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50 States, 1 Nation Elementary School Essay Contest Launched

A New Writing Contest for Elementary School Students After eight exciting years of the Dear George Washington Essay Contest , which has yielded creative and thoughtful responses from elementary school students across the country, the...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Reporting on the Spanish Influenza, 1918

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

These newspaper articles illustrate the impact on American society of Spanish Influenza (H1N1), which first appeared in the United States in March 1918. [1] There were periodic, minor outbreaks for six months, but in September a...

News

Re-envision Women's History with Professors Carol Berkin and Catherine Clinton

Professors Carol Berkin and Catherine Clinton have revolutionized the field of American women’s history in their academic careers. Berkin struggled against a generation that believed incorrectly that there were no primary sources to...

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Announcing the 2020 Lincoln Prize Finalists

Gettysburg College and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History have announced the finalists for the 2020 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize: Eric Foner, The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the...

News

Announcing the 2020 Lincoln Prize Finalists

Gettysburg College and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History have announced the finalists for the 2020 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize . Eric Foner, The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Diary of World War I nurse Ella Osborn, 1918–1919

World History

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

At the outbreak of World War I, Ella Jane Osborn was a surgical nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. In January 1918, she volunteered to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces as a member of the Red Cross’s nursing...

News

Ohio History Teacher of the Year Interviewed about WWII Fallen Soldiers Project

Joseph Boyle, the 2019 Ohio Teacher of the Year, has, since 2014 led a powerful teaching unit with his students at Morrison R. Waite High School in Toledo. Using only primary source documents, Boyle’s students reconstruct the lives of...

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2020 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize Recipient Announced

Gettysburg College and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History announced today that Elizabeth R. Varon , author of Armies of Deliverance: A New History of the Civil War (Oxford University Press), is the recipient of the 2020...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Why Black men fought in World War I, 1919

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

During World War I, approximately 370,000 black men in the US military served in segregated regiments and were often relegated to support duties such as digging trenches, transporting supplies, cleaning latrines, and burying the dead....

News

The 21st Frederick Douglass Book Prize Ceremony

The 21st Frederick Douglass Book Prize was awarded on February 13, 2020, at the Schimmel Center of Pace University to Amy Murrell Taylor, professor of history at the University of Kentucky, for her book Embattled Freedom: Journeys...

History Now Essay

Why They Marched: Rank and File Perspectives on the Women’s Suffrage Movement

Susan Ware

In 1914, a Massachusetts woman named Claiborne Catlin decided to ride across the state on horseback to rally support for women’s suffrage. All of her personal belongings, including a khaki jacket and divided skirt donated by Filene’s...

Appears in:

56 | The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond Spring 2020

History Now Essay

An Arduous Path: The Passage and Ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment

Elaine Weiss

As we mark the centennial of women’s constitutional right to vote, we should remember that the Nineteenth Amendment, like the suffrage movement itself, was forced to navigate an arduous path. Even at the endgame, even at the dawn of...

Appears in:

56 | The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond Spring 2020

History Now Issue

The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond

#56 Spring 2020

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Selling World War I: "Buy Liberty Bonds!" 1917-1919

Government and Civics

When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, it needed funds to support the war effort. The Civil War had demonstrated that simply printing more currency would lead to inflation and economic trouble. During World War...

History Now Essay

The League of Women Voters: A Century of Voter Engagement

Barbara Winslow

The League of Women Voters (LWV) was founded in 1920 by American suffragists, just months before the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the constitutional right to vote after more than seventy years of struggle. Over...

Appears in:

56 | The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond Spring 2020

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Rules for discharging disabled veterans, 1919

Government and Civics

When World War I ended in 1918 more than 4.6 million men returned to the United States from war. The American people and the US government were unprepared to reintegrate and care for the men who returned with physical injuries and...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Emma Goldman on the restriction of civil liberties, 1919

Government and Civics

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

Emma Goldman was born to a Jewish family in Kovno, Russia (present-day Lithuania). In 1885, at the age of sixteen, she emigrated to the United States, becoming a well-known author and lecturer promoting anarchism, workers’ rights,...

