A Century of Lawmaking For a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1875 http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html American Memory, Library of Congress. This collection draws on the Law Library of Congress, a separate department of the Library which houses one of the most complete collections of U.S. Congressional documents in their original format. It "brings together online the records and acts of Congress from the Journals of the Continental Congress through The Congressional Globe, which ceased publication with the 42nd Congress in 1873. An excellent resource for antebellum and reconstruction politics. Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774­1873 American Memory, Library of Congress. This collection draws on the Law Library of Congress, a separate department of the Library which houses one of the most complete collections of U.S. Congressional documents in their original format. It "brings together online the records and acts of Congress from the Journals of the Continental Congress through The Congressional Globe, which ceased publication with the 42nd Congress in 1873. An excellent resource for antebellum and reconstruction politics. Resources Available: TEXT. Making of America University of Michigan. See JAH web revview by Tobias Higbie. Reviewed 2002-09-01. This site is a “digital library” of thousands of primary documents in American social history from the Antebellum period through Reconstruction. The result of a collaborative project between the University of Michigan and Cornell University, begun in 1995, it currently offers more than 3 million pages of text from 11,063 volumes and 50,000 journal articles. Includes 10 major 19th-century journals—like Appleton’s from 1869 to 1881, the Southern Literary Messenger from 1835 to 1864, Ladies Repository from 1841 to 1876, and DeBow’s from 1846 to 1869 — as well as novels and tracts important for understanding the development of American education, sociology, history, religion, psychology, and science. A recent addition includes 149 volumes on New York City, some from the early 20th century. Searchable by word or phrase, the site provides a complete bibliography of books and journals, organized by author. Well-designed and executed, this is an excellent collection of material. Resources Available: TEXT. African-American Women http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/collections/african-american-women.html The Digital Scriptorium, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University. Writings of three African-American women of the 19th century are offered in this site. Features scanned images and transcriptions of an 85-page memoir by Elizabeth Johnson Harris (1867-1923), a Georgia woman whose parents had been slaves, along with 13 attached pages of newspaper clippings containing short prose writings and poems by Harris; a 565-word letter written in 1857 by a North Carolinia slave named Vilet Lester; and four letters written between 1837 and 1838 by Hannah Valentine and Lethe Jackson, slaves on an Abingdon, Virginia, plantation. The documents are accompanied by three background essays ranging in length from 300 to 800 words, six photographs, a bibliography of seven titles on American slave women, and eight links to additional resources. Though modest in size, this site contains documents of value for their insights into the lives of women living under slavery and during its aftermath in the South. Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES. Freedmen's Bureau Online http://www.freedmensbureau.com/ Christine's Geneology Websites, Inc.. The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, also known as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established by the War Department in 1865 to supervise all relief and education activities for refugees and freedmen after the Civil War. The Bureau was responsible for issuing rations, clothing, and medicine, and it also had custody of confiscated lands in the former Confederate States and other designated territories. This site contains an extensive collection of Freedmen's Bureau records and reports gathered by Christine Charity, a genealogist herself, to aid other family history and historical research. Included among these records are over 100 transcriptions of reports on murders, riots, and “outrages” (any criminal offense, most of which were violent crimes by or against freedmen) that occurred in the former Confederate States from 1865-1868; roughly 30 links to records and indexes of labor contracts between freedmen and planters 1865-1872; six links to marriage records of freedmen, 1861-1872; and over 100 miscellaneous state record items concerning freedmen. The site also offers six links to related sites. The entire site is keyword searchable and easy to navigate. The site is ideal for researching the Reconstruction era in the South and African-American labor, cultural, and family history. Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO. The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aointro.html American Memory, Library of Congress. More than 240 items dealing with African-American history from collections of the Library of Congress, including books, government documents, manuscripts, maps, musical scores, plays, films, and recordings. The exhibition explores black America’s quest for political, social, and economic equality from slavery through the mid-20th century. Organized into nine chronological periods covering the following topics: slavery; free blacks in the antebellum period; antislavery movements; the Civil War and African-American participation in the military; Reconstruction political struggles, black exodus from the South, and activism in the black church; the “Booker T. Washington era” of progress in the creation of educational and political institutions during a period of violent backlash; World War I and the postwar period, including the rise of the Harlem Renaissance; the Depression, New Deal, and World War II; and the Civil Rights era. Each section includes a 500-word overview and annotations of 100 words in length for each object displayed. In addition to documenting the struggle for freedom and civil rights, the exhibit includes celebratory material on contributions of artists, writers, performers, and sports figures. Valuable for students and teachers looking for a well-written and documented guide for exploring African-American history. Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES. HarpWeek: Explore History http://www.harpweek.com/ John Adler. See JAH web review by Matthew Schneirov. Reviewed 2003-06-01. Within the larger HarpWeek site—which for a hefty subscription fee allows full-text searching of all Harper’s Weekly issues from 1857–1912—this collection of 13 exhibits presents free access to a wealth of texts and images taken primarily from Harper’s on a variety of subjects dealing with 19th-century American political and social history. “The Presidential Elections—1860–1912” offers hundreds of political cartoons annotated with explanatory essays up to 700 words in length, in addition to biographies, shorter essays on issues and campaigning, and overviews of up to 3,000 words on each of the 14 elections. “American Political Prints, 1766–1876” presents 750 cartoons and other types of print from Library of Congress collections, with 100-word annotations and a 1,800-word introductory essay. “Finding Precedent: The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson” has more than 200 items from 1865–69, including 27 political cartoons, 47 news articles, 34 illustrations, and 90 editorials. “19th Century Advertising History” provides approximately 50 ads for items and services such as Civil War products, consumer goods, farmland, travel abroad, insurance, retailers, and souvenirs. "Toward Racial Equality: Harper’s Weekly Reports on Black America, 1857–1874“ presents approximately 70 cartoons, illustrations, and advertisements dealing with slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and African-American culture and society. ”A Sampler of Civil War Literature“ includes 15 complete stories, indexed according to nine categories. In ”Finding Precedent: Hayes vs. Tilden, The Electoral College Controversy of 1876–1877,“ visitors will find 23 cartoons and illustrations, a 4,200-word overview, a day-by-day timeline, more than 20 biographies, and an essay relating it to the 2000 election. ” ”The World of Thomas Nast" offers nearly 50 cartoon by the illustrious Harper’s illustrator. Recent additions to the site include exhibits on “Russian-American Relations, 1863–1905”; “Business Machines, 1857–1912”; and “Coffin Nails: The Tobacco Controversy in the 19th Century.” Finally, in “Educational Tools for Learning about the 19th Century World,” documents and classroom activities are presented for three topics: the Ku Klux Klan, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, and the North’s victory in the Civil War. A valuable site for those studying 19th-century print culture, the history of publishing, and the political and social history of the latter half of the 19th-century. Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES. American Slave Narratives http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/wpa/wpahome.html Bruce Fort, Ph.D. candidate, University of Virginia. This site contains selections from 13 interviews with former slaves conducted between 1936 and 1938 by journalists working for the New Deal Federal Writers¹ Project of the Works Progress Administration. Each selection is accompanied by a brief biographical sketch of the interviewee, a photograph or drawing of the interviewee taken at the time of the interview, and in one instance, an audio component. Includes guidelines for reading slave narratives, a bibliography of 16 scholarly works on the history of slavery, and 21 links to related sites in general American history, southern history, and African-American history. A useful sample of first-hand testimony on American slave experience and culture. Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES, AUDIO. Excerpts from Slave Narratives http://vi.uh.edu/pages/mintz/primary.htm Steven Mintz, University of Houston. Excerpts selected from 46 slave narratives are arranged in 11 chronological and thematic categories. Topics include 18th-century bondage and 20th-century sharecropping, as well as the religious practices, family life, emancipation, and childhood experiences of slaves throughout the antebellum period. Excerpts range from 150 to 2,000 words. Resources Available: TEXT. Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/impeachmt.htm Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson Douglas Linder, Professor, University of Missouri, Kansas City, School of Law. In 1868, President Andrew Johnson was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act (1867), which prohibited a president from unilaterally removing any officials for whom Senate approval was required for appointment. Part of Professor Douglas Linder’s Famous American Trials website, this exhibit examines Johnson’s impeachment trial and his narrow escape from conviction and removal from office. Linder provides a 1500-word account of the trial and includes a chronology of events in Johnson’s presidency, from his election as Abraham Lincoln’s vice president in 1864 to his death in 1875. The site includes background information on the process of impeachment, such as the relevant articles of the United States Constitution and James Madison’s notes on the framers' Constitutional Convention debates over the impeachment process. The site also includes full-text verions of the Articles of Impeachment against Johnson, the Senate’s rules of procedure for the impeachment trial, and the Senate trial record, including all arguments, documentary evidence, testimony, and the final vote. There are also excerpts from the Congressional Globe of the opinions of six senators, both for and against impeachment, and a map that shows the regional splits in the votes for and against impeachment. The site also provides links to the account of the trial, including biographies of 28 key figures in the trial, 90 editorials, 47 news articles and briefs, 47 illustrations, 27 political cartoons, and one illustrated satire. A brief bibliography includes six scholarly books, one video, and two internet sites with information on the Johnson impeachment trial. The Harper’s Weekly section also provides a link to a “Teaching Impeachment” exercise in which students can simulate an impeachment trial. This rather complicated role play exercise requires considerable research and strong analytical skills, but would be accessible for very advanced high school and survey classes. This is an ideal site for researching constitutional history, Reconstruction, and the presidency. Resources Available: TEXT, IMAGES. Bibliography of the History of American Education http://www.zzbw.uni-hannover.de/HerbstStart.htm Jurgen Herbst, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Provides thousands of bibliographic listings on significant historical aspects of American education. An area on general written works (not online) is organized into 25 sections covering topics such as historiography, anthologies of documents, curriculum, types of education, family and childhood studies, the role of government, the education of women, and the educational system in various sections of the country. Three additional sections are arranged in chronological periods—colonial, Revolution to Reconstruction, and the urban age. These include topics similar to those in the first section, with additional emphases on race, ethnic groups, and other categories appropriate to the time period. Though the site lacks evaluative annotations, this is a valuable introductory reference work to the study of education in America. Resources Available: TEXT. Video Home