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News

Register Now for Summer 2023 American History MA Courses

The Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History allows K–12 educators, National Park Service rangers, and public history professionals to pursue a master’s degree from anywhere in the world. Registration is now open for...

Video: Book Breaks

Marc J. Selverstone - "The Kennedy Withdrawal: Camelot and the American Commitment to Vietnam"

Geography, Government and Civics, World History

Marc J. Selverstone, an associate professor in Presidential Studies, heads the Presidential Recordings Program at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, where he edits the secret White House tapes of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B....

News

International Press for GLI's Spanish-American Curriculum Partnership with the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) has partnered with the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute (QSSI) to collaborate on creating teaching materials, including posters sent to more than 6,000 K–12 schools nationwide, that...

About page

Spring 2023 Newsletter

Thanks to your support of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, we are charging into spring and summer with a full spectrum of events and programs for students, teachers, and the general public! We particularly look forward to our 2023 Gala...

Program/Event

Student Opportunities | 2023–2024 Voting Rights Prizes

As part of The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution, the Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to announce the ten winners of the Voting Rights Prizes. These entries (eight submitted individually, two...

Program/Event

2023–2024 Voting Rights Prizes Rules and Guidelines

Overview The 2023–2024 Voting Rights Prizes Contest ( “Contest”) is designed to celebrate outstanding student work using material from The Right to Vote project for civic engagement. In 2023, this Contest will provide ten (10...

Program/Event

David McCullough Essay Prizes: 2020 Contest Winners

More than 200 rising 11th and 12th grade students in our National Academy of American History and Civics submitted essays. These entries were reviewed by a panel of our master teachers, with twenty-two finalists then reviewed by a...

Program/Event

David McCullough Essay Prizes: 2021 Contest Winners

More than seventy rising 11th and 12th grade students in our National Academy of American History and Civics submitted essays. These entries were reviewed by a panel of our master teachers, with twenty-three finalists then reviewed by...

Program/Event

David McCullough Essay Prizes: 2022 Contest Winners

More than seventy 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students in our National Academy of American History and Civics submitted essays. These entries were reviewed by a panel of our master teachers, with twenty finalists then reviewed by a...

History Now Issue

Hispanic Heroes in American History

#66 Spring 2023

History Now Essay

Juan Felipe Herrera: Poet Laureate and Pioneer of Chicano Literature

Francisco A. Lomelí

Literature

Juan Felipe Herrera, born to migrant parents Felipe Emilio Herrera and Lucha Andrea Quintana in Fowler, California, on December 27, 1948, is a writer unique for his unrelenting spirit of innovation. He boldly expands the boundaries of...

Appears in:

66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023

Video: Book Breaks

Ken Burns - "Our America: A Photographic History"

Art, Economics, Foreign Languages, Geography, Government and Civics, Literature, Religion and Philosophy, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History

Ken Burns, the producer and director of numerous film series, including The Roosevelts: An Intimate History and Country Music, founded his own documentary film company, Florentine Films, in 1976. His landmark film, The Civil War, has...

History Now Essay

El enemigo de mi enemigo es mi amigo: Bernardo de Gálvez and the Battle That Saved the United States at Its Birth

Larrie D. Ferreiro

World History

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” goes the old adage, which is particularly apt when describing the relationship between Spain and the nascent United States during the War of American Independence. By 1775 when the war began,...

Appears in:

66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023

History Now Essay

Antonia Pantoja, a Nuyorican Builder of Institutions

Lourdes Torres

Antonia Pantoja was a fierce community organizer and builder of influential institutions. Throughout her life she created organizations that enhanced the lives of Puerto Ricans and other minoritized communities. She was a dreamer with...

Appears in:

66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023

News

Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium Open House Q&A Recording Available Now

Want to find out what to expect at our 2023 Teacher Symposium, July 16–19 at Gettysburg College? Our education team held this live discussion and Q&A open house on March 28. Discussion topics include Finding the best Teacher...

