Native American Cultures and the Impact of the Boarding Schools
Click to download this four-lesson unit.
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Paul Ortiz - "An African American and Latinx History of the United States"
Paul Ortiz is an associate professor of history and the director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program at the University of Florida. Order An African American and Latinx History of the United States at the Gilder Lehrman Book...
Classroom-Ready PD Modules
Our Classroom-Ready PD modules have been designed to provide teachers with ready-made, classroom-friendly resources on the origins and evolution of key topics in American history that have great resonance today. The new online modules...
June 2, 2022, Veterans Legacy Program Virtual Program: History of Women in the US Military
In partnership with the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program, we have been pleased to offer free professional development sessions in the spring of 2022 focusing on different aspects of America’s Unseen Soldiers...
Linda Colley - "The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen"
Linda Colley is the Shelby M. C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University. Order The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link...
How Did We Get Here? On Demand: “Race Relations and African American History,” Volumes 1 and 2
How Did We Get Here? is a professional development series offered by the Gilder Lehrman Institute that provides teachers with ready-made, classroom-friendly resources on topics in American history that are front-and-center in current...
Brenda Stevenson - "What Is Slavery?"
Order What Is Slavery? at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting our programs!
Noah Feldman - "The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery, and the Refounding of America"
Noah Feldman is Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Chairman of the Society of Fellows, and founding director of the Julis-Rabinowitz Program on Jewish and Israeli Law at Harvard University. Order The Broken Constitution at the...
Gilder Lehrman Institute Voting Rights Project Wins 2022 Leonore Annenberg Award
$200,000 prize to develop curriculum on the role of states in voting May 18, 2022, PHILADELPHIA – The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has been awarded the 2022 Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics Award by the Annenberg...
Gilder Lehrman Institute Voting Rights Project Wins 2022 Leonore Annenberg Award
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has been awarded the 2022 Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics Award by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania to develop a high school program on the...
Explorers and Exploration in Early American History: Shifting the Narrative, 1489-1609
Click to download this five-lesson unit.
Teddy Roosevelt campaigns for a third term, 1912
In February 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt stunned the country by challenging President William Howard Taft for the Republican nomination. The move was not only a rejection of his friend Taft, it also violated an unwritten...
Theodore Roosevelt supports women’s suffrage, 1912
In this letter written in July 1912, during his campaign for a thrid term as president, Theodore Roosevelt informs the state and county chairmen of the Progressive Party of his plan to support women’s suffrage. The document shows the...
Inside the Vault: D-Day in maps and letters from soldiers and families
On June 2, 2022, our curators discussed D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. They were joined by Professor Michael Neiberg, Chair of War Studies at the US Army War College, who gave an overview of the battle and...
Two New Self-Paced Courses: History of Childhood in America and Making Modern America
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is excited to offer two new Self-Paced Courses. History of Childhood in America, led by Steven Mintz, University of Texas at Austin Making Modern America, led by Margaret O’Mara, University of Washington...
Announcing the Gilder Lehrman College Fellows in American History for 2022
May 24, 2022, NEW YORK CITY – The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to announce the selection of ten Gilder Lehrman College Fellows in American History for 2022. Through its newly launched College Fellowship Program in American...
Marcia Chatelain - "Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America"
Marcia Chatelain is a Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor of History and African American Studies at Georgetown University. Order Franchise at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every...
The Escape of Black Women during the American Revolution
In 1961, Morgan State University historian Dr. Benjamin Quarles published the now classic study The Negro in the American Revolution, which became the definitive account of the role African Americans played in the War for Independence...
A Second Declaration of Independence: The 1848 Declaration of Sentiments
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal. [1] Upon casual reading, this phrase should sound familiar. Yet unlike what appeared in our nation’s 1776 Declaration of Independence, the 1848...
From the Editor
The Declaration of Independence was written to explain the just causes for the Americans’ break with their mother country. In it, Thomas Jefferson carefully listed the American grievances against the king, creating a catalogue of...
