58,176 items
As a little girl, Teresa Carreño loved to let her hands dance across the beautiful keys of the piano. If she felt sad, music cheered her up, and when she was happy, the piano helped her share that joy. Soon she was writing her own...
Are We in a New Gilded Age?
The question of whether the United States has entered a new Gilded Age pops up quite frequently in magazines, op-eds, and newscasts these days. Here, historian Edward O’Donnell, author of Henry George and the Crisis of Inequality ,...
Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War
Thomas G. Andrews, an associate professor of history at the University of Colorado Boulder, discusses his Bancroft Prize–winning book, Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War, and the interconnection between railroads, coal,...
Chat with the Curator: Amelia Earhart and Neta Snook
Curator of the Gilder Lehrman Collection, Sandra Trenholm, describes documents in the Neta Snook Collection, including letters and photographs of Amelia Earhart. Biographer Susan Butler (East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart)...
New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age
Vassar College historian Rebecca Edwards discusses some of the complexities of the Gilded Age with Gilder Lehrman President James Basker. Professor Edwards's 2006 study, New Spirits: Americans in the Gilded Age, offers a nuanced view...
Common Sense Published: On This Day, January 10
Did you know that the most popular written work in American history was published before America was an actual nation of its own? On January 10, 1776, six months before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the...
Inside the Vault: "Your future rests… in your hands!”
Keisha Rembert, Assistant Professor of Teacher Preparation, National Louis University, and Nate McAlister, History Educator at Seaman High School in Topeka, Kansas, joined the Gilder Lehrman Collection curators in this session of...
Submit Your Hamilton Education Program Online Videos for Spring 2021!
The Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to announce that the national competition and lottery are now open for spring 2021 submissions for the Hamilton Education Program Online. EduHam Online is an easily adaptable, fully online...
"Gittel's Journey: An Ellis Island Story"
Gittel and her mother were supposed to immigrate to America together, but when her mother is stopped by the health inspector, Gittel must make the journey alone. Her mother writes her cousin’s address in New York on a piece of paper....
Counting Down to Hamilton: Week 4
There’s less than one month left until the Hamilton student matinee on April 13! This week, discover Alexander Hamilton in the American Imagination , the newest issue of History Now , Gilder Lehrman’s online journal . In five essays,...
Ulysses S. Grant Dies: On This Day, July 23, 1885
On July 23, 1885, Ulysses S. Grant, a Union general in the Civil War and the 18th president of the United States, died at the age of 63. He had struggled with throat cancer for a year while rushing to finish his memoirs, the proceeds...
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
Joseph J. Ellis, Professor of History at Mount Holyoke College, discusses his Pulitzer Prize–winning book Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, explains the emergence of the men who led the Revolutionary War and created...
Taxation and Representation: The Imperial Debate between Britain and the Americans
Brown University historian Gordon Wood describes the British and American conceptions of representation during the eighteenth century, widely diverging points of view that were forged by radically different experiences with...
Programs & Events
The Gilder Lehrman Institute promotes the study and love of American history through a wide array of programs and exhibitions for teachers, students, historians, and the general public. From weeklong seminars and other professional...
"Let the Word Go Forth": Symbols and Images in JFK’s Inaugural Address
University of Virginia historian Barbara Perry describes John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address, including background information on the President’s life and family, the writing of the speech, and major accomplishments of his...
The Cold War in the classroom, 1952
As the Cold War pervaded domestic as well as international spheres, Duck and Cover , an educational film produced by the Federal Civil Defense Administration and Archer Productions Inc., showed children how to react in case of a...
Civil War Essay Contest Winners 2013
High School Division Click on the title to view a pdf of a winning essay. First Prize Clarissa Aaron , Kelso High School, Kelso, Washington "Uncle Tom’s Failure" Second Prize Farukh Saidmuratov , New Dorp High School, Staten Island,...
"Bread for Words: A Frederick Douglass Story"
Frederick Douglass knew where he was born but not when. He knew his grandmother but not his father. And as a young child, there were other questions, such as Why am I a slave? Answers to those questions might have eluded him but...
"A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story"
A Ride to Remember tells how a community came together—both Black and White—to make a change. When Sharon Langley was born in the early 1960s, many amusement parks were segregated, and African American families were not allowed entry...
Affiliate School Program
The Affiliate School Program , free to all K–12 schools, is a unique gateway to education resources, events, and tools designed to bring American history to life in the classroom. Registration is easy and there are no hidden fees. US...
America’s Emergence as a Global Power
Jeremi Suri, a historian at the University of Texas at Austin, argues that Americans have never been isolated from international politics and military conflicts, but rather have projected power on the world stage since before the...
November Affiliate School Offer Lesson Plans
Click the images below to access the lesson plans offered to Affiliate School teachers this month. Teaching With Documents: Colonial America to Reconstruction: A Selection of Units for Elementary School American Symbols: The Flag, the...
Traveling Exhibitions | Alexander Hamilton: Immigrant, Patriot, Visionary
Alexander Hamilton: Immigration, Patriot, Visionary explores the founding era through the life of one of its most influential figures, Alexander Hamilton. As one of our country’s founding fathers, Hamilton played a central role in...
Announcing the Dear George Washington Contest winners for 2018–2019
The Dear George Washington Contest is an annual writing contest for Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School students in grades 2–5. The contest introduces students to the issues facing early Americans and encourages them to think critically...
Flagship Schools
Gilder Lehrman Flagship Schools are high-performing high schools that offer students a rigorous four-year curriculum in American history. These schools provide a unique, American history and literacy-focused education that emphasizes...
Holiday Dinner with the Nuclear Family
As the winter holidays draw close and Americans everywhere travel to celebrate with their loved ones, it is important to remember how one should act when having dinner with family. The 1950 Encyclopedia Britannica film A Date with...
Bert the Turtle Ducks and Covers
Today’s school children are familiar with fire drills, earthquake drills, tornado drills, and even tsunami drills. Filing out-doors to athletic fields or hiding under desks from imaginary natural disaster debris is expected, scheduled...
Inside the Vault: Jackie Robinson
Originally broadcast on May 29, 2020, this session of Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection explores a comic book about Jackie Robinson’s rookie year and letters written by Richard Nixon and Robert Kennedy...
Civilian Conservation Corps poster, 1938
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...
"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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ,...
Prescription for alcohol during Prohibition, 1923
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,...
"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...
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...
Japanese internment, 1942
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....
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...
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...
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...
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...
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, 1911
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...
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...
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 ...
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...
Showing results 58001 - 58050