Video: Book Breaks

David P. Cline - "Twice Forgotten: African Americans and the Korean War"

World History

David P. Cline is a professor of history and director of the Center for Public and Oral History at San Diego State University. Order Twice Forgotten at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every...

About page

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to Honor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Valerie Rockefeller, and Debbie and Craig Stapleton at Annual Gala

April 4, 2023, New York City — The annual Gala for the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History will take place on Tuesday, May 23 at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. This will be the Institute’s 12th annual Gala, which...

News

Teacher Symposium Q&A about Travel, Accommodations, Events, Registration Deadlines, and More

Our education team held this live discussion and Q&A open house on March 28 about the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium, to be held at Gettysburg College. Questions from the open house and additional questions are answered...

News

Book Breaks in April Confronts Complicated Histories

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...

History Now Essay

Voices of Democracy: Jovita Idár, the Idár Family, and the Struggle against Juan Crow

Gabriela González

Government and Civics

In August 2023, the US Mint will release the Jovita Idár quarter, “the ninth coin in the American Women Quarters Program” authorized by Public Law 116–330. On its website, the Mint states that Idár’s “ideas and practices were ahead of...

Appears in:

66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023

History Now Essay

Arturo Alfonso Schomburg: Archivist, Institution Builder, and Advocate of Global Black History

Vanessa K. Valdés

“The American Negro must remake his past in order to make his future.” So begins one of the most well-known essays of the Harlem Renaissance, “The Negro Digs Up His Past,” written by Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. Published in the March...

Appears in:

66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023

History Now Essay

From the Editor

Carol Berkin

In this issue of History Now, we continue our mission of ensuring that the stories of Americans of all races and ethnicities appear in our national history. “Hispanic Heroes in American History” introduces readers to the...

Appears in:

66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023

Video: Book Breaks

Beth Bailey - "An Army Afire: How the U.S. Army Confronted Its Racial Crisis in the Vietnam Era"

World History

Beth Bailey is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of History at The University of Kansas and the founding director of the Center for Military, War, and Society Studies. Order An Army Afire at the Gilder Lehrman...

News

Register Now for Four Virtual Veterans Legacy Sessions through May

In partnership with the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program, we are pleased to offer free professional development sessions in the spring of 2023 focusing on different aspects of American Veterans’ and Service...

Program/Event

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

May 17

News

Veterans Legacy Program: Free Virtual PD Programs Exploring Veterans' and Service Members' Lives On and Off the Battlefield

In partnership with the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program, we are pleased to offer free professional development sessions in the spring of 2023 focusing on different aspects of American Veterans' and Service...

Program/Event

Veterans Legacy Program

Their Full Measure: Americans on the Battlefield In partnership with the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program, the Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to offer free professional development sessions, lesson plans, and online...

Online Exhibition

Veterans Legacy Program | Digital Exhibitions

Their Full Measure: Digital Exhibition Veterans Legacy Program This online exhibition explores the lives of nineteen military service personnel in six conflicts: Revolutionary War, Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Cold War (Vietnam and...

Lesson Plan

Veterans Legacy Program | Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans Veterans Legacy Program Developed in conjunction with the National Cemetery Administration’s Veterans Legacy Program, these lesson plans are a part of the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teaching Literacy through History resources. Grades 7...

Basic Page

Veterans Legacy Program | Professional Development

Professional Development Veterans Legacy Program These professional development recordings explore the sacrifices, strengths, and legacies of American Veterans and Service Members across six major conflicts in United States history. Watch these...

Online Exhibition

Revolutionary War

Revolutionary War 1775–1783 Approximately 231,000 people served in the Continental Army at various times between 1775 and 1783. Three of those people were Margaret Corbin, Cuffee Saunders, and Henry Knox. Though each played a vital role in the...

