HIST 206: History of the United States from 1865 to the Present

This presentation features 68 motion pictures, produced between 1898 and 1901, of the Spanish-American War and the subsequent Philippine Revolution. The Spanish-American War was the first U.S. war in which the motion picture camera played a role.

This collection of original photographs includes images from shortly before the war, during the war, and during the American occupation of Cuba. It includes photographs that were sold commercially as cabinet cards, as well as personal photographs taken by Americans on the scene.

By 1900, the policy of the federal government was that American Indian people needed to assimilate into white society, giving up their traditional ways to become like Euro-Americans in their living arrangements, dress, pastimes, religious expression, and work. Find and overview and primary sources.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the US government had permanently transformed Native American life across the United States through broken treaties, bison hunting to near-extinction, and reservation containment. Find an overview and primary sources.

This collection of photos and documents shows what life was like for the many children enrolled in American Indian boarding schools. Find an overview and primary sources.

These collections contain significant materials on politics and Haiti's relationship with the United States. Several collections focus on the US presence in Haiti, including the 1915 military intervention that led to a prolonged occupation by US troops. Other collections relate to politics, education, and human rights in Haiti during the dictatorships of François Duvalier and his successor, Jean-Claude Duvalier.

The project is one of the world’s largest and most diverse chronicles of the immigrant experience. It includes nearly 2,000 interviews from passengers, families, immigration officials, military personnel, detainees, and former island employees. The recordings are filled with tales of joy, sorrow, and hope, and cumulatively, they paint an expansive and complex picture of our ancestry and culture.

Immigrant Oral Histories presents a collection of over 360 oral history interviews conducted between 1967 and 2012 with recent immigrants to Minnesota and their American-born children, including both streaming audio and written transcripts accessible online in digital formats.

Angel Island Immigration Station was the entryway to America for hundreds of thousands of immigrants, mainly from Asian countries, during its operation from 1910 to 1940. Chinese immigration to the United States had increased steadily since the mid-nineteenth century, and some Americans worried that Chinese employment as low-wage workers threatened American jobs. Find primary sources.

Documenting voluntary immigration to the United States from the signing of the Constitution to the start of the Great Depression.

The history of the United States has always been shaped by peoples and communities who came to its shores or moved within its borders. Some sought a better life, some fled oppression, and some were moved against their will. This presentation uses Library of Congress primary sources to explore moments and experiences from several of these communities.

This page provides links to primary source materials related to the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) and Chinese immigration.

SAADA creates a more inclusive society by giving voice to South Asian Americans through documenting, preserving, and sharing stories that represent their unique and diverse experiences.

Find oral histories from longtime residents and newcomers to the Jewish community in Washington state as well as photographs from the mid- 1800’s to present day.

The Bracero History Archive collects and makes available the oral histories and artifacts pertaining to the Bracero program, a guest worker initiative that spanned the years 1942-1964. Millions of Mexican agricultural workers crossed the border under the program to work in more than half of the states in America.

Between 1880 and 1930, approximately 28 million immigrants entered the United States. Find an overview and primary sources.

Beginning in World War II, the Bracero Program brought Mexican laborers to the United States to remedy wartime production shortages. Find an overview and primary sources.

A selection of materials from the Labor Archives of Washington collections has been digitized and added to the University of Washington's Digital Collections, to which this portal provides access. This project has made hundreds of primary textual and visual resources relating to Pacific Northwest labor history more accessible to the public.

The records of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) span the years 1883-1925. Comprising approximately 172,300 items (328,445 images) digitized from previously produced microfilm, the collection relates to the formation of local unions, meetings, charters, bylaws, ethics, publicity, arbitration, AFL's political principles, communism, socialism, anthracite coal strikes of 1897 and 1902, fund-raising, boycotts, and the United Mine Workers, American Railway Union, International Association of Machinists, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and American Federationist, the AFL's magazine.

Georgia State University's Southern Labor Archives, established in 1971, is dedicated to collecting, preserving and making available the documentary heritage of Southern workers and their unions, as well as that of workers and unions having a historic relationship to the region. The largest accumulation of labor records in the Southeast, the Archives holdings include organizational records, pamphlets, periodicals, photographs, personal papers of labor leaders, oral histories, collective bargaining agreements, constitutions and bylaws, and convention proceedings from 1888 to the present.

