Search | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

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History Now Essay

Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington at the Tuskegee Institute, 1892: A Little-known Encounter

Adele Alexander

Featuring a passage from Adele Alexander’s book in progress, A Black Suffragist in the Jim Crow South: Adella Hunt Logan’s Epic Journey Author’s Introduction Most historians consider Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington the...

Appears in:

50 | Frederick Douglass at 200 Winter 2018

57 | Black Voices in American Historiography Summer 2020

History Now Essay

Frederick Douglass, Orator

Sarah Meer

Frederick Douglass was a great speaker before he was a great writer. Many African Americans were renowned as orators in the mid nineteenth-century, particularly preachers and anti-slavery lecturers. The most famous names include...

Appears in:

50 | Frederick Douglass at 200 Winter 2018

History Now Essay

From the Editor

Carol Berkin

2018 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of an extraordinary American: Frederick Douglass. Orator and activist, champion of abolition and tireless worker for racial equality, Douglass stands, with Abraham Lincoln, as the conscience...

Appears in:

50 | Frederick Douglass at 200 Winter 2018

News

2018 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize Recipient Announced

The 2018 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize will be awarded to Edward Ayers for The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America (W.W. Norton and Company). Ayers is President Emeritus of the University of...

History Now Issue

Frederick Douglass at 200

#50 Winter 2018

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Japanese announcement of the attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941

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

In January 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto began developing a plan to attack the American base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For eleven months, the Japanese continued to refine their plans while at the same time working diplomatically to...

News

Women’s History Month Resources

March is Women’s History Month, a time to commemorate the significant role women played in shaping American history. The Gilder Lehrman Institute has numerous essays, primary sources, lesson plans, videos, and more on American women’s...

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...

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Thomas P. Hirschfeld

Tom Hirschfeld is a writer and investor. A New York Times bestselling author, he has written nonfiction books totaling over 1.5 million copies in print. From 2005 to 2016, Hirschfeld was chief operating officer of Halcyon Asset...

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Allen C. Guelzo

Dr. Allen C. Guelzo is the Senior Research Scholar in the Council of the Humanities and Director of the Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship in the James Madison Program at Princeton University. He is the author of Abraham Lincoln...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

A brawl between Federalists and anti-Federalists, 1788

Government and Civics

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

In 1787 and 1788, debates over the ratification of the Constitution took place in towns and villages across the country. To gain support, both Federalists and anti-Federalists held meetings and marches that sometimes became violent....

News

Lewis E. Lehrman's Lincoln and Churchill: Statesmen at War

We are pleased to announce the latest publication by Lewis E. Lehrman, the co-founder of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, a renowned historian, and a National Humanities Medal winner. Lincoln & Churchill: Statesmen at War , provides...

Program/Event

Civil War Essay Contest Winners 2018

High School Division Click on the title to read a winning essay. First Prize Lena Cohen , Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina “One Hundred Years Later: The Failure of the Civil War Centennial” Second Prize Joseph Wang...

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Annette Gordon-Reed

Annette Gordon-Reed is the Carl M. Loeb University Professor at Harvard University and a professor of history in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She was formerly the Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for...

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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...

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S. Andrew Banks

Andrew Banks is the co-founder of Boston-based ABRY Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on the media and communications industry, where he served as chairman from 1989 to 2012. Prior to founding ABRY, Banks was a partner...

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John D. Britton II

John D. Britton II was a principal and portfolio manager at Select Equity Group LP. Before joining the firm, he was a portfolio manager and analyst at US Trust Company in New York. Britton also worked for two years as a reporter at...

News

New from the Gilder Lehrman Collection: Fight the Red Menace

As part of our initiative to expand our twentieth-century holdings, the Gilder Lehrman Institute recently acquired a set of anti-communist trading cards from the 1950s. These cards are a dramatic example of the type of propaganda used...

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Julian H. Robertson, Jr.

