American Studies

For databases containing articles and other information, see our History/Biography databases page.

Comprehensive Sites

American Memory (Library of Congress)

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html

Documents, photographs, and media on various aspects of the American experience are shared from the collections of the Library of Congress. Users can browse a list of collections or search by keyword across one or more sets. Also provides a section with materials and ideas for classroom applications.

American Studies (U. of Virginia)

http://xroads.virginia.edu/

Good starting point for finding Internet resources on American history and society, including areas such as ethnic and gender studies, popular culture, the arts, science, and technology. This site provides a growing number of maps and electronic texts of literature and other historical documents.

American Studies Web (Crossroads Project)

http://lamp.georgetown.edu/asw/

Links to numerous sites related to the study of America regarding arts, humanities, race, ethnicity, social sciences, economics, politics, etc. This site is part of the Crossroads Project, where you can also find information on research and study opportunities, syllabi, professional contacts, and other research resources.

Avalon Project at the Yale Law School

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm

Provides the text of documents in law, history, economics, politics, diplomacy, and government. International in scope, but offers a significant collection of U.S. documents. Can search by keyword or browse by century, title, major collection, etc.

From Revolution to Reconstruction (and what happened afterwards)

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/

Covers American history from the colonial period until the present. The content of this searchable site is based on history texts provided by the United States Information Agency covering U.S. history, the economy, literature, government, and geography. Other sections include information on the U.S. Presidents and other notable figures, various essays, and primary documents.

History Matters

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/

Site that examines the experiences of "ordinary" Americans through primary documents, essays, classroom materials, etc. Helpful search engine lets you tailor your requests to particular topics, time periods, and types of resources.

In the First Person: Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories, and Other Personal Narratives

http://www.inthefirstperson.com/firp/index.shtml

Indexes over 2,500 collections of oral history from archives and repositories around the world. Links to full text, audio or video if available. Much of the content is freely available on the Web. Proprietary content from the Alexander Street Press database is available only by subscription.

Library of American Civilization Titles Available Online (Quinnipiac University)

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1849.xml

Links to available online texts in the LAC collection. Items cover aspects of American life and literature from their beginnings to the outbreak of World War I. Included in the collection are pamphlets, periodicals, documents, biographies and autobiographies, fictional works, poetry, collections of various kinds, materials of foreign origin relating to America, and many rare books not generally available.

WWW-Virtual Library: United States History

http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/

Gateway to resources on periods of history and areas including ethnic and gender studies, labor history, genealogy, the environment, maritime history, etc. Also covers research resources such as museums, historic sites, archives and collections, and maps.

Regional Resources

Center For the Study of the Pacific Northwest (U. of Washington)

http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/cspn/

Links to resources on the history of the region (both Canadian and U.S.), including topics such as the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush, Japanese-American internment camps, etc. Also provides curriculum materials, selected articles from the Pacific Northwest Quarterly, and an annotated syllabus with related links for a college survey course on Pacific Northwest history.

Missouri Digital Heritage

http://www.sos.mo.gov/mdh/

A centralized gateway to digitized collections found in archives, libraries, museums, and historical societies in Missouri. Each collection provides a description, contact information, a link to the project, and the status of the digitization effort. Keyword searching by collection or item is available.

Nile of the New World: Lower Mississippi River Valley

http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/

Sponsored by the National Park Service, this site provides information on the history of the Mississippi River region from Illinois and Missouri south to Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Topics include the region's cultural heritage, Civil War, industry, prehistory, Native American Indian presence, etc. Good illustrations and historical overviews are supplemented with maps and links to related web sites.

Southern Studies Jumpgate

http://www.ibiblio.org/sostudies/jump.htm

Sponsored by The Center for the Study of the American South at the U. of North Carolina/Chapel Hill. Provides links to research centers, societies, presses; subject resources on areas including literature, economy, sports, and general culture; and, special topics such as the Civil War, African Americana, etc.

WestWeb: Western History Resources

http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/westweb/

Well-designed site for the study of the North American West from ancient times to the present. Sample categories include resources on native peoples and frontier expansion; ethnic, gender, and sexuality; the environment; political, legal, and military history; agriculture and ranching, etc.

Colonial America and the American Revolution

Archiving Early America

http://earlyamerica.com/

Site for primary source material from 18th century America, including newspapers, maps, magazines, and various writings. Helpful explanations are provided for better understanding the writings of the time. This is also the home of The Early America Review, a journal on topics related to this time period.

History Explorer of Colonial Williamsburg

http://www.history.org/Almanack/almanack.cfm

Provides glimpses of important individuals, historical buildings, and details of everyday life in colonial America. Users will find a dateline of significant events, numerous photographs, and links to additional resources.

Liberty! The American Revolution

http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/index.html

Companion site to the PBS series. The "Chronicle of the Revolution" section recounts major milestones and provides a timeline of the conflict. There is also an index to related topics and links to other Revolutionary War sites. "Perspectives on Liberty" uses image maps to pass on factual information about everyday life and world events.

The 1800s

Making of America

http://moa.umdl.umich.edu/

A searchable, digital library of primary sources including books and journal articles from the Nineteenth Century. Subject strengths include education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, science, and technology.

