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Period 7: 1890-1945 (AP US History)

Period 7: 1890-1945 An increasingly pluralistic United States faced profound domestic and global challenges, debated the proper degree of government activism, and sought to define its international role. Topics may include Debates over Imperialism...

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Period 8: 1945-1980 (AP US History)

Period 8: 1945-1980 After World War II, the United States grappled with prosperity and unfamiliar international responsibilities while struggling to live up to its ideals. Topics may include The Cold War and the Red Scare America as a World Power...

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Period 9: 1980-Present (AP US History)

Period 9: 1980-Present As the United States transitioned to a new century filled with challenges and possibilities, it experienced renewed ideological and cultural debates, sought to redefine its foreign policy, and adapted to economic globalization...

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Ronald C. White - "On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain"

Government and Civics

Ronald C. White Jr. is an American historian, bestselling author, and lecturer. Order On Great Fields at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for...

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H.W. Brands - "Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics"

Government and Civics

H. W. Brands holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. Order Founding Partisans at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link...

Essay

Using Works of Art in Teaching American History

Daniel Walker Howe

Art, World History

The best teachers of Western Civilization courses have long made use of the European fine arts—painting, sculpture, architecture, the decorative arts—to bring the subject alive to their students. It is perhaps less well recognized...

Essay

What’s That Sound? Teaching the 1960s through Popular Music

Brian Ward

Art

There’s Something Happening Here . . . The 1960s was one of the most dramatic and controversial decades in American history. Opinions about its achievements and failures continue to be divided between those who condemn the decade as...

News

Remembering Sandra Day O'Connor (1930-2023)

On December 1, 2023, trailblazing Justice Sandra Day O’Connor died at age 93. O’Connor became the first female US Supreme Court justice on September 25, 1981, nominated by President Ronald Reagan and sworn in by Chief Justice Warren...

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Stacy Schiff - "The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams"

Government and Civics

Stacy Schiff is a Pulitzer Prize–winning author. Order The Revolutionary at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting our programs! ...

Video: Inside The Vault

Inside the Vault: “Pathological liar”: Harry Truman and the rise of Joseph McCarthy in 1950

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused more than 200 staff at the Department of State of being members of the Communist Party. How did President Harry Truman respond to the attack on his administration? On December 7, 2023...

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Theresa Runstedtler - "Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation That Saved the Soul of the NBA"

Theresa Runstedtler is an associate professor of history at American University. Order Black Ball at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for...

History Now Essay

Trumbull's Declaration, and Ours

Richard Brookhiser

Art

In November 1826 John Trumbull’s paintings of the American Revolution were installed in the Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington, DC. The most famous of them is his depiction of the Declaration of Independence being presented to the...

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69 | The Reception and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, 1776-1826 Winter 2023

History Now Essay

The Revolutionary Era West, before and after American Independence

Jessica Choppin Roney

Geography, Government and Civics, World History

In December 1772, a year before angry colonists heaved chests of East India tea into Boston Harbor, the British government seemed on the cusp of creating a new North American colony. Named “Vandalia,” in honor of Queen Charlotte’s...

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69 | The Reception and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, 1776-1826 Winter 2023

Essay

The Fight for LGBT Rights after World War II

Timothy Stewart-Winter

The oppression of LGBT Americans did not begin in the post–World War II decades, but they faced increasingly systematic exclusion from public life, in part resulting from the Cold War political climate of fear and distrust of people...

Essay

The Disability Rights Movement in America

Jaipreet Virdi

Disabled people have always fought for their rights. This is because they know that every policy issue, health crisis, inaccessible space, and fight for justice is a disability issue. Demanding access and advocacy for all people,...

History Now Essay

The Proclamation, Reading, and Immediate Reception of the Declaration of Independence

John R. Vile

Government and Civics

The Declaration of Independence, which the Second Continental Congress adopted on July 4, 1776, is America’s birth certificate, and patriots greeted it with joy similar to that surrounding the birth of a child. The Declaration...

