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On June 7, 1892, New Orleans native Homer Plessy purposely violated the Louisiana separate car law in order to bring the issue of segregation to the Supreme Court. Plessy was chosen for this action by the Comité des Citoyens—a ...

Be part of a national public programming initiative to mark the 100th anniversary of the US entry into World War I The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to announce that beginning in Fall 2016 grants of $1200–$1800 are available to...

Take some time out from the 2016 election to explore our Electing the President timeline and fill up on facts from elections past. Then look for more of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Online Exhibition and Interactive Features . ...

Today marks 112 years since the sinking of the General Slocum , the worst maritime disaster in New York City history. The General Slocum , named after a Civil War general, Henry Warner Slocum, was built in 1891. On June 15, 1904, St....

It comes as no surprise that Hamilton won eleven Tony Awards last night. It was, after all, the most nominated show in Broadway history with sixteen nominations. It fell one short of tying the record of twelve awards won by The...

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2, 1964. Title VII of the act banned discrimination based on sex, race, color, religion, or national origin. The March on Washington and other widespread, grassroots...

When Muhammad Ali died on June 3, 2016, the world mourned. Many recalled his boxing prowess, some his powerful role in the Civil Rights Movement, others his philanthropy. But Ali also made legal history in his lifetime as a plaintiff...

" I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. " The words of the Pledge of Allegiance, adopted by...

On June 28, 1919, one of the most controversial political documents in recent history was signed at the Palace of Versailles. President Wilson, Georges Clemenceau of France, Prime Minister David Lloyd George of Britain, and Vittorio...

On June 27, 1950, President Truman announced that the US would be sending air and naval troops to Korea . The conflict on the other side of the world had begun two days before when North Korea invaded South Korea in an effort to unify...

Desire for a civil service job might seem like an odd reason to commit a capital crime—but it was one of the reasons given by the man who assassinate President James A. Garfield , Charles J. Guiteau. He shot the President on July 2,...

The Battle of the Little Bighorn looms large in American history. Civil War hero and larger-than-life general George Custer and more than two hundred of his men died along Montana’s Little Bighorn River. On June 25 and 26, 1876,...

The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, from July 1 to July 3, 1863, ended with a victory for Union General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac. The three-day battle was the bloodiest in the war, with...

On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence. The following day John Adams wrote home from Philadelphia that "the Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am...

The radio journalists at NPR followed some of the 20,000 New York City students who are getting a chance to see the Broadway smash Hamilton thanks to a program of The Rockefeller Foundation and the Gilder Lehrman Institute . A...

Over the past week those nations involved in World War I have been commemorating the devastating Battle of the Somme , which raged over 141 days starting on July 1, 1916, and resulted in more than a million casualties. On the first...

Thirty-two years ago today Walter Mondale made the unprecedented move of selecting a woman as his running mate on the Democratic ticket for the presidency. He chose Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Congress from Queens, New York, and a...

The Potsdam Conference, which began on July 17, 1945, was the third meeting of the " Big Three, " after Tehran and Yalta, to address the waging of WWII. But this time the cast was different, FDR’s death thrusting Harry Truman into the...

No, we’re not referring to the fact the Lin-Manuel Miranda has left the lead in his Broadway smash. On this day in 1804 Alexander Hamilton died from injuries sustained in a duel with Aaron Burr. Find out more about Hamilton ’s life...

We’re excited to team up with Google Cultural Institute on the launch of their American Democracy initiative! The project brings together more than 60 online exhibits from museums, archives, and institutions around the country, and...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to...

Today we say Happy Birthday to Henry Knox, one of the stars of the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Henry grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. When Henry was nine, the family was in serious financial straits. Henry left school to help support...

After the Constitutional Convention adopted the US Constitution in September 1787, the long and contentious road to its ratification began. Each state formed a special convention to vote on ratification. The pressure was on: at a...

From the time of the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1830, its members, also known as Mormons, faced persecution. In 1844, the church’s founder, Joseph Smith, was murdered in Illinois. Seeking a safer...

On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling on all Americans "in every part of the United States . . . to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Prayer to...

This year we recognized 50 teachers as State History Teachers of the Year . These exceptional educators were awarded $1,000 and an archive of books and resources for their school library, and were honored in state ceremonies. But who...