The Bracero History Archive collects and makes available the oral histories and artifacts pertaining to the Bracero program, a guest worker initiative that spanned the years 1942-1964. Millions of Mexican agricultural workers crossed the border under the program to work in more than half of the states in America.

Voices from the Dust Bowl: The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection is an online presentation of selections from a multi-format ethnographic field collection documenting the everyday life of residents of Farm Security Administration (FSA) migrant work camps in central California in 1940 and 1941.

The 48 women represented here provide a complex portrait of Rosie the Riveter, taking the viewer beyond the iconic "We Can Do It" poster girl and deep into the experiences real Rosies from diverse backgrounds, challenging the popular perception of women in American History.

The collection is an exploration of women's impact on the economic life of the United States between 1800 and the Great Depression. Working conditions, workplace regulations, home life, costs of living, commerce, recreation, health and hygiene, and social issues are among the issues documented.

Find primary sources.

Beginning in World War II, the Bracero Program brought Mexican laborers to the United States to remedy wartime production shortages. Find an overview and primary sources.

This multi-media web site brings the vital history of Seattle's civil rights movements to life with scores of video oral histories, hundreds of rare photographs, documents, movement histories, and personal biographies, more than 300 pages in all.

Contains 623 maps chosen from more than 3,000 railroad maps and about 2,000 regional, state, and county maps, and other maps which show "internal improvements" of the past century. The Railroad maps represent an important historical record, illustrating the growth of travel and settlement as well as the development of industry and agriculture in the United States.

Since its founding in 1997, the Center for Railroad Photography & Art has been passionately committed to telling railroading’s stories through imagery: interpreting the past creatively, connecting it to the present while looking to the future. The center achieves its mission through exhibitions, conferences, and publications that spring from its core commitment to collect, preserve, and then make widely available imagery that portrays the nearly 200-year history of railroads. Click on the "collections" tab to view online collections.

Find documents related to the Pacific Railway Act which was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on July 1, 1862. This act provided Federal government support for the building of the first transcontinental railroad, which was completed on May 10, 1869.

On November 4, 1879, Thomas Edison filed for a patent for an electric lamp using carbon filaments. Edison’s patent, which became the first commercially successful, long-lasting light bulb, changed the way people across the world live and work—with the flip of a switch. Find an overview and primary sources.

Begin to explore the artifacts at the core of The Henry Ford Archive of American Innovation™ through our continually expanding digital collections. This broad array of artifacts will lead you to extraordinary stories.

Find sources related to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

Between the 1880s and 1920s, hundreds of settlement houses were established in American cities in response to an influx of European immigrants as well as the urban poverty brought about by industrialization and exploitative labor practices. Find an overview and primary sources.

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of primary source materials associated with the 18th Amendment and Prohibition, including manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, sheet music, and broadsides. Provided below is a link to the home page for each relevant digital collection along with selected highlights.

The digitized items in the Alcohol, Temperance and Prohibition Collection are from the Alcoholism and Addiction Studies Collection, as well as from various collections in the Brown University Library — broadsides, sheet music, pamphlets and government publications.

This collection comprises postcards and folded cards (stationery) issued by the organization. Each item is headed with the saying "Prohibition-Probes," which is followed by an anti-prohibition slogan or quotation

Find digital collections related to the Women's Suffrage movement.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century United States, eugenics programs received widespread public support. Find an overview and primary sources.

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material related to World War I, including manuscripts, posters, newspapers, films, sheet music, and sound recordings.

As the largest repository of American World War I records, the National Archives invites you to browse the wealth of records and information documenting the U.S. experience in this conflict, including photographs, documents, audiovisual recordings, educational resources, articles, blog posts, lectures, and events.

UW-Madison's World War I collection focuses primarily, though not exclusively, on European aspects of the war. It is particularly strong in documenting rescue and relief efforts, and in propaganda materials, but all aspects of the war are included.

Find primary sources.

African American soldiers are often rendered invisible in the traditional historical narrative of United States involvement in World War I. Find an overview and primary sources.

This collection includes World War I materials from the collections of the State Library and State Archives of North Carolina. Items include posters, letters, photographs, maps, and papers.