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69 | The Reception and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, 1776-1826 Winter 2023

History Now Essay

Lemuel Haynes, Young African American Patriot of the 1770s

John Saillant

Literature, Religion and Philosophy

In 1776, Lemuel Haynes was a young veteran of the War of Independence who was envisioning his future. He had been an indentured servant from his birth in 1753 to his coming of age in 1774. After being released from indenture, he...

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69 | The Reception and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, 1776-1826 Winter 2023

History Now Essay

Judith Sargent Murray and the Declaration of Independence

Sheila L. Skemp

Literature

Judith Stevens (as she was then) was just twenty-five years old when a group of men in Philadelphia boldly declared the American colonies’ independence from England. Insisting that all men were created equal, and claiming that all...

Appears in:

69 | The Reception and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, 1776-1826 Winter 2023

History Now Issue

The Reception and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, 1776-1826

#69 Winter 2023

History Now Essay

From the Editor

Carol Berkin

The Declaration of Independence produced a crisis of loyalties for the American people. For many, it was a just and fair call for release from the control of a British king and Parliament that had turned a mother country into an...

Appears in:

69 | The Reception and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, 1776-1826 Winter 2023

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Mark Whitaker- "Saying It Loud: 1966―The Year Black Power Challenged the Civil Rights Movement"

Government and Civics

Mark Whitaker is a best-selling author and a journalist who served as editor of Newsweek . Order Saying It Loud at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank...

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Jonathan W. White - "Shipwrecked: A True Civil War Story of Mutinies, Jailbreaks, Blockade-Running, and the Slave Trade"

Government and Civics

Jonathan W. White is a professor of American studies at Christopher Newport University. Order Shipwrecked at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for...

Video: Inside The Vault

Inside the Vault: The San Francisco Earthquake

Geography, Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

“Wednesday, April 18th. will go down in history as the date of the most terrible calamity the United States, and particularly California, has ever known. I do not feel much like writing about it. Would feel better if I could cry but...

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History U | Foundations of American Government

Foundations of American Government This History U course examines the “why” and the “how” of American government through in-depth discussion of its history and workings. Course Instructor : Professor Denver Brunsman, The George Washington University...

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2023 David McCullough Prize Winners

2023 David McCullough Prize Winners Read the prize-winning essays, selected from more than one hundred and fifty students’ entries. These entries were reviewed by a panel of our master teachers, and the finalists were...

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Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed, 2024 Gala Honoree

Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed, 2024 Gala Honoree Annette Gordon-Reed Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University. A renowned law professor and scholar of American history, Annette has held...

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Ruth & Sid Lapidus, 2024 Gala Honorees

Ruth & Sid Lapidus, 2024 Gala Honorees Ruth Lapidus Ruth Lapidus graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and Hunter College in New York City. She has an MA in public health administration from Pace University and...

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Bill & Lia Poorvu, 2024 Gala Honorees

Bill & Lia Poorvu, 2024 Gala Honorees Bill Poorvu Bill Poorvu is an entrepreneur and educator with more than sixty years of experience in his fields. He holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard University....

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Elizabeth Varon- "Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South"

Government and Civics

Elizabeth R. Varon is the Langbourne M. Williams Professor of American History at the University of Virginia. Order Longstreet at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link...

Lesson Plan

The History of Federal, State, and Tribal Powers, 1788–2020

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Click here to download this five-lesson unit.

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Maurizio Valsania- "First Among Men: George Washington and the Myth of American Masculinity"

Government and Civics

Maurizio Valsania is a professor of American history at the University of Turin, Italy. Order First Among Men at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you...

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History U | Women and Politics in 20th-Century America

Women and Politics in 20th-Century America This History U course examines the struggles and successes of American women fighting for equality in American politics, life, and culture, from the movement for suffrage to campaigns for fair wages. Course...