Websites for the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (San Francisco St. U.)

http://bss.sfsu.edu/cherny/gapesites.htm

Covers roughly the last half of the 1800s and the early 1900s. Links to sites on domestic and foreign affairs, literature and culture, women's suffrage, labor history, the American west, the conservation movement, etc.

The Civil War

The American Civil War Homepage

http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html

Up-to-date gateway to Internet resoruces on all aspects of the war, e.g. battles, histories, documents, secession, state and local resources, photographs, etc.

Chronology on the History of Slavery, 1619 to 1789

http://innercity.org/holt/slavechron.html

Detailed chronology of events during that time period in American history, including links to related Internet resources. Other sections cover the periods from 1790 to 1829 and 1830 to the End.

Selected Civil War Photographs, 1861-1865

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html

Over 1,000 photographs, mostly by Matthew Brady, are provided by the Library of Congress. Users may search by keyword or browse the subject index for photographs of people, places, and things from the period.

The United States Civil War Center

http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/

Comprehensive site on the Civil War, including the Antebellum and Reconstruction eras. Incorporates various perspectives from other disciplines and provides links to information on frequently neglected areas, such as the roles of minorities and women, the plight of children, involvement of people of different religious faiths, etc.

The 1900s--General Sites

American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century (Kingwood College)

http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decades.html

Overview by decade since 1900 of the arts, business, popular culture, science, etc. in the United States. Photographs, timelines, and links to more detailed resources help bring each time period to life.

American Decades

Offers brief articles on major events in the 1900s. Topics include: arts, business, education, fashion, government and politics, law, lifestyles, media, medicine, religion, science, technology, and sports. (Note: Access is for Webster/Eden only)

Making of America

http://moa.umdl.umich.edu/

A searchable, digital library of primary sources including books and journal articles from the Nineteenth Century. Subject strengths include education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, science, and technology.

Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression

The 1920s Experience

http://www.angelfire.com/co/pscst/index.html

Brief entries with bibliographical references on the arts, fads, fashion, technology, people, and important events of the decade.

American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940

http://rs6.loc.gov/wpaintro/wpahome.html

Repository for texts of actual life histories by over 300 writers from the period. Includes explanatory information about the Federal Writers' Project and links to related collections at the Library of Congress.

New Deal Network

http://newdeal.feri.org/

Offers links to materials on the federal projects of the New Deal era. Includes features on specific topics, classroom ideas, documents and photographs, links to related resources, a bibliography of books, films, etc. A search engine is provided.

The New Deal Stage: Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/fedtp/fthome.html

Includes designs, photographs, posters, and scripts from the Federal Theatre Project, part of the Works Progress Administration established during the Depression. A brief history of the Project is also provided.

World Wars and Korea

World War I: Trenches on the Web

http://www.worldwar1.com/

Searchable collection of links and graphics on the topic. See the Reference Library for materials such as biographies, documents, maps, posters, military aspects, photographs, media, book and film reviews, and a timeline. Also provides theme tours on specific topics, such as the homefront.

The World War I Document Archive

http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Main_Page

Links to official documents, personal accounts, commentaries, biographical information, and links to related WWI sites.

World War II Web Resources

http://www.hist.unt.edu/web_resources_mil/ww2a.htm

List of links on various topics, such as military battles, the atomic bomb, the Holocaust, the role of women, personal accounts, etc.

Korean War Websites

http://members.aol.com/veterans/warlib6k.htm

Part of the American War Library. Links cover topics such as military actions and units, maps, historical documents, chronologies, selected essays, etc.

The 1950s and the Cold War

The Beat Begins: America in the 1950s

http://honors.umd.edu/HONR269J/

The web site for an honors course taught at the U. of Maryland. Covers the period from the end of World War II to the Kennedy assassination in 1963. Provides bibliographies on various topics and a list of web resources on the arts and literature, music, media, science and technology, and consumer culture.

Cold War (CNN)

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/

Website companion to the CNN series covering Cold War events, participants, and culture. Check the Knowledge Bank for a timeline, historical documents, maps, biographical information, and extensive links to related resources.

Cold War International History Project

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1409&fuseaction=topics.home

Sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The main section is the Document Library, with links to resources on topics such as the arms race, Cold War origins and leaders, culture, economics, detente, etc. A search engine is provided.

The 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement

The Sixties Project

http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/

Central site for extensive links to materials on the 1960s, including heavy emphasis on the Vietnam War. Covers personal narratives, online journals, primary documents, book reviews, online exhibits, and various other resources. A site map and search engine are available.

National Civil Rights Museum

http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/

Overview of the civil rights movement from the beginning of slavery in the U.S. to the turbulent 1960s. Covers major events and individuals who played important roles in the movement.

Vietnam War

Vietnam Online

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/index.html

Part of the PBS American Experience series, this site links to reference material such as maps, a glossary, and primary documents. It also provides biographical information, selected personal accounts, and a timeline covering the years 1947-1997.

The Vietnam Project

http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/index.htm

Based at Texas Tech University, this is the home of an impressive archive of documents, images, recordings, and other primary sources regarding the war.

Vietnam: Yesterday and Today

http://servercc.oakton.edu/~wittman/

Well-designed site for research on the Vietnam War. Major sections provide a bibliography of fiction and nonfiction books from contemporaneous accounts to the present. Selected web links include resources on history, personal accounts, POW/MIAs, literature, electronic journals and discussion lists.