2022 George Washington Prize Awarded to Bruce A. Ragsdale for “Washington at the Plow”
May 26, 2022, MOUNT VERNON, VA — Bruce A. Ragsdale has been awarded the 2022 George Washington Prize for his work Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery. The annual award recognizes the past year’s...
Polish Political Exiles and the Legacy of the American Revolution in the Antebellum US
In the second of the Cabinet rap battles in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (2015), Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton wage a fiery debate in 1796 about whether the US should honor its old treaty obligations to a newly...
An Introduction to Juneteenth
Juneteenth is the most widely recognized, long-lived Black commemoration of slavery’s demise. Juneteenth marks June 19, 1865, when federal troops commanded by General George Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, to proclaim freedom to...
2022 George Washington Prize Awarded to Bruce A. Ragsdale for “Washington at the Plow”
Bruce A. Ragsdale has been awarded the 2022 George Washington Prize for his work Washington at the Plow: The Founding Farmer and the Question of Slavery. The annual award recognizes the past year’s best works on the nation’s founding...
Announcing the Gilder Lehrman College Fellows in American History for 2022
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to announce the selection of ten Gilder Lehrman College Fellows in American History for 2022. Through its newly launched College Fellowship Program in American History, the Gilder Lehrman...
Announcing the Summer 2022 Issue of HISTORY NOW: The Declaration of Independence and the Long Struggle for Equality in America
The Summer 2022 issue of History Now, " The Declaration of Independence and the Long Struggle for Equality in America," illustrates the ways in which the centuries-long struggle of African Americans, women, and others to achieve...
Megan Kate Nelson - "Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America"
Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian who has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Time, and Smithsonian Magazine. Order Saving...
Ricardo A. Herrera - "Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778"
Ricardo A. Herrera is a professor of military history in the School of Advanced Military Studies at the US Army Command and General Staff College. Order Feeding Washington’s Army at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an...
Cold War Video Series from Gilder Lehrman History School Wins Telly Award
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is proud to announce that the Cold War series created by Retro Report for the 2021 History School course led by 2018 National History Teacher of the Year Joe Welch is a Silver Winner in the Education &...
Four Book Breaks from the Archives for Juneteenth
Every week, the Gilder Lehrman Institute interviews award-winning historians about important topics in American history on Book Breaks. Our growing archive of past episodes serves as a diverse and abundant resource for students,...
C. Patrick Burrowes - "Liberia & the Quest for Freedom"
Carl Patrick Burrows is a leading Liberian historian. He has served as vice president for academic affairs at Cuttington University and the Carter G. Woodson Distinguished Professor at Marshall University. Order Liberia & the...
Mix and Match Your Teacher Seminars: Examples from Real Teachers
Gilder Lehrman Institute Teacher Seminars—part of our 2022 Summer PD programming–are being held online this summer, which means teachers can participate from anywhere, even on vacation. But the quality is still top-notch, providing...
A New Resource Collection for Celebrating American Historical Holidays
Recognizing and celebrating historical holidays—from memorializations of monumental American figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. to remembrances of events like Juneteenth—offer entry points for a deeper exploration of the pivotal...
Jeanne Theoharis - "A More Beautiful and Terrible History: The Uses and Misuses of Civil Rights History"
Jeanne Theoharis is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Brooklyn College. Order A More Beautiful and Terrible History at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the...
Celebrate the Fourth of July with Gilder Lehrman Resources and Book Breaks
Fourth of July Resources The Gilder Lehrman Institute invites everyone—students, teachers, and history enthusiasts—to visit our new Fourth of July resource page and explore materials related to American independence. Expect to find:...
What Does Liberty Look Like?
" We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Declaration of...
Elliott West - "The Essential West: Collected Essays"
Elliot West is an Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas Order The Essential West: Collected Essays at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the...
History U Offers New Course on the American Revolution for High School Students
The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s History U offers free, graduate-level American history courses with top scholars for high school students. NEW COURSE! The American Revolution with Professor Carol Berkin This course focuses on the story...
Denver Brunsman - "The Evil Necessity: British Naval Impressment in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World"
Denver Brunsman is an associate professor of history at The George Washington University. Order The Evil Necessity at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided....
