Search

90,986 items

Interactive

The Right to Vote, Part 1: The Early Republic through the Civil War

Government and Civics

The Right to Vote: Part 1 The Early Republic through the Civil War Who could vote in the founding and Jacksonian eras? Scroll through to view the exhibition (above). Recorded readings of select components in the exhibition...

Interactive

The Right to Vote, Part 2: Reconstruction and the Jim Crow Era

Government and Civics

The Right to Vote: Part 2 Reconstruction and the Jim Crow Era How did access to the vote evolve during the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras? Scroll through to view the exhibition (above). Recorded readings of select...

Interactive

The Right to Vote, Part 3: Women's Suffrage

Government and Civics

The Right to Vote: Part 3 Women's Suffrage What was the path to the Nineteenth Amendment? Scroll through to view the exhibition (above). Recorded readings of select components in the exhibition are available by clicking ...

Program/Event

The Right to Vote

The Role of States and the US Constitution The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution is a multi-year project to develop a high school program on the role of the states in determining and protecting voting rights. ...

Essay

Essays

Essays The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution As part of The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution , the Institute has commissioned three background essays for high school students. Access these essays and...

Online Exhibition

Exhibitions

Exhibitions The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution The Institute has produced a seven-panel traveling exhibition and a four-part digital exhibition on the history of voting rights from the Constitution to the present day. The...

News

Book Breaks in May: Unlikely Heroes and Other Means

Book Breaks is a weekly interview series with historians held every Sunday at 2 pm ET (11 am PT) on Zoom. The program and its archive are free for K–12 teachers and students in the Affiliate School Program, college students, and...

Video: Book Breaks

Emily Bingham - "My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song"

Art

Emily Bingham serves as an Honors Faculty Fellow at Bellarmine University. Order My Old Kentucky Home at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for...

Basic Page

May 17, 2023: The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, and the Refounding of America

May 17, 2023: The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, and the Refounding of America Join the New York City Bar Association and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History for a special panel in connection with Noah Feldman’s book The Broken...

Video: Inside The Vault

Inside the Vault: Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Voting Rights

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

On May 4, 2023, our curators were joined by Dr. Andrew Robertson (The Graduate Center and Lehman College, CUNY) to discuss materials related to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century voting rights. Dr. Robertson explained how voting...

Program/Event

Voting Rights Forum

Friday, September 15 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET As part of The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution and in celebration of Constitution Day, the Gilder Lehrman Institute hosted a Voting Rights Forum at Stuyvesant High School...

News

Meet All the Historians at the Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium

Now is the time to enroll in courses for the Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium , being held Sunday, July 16 through Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Take your pick of courses, but meet all the historians at...

Essay

Voting Rights and Restrictions in Pre-Emancipation America

Keri Leigh Merritt

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Paragraphs > Access this essay as a PDF , including key vocabulary terms and discussion questions, or read the text of the essay below. The concept of “democracy” changed throughout early American history. In...

Essay

Pioneering New Methods to Expand Voting, 1865–1920

Lisa Tetrault

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Paragraphs > Access this essay as a PDF , including key vocabulary terms and discussion questions, or read the text of the essay below. A new chapter in voting rights began when the Civil War ended in 1865....

Video: Book Breaks

Jeremi Suri - "Civil War by Other Means: America's Long and Unfinished Fight for Democracy"

Geography, Government and Civics

Jeremi Suri is the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and a professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Order Civil War by Other Means...

Video: Book Breaks

Derek LeeBaert - "Unlikely Heroes: Franklin Roosevelt, His Four Lieutenants, and the World They Made"

Geography, Government and Civics, World History

Derek LeeBaert is the Truman Book Award winner and co-founder of the National Museum of the United States Army. Order Unlikely Heroes at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the...

Essay

The Battle to Expand Access to the Ballot from 1920 to 2000

Michael J. Pitts

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Paragraphs > Access this essay as a PDF , including key vocabulary terms and discussion questions, or read the text of the essay below. State and local governments have primary responsibility for setting the...

News

Inside the Vault: The Whiskey Rebellion and United States Great Seal

Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection is an online program focusing on unique primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. From iconic historical treasures, such as the Declaration of Independence, the...

Interactive

James Reese Europe

James Reese Europe World War I James Reese Europe, a bandleader in New York City, was an advocate for uniquely Black music. Europe enlisted during World War I and became a lieutenant in the 369th Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters. Image...

News

Gilder Lehrman Institute's Twelfth Annual Gala Honors Gates, Rockefeller, and Stapleton

The Gilder Lehrman Institute held its twelfth annual Gala on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 in New York City. The Gala honored Debbie and Craig Stapleton, Valerie Rockefeller, and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. History lovers including business and...

Video: Book Breaks

Clayton Butler - "True Blue: White Unionists in the Deep South during the Civil War and Reconstruction"

Geography, Government and Civics

Clayton Butler earned his PhD in History from the University of Virginia in 2020 and was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the Nau Center for Civil War History. Order True Blue at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an...

News

Commemorate Memorial Day with an American Veterans Exhibition

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is thrilled to announce the release of Their Full Measure , a digital exhibition created with the support of the National Cemetery Administration's Veterans Legacy Program. This exhibition examines the...

News

Book Breaks in June: Fierce Struggles for Freedom

Lesson Plan

"You Drop A Petal in the Water, and It Has a Ripple Effect": The Disability Rights Movement, 1950-1990

Government and Civics

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Click here to download this four-lesson unit.

Lesson Plan

The Resignation Speech of Richard M. Nixon

Government and Civics

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Click here to download this two-lesson unit.

