go to Reference to view the clickable site map for your best start.

The 1920s and 1930s: The Jazz Age through the Depression and the New Deal

American Cultural History 1920-1929: Sponsored by the Kingwood College Library.
America in the 1930s: This site from the American Studies program at the University of Virginia views the 1930s through the its films, radio programs, literature, journalism, museums, exhibitions, architecture, art, and other forms of cultural expression.
America from the Great Depression to World War II: This Library of Congress American Memory site features over 160,000 photographs from the Farm Security Administration. Search by keyword, photographers index, subject index, or geographical area.
Great Depression Guide from about.com: About.com has done some of the work for you. It's not easy to find reliable, accurate information on the Depression on the web. These sites have all been reviewed and are recommended. Descriptions are provided.
Harlem 1900-1940: From 1920 until about 1930 an unprecedented outburst of creative activity among black Americans occurred in all fields of art. The movement became known as the Harlem Renaissance. This site presents the people and events of the era with a series of timelines. Hosted by the University of Michigan.

The 1940s and World War II (1939 - 1945)

World War II Resources on the Web: Primary source materials on the Web.
Original documents regarding all aspects of the war, from many countries. For serious researchers.
Second World War Encyclopaedia: As the spelling suggests, this is a British site. Scroll down the home page to find the table of contents, and farther down for links to other recommended sites.
World War II in Europe Timeline: This simple, yet comprehensive timeline from The History Place contains several links to articles.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: Vivid descriptions of the museum exhibits and special online exhibits make this site worth visiting. For information for your research/report, click on "Education">"Students">Site Map.
National World War II Memorial: Not much here on the history of WWII, but there is a registry of soldiers who served.

The 1950s and 1960s--Culture, Korea, & Vietnam

The Fifties Web: Music, TV, fashions and fads.
The Eisenhower Presidency, 1953-1961: An exhibit from the Eisenhower Presidential Library.
Korean Commemorative Site: Click on History to access a chronology of events, biographies, interviews, maps, etc. The FAQs section is also helpful to learners. Sponsored by the US Army.
The Truman Presidential Museum and Library: Check the links under "Special Features" for some excellent content on the Korean War.
Battlefield: Vietnam: From PBS. Includes a timeline, brief history, guerilla tactics, the air war, and links to other sites.
Vietnam: Yesterday & Today: This site, authored by a history professor, has more than the home page implies. Click on the Site Map link.
Yahoo's Directory of 1960s Popular Culture John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963)
Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908-1973) Richard Milhous Nixon (1913-1994): The three presidential pages above are sponsored by the University of Virginia.
The First Lunar Landing: as told by the astronauts

The 1970s, 1980s & 1990s

1970s Flashback: News and popular culture (music, books, TV, movies) year by year. There are also 1980s and 1990s flashback sites you can link to from this one.
Government in the 1970s (or 80s or 90s): Rulers and forms of government illustrated through world maps. Navigate forward or back to view other decades. From the Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century, a very good source that is constantly updated.
American Cultural History 1980-89: Links include Art & Architecture, Books & Literature, Fashion & Fads, Events & Technology, Music & Media, and Theatre, Film, & TV. From Kingwood College in Kingwood, Texas.
American Cultural History 1990-99: Similar to the 1980-89 site above.
Frontline: The Gulf War: An in-depth examination of the 1990-91 Persian Gulf Crisis. From PBS.
The History Guy: The Persian Gulf War: This is a fairly large site, but the author has made it easy to navigate. the History Guy is Roger Lee, a Social Studies teacher from auburn, WA.

World History

The History Channel: You'll find a wide variety of articles on the home page. A search engine allows you to search the entire site by keyword or by century. The search by century results in a timeline of events. Underlined words will take you to more detailed articles.
The History Net: This is really a good site for article-style entries on American and World History--ancient and modern. Check the site map to find out what is available. The ads are annoying, but what can you do? The site comes from Media Group, a publisher of books and magazines.
HyperHistory Online: "2000 files covering 3000 years of world history" are presented here. Click on the World History Chart or HyperHistory Online. Color coded timelines cover people and events in 500-year segments in the fields of religion, science and technology, culture, economy, politics, and war. This is an excellent reference as well as being very entertaining.
World History Archives: "A collection of documents for teaching and learning about world history from a working class perspective." A good reference for controversial issues. Keep in mind that the site merely presents these articles from a variety of sources--none are endorsed by the site or by the school.
TIME Magazine's 1900 vs. Now: www.pathfinder.com/time/time100/timewarp/timewarp.html; Peruse this site for a snapshot of the important people, events, and changes of the 20th century, then test your knowledge with online quizzes.
Historical Text Archives: This site is divided into two sections. One accesses articles, books, documents, and photographs in the site's collection, and the other is web links. Categories within each section include Africa, Europe, Asia, U.S.A., World War I, World War II, and genealogy.
Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century: Many, many maps (some are interactive) and explanations of governments, trends, population, the arts, etc.
The Ancient World Web: You can browse by category or search by keyword at this extensive, continually updated site. Some of the categories are: archaeology; art; buildings, monuments and cities; daily life; language and literature; law and philosophy; mythology and religion; and science. The site is maintained by Julia Hayden.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: Provides stories and paintings of the seven wonders.
Akhet Egyptology: Information on mythology, tombs and temples, sculpture, and museums. There is a complete list of rulers, some of which are linked to more information. The 'clickable mummy' provides info on the mummification process.