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58,145 items

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Civilian Conservation Corps poster, 1938

Art, Economics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Civilian Conservation Corps directly addressed two of the most pressing problems during the Depression: male youth unemployment and environmental degradation. The CCC, based on a military model of everyday life, put thousands of...

Video: Read Along

"Goin' Someplace Special"

Through moving prose and beautiful watercolors, an award-winning author-illustrator duo collaborates to tell the poignant tale of a spirited young girl who comes face to face with segregation in her southern town. Read by Morgan Wood...

News

Attack on Pearl Harbor: On This Day, December 7

Shortly before 8 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack against US armed forces in Hawaii. The Japanese targeted the Army, Navy, and Marine airfields before bombing the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. The...

News

Announcing a Veterans Day Student Photography Contest

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...

Program/Event

Professional Development | World War I Centennial Workshop Series

To commemorate the centennial of World War I, we are pleased to offer free professional development sessions in forty cities across the country. These sessions will focus on different aspects of the war and how to effectively bring...

News

2016 Teacher Seminar Application Now Open!

Each summer, the Gilder Lehrman Institute offers academically rigorous seminars for K–12 educators and National Park Service interpreters. Held at colleges and historic sites across the US and abroad, the weeklong seminars offer...

News

Celebrate 25 Years with GLI and Send Us Your #MyGLI25 Story

Send Us Your #MyGLI25 Story! Are you a teacher, student, administrator, scholar or history buff who has benefited from or been involved in the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History? Be it through gaining new knowledge or...

News

Professional Development through the Gilder Lehrman Institute

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 ,...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Prescription for alcohol during Prohibition, 1923

Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

At midnight, January 16, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol took effect. The Eighteenth Amendment banned the manufacture and sale (but not the possession, consumption,...

Video: Read Along

"Before She Was Harriet"

This lush, lyrical biography in verse begins with a glimpse of Harriet Tubman as an old woman, and travels back in time through the many roles she played through her life: spy, liberator, suffragist, and more. Illustrated by James...

News

Scholarships and Loans Available for the Pace–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History

There is still time to apply for fall courses in the Pace–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History Program. While the degree and individual courses are competitively affordable, some prospective students may be eligible for financial aid...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Japanese internment, 1942

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Responding to fears of Japanese spies within the United States, President Roosevelt signed an order authorizing the forced relocation and confinement of more than 110,000 Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans living in the West....

Program/Event

A Tribute to Teachers

Watch "A Tribute to Teachers" Join us in gratitude for teachers everywhere—the lifeblood of the educational system, and true heroes during this unprecedented year. Lin-Manuel Miranda will present the 2020 National History Teacher of...

News

Ensign Jesse Brown, First African American Naval Aviator, 1948

In October 1948, Jesse LeRoy Brown made history by becoming the first African American naval aviator. Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1926, Brown was inspired to become a pilot by an airshow that he attended at age six. After...

News

Counting Down to Hamilton: Week 5

There are now five weeks until the first student matinee of Hamilton ! This week, we’re continuing our blog series on Alexander Hamilton with Amtrak’s Arrive magazine—the March/April 2016 issue features a story on the student ticket...

News

Civil War Essay Contest: Deadline Approaching

Middle and high school students with a passion for the Civil War can flex their writing and research skills by submitting an entry to the Civil War Essay Contest . Students have the opportunity to explore a Civil War topic of their...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, 1911

Economics, Foreign Languages, Literature, Religion and Philosophy

On March 25, 1911, a devastating fire started at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City. Workers had been locked in the factory to discourage theft and prevent labor organization, and they were unable to escape when the fire...

News

Remembering John Lewis

Longtime US congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, who first gained the world's attention through his participation in the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Alabama, died on July 17, 2020. He was remembered in the New York...

News

Enjoy These Early EduHam Online Student Performances

The goal of the free Hamilton Education Program Online , which launched on Friday, August 14, is to help students in grades 6–12 recognize the relevance of the Founding Era today by using primary sources to create a performance piece ...