Julian H. Robertson, Jr., an investor, environmentalist, and philanthropist, was the chairman and chief executive officer of Tiger Management, LLC. Robertson built Tiger into one of the world’s largest hedge funds with capital of more...

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Mary Caslin Ross

Mary Caslin Ross has spent her career in philanthropy, serving the less fortunate and needy by designing solutions in her public policy and foundation executive positions. She lives in Santa Fe with her husband, Alex, and is a...

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Gladstone N. Jones, III

Gladstone N. Jones, III, is the founding member and business manager of Jones, Swanson, Huddell & Garrison, LLC. He has served as lead counsel in litigation pending in New York, Florida, California, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In...

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Luis A. Miranda, Jr.

Luis A. Miranda, Jr., has almost four decades of experience as a leader in the public and private sectors. A native of Puerto Rico, Miranda was director of field services and research at the National Action Council for Minorities in...

News

New Spotlight on a Constitutional Street Brawl

This month, the Institute is spotlighting a newspaper article describing a violent street brawl between Federalists and Anti-Federalists. The New York State ratifying convention began on June 16, 1788. In July 1788, Federalists...

Program/Event

Dear George Washington Contest Winners 2017

FIFTH-GRADE DIVISION FIRST PLACE Zachary Gwosden, Bullis Charter School, Los Altos, CA SECOND PLACE Chris Kim, Notre Dame Academy, Palisades Park, NJ THIRD PLACE Lauren Hoffman, Trinity Academy, Caldwell, NJ FOURTH PLACE Dario...

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

World War II Letters about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The Warsaw ghetto uprising began on April 19, 1943 w hen the Nazis tried to transport the remaining ghetto population to forced-labor centers and concentration camps. By May 16, 1943, the Germans had killed more than 7,000 Jews and...

News

Civil War Essay Contest Winners at the 2018 Lincoln Prize

The 2018 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize will be awarded this evening to Edward L. Ayers for his new book, The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America , at the Union League Club in New York City. A...

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Author Kevin J. Hayes Wins 2018 George Washington Prize

Award Ceremony to Take Place at Mount Vernon on May 23 MOUNT VERNON, VA – Author and historian Kevin J. Hayes has won the coveted George Washington Prize, including an award of $50,000, for his new book, George Washington: A Life in...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Map of the Foreign-Born Population of the United States, 1900

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

According to the 1900 census, the population of the United States was then 76.3 million. Nearly 14 percent of the population—approximately 10.4 million people—was born outside of the United States. Drawn by America’s labor...

Collection Item

1951

Bowman Gum Company (fl. 1951)

Fight the Red Menace: The Children's Crusade against Communism trading cards; 40. Frontier Patrol

One trading card from the Red Menace collection, "40. Frontier Patrol" depicting Norwegian soldiers on skis along a border. Reverse side contains propaganda narrative describing the Atlantic Pact as an agreement by which "free nations" provide aid...

GLC09627.40.02

Collection Item

1951

Bowman Gum Company (fl. 1951)

Fight the Red Menace: The Children's Crusade against Communism trading cards; 41. To the Mines

One trading card from the Red Menace collection, "41. To the Mines" depicting laborers in mines overworked, one laborer leans on another. Reverse side contains propaganda narrative mentioning uranium mines in the "Soviet Occupation Zone of Eastern...

GLC09627.41.02

Spotlight on: Primary Source

A frightening mission over Iwo Jima, 1945

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

Lieutenant Bob Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th United States Army Air Force in the Pacific. This Spotlight is part of a series of documents detailing the experience of airmen in World War II. Click...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

A soldier’s reaction to the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1945

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

Lieutenant Bob Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th United States Army Air Force in the Pacific. This Spotlight is part of a series of documents detailing the experience of airmen in World War II. Click...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

The World War II experience of Robert L. Stone, 1942–1945

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

Lieutenant Robert “Bob” Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th United States Army Air Force in the Pacific during World War II. Born on December 19, 1921 in New York City, Bob was a nineteen-year-old...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

The Battle of Iwo Jima: A family waits for news, 1945

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

Lieutenant Bob Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th United States Army Air Force in the Pacific. This Spotlight is part of a series of documents detailing the experience of airmen in World War II. Click...