Essay

America's Role in the World: World War I to World War II

Michael Neiberg

Government and Civics, World History

Between World War I and World War II the United States emerged on the world stage as a superpower. This ascendancy had military, economic, humanitarian, and cultural dimensions. Some Americans expressed discomfort with this unwelcome...

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Sarah Parry Myers - "Earning Their Wings: The WASPs of World War II and the Fight for Veteran Recognition"

Sarah Parry Myers is an assistant professor of history at Messiah University. Order Earning Their Wings at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for...

News

Nominate a Teacher for the 2024 National History Teacher of the Year

Nominations are open for the 2024 National History Teacher of the Year Award ! Each year, we honor 53 teachers from across the country who have made an impact in their school community. We encourage you to submit a nomination for a...

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Announcing the 2024 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize Finalists

New York, NY, February 1, 2024 —The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2024 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize: Frank J. Cirillo , The Abolitionist Civil War: Immediatists and the...

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Steven Hahn - "Forging America: A Continental History"

Government and Civics

Steven Howard Hahn is a professor of history at New York University. Order Forging America at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting our...

Video: General

Understanding Lincoln: First Inaugural Address (1861)

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

Watch this close reading of a document by Abraham Lincoln, with Dickinson College historian Matthew Pinsker.

Video: General

Understanding Lincoln: First Draft of Emancipation (1862)

Video

Understanding Lincoln: Cooper Union Speech (1860)

Video: Inside The Vault

Inside the Vault: Lincoln’s Refusal to Pardon Nathaniel Gordon

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

“It becomes my painful duty to admonish the prisoner that, relinquishing all expectation of pardon by Human Authority, he refer himself alone to the mercy of the Common God and Father of all men.” —Abraham Lincoln, February 4, 1862...

Essay

The United States and the Space Race

James Spiller

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History

On July 20, 1969, 650 million people witnessed an astounding event. They tuned in to live broadcasts of the first lunar landing and heard American astronaut Neil Armstrong’s famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap...

News

Explore Black History Month Resources

In celebration of Black History Month, the Gilder Lehrman Institute highlights resources for studying Black history in America through curated groupings of documents and accompanying materials. Frederick Douglass Resources The Gilder...

Video: Book Breaks

Allen C. Guelzo - "Our Ancient Faith: Lincoln, Democracy, and the American Experiment"

Government and Civics

Allen C. Guelzo serves as the Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Research Scholar and Director of the Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. Order Our Ancient Faith at the Gilder...

About page

Nominations Now Open for the 2024 National History Teacher of the Year

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History celebrates outstanding K–12 educators, providing a valuable opportunity to recognize and embrace diversity in education New York, February 12, 2024—Nominations are now open for the...

Video: General

"On Juneteenth": A Conversation with Annette Gordon-Reed

Recording of a Book Talk on On Juneteenth presented by author Annette Gordon-Reed (Harvard University) in conversation with Edward L. Ayers (University of Richmond).

Video: General

History U | Lyndon Johnson and American Liberalism

Lyndon Johnson and American Liberalism Watch Michael Flamm, Professor of History, Ohio Wesleyan University discuss Lyndon Johnson as part of the History U course "1960s in Historical Perspective." The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s...

Video: General

History U | The Articles of Confederation

The Articles of Confederation Watch Denver Brunsman, Associate Professor of History at George Washington University, discuss the Articles of Confederation as part of the History U course "Foundations of American Government." The...

Video: General

History U | American Indian History Introduction

American Indian History Introduction Watch Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone), Howard R. Lamar Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University, introduce his History U course "American Indian History: Recasting the Narrative" ...

Video: General

Understanding Lincoln: House Divided Speech (1858)

Understanding Lincoln: House Divided Speech Historian Matthew Pinsker discusses Lincoln's famous speech.

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The Reception and Impact of the Declaration of Independence, 1776-1826

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