Video: Read Along

"Ticktock Banneker's Clock"

Throughout his life, Benjamin Banneker was known and admired for his work in science, mathematics, and astronomy, just to name a few pursuits. But even when he was born in Maryland in 1731, he was already an extraordinary person for...

News

An "Autograph and Something More" from Frederick Douglass

Between 1855 and 1886, Franklin E. McNear collected autographs in his leather-bound, red autograph book . Among the eighty-four signatures are notable historic figures like P.T. Barnum, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederick Douglass ....

News

Monroe Doctrine Presented to Congress: On This Day, 1823

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...

News

A Jamestown Settler Describes Life in Virginia: On This Day, January 13, 1622

In 1622, colonist Sebastian Brandt wrote a letter to a merchant in London , seeking supplies and assistance. Brandt had arrived in Jamestown intending to scour the land for precious minerals such as gold, silver, and copper. But he...

News

A Christmas V-Mail from World War II

V-mail, or Victory Mail, was a WWII-era operation to expedite mail service for Americans serving overseas. V-mail was written on standardized stationery, photographed onto 16mm microfilm, transported to the US or other destination,...

Video: Inside The Vault

Inside the Vault: America’s First First Lady: Martha Washington

In this session, Victoria Ann Scovens from Hamilton and Rosanne Lichatin, 2005 National History Teacher of the Year, join our curators to discuss two letters written by America’s first First Lady, Martha Washington. Written during...

Video

Inside the Vault: British Troops Landing in Boston Harbor

Art, Government and Civics, World History

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Explore just one of the fascinating items from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History collection!

Lesson Plan

Back in 1734

K, 1, 2, 3

Introduction Present the following scenario to your students. You can either read it to them or enlist students to act it out. The scenario is about two children who lived in 1734 and were the age of your students. "Anna Elizabeth and...

News

Thanksgiving as a National Holiday

Read an excerpt from Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1863 or learn more about the history of Thanksgiving as a national holiday .

News

Inside the Vault: The "Long S"

Take a closer look at the first draft of the US Constitution to see an example of the "long S" in print.

News

Inside the Vault: Abraham Lincoln, Mary Owens, and the Accidental Engagement

Read the full transcript of the letter Lincoln wrote Mary Owens and view the Lincoln Speaks exhibition that explores the power of Lincoln's words.

History Now Issue

Gettysburg: Insights and Perspectives

#37 Fall 2013

History Now Issue

America’s First Ladies

#35 Spring 2013

Video

The March on Washington: A Virtual Tour

Government and Civics

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

Join Dr. Clayborne Carson, Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, for a virtual tour of the 1963 March on Washington.

Video

Calvin Coolidge and Economic Growth

Economics, Government and Civics

10, 11, 12, 13+

Amity Shlaes, chair of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation and author of Coolidge (2013), discusses Calvin Coolidge and his economic policies during a seminar for history teachers in Wichita, Kansas. ...

News

Inside the Vault: JFK Assassination Ticker Tape

Read a transcript of the Dow Jones News Service ticker tape and read about the power of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address in Great Inaugural Addresses: History Now 36 (Summer 2013) .

News

History Scholar Award for Undergraduates Accepting Applications through April 15

For the 2019 Gilder Lehrman History Scholar Award , up to fifteen outstanding college students will be recognized for excellence in American history or American studies as well as commitment to public service, leadership, and...

Program/Event

Traveling Exhibitions | Frequently Asked Questions

General Exhibition FAQ How can I pay? We can accept credit card, check, or purchase order. We cannot accept bank transfers at this time. Do you offer any discounts or grants? Unfortunately, we aren’t able to offer any discounts or...

Video

Frederick Douglass on Lincoln and Reconstruction

Government and Civics

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

Dickinson College historian Matthew Pinsker describes changes in Frederick Douglass’s opinion of Abraham Lincoln between Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 and the unveiling of the Freedmen’s Monument in Lincoln Park, Washington, DC, in...

Video

The Post-Revolutionary Generation

Economics, Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy

Joyce Appleby, Professor Emerita, University of California, Los Angeles, explores how the men and women born after the American Revolution experienced and developed the theoretical ideas of liberty and independence put in place by...