History Now Essay

The First Generation: America’s Women Voters, 1776–1807

Marcela Micucci

Most histories of women gaining the right to vote in the United States begin in July of 1848, when hundreds of activists gathered in Seneca Falls to hold the first women’s rights convention and sign the Declaration of Sentiments. The...

Appears in:

56 | The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond Spring 2020

History Now Essay

With All Due Respect: Understanding Anti-Suffrage Women

Susan Goodier

Government and Civics

Although it may be hard to believe today, not everyone wanted women to have the right to vote. In fact, during the early nineteenth century, very few people thought women capable of political engagement of any kind. As the century...

Appears in:

56 | The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond Spring 2020

History Now Essay

Editor’s Log

Carol Berkin

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. On August 26, 1920, American women were at last given that most fundamental of rights in a democratic society: the right to vote. But “given” is...

Appears in:

56 | The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond Spring 2020

History Now Essay

African American Women and the Nineteenth Amendment

Sharon Harley

Government and Civics

Sharon Harley is Associate Professor and former Chair of the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland, College Park. She and historian Rosalyn Terborg-Penn co-edited the pioneer anthology The Afro-American...

Appears in:

57 | Black Voices in American Historiography Summer 2020

56 | The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond Spring 2020

News

Kathrine Mott Named Chief Operating Officer of the Gilder Lehrman Institute

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is delighted to announce that Kathrine Mott will be joining us as our new chief operating officer, starting Monday, March 9. Gilder Lehrman president Jim Basker said, “We are thrilled to have Kathrine join...

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2020 Spring Newsletter

Dear Teachers, Supporters, and Friends, I hope this finds you and your loved ones doing well, staying safe and healthy. This newsletter had been prepared and was ready to go out when the COVID-19 crisis struck and we had to close our...

History Now Essay

Teaching the Revolution

Carol Berkin

Government and Civics

For most Americans, young and old, the history of the American Revolution can be summed up something like this: In 1776, all the colonists rose up in unison to rebel against a tyrannical king and the horrible burden of unfair taxes...

Appears in:

21 | The American Revolution Fall 2009

News

New, Free Family Website Subscription Provides Resources and Guidance for Remote Learning

In these months of remote learning, parents and family members, who are taking on the role of teacher while classroom teachers strive to construct meaningful remote lessons, need resources, advice, and guidance for their kids. We at...

News

Study Black Women's History in Online MA Summer Course with Professor Kellie Carter Jackson of Wellesley College

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Pace University are pleased to announce that registration for Summer 2020 courses is open for the online Master of Arts in American History Program. We highlight here one of the six...

News

Study the American Revolution in Online Summer MA Course with Professor Denver Brunsman of George Washington University

News

Using Gilder Lehrman Lesson Plans for Younger Learners and Their Siblings: Colonial and Revolutionary America

Finding educational history activities to do with children in elementary school is particularly challenging in this time of remote learning. Many schools are unable to provide a history curriculum, particularly for younger grades, as...

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EduHam At Home: A Digital Version of the Hamilton Education Program Now Available to Students and Their Families Nationwide

HAMILTON and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Bring Hands-On Learning to History NEW YORK, NY (April 21, 2020) -- The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) and HAMILTON today announced the launch of EduHam...

News

Study The Kennedy Era with Barbara Perry, Gerald L. Baliles Professor and Director of Presidential Studies, University of Virginia

News

Register for EduHam at Home

The Gilder Lehrman Institute has now added EduHam at Home to its Hamilton Education Program offerings in response to the COVID-19 outbreak that forced school closures throughout the country. EduHam at Home provides a family version of...