Lesson Plan

Sharecropping Contracts in the Reconstruction-Era South, 1867-1870

9, 10, 11, 12

Click here to download this three-lesson unit.

Lesson Plan

Westward Migration: Opportunities and Dangers

K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Click here to download this four-lesson unit.

Video: Book Breaks

Beverly Gage - "G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century"

Government and Civics

Beverly Gage is a professor of twentieth-century American history at Yale and winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Order G-Man at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided....

News

Three Courses Still Have Openings for the Gilder Lehrman Symposium

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to return to Gettysburg College for our second annual Teacher Symposium from July 16 to July 19. Four courses have closed to enrollment, but the following three courses still have some seats...

Video: Inside The Vault

Inside the Vault: The Whiskey Rebellion and United States Great Seal

Government and Civics

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

On June 1, 2023, our curators were joined by Dr. Gautham Rao (American University) to discuss the Whiskey Rebellion and the United States Great Seal. The program explored the broader context of the Whiskey Rebellion and how it, like...

Lesson Plan

Generations of Chinese in America, 1880s–1940s/1940s–1990s

9, 10, 11, 12

Click here to download Unit 1. Click here to download Unit 2.

Lesson Plan

War, Immigration Policies, and Dissent: Landmark Moments in Latina/o History

8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Click here to download this three-lesson unit.

Lesson Plan

The History of the Supreme Court, 1787 to 1937

Government and Civics

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Click here to download this five-lesson unit.

News

Classroom and Parent Resources for Juneteenth

Juneteenth (June 19) commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War was over and that enslaved people...

News

Video Highlights from the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Institute Gala

On May 23, the Gilder Lehrman Institute Annual Gala celebrated the power of history education, scholarship, and the remarkable individuals who make our work possible. This year’s event recognized four honorees as Gilder Lehrman...

Video: Book Breaks

Alice Baumgartner - "South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War"

Government and Civics

Alice Baumgartner is an assistant professor of history at the University of Southern California. Order South to Freedom at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided....

News

Submit a High School Essay You Wrote This Year for the David McCullough Essay Prize

The David McCullough Essay Prizes recognize outstanding high school student research essays with cash prizes of up to $10,000. Students in 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in our National Academy of American History and Civics and our...

Video: Book Breaks

Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Gwendolyn Mink - "Fierce and Fearless: Patsy Takemoto Mink, First Woman of Color in Congress"

Government and Civics

Judy Tzu-Chun Wu is a professor of history and Asian American studies at the University of California, Irvine. Gwendolyn Mink is the daughter of the late Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink of Hawaii. Order Fierce and Fearless at the...

News

Inside the Vault on July 6: 1796 Civics Textbook and Education in Early Republic

News

Live Stream Lectures from the Statesmanship in American History Seminar, July 17-19

All K–12 teachers can register for free to attend via Zoom the scholar’s lectures at the Statesmanship in American History Seminar. Each lecture will be broadcast live from the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions...

Video

Their Full Measure: American Service in WWI

Recorded April 29, 2023 Scholar : Professor Kara Vuic (Texas Christian University) Master Teacher : Kory Loyola (author of African American Veterans after World War I lesson plan) Cemetery Staff : Leavenworth National...

Video

Their Full Measure: American Service in the Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan

Recorded May 13, 2023 Scholar : Professor David Kieran (Columbus State University) Master Teacher : Rebeca Millam (author of The Diverse Stories of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars) Cemetery Staff : Fort Logan National Cemetery...

Video

Their Full Measure: American Service in the Cold War

Recorded May 20, 2023 Scholar : Professor Sharon Raynor Elizabeth City State University) Master Teacher : Kevin Cline (author of Cold War Challenges and Legacies in Peacetime and Wartime lesson plan) Cemetery Staff :...

Video

Their Full Measure: American Service in the Revolutionary War

Recorded June 3, 2023 Scholar : Professor Ricardo A. Herrera (US Army War College) Master Teacher : Rhonda Webb (author of Unsung Heroes: Support Roles in the Revolutionary War lesson plan) Cemetery Staff : Togus &...

Video: Book Breaks

Chloe Melas - "The Luck of the Draw: My Story of the Air War in Europe"

World History

Chloe Melas, the author of a new introduction for this edition of her grandfather’s work, is a journalist with CNN. Order Luck of the Draw at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through...

News

Register Now for Teacher Seminars Beginning June 26

We are excited to begin our 2023 Teacher Seminars program next week. June 21 is your last chance to register for courses that begin on June 26. SEMINAR TOPIC LEAD SCHOLAR LIVE SESSION TIMES (ET) Week of June 26 Colonial North America...

Video: Book Breaks

Richard J. M. Blackett - "Samuel Ringgold Ward: A Life of Struggle"

Literature, Religion and Philosophy, World History

Richard J. M. Blackett is Andrew Jackson Professor of History, Emeritus, at Vanderbilt University. Order Samuel Ringgold Ward at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link...

About page

Summer 2023 Newsletter

Gilder Lehrman Institute Events & News RECENT EVENTS Twelfth Annual Gilder Lehrman Gala The Gilder Lehrman Institute held its twelfth annual Gala on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, in New York City. The Gala honored Debbie and Craig...

Video: Book Breaks

Craig L. Symonds - "Nimitz at War: Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay"

Government and Civics

Craig L. Symonds is a professor emeritus at the US Naval Academy. Order Nimitz at War at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting our...

Video

Recent Course Previews for Prospective Students

Recent Course Lectures Master's Degree in American History The following lectures showcase the breadth and depth of what you will learn in the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History. Applications to the MA in American History are...

Site Search

Stay up to date, and subscribe to our quarterly newsletter.