Video

Reason and Emotion in Revolutionary America

Government and Civics, World History

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

New York University historian Nicole Eustace discusses the "tempest of emotion" that swept through the Age of Reason, epitomized by the earliest call for a full break between the American colonies and Great Britain, Thomas Paine’s...

P&E Home

Programs & Events

The Institute promotes and celebrates accomplishments in American history education and scholarship at every level. Deepen your understanding and appreciation of American history by participating in a program or joining the Institute...

Video

Arguing Cases in the Supreme Court

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Jeffrey L. Fisher is Associate Professor of Law at Stanford University Law School and Co-Director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic. He analyzes the current Supreme Court including the personalities and philosophies involved,...

Video

The Calhoun School Cyanotype Album: Document in a Minute

Gilder Lehrman curator Beth Huffer discusses a cyanotpe album from the Calhoun Industrial School around the turn of the century. The Calhoun School was a social experiment of the Hampton Institute in Virginia, in which local...

News

The Lewis and Clark Expedition

View a full-screen version of The Lewis and Clark Exhibition . Learn more about the Louisiana Purchase in Elliott West’s essay " America the Newcomer: Claiming the Louisiana Purchase " and a printed copy of the map Meriwether Lewis...

History Now Issue

Disasters in Modern American History

#40 Fall 2014

History Now Issue

Wartime Memoirs and Letters from the American Revolution to Vietnam

#43 Fall 2015

History Now Issue

Alexander Hamilton in the American Imagination

#44 Winter 2016

Collection Landing Page

Spotlight on Primary Sources

Spotlights on Primary Sources Each of the Spotlights from our Collection provides explanatory text, a transcript, and an image of the featured document. Questions for classroom discussion are available to K–12 teachers. Below are some...

History Now Issue

American History in Visual Art

#45 Summer 2016

History Now Issue

American Women in Leadership

#47 Winter 2017

History Now Issue

Jazz, the Blues, and American Identity

#48 Summer 2017

News

SAT US History Exam

The SAT US History Exam is only two weeks away, on January 21! Forty percent of the exam will focus on the momentous events and changes of the twentieth century. Prepare by reviewing the prewar , postwar , and present-day eras, or...

Interactive

Activist for Equality: Frederick Douglass at 200

Born to Harriet Bailey, an enslaved woman in Maryland in February 1818, Douglass lived twenty years as a slave and nearly nine years as a fugitive. From the 1840s to his death in 1895, he attained international fame as an...

Video: Inside The Vault

Inside the Vault: Ulysses S. Grant

Government and Civics

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

Originally broadcast on May 15, 2020, this Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection explores the earliest known letter by Ulysses S. Grant, written when he was a 17-year-old cadet at West Point, and a political...

News

Meeting Miss Wright: Orville and Wilbur’s Talented Sister

On December 17, 1903, the Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first successful airplane flight. Historian David McCullough says one of the most enjoyable things about working on his book The Wright Brothers was becoming acquainted...

News

Progressive Era Reform Movements at a Glance

Are you teaching the Progressive Era this spring? Use the infographic below to provide your students an overview of the reform movements that make the Progressive Era stand out as a time of massive social, political, and economic...

Video

His Excellency George Washington

Government and Civics

Joseph J. Ellis, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation and the National Book Award for American Sphinx , examines George Washington’s career as a general and the challenges he faced as the...

Video

Living and Dying in the Civil War

Government and Civics

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

West Virginia University historian Aaron Sheehan-Dean offers thoughts on the Library of America series The Civil War Told by Those Who Lived It at a Gilder Lehrman webinar on the Civil War 150 traveling exhibition. The exhibition is...

Video

Inside the Vault: Columbus Reports on His First Voyage, 1493

Gilder Lehrman curator Beth Huffer explores a report from Columbus to his sponsors. When Columbus arrived back in Spain on March 15, 1493, he immediately wrote a letter announcing his discoveries to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella,...

History Now Issue

African American Soldiers

#46 Fall 2016

Program/Event

Dear George Washington Contest Winners 2018

Fifth-Grade Division First Place Sarah Lowe, Destin Middle School, Destin, FL Second Place Padmalakshmi Ramesh, Spring Creek Elementary School, Laramie, WY Third Place Allison Fleck, Richard B. Wilson K-8 School, Tuscon, AZ Fourth...