News

Conan O'Brien and Media across the Country Celebrate EduHam at Home

The country has its eyes on EduHam at Home thanks to articles and other features on the program and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The April 21 Washington Post feature was picked up by publications such as The Telegraph and The Boston Globe ....

Program/Event

Past History School Classes

Since April 2020, the Gilder Lehrman History School has served more than 5,600 students through thirty-two classes covering many eras and themes in American history. Classes held in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 are available to watch on...

News

Meet the Gilder Lehrman Pop-Up History School Teachers

In these challenging times, we know that everyone is trying their best to keep students engaged in learning. As the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education, the Gilder Lehrman Institute feels a...

News

Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks: Live Discussions with Eminent Historians on Sunday Afternoons

Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks is a new program that features the most exciting history scholars in America discussing their books with host William Roka live, followed by a Q&A with home audiences. Programs will take place on Sunday...

Program/Event

Submit your National History Teacher of the Year nomination materials

For any questions, email nhtoy@gilderlehrman.org Submit your materials here

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Announcing Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks: Live Discussions with Eminent Historians on Sunday Afternoons

NEW YORK, NY (May 8, 2020) -- The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History today announced the start of Gilder Lehrman Book Breaks , an online Sunday afternoon program that features the most exciting historians in America...

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“Eduham en Casa” Versión en Español del Programa Educacional de Hamilton, Ahora Disponible para Estudiantes y Sus Familias

Musical HAMILTON y The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History traen este nuevo recurso de aprendizaje aplicado, para conocer de historia NUEVA YORK, NY (11 de mayo, 2020) -- The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History y el...

News

We Remember Richard Gilder

James Basker Remembers Richard Gilder The trustees and staff of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and the larger community of teachers and students they serve, are profoundly saddened by the death of Richard Gilder. Co...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Cadet Ulysses S. Grant at West Point, 1839

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

8, 9, 10, 11, 12

In 1839, seventeen-year-old Hiram Ulysses Grant received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. It changed the course of his life—and his name. Grant always disliked his first name and was commonly known...

News

10 Reasons to Submit after Being Nominated for National History Teacher of the Year (from State and National Winners)

Nominations have been made for the 2022 National History Teacher of the Year Award . For all those nominated, we encourage you to submit your materials by June 15. Take it from these past State and National winners: It is worth it....

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Alysha Butler

Alysha Butler is a social studies teacher at McKinley Technology High School in the District of Columbia. She has a unique gift for combining history, civics, and civics activism in her teaching. Butler has served as a department...

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Michael McCormick

Michael McCormick has spent over 25 years in the finance industry as a partner and portfolio manager at Gilder, Gagnon, Howe & Co, LLC. He has successfully built an investment strategy and organization focused on finding unique,...

About page

Luz Towns-Miranda

Luz Towns-Miranda has worked her entire professional life as a psychologist with the underserved, largely in the Bronx and Washington Heights in New York City. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from NYU and was...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

American Indians' service in World War I, 1920

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

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

More than 11,000 American Indians served with the American forces during World War I. Nearly 5,000 Native men enlisted and approximately 6,500 were drafted—despite the fact that almost half of American Indians were not citizens and...

News

A Message from Gilder Lehrman Institute President James Basker

Dear Friends of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, I write to our entire Gilder Lehrman Institute community with concern as, in the midst of a global pandemic, a new crisis with terrible historical echoes has arisen. The killing of George...

Program/Event

Online Course Registration

Program/Event

Gala

June 4

News

EduHam at Home Announced in a Washington Post Feature Article

The Washington Post announced the EduHam at Home program on April 21, 2020, with a feature article by theater critic Peter Marks. Along with exploring the development of EduHam itself, the article highlights Gilder Lehrman Institute...

News

The New York Times Remembers Richard Gilder

Sam Roberts wrote a comprehensive obituary for Richard Gilder on May 14, 2020, calling him “a billionaire investor and benefactor who was instrumental in revitalizing two neglected exemplars of American democracy — the study of...

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The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond

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