Spotlight on: Primary Source

Bob Stone joins the US Army Air Forces, 1943–1944

Lieutenant Bob Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th US Army Air Force in the Pacific. This Spotlight is part of a series of documents detailing the experience of airmen in World War II. Click here for...

News

Revisiting the Founding Era

The Gilder Lerhman Institute of American History has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for Revisiting the Founding Era, a three-year project that will support programs at 97 public...

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,...

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GLI Now - Fall 2017 Newsletter

2017 Teacher Seminars: Wrap-up and Highlights The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teacher Seminars , which have been held each summer since 1996, are the most popular professional development opportunity offered by our organization. Held...

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...

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GLI Now - Summer 2018 Newsletter

A Grant to Support California Teachers Since our founding, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has served thousands of educators through free, summer professional development programs that focus on a topic in American history. Due to a...

History Now Essay

Making (White Male) Democracy: Suffrage Expansion in the United States from the Revolution to the Civil War

Stuart M. Blumin

Government and Civics

There is perhaps no theme more central to our traditional understanding of American history than the expansion of democracy. And in that long story of democratization we habitually regard as our peculiar contribution to the world,...

Appears in:

51 | The Evolution of Voting Rights Summer 2018

History Now Issue

The Evolution of Voting Rights

#51 Summer 2018

History Now Essay

A Right Deferred: African American Voter Suppression after Reconstruction

Marsha J. Tyson Darling

Government and Civics

In the United States, voting is a constitutionally protected right and an essential symbol of meaningful political participation in our nation’s electoral processes of governing. The right to vote and to have one’s vote count toward...

Appears in:

51 | The Evolution of Voting Rights Summer 2018

57 | Black Voices in American Historiography Summer 2020

History Now Essay

“A Vote-less People Is a Hopeless People”: Lessons from Selma

Robert A. Pratt

The black freedom struggle, commonly referred to as the civil rights movement, is undoubtedly one of the greatest social movements in the history of the world. After more than two centuries of bondage followed by another century of...

Appears in:

51 | The Evolution of Voting Rights Summer 2018

57 | Black Voices in American Historiography Summer 2020

History Now Essay

From the Editor

Carol Berkin

Throughout the history of our country, being able to vote has been synonymous with enjoying a political voice. Although Americans from colonial times to the present have also expressed their views on policies, programs, and political...

Appears in:

51 | The Evolution of Voting Rights Summer 2018

History Now Essay

Alice Paul, Suffrage Militant

Barbara Winslow

Government and Civics

Alice Stokes Paul (1885−1977) was one of the leading feminists of the early twentieth century, a person who brought the women’s suffrage movement into the national spotlight. Passage of the Susan B. Anthony Amendment or the Nineteenth...

Appears in:

51 | The Evolution of Voting Rights Summer 2018

History Now Essay

Women's Long Journey for the Vote

Eleanor Clift

Government and Civics

The earliest and most famous expression of the discontent American women felt over their station in life was voiced by Abigail Adams in March 1776 when she urged her husband, the future president John Adams, to “Remember the Ladies, ...

Appears in:

51 | The Evolution of Voting Rights Summer 2018

News

Teacher Seminar Livestreams in Partnership with the Eisenhower Memorial Commission

As part of a special partnership with the Eisenhower Memorial Commission , the Gilder Lehrman Institute is pleased to present a special livestream of our Gilder Lehrman Teacher Seminar on Eisenhower and the Art of Presidential...

News

Partnership Announced to Teach the History and Legacy of World War I

Free professional development may be coming soon to your state! We’re pleased to announce that the Gilder Lehrman Institute is partnering with the U.S. World War I Centennial Commission , National History Day , and the National World...