Announcing Our 50th Self-Paced Course: American Colonies, led by Alan Taylor
Gilder Lehrman Self-Paced Courses offer graduate-level instruction in American history led by the nation’s top historians. We are pleased to announce that the addition of Alan Taylor’s American Colonies course now brings us to 50 Self...
David Hackett Fischer - "African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals"
David Hackett Fischer is University Professor and Earl Warren Professor of History, Emeritus at Brandeis University. Order African Founders at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase...
Spotlight on the MA: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
Registration is now open for fall courses in the new Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History—an affordable, fully online master’s degree program, led by renowned, award-winning historians, that brings together the...
Susan Schulten - "A History of America in 100 Maps"
Susan Schulten is a professor of history at the University of Denver. Order A History of America in 100 Maps at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you...
Dorothy Wickenden - "The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women's Rights"
Dorothy Wickenden is the executive editor of The New Yorker. Order The Agitators at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting our programs!...
Announcing the 2022 Frederick Douglass Book Prize Finalists
We are pleased to announce the finalists for the twenty-fourth annual Frederick Douglass Book Prize, one of the most coveted awards for the study of the African American experience. Jointly sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of...
Announcing the 2022 Frederick Douglass Book Prize Finalists
New Haven, CT, July 26, 2022 — Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition today has announced the finalists for the twenty-fourth annual Frederick Douglass Book Prize, one of the most...
World War I, African American Soldiers, and America’s War for Democracy
Click to download this lesson plan.
Our Partners
Established in 1892, the American Jewish History Society provides access to more than thirty million documents and 50,000 books, photographs, art, and artifacts that reflect the history of the Jewish presence in the United States from...
Inside the Vault on Thursday, August 4: The New Deal and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Second Presidential Campaign
Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection is an online program that explores unique primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. From iconic historical treasures, such as the Declaration of Independence,...
History U Offers New Course on Frederick Douglass for High School Students
The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s History U offers free, graduate-level American history courses with top scholars for high school students. NEW COURSE! The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass with Professor David Blight In this...
Eric Rauchway - "Why the New Deal Matters"
Eric Rauchway is a professor of history at the University of California, Davis. Order Why the New Deal Matters at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank...
2022 State History Teachers of the Year Announced
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is proud to announce the 2022 State History Teachers of the Year. Since 2004, 960 exemplary American history teachers from elementary, middle, and high schools in all fifty states, Department of Defense...
2022 History Teachers of the Year in the News
NBC First Coast News local affiliate features a lively segment on 2022 Florida History Teacher of the Year Daniel Flint. The Courtland Voice acknowledges Caitlin Goodwin as 2022 New York History Teacher of the Year and National...
Fay Yarbrough - "Choctaw Confederates: The American Civil War in Indian Country"
Fay Yarbrough is a professor of history at Rice University. Order Choctaw Confederates at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting our...
Remembering David McCullough (1933-2022)
The Gilder Lehrman Institute, along with millions of readers, educators, and history enthusiasts around the world, mourns the passing of David McCullough. David McCullough was widely acclaimed as a “master of the art of narrative...
Fall MA Course Spotlight: The History of Medicine and Public Health in the U.S.
Registration is now open for fall courses in the new Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History—an affordable, fully online master’s degree program, led by renowned, award-winning historians, that brings together the...
Hamilton Education Program Online Launches Third Year for Grades 6-12
The Hamilton Education Program Online (EduHam Online) returns to all schools with students in grades 6–12 for the 2022–2023 school year. Completely adaptable for remote or hybrid learning, the program encourages students to use their...
Peter Cozzens - "Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation"
Peter Cozzens is a retired US foreign service officer and winner of the 2017 Gilder Lehrman Prize in Military History. Order Tecumseh and the Prophet at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every...
NEH Awards Gilder Lehrman Institute a Summer Institutes for Educators Grant
Building on the Success of the 2021 “Making of America” program, the Institute Will Offer American History PD for K–8 Teachers August 16, 2022, NEW YORK CITY – The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Gilder Lehrman...