News

"Thanksgiving: Another Serving" from Jill Lepore

Harvard professor and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore describes how, within a single generation, relations between the settlers and the Wampanoags declined from the fabled First Thanksgiving to a devastating war. Lepore notes: ...

News

"Bookending" the Twentieth Century

The twentieth century was packed with socio-economic changes in American society. It is often difficult to understand just how different our country was at the beginning of the century. Use the infographic below as you are teaching...

News

WWI Project Deadline Fast Approaching

The deadline for the WWI and America Project is January 13, 2017, in just three weeks! Public, academic, and community college libraries have the opportunity to join institutions across the country in commemorating the 100th...

Program/Event

Traveling Exhibitions | World War I and America

World War I and America examines the role the United States played in World War I and the impact of this move away from a policy of isolationism. Viewers will learn about life on the homefront and at war through documents, posters,...

Program/Event

Self-Paced Courses

Self-Paced Courses offer graduate-level instruction in American history—led by the nation’s top historians The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s fifty Self-Paced Courses, drawn from our MA in American History , allow you to study 500 years...

Video: Read Along

"The Wall"

World History

A young boy and his father visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Read by Rory O'Maley , who is King George in the North American Tour of Hamilton. Published in 1990 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Order The Wall at the Gilder Lehrman...

Program/Event

Library Programs | Library Affiliate Web Portal

As a member of the Library Affiliate Program, you have access to valuable resources for librarians, teachers, and students, including: RESOURCES developed for K–12 school students, such as a study guide for the AP US History test FREE...

Program/Event

Who Will Tell Your Story? Get Creative with EduHam

Have you seen other students’ performance pieces from the Hamilton Education Program and wondered, “How do I do that?” In this class, we will look at primary source documents on the Hamilton Education Program website and find their...

Program/Event

Traveling Exhibitions | Becoming the United States: Colonial America to Reconstruction

Becoming the US is designed to introduce upper elementary-aged students to the beginnings of American history and the skills involved in primary source analysis. Using items from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, it explores individuals,...

Collection Landing Page

Visit the Collection

Collection Programs Inside the Vault Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection is a zoom presentation of documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Join our curators and learn the fascinating stories behind...

News

The Second Hamilton Student Matinee Is Today!

The second Hamilton Education Program student matinee is underway! Over 1,200 high school students are having a day of student performances inspired by the musical, a cast Q-and-A session, and a performance of Hamilton. Stay tuned for...

Interactive

Why Documents Matter: An Interactive Digital Edition

Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, World History

Welcome to Why Documents Matter: An Interactive Digital Edition —a selection of primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection curated and annotated for K–12 classrooms (print edition available here ). Scroll through the entire...

Program/Event

Collection Programs

Our Collection Programs offer opportunities to learn from and work with primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Inside the Vault Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection is a zoom presentation of...

Program/Event

Library Affiliate FAQs

GENERAL What is the Library Affiliate Program? The Library Affiliate Program is a new initiative that recognizes public and university academic libraries as centers for American history learning for students and teachers and offers a...

News

Watch John C. McManus Discuss His Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History-winning Book

The Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History at the New-York Historical Society is a $50,000 prize administered by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the New-York Historical Society. Each year the award recognizes...

Collection Landing Page

American History 1493-1945

American History 1493-1945 This subscription-based database provides immediate access to images of more than 50,000 documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and is available at schools, libraries, and colleges around the world....

News

The Hamilton Education Program in Education Dive

In an article published today on Education Dive , Urban Assembly Media High School student Yadry Monsanto discusses her Hamilton Education Program experience on April 25, 2018: When I arrived at the Richard Rodgers Theatre to...

News

“Freedom Vote” v. Voter Suppression in Mississippi, 1963

From the Gilder Lehrman Collection: Voting and Obstructions to It in 1963 The Gilder Lehrman Institute recently acquired a collection of civil rights documents, including the two discussed here. In the summer of 1963, the Student...

