Historical Resources

American Memory: Selected Civil War Photographs

There are plenty of areas of government I could take or leave. But the Library of Congress remains one of my favorites, displaced only by the United States Postal Service, and the American Memory sites are a perfect example of why this Library is so outstanding. This site is rich with photographs by Matthew Brady, Alexander Gardner, and many others. If you're interested in buying books with these photos, you can get them remaindered or from online dealers like Edward R. Hamilton:"http://www.edwardrhamilton.com"

Read more:   American Memory: Selected Civil War Photographs

Related Topics:  Annotated Link  Civil War  History  USA 

Gettysburg Address Read by Sam Waterston

Eloquent speaking has largely left the public arena, with speechwriters spinning and public speakers unable to perfect a turn of phrase if their lives depended on it. There are, of course, bright sparks of hope like former President William J. Clinton, or many leaders from other nations, like Nelson Mandela or Margaret Thatcher. Few modern speeches or speakers will match Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, however, for brevity and longevity. Sam Waterston - one of my favorite actors in any of the many roles he has had - reads the Address here for National Public Radio on the 140th anniversary of this greatest of American battles.

Read more:   Gettysburg Address Read by Sam Waterston

Related Topics:  Annotated Link  Civil War  History  USA  National Public Radio  Gettysburg 

Virginia Civil War Archive

This fantastic resource (utilizing the Greenstone digital library application) hosts 100 illustrations for Harpers Weekly from the Civil War. Easy to navigate, and the scans are of good quality, and well indexed. Searches on topics like "cold harbor" or "lee" are pretty straight-forward. The drawing of Lee, sans beard, is one of my favorites.

Read more:   Virginia Civil War Archive

Related Topics:  Annotated Link  Civil War  History  Robert E. Lee  USA  Virginia  Manassas  Richmond 

Treasures of the Nation

I'm a huge fan of the U.S. National Parks Service (http://www.nps.gov) and can't recommend highly enough the many national parks for wildlife and cultural information. This particular part of the NPS site is "an indexed database of images" of realia from the many parks, including a totem pole from Sitka (AK) National Historic Park and a letter written by Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.

Read more:   Treasures of the Nation

Related Topics:  Annotated Link  History  National Park Service  USA 

American Memory: Map Collections: 1500-2003

There are few resources I enjoy using more than maps. The Library of Congress, that jewel of a reference resource, has digitized a number of maps ranging from military campaigns to exploration of the frontier to the growth of cities. This is another of the American Memory sites.

Read more:   American Memory: Map Collections: 1500-2003

Related Topics:  Annotated Link  History  USA  Maps 

NARA 100 Milestone Documents

The United States National Archive and Records Administration is one of the most interesting Web sites available for historical information. It's a gateway to a tremendous amount of United States information. Not to miss are the 100 Milestone Documents that range from the instantly recognizable (Declaration of Independence) to less common (the cheque used to pay for Alaska). NARA provides high resolution versions of the original document.

Read more:   NARA 100 Milestone Documents

Related Topics:  Annotated Link  History  USA  National Archives and Records Administration (US) 

National Battlefield Protection Program

One of the saddest things you can do is travel through a country where great battles have occurred to find that the final clash has been covered up by a monostrous hypermart full of plastic toys and groceries. Evesham is a notorious example in England. The United States National Park Service has initiated a battlefield protection program that enables citizens and tourists to walk the fields of Gettysburg and Antietam, among others. If you have an opportunity to teach about these explosive events, the site has lesson plans and other teaching resources.

Read more:   National Battlefield Protection Program

Related Topics:  Annotated Link  Civil War  History  USA  National Park Service 

Antietam National Battlefield

Lee. McClellan. Sharpsburg. Antietam. 23000 dead, missing, or wounded in a single day. It puts the war casualties in Viet Nam, Iraq, nearly anywhere in the past 100 years, into perspective. That doesn't diminish the great sacrifice that each soldier has made in those wars, but it is difficult to fathom destruction on this scale. I went for a walk along Bloody Lane with my family as well as other parts of the Antietam battlefield. Although it was questionable as a victory for the Union, it was sufficient to provide President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves. The National Parks Service has taken great care of the site, provided information about the different areas where the armies collided, and otherwise left you a map and to your own devices. Anyone willing to drive a short distance from Washington D.C. shouldn't miss the opportunity to visit it.

Read more:   Antietam National Battlefield

Related Topics:  Abraham Lincoln  Annotated Link  Antietam  Civil War  History  National Park Service  Robert E. Lee  Sharpsburg 

U.S. Supreme Court Multimedia

The Oyez! site is a wealth of information about the United States Supreme Court. Read historic opinions, find related case information, or listen to the oral arguments given by some of the best lawyers in the world.

Read more:   U.S. Supreme Court Multimedia

Related Topics:  Annotated Link  History  Judiciary  Legal system  USA  Supreme Court (US)