On October 7, 1763, King George III issued a Proclamation that would cause much resentment among American colonists. During the Seven Years’ War—also called the French and Indian War—England, with the assistance of such American...

On October 12, 1492, after a two-month voyage, Christopher Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas he called San Salvador—though the people of the island called it Guanahani. From there, Columbus and his men traveled around the...

This year we recognized 50 teachers as State History Teachers of the Year . These exceptional educators were awarded $1,000 and an archive of books and resources for their school library, and were honored in state ceremonies. But who...

In coordination with our 2017 Calendar of World War II and to commemorate Veterans Day, we’re inviting teachers to submit photographs of military monuments or memorials taken by K–12 students in their classes. Up to ten winners will...

Yesterday, we honored Kevin Cline of Indiana as the 2016 National History Teacher of the Year in an exciting ceremony at the Yale Club. Mr. Cline’s award was presented by historian Gordon S. Wood, Alva O. Way University Professor and...

On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was formally dedicated. Although the idea for the statue was first conceived in 1865, it took over two decades to complete the long process of planning, building, shipping, and installing the...

Catch up on presidential elections since 1789 with two Gilder Lehrman resources: The Electing the President Digital Exhibition and Interactive Timeline Then look for more of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Online Exhibitions and...

This year we recognized 50 teachers as State History Teachers of the Year . These exceptional educators were awarded $1,000 and an archive of books and resources for their school library, and were honored in state ceremonies. But who...

BE PART OF A NATIONAL PUBLIC PROGRAMMING INITIATIVE TO MARK THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE US ENTRY INTO WORLD WAR I Round 2 of applications for the World War I and America project are now open! Grants of $1200–$1800 are available to...

This year, in conjunction with the WWI and America project and the upcoming 100-year anniversary of America’s entry in WWI, we look at the origins of Veterans Day as a day to commemorate veterans of the Great War. On November 11, 1919...

On November 14, 1775, Richard Henry Lee, a Virginia delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, visited fellow delegate John Adams, and the two held a fruitful discussion on “what form of government is more readily and...

In November 1637, Anne Hutchinson was sentenced to banishment by the Massachusetts Bay Colony , having been declared a "woman not fit for our society." As a midwife, wife, and mother of fifteen children, Hutchinson was held in high...

The city of Hoboken, New Jersey, has a special connection to World War I. It was the port of embarkation for almost two million American soldiers heading overseas. To commemorate the 100-year anniversary of America’s entry into WWI,...

Applications are now being accepted for Summer 2017 Teacher Seminars ! Spend an exciting week living among fellow educators at a university campus or historical site and learning from renowned scholars on a variety of historical...

In coordination with classroom use of our 2017 Calendar of World War II, and to commemorate Veterans Day, we invited teachers to submit photographs of military monuments or memorials taken by K–12 students in their classes. We...

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas. The Dow Jones News Service ticker tape shown here provides a testimony of the day’s harrowing events as they unfolded, and gives...

Today is Giving Tuesday —a day between Thanksgiving and the rush of the holiday season to give back to the community by volunteering, donating, or speaking out. Americans have a long history of coming together to make a difference and...

On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe delivered his annual message to Congress. In one portion, now known as the Monroe Doctrine , he declared that the United States would not meddle in European affairs, and warned European...

On December 6, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, was ratified : Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall...

Seventy-five years ago, shortly before 8 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack against US armed forces in Hawaii . Japanese pilots targeted Army, Navy, and Marine airfields, followed by naval ships at...

The first Battle of Fredericksburg, fought December 11–15, 1862, has the distinction of being the largest Civil War battle, with a staggering total of 173,000 combatants. On December 11, Union troops came under heavy fire as they...

Congratulations to Lamar University history professor Jeff Forret, who has been selected as the winner of the 2016 Frederick Douglass Book Prize for his book Slave Against Slave: Plantation Violence in the Old South (Louisiana State...

We’re excited to announce that the Gilder Lehrman Institute is now a registered provider of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) in Texas! Educators can obtain CPE hours through a variety of programs: online Self-Paced Courses ,...

On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first Southern state to secede from the Union. Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 set the wheels of secession in motion. Many Southerners were convinced that the new president...