Program/Event

Hamilton Education Program | Press Coverage and Media

Eduham in the News 2022 "‘Hamilton’ Returns to Pantages Theatre With Performance for L.A. Public High School Students" in Variety - February 11, 2022 "HAMILTON's Celebrated Education Program Returns Today in LA" in Broadway World -...

News

2017 Teacher Seminar Applications Now Open

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...

News

Open House for the Pace–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History, February 25

Learn everything you need to know about getting a master’s degree in American history through the Pace–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History , a highly affordable, fully online, fully accredited, 30-credit degree program. Please join...

Program/Event

Collection Programs | Student Transcription Project

Welcome to the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Digital Volunteer Transcription Project. You may start transcribing documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection by selecting one of the projects below and logging in with...

News

Congratulations to George Washington Prize Recipient Lin-Manuel Miranda!

On Monday, December 14 , Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator and star of Broadway’s hit musical Hamilton, received the George Washington Prize. Miranda became the first playwright to win the literary award in an exciting ceremony that...

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...

Program/Event

Civil War Essay Contest Winners 2011

High School Division First Prize Martin C. Carlino , Patchogue-Medford High School, Medford, NY " President Lincoln ’ s Influence over the Northern Press " Second Prize Martina Harris , American History High School, Newark, NJ "...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

FDR on racial discrimination, 1942

Government and Civics

On June 25, 1941, almost six months before the United States’ entry into World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law Executive Order 8802, prohibiting racial discrimination by government defense contractors. The...

Program/Event

Press Coverage and Media

Press Coverage New York Times (Founding Era quiz) Google Blog (Hamilton Education Program + Google Exhibitions partnership) Buzzfeed News (Hamilton Education Program + Google Expeditions partnership) San Francisco Chronicle Stanford...

News

The Gilder Lehrman Institute in Philanthropy Magazine

The July 2018 issue of Philanthropy magazine features an extended look at the founding and history of both the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the Hamilton Education Program. The profile features interviews with Gilder Lehrman staff,...

Classroom Resources

Presidential Election Results, 1789–2024

Government and Civics

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Introduction The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, who are representatives typically chosen by the candidate’s political party, though some state laws differ. Each state’s number of electors is based on its congressional...

About page

Patrick Duff

Patrick Duff is currently a partner at the private investment firm of Dunham Partners, LLC, where he has worked for the past twenty-three years. Prior to joining Dunham Partners, he served as senior managing director at Tiger...

News

Inside the Vault: Davie Jeems Stands Up to the KKK

Read an excerpt of the letter to Davie Jeems .

News

Letter from Christopher Columbus, 1493

View Columbus’s letter , read an excerpt , or view a depiction of his landing .

History Now Issue

Electing a President

#33 Fall 2012

Video

Monuments and Memorials: The South in American History

Edward L. Ayers speaks about the idea of memory and its relationship to American history.

News

Yellow Fever Epidemic, 1793

View the account of the 1793 yellow fever outbreak in Philadelphia or read the transcript .

News

Inside the Vault: George Washington Crossing the Delaware

Read an excerpt of the Orders to March on Trenton and watch a video on Washington’s Crossing .

Interactive

Hamilton's New York: Lower Manhattan Walking Tour

Government and Civics

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Join the Gilder Lehrman Institute and Professor Cindy Lobel on a virtual walking tour of Alexander Hamilton’s Lower Manhattan.

News

Western Sanitary Commission Report on Civil War Refugees, 1863

Read about the report from the Western Sanitary Commission regarding the conditions of freed slaves in the Mississippi valley.

Video

Writing Op-Ed

Government and Civics, Literature

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Jonathan Zimmerman, NYU historian, discusses the art of writing an op-ed and believes that it remains a critical democratic exercise.

Site Search

Gettysburg: Insights and Perspectives

America’s First Ladies

Disasters in Modern American History

Wartime Memoirs and Letters from the American Revolution to Vietnam

Alexander Hamilton in the American Imagination

American History in Visual Art

American Women in Leadership

Jazz, the Blues, and American Identity

African American Soldiers

Electing a President

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