The heart of the archive consists of collections of highly valued primary material from major poets of the period, including Wilfred Owen, Isaac Rosenberg, Robert Graves, Vera Brittain, and Edward Thomas. This is supplemented by a comprehensive range of multimedia artefacts from the Imperial War Museum, a separate archive of over 6,500 items contributed by the general public, and a set of specially developed educational resources.

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

Typically 2,000-15,000 words in length, the documents vary in form from narratives to dialogues to reports to case histories. They chronicle vivid life stories of Americans who lived at the turn of the century and include tales of meeting Billy the Kid, surviving the 1871 Chicago fire, pioneer journeys out West, grueling factory work, and the immigrant experience. Typically 2,000-15,000 words in length, the documents vary in form from narratives to dialogues to reports to case histories. They chronicle vivid life stories of Americans who lived at the turn of the century and include tales of meeting Billy the Kid, surviving the 1871 Chicago fire, pioneer journeys out West, grueling factory work, and the immigrant experience.

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Photograph Collection form an extensive pictorial record of American life between 1935 and 1944.

This source set allows you to explore the crisis of the Great Depression, as well as the dramatic developments of the New Deal, through photographs, speeches, letters, and oral histories. Find an overview and primary sources.

Photographs depicting CWA projects in the state of Washington include road construction and improvements, bridge construction and maintenance, waterway improvements, playfield and park improvements, water and sewage pipeline repairs, school maintenance projects, hospital and nursing activities, and airport improvements.

The following collection documents FERA projects established in King County. These include street construction, bridge building and sewer laying projects; park grounds and playfield improvements; school and public building construction and repair; land clearing, landscaping, wood cutting and land slide prevention; ditching, dredging, flood control and waterway improvement projects; establishment of FERA offices and stores; creation of recreation projects for children; organization of furniture, stove and tool repair, sewing, clothing distribution, boot and shoe repair, toy-making shops.

Voices from the Dust Bowl: The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Migrant Worker Collection is an online presentation of selections from a multi-format ethnographic field collection documenting the everyday life of residents of Farm Security Administration (FSA) migrant work camps in central California in 1940 and 1941.

Find photographs, articles, interviews, and more.

After the Day of Infamy: "Man-on-the-Street" Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor presents approximately twelve hours of opinions recorded in the days and months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from more than two hundred individuals in cities and towns across the United States. From the Library of Congress.

The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.

Several films from the WWII era. For example, take a look at "All-American News," the first newsreels produced for a black audience. Made in the 1940s and 1950s, they were originally intended to encourage black Americans to participate in, and support the war effort, and to reflect an African-American perspective on world and national events.

The World War II Films digital collection consists of short films and news clips, primarily in black and white, documenting Allied operations and activities during WWII. In addition to footage of campaigns in Europe and in the Pacific, the films document activities on the homefront, including the efforts of African American colleges and farmers, the relocation and internment of Japanese civilians, and the victory garden program sponsored by the U.S. Office of Civilian Defense.

This collection contains United States and Illinois government documents on subjects relating to World War II, including: rationing and conservation, women's work, civil defense, the Japanese interment, the development of the United Nations, and more.

Find images, video, and more.

The 48 women represented here provide a complex portrait of Rosie the Riveter, taking the viewer beyond the iconic "We Can Do It" poster girl and deep into the experiences real Rosies from diverse backgrounds, challenging the popular perception of women in American History.

Through this set, readers will learn about the opportunities and experiences of women laborers on the home front during the war. Find an overview and primary sources.

Beginning in World War II, the Bracero Program brought Mexican laborers to the United States to remedy wartime production shortages. Find an overview and primary sources.

In collaboration with the National Park Service and the City of Richmond, the Oral History Center conducted over 250 interviews focusing on the World War II Home Front experience. From the University of California Berkeley Library.

A selection of recorded oral history interviews chronicling African-American life during the age of legal segregation in the American South, from the 1890s to the 1950s.

The Black Women’s Suffrage Digital Collection is a collaborative project to provide digital access to materials documenting the roles and experiences of Black Women in the Women’s Suffrage Movement and, more broadly, women’s rights, voting rights, and civic activism between the 1850s and 1960.

The Civil Rights Digital Library promotes an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale.

On May 12, 