Online Exhibition

Civil War

Civil War 1861–1865 The Union Army had more than 2,000,000 members over the course of the Civil War. Federico Fernández Cavada, Pauline Cushman, and Edward Day Cohota were three who fought for the United States in different ways. Cavada served in...

Online Exhibition

World War I

World War I 1914–1918 During World War I, 4.7 million Americans served in the military, among them Louis Santop Loftin, Ella Jane Osborn, and James Reese Europe. Louis Santop Loftin served in the US Navy, leaving behind a successful career in Negro...

Online Exhibition

World War II

World War II 1939–1945 Sixteen million Americans served in the United States military during World War II. Yeiichi “Kelly” Kuwayama served as part of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated Japanese unit that remains the most decorated unit...

Online Exhibition

Cold War

Cold War Korea: 1950–1953 Vietnam: 1959–1975 More than 35 million people served in the US Armed Forces during the Cold War between September 2, 1945, and December 26, 1991. During the Korean War, Walter Schirra Jr. flew missions with the 154th...

Online Exhibition

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan Afghanistan: 2001–2021 Iraq: 2003–2011 The Iraq and Afghanistan Wars are the United States’ most recent armed conflicts. Alan G. Rogers served during the Gulf and Iraq Wars as a biometrics officer, and was killed in...

Interactive

Margaret Corbin

Margaret Corbin Revolutionary War Margaret “Molly” Corbin was the first woman in the United States to earn a military pension, based on her service at the Battle of Fort Washington. Image Source: Herbert Knotel, Twentieth-century sketch representing...

Interactive

Cuffee Saunders

Cuffee Saunders Revolutionary War Born into slavery, Cuffee Saunders secured his freedom by serving during the Revolutionary War. Image Source: Benjamin Huntington, Oath certifying Cuffee Saunders's purchase of freedom, 1821, Gilder Lehrman...

Interactive

Henry Knox

Henry Knox Revolutionary War Henry Knox rose through the ranks during the American Revolution to become chief of artillery in George Washington’s army. Image Source: Gilbert Stuart, Oil painting of Henry Knox, 1806, The Museum of Fine Arts Boston ...

Interactive

Federico Fernández Cavada

Federico Fernández Cavada Civil War Cuban-born Federico Fernández Cavada served in the Union Army during the Civil War as an engineer and topographer with the Balloon Corps, sketching Confederate forces from the air. Image Source: Mathew B. Brady,...

Interactive

Pauline Cushman

Pauline Cushman Civil War Pauline Cushman served as a spy for the Union Army and is buried at San Francisco National Cemetery. She was an actress who used her skills to gather intelligence for the Union Army. Image Source: Mathew Brady Studio,...

Interactive

Edward Day Cohota

Edward Day Cohota Civil War Edward Day Cohota served in the Union Army for thirty years and was one of approximately 300 Asians and Pacific Islanders who fought in the Civil War. Image Source: Photograph of Edward Day Cohota, ca. 1880-1890, Cape Ann...

Interactive

Louis Santop Loftin

Louis Santop Loftin World War I Louis Santop Loftin, Hall of Fame baseball player and WWI Veteran, is buried at the Philadelphia National Cemetery. Loftin played baseball in the Negro Leagues from 1909 to 1926 and was one of the league’s first star...

Interactive

Ella Osborn

Ella Osborn World War I Ella Jane Osborn, a nurse deployed to France during World War I, is buried at Wainscott Cemetery in New York. She kept a remarkable diary in 1918 and 1919 that captured her experiences during the war. Image Source: Ella Jane...

Interactive

Yeiichi “Kelly” Kuwayama

Yeiichi “Kelly” Kuwayama World War II Yeiichi Kuwayama served as a platoon medic in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, composed of Japanese Americans. His unit fought in some of the fiercest World War II battles in Italy and France. Image Source:...

Interactive

Joe Morris Sr.

Joe Morris Sr. World War II Joe Morris Sr. was one of four hundred “code talkers” who memorized a code that substituted traditional Navajo words for military phrases. The contributions of the Navajo code talkers were classified until 1968. Image...

