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On Monday, December 14 , Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of Broadway’s hit musical Hamilton, received the George Washington Prize. Miranda became the first playwright to win the literary award in an exciting ceremony that...

Thomas Barwiss Hagstoz Askin Jr. joined the US Navy in March 1938 at the age of 17. His diary, entitled "Memorys and Incidents of My Last 60 (?) Days in the United States Navy," begins on August 14, 1941, when he was stationed on...

The phrase "’Twas the night before Christmas," from Clement Moore’s "A Visit from St. Nicholas" is familiar to most of us, but less familiar is the poem, "The Night after Christmas," written by Dr. Robert Archer. Archer, born in 1794...

As the nation approached the third year of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are...

Today’s school children are familiar with fire drills, earthquake drills, tornado drills, and even tsunami drills. Filing out-doors to athletic fields or hiding under desks from imaginary natural disaster debris is expected, scheduled...

On January 5, 1914, automaker Henry Ford made history by instituting a $5-a-day wage. The move made national news. Five dollars a day constituted double the industry norm—and double the pay of most of Ford’s own employees. At the same...

Did you know that the most popular written work in American history was published before America was an actual nation of its own? On January 10, 1776, six months before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the...

Alexander Hamilton was born on this day, either in 1755 or 1757 (historians debate the year). Explore Hamilton’s life and legacy in this interactive digital exhibit.

The Statue of Liberty has long welcomed newcomers to the United States as a shining beacon of freedom and opportunity in the middle of New York Harbor. Children are taught that the Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States by...

Either you love ’em or you hate ’em. Everyone has an opinion on sideburns, and few fashion choices provoke quite so much controversy. Yet sideburns have a rich history that can be appreciated by supporters and detractors alike....

Read an excerpt of the letter written by George Wallace and explore the online exhibition Freedom Riders , detailing the struggle for civil rights when Wallace was governor.

This weekend, our country celebrates the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist minister and activist who became one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Throughout his life, which was cut too short by his tragic...

Read an essay about the abolitionist Grimke sisters and the essay " The Civil Rights Movement: Major Events and Legacies " to explore the long struggle for civil rights.

Did you have a good National Handwriting Day? What? You didn’t know that penmanship-appreciators across the nation celebrate January 23 as National Handwriting Day? The rising popularity of typewriters and word processors in the 20th...

Read about photography in the 19th century , explore select images from the American Civil War , and create your own Civil War-era portrait .

Are you teaching the Progressive Era this spring? Use the infographic below to provide your students an overview of the reform movements that make the Progressive Era stand out as a time of massive social, political, and economic...

As part of a Google Cultural Institute initiative on African American history, the Gilder Lehrman Institute created six digital exhibits featuring Gilder Lehrman’s rich materials relating to African American history. In celebration of...

Despite unfair compensation, segregation , and even legal bars on military service, African Americans have served in every conflict in United States history . Take a peek at the next digital exhibition in Gilder Lehrman’s Black...

We are thrilled to contribute to today’s Google Doodle honoring Frederick Douglass. Today is the first day of Black History Month, and the approximate date of Frederick Douglass’s 198th birthday. Gilder Lehrman contributed to today’s...

Ada Ferrer, profess o r of history and Latin American and Caribbean studies at New York University, was awarded the Frederick Douglass Book Prize Thursday night in a ceremony at the Y ale Club in New York City. The award, which...

The movement to end slavery has existed in various forms throughout American history, but the abolitionist movement slowly gained ground as a political force in our country through the mid-nineteenth century. Take a peek at the next...

Written by Stephanie Townrow and Mary Kate Kwasnik. William Woodlin enlisted in the United States Colored Infantry 8th Regiment in October 1863 and kept a journal during his service. Woodlin’s entries describe camp life, his service...

Read the full transcript of the letter Lincoln wrote Mary Owens and view the Lincoln Speaks exhibition that explores the power of Lincoln's words.