2022 FALL NEWSLETTER
As we head back to school, we celebrate America’s history teachers and their dedication to primary source learning. We must also pause to mourn the passing of David McCullough, a “master of the art of narrative history” and “a...
NEH Awards Gilder Lehrman Institute a Summer Institutes for Educators Grant
The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History a Summer Institutes for K–12 Educators Grant for an innovative two-week residential program on American history from the late...
Fall 2022 Newsletter
The Gilder Lehrman Institute welcomes you to fall and the start of the school year with recent news about summer happenings, exciting introductions to programs and resources for students and teachers, and a reminder of the centrality...
Hamilton Education Program Online August Newsletter: Back in the Game for 2023-2024
Welcome to the official newsletter for the Hamilton Education Program Online, the program whose goal is to help students in grades 6–12 see the relevance of the Founding Era by using primary sources to create a performance piece (e.g....
Remembering Julian Robertson (1932-2022)
Today the Gilder Lehrman Institute, along with the many whose life and work were impacted by his business and philanthropic genius, mourns the death of Julian Robertson. Julian Robertson founded the hedge fund Tiger Management, and is...
Gary Gallagher - "The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis"
Gary Gallagher is the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War Emeritus at the University of Virginia. Order The Enduring Civil War at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from...
Ira Hayes: An Archetype of 20th-Century American Indian Veterans
Tom Holm (Creek/Cherokee) is a professor in the American Indian Studies Program, which he helped found, at the University of Arizona. This video was filmed as part of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s partnership with the Veterans...
Justin Gage - "We Do Not Want the Gates Closed between Us: Native Networks and the Spread of the Ghost Dance"
Justin Gage is an assistant professor of history at the University of Florida. Order We Do Not Want the Gates Closed between Us at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link...
American History MA Graduates Explain and Celebrate the Program in Special Video
Take it from the teachers who just graduated from the program: The Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History is a prestigious, manageable, and affordable path to a master’s degree in American history for educators...
Announcing the 2022 National History Teacher of the Year Finalists
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is delighted to announce the ten finalists for the National History Teacher of the Year Award for 2022. They are Caitlin Halperin of Auburn High School in Auburn, Alabama Lisa Rauschart of Georgetown Day...
Keith Pluymers - "No Wood, No Kingdom: Political Ecology in the English Atlantic"
Keith Pluymers is an environmental historian and assistant professor of history at Illinois State University. Order No Wood, No Kingdom at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through...
Gilder Lehrman Gift Shop Now Features Historical Jigsaw Puzzles
Our Gift Shop features favorites from the Gilder Lehrman Collection for you and the history enthusiasts in your life. Recently we’ve added new puzzles, books, tote bags, posters, and apparel, including merchandise from our inaugural...
Jeff Nussbaum - "Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History"
Jeff Nussbaum is a speechwriter and adjunct professor of public communications at American University. Order Undelivered at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided...
In the Room Where It Happens: 5 Easy Steps to Working with the EduHam Online Website
The Hamilton Education Program Online (EduHam Online) returns to all schools with students in grades 6–12 for the 2022–2023 school year. Completely adaptable for remote or hybrid learning, the program encourages students to use their...
Eric Foner, Kathleen DuVal, and Lisa McGirr - "Give Me Liberty! An American History"
Eric Foner is DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University. Kathleen DuVal is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Lisa McGirr is a Charles Warren Professor of American...
Kevin J. Weddle Wins the 2021 Gilder Lehrman Military History Prize
Winner of the Ninth Annual Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History Announced Award Program to Take Place Wednesday, November 2, 2022 New York, NY, September 22, 2022 – The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History announced today...
US Treaties with American Indian Nations
After the American Revolution, the United States and Indian tribal nations governed their diplomatic relations through formal treaties. States could not be signatories to these treaties because the US Constitution required that only...
Hawaii Teacher Misha Matsumoto Yee Named 2022 National History Teacher of the Year
Contact: Josh Landon, Director of Marketing and Communications landon@gilderlehrman.org; (646) 366-9666 NEW YORK, NY (September 27, 2022) --The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History announced today that Misha Matsumoto Yee, a...