Interactive

Annie Fox

Annie Fox World War II Annie Fox was Station Hospital’s chief nurse during the attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawai'i. On October 26, 1942, Fox became the first woman in America to be awarded the Purple Heart for her heroism during the attack. Image...

Interactive

John W. Rogers Sr.

John W. Rogers Sr. World War II In World War II, John W. Rogers was one of the original twenty-eight Black airmen recruited to the 99th Pursuit Squadron, also known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Rogers flew more than 120 missions in Europe. Image Source:...

Interactive

Walter Schirra Jr.

Walter Schirra Jr. Cold War After completing ninety combat missions during the Korean War, Walter Schirra Jr. was named one of seven test pilots for NASA’s Project Mercury. Image Source: Yvette Smith, Photograph of Walter Schirra emerging from the...

Interactive

Perry Watkins

Perry Watkins Cold War Perry Watkins served fifteen years in the Army as an openly gay man. Despite this, in 1980, the Army revoked his security clearance and had him discharged because he was gay, a discharge he successfully fought in court. Image...

Interactive

Grace Murray Hopper

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Grace Murray Hopper Cold War Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper was a naval computer scientist who held the rank of rear admiral when she retired in 1985. Image Source: Lynn Gilbert, Photograph of Grace Murray Hopper in her office in Washington, DC,...

Interactive

Alan G. Rogers

Alan G. Rogers Iraq & Afghanistan Alan G. Rogers served in the Army during the Gulf and Iraq Wars. For his master’s thesis in policy management from Georgetown, Rogers wrote about the effect of the US military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on...

Interactive

Jose Angel Garibay

Jose Angel Garibay Iraq & Afghanistan In 1979, Simona Garibay and her youngest son, Jose Angel Garibay, came to the United States from Jalisco, Mexico. After his death in Iraq, the US government awarded Cpl. Jose Garibay posthumous citizenship....

Interactive

Ashley White-Stumpf

Ashley White-Stumpf Iraq & Afghanistan Ashley White-Stumpf served in the Army during the Afghanistan War. She was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for her service. Image Source: Photograph of the unveiling ceremony for...

News

Watch Jon Meacham and Jonathan W. White in Highlights from the 2023 Lincoln Prize Ceremony

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to share a recording of the 2023 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize ceremony, held on April 11, 2023, in New York City. The ceremony honored this year’s laureates, Jon Meacham for his book And There...

Basic Page

The Right to Vote: Supplemental Resources

The Right to Vote: Supplemental Resources These resources, from the Gilder Lehrman Institute and partners in the Civics Renewal Network, may be useful for students and teachers in conjunction with material produced for The Right to Vote project. ...

Video: Book Breaks

Elliott West - "Continental Reckoning: The American West in the Age of Expansion"

Economics, Foreign Languages, Geography, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Elliott West is Alumni Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Arkansas. Order Continental Reckoning at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link...

News

Deep Dives with Two Civil War Era Courses at the Teacher Symposium

With Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium courses like The American Civil War already filled, teachers looking for further enrichment in the Civil War are encouraged to go deeper into its causes and aftermath with two exciting courses...

News

Inside the Vault on May 4: Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Voting Rights

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...

News

Four Easy Steps to Apply for the MA in American History by May 18 Deadline

The Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History is a fully online, fully accredited, 30-credit degree program. Following the completion of ten 3-credit courses, students are awarded a master’s degree in American history...

Video: Book Breaks

Jacqueline Jones - "No Right to an Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston's Black Workers in the Civil War Era"

Economics, Geography, Religion and Philosophy, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

Jacqueline Jones is the Ellen C. Temple Professor of Women’s History Emerita at the University of Texas at Austin and a past president of the American Historical Association. Order No Right to an Honest Living at the Gilder Lehrman...

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

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...

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

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

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

8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Click here to download this three-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

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...

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 Cemetery...

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...