Hawaii Teacher Misha Matsumoto Yee Named 2022 National History Teacher of the Year
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History announced today that Misha Matsumoto Yee, a history teacher at St. Andrew’s Schools in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been named the 2022 National History Teacher of the Year. Matsumoto Yee rose...
Roger Lowenstein - "Ways and Means: Lincoln and His Cabinet and the Financing of the Civil War"
Roger Lowenstein is a financial reporter who has written for the Wall Street Journal and other publications. Order Ways and Means at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link...
The Gilder Lehrman Institute Receives Funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs for “Their Last Full Measure: Americans on the Battlefield”
National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Grant Program Will Support Project Inclusive of Underrepresented Veterans New York, NY, October 7, 2022 -- The Gilder Lehrman Institute is proud to announce that the Department of...
Inside the Vault This Thursday: Dwight D. Eisenhower's Views on Vietnam
Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection is an online program that highlights unique primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. From iconic historical treasures, such as the Declaration of Independence,...
Join Us for the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History Ceremony on November 2
On Wednesday, November 2, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History will celebrate Kevin J. Weddle, winner of the ninth annual Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History for The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American...
Celebrate Columbus/Indigenous Peoples' Day with Gilder Lehrman Resources
In 2021, the President declared Indigenous Peoples’ Day a federal holiday to be observed on the same day as Columbus Day. The Gilder Lehrman Institute invites everyone—students, teachers, and history enthusiasts—to visit our Columbus...
Barbara Perry - "Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier"
Barbara Perry is the Gerald L. Baliles Professor and director of Presidential Studies at the University of Virginia. Order Jacqueline Kennedy at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase...
GLI Receives Funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs for “Their Last Full Measure: Americans on the Battlefield”
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is proud to announce that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has approved funding under the National Cemetery Administration’s inaugural Veterans Legacy Grants Program in the amount of $195,079.84 for...
Richard White - "Who Killed Jane Stanford?: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits, and the Birth of a University"
Richard White is Margaret Byrne Professor of American History, Emeritus at Stanford University. Order Who Killed Jane Stanford at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link...
ANNOUNCING THE 10 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS FOR THE 2022 HAM4PROGRESS AWARD FOR EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT
NEW YORK, NY (October 12, 2022) -- The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Hamilton today announced the winners of the second annual Ham4Progress Award for Educational Advancement, a cash award supporting college-bound...
Announcing the Winners of the Second Annual Ham4Progress Award for Educational Advancement
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Hamilton are delighted to announce the winners of the second annual Ham4Progress Award for Educational Advancement, a cash award supporting college-bound high school students from...
Pledging Their Fortunes: The Professions of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
Within the historical literature, the professions of the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence has not received nearly the same attention paid to the framers of the US Constitution. In his Economic Interpretation of the...
The Education of the Men Who Signed the Declaration of Independence
We call them “The Signers,” and that’s what they did. They signed the Declaration of Independence. They were fifty-six men, signing in an age that prized beautiful penmanship as a mark of a fine education and the social rank that came...
The Religious Diversity of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was more than a founding political document of an embryonic American nation. It was also a moral summons to united action written and signed by fifty-six men of diverse religious views. The document...
James Wilson: Scottish Immigrant, Pennsylvania Statesman, Signer of the Declaration, and Framer of the Constitution
James Wilson’s impact on the founding of the United States was significant. One of only six individuals to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, he helped create the nation and its enduring institutions....
A Nation of Immigrants from the Outset: The Signers Born Abroad
We are often focused today on the fact that the signers of the Declaration of Independence did not include women, African Americans, or Indigenous people, and how far this deviated from the spirit of “all men are created equal.” And...
From the Editor
The Declaration of Independence remains one of the most hallowed documents in our national history and the men who produced it are singularly honored by the unique designation “the Signers.” Yet most of us know little about these...
EduHam Online October 2022 Newsletter: Broadway's Nik Walker Reads Aaron Burr's Letters
Welcome to the official newsletter for the Hamilton Education Program Online, the program whose goal is to help students in grades 6–12 see the relevance of the founding era by using primary sources to create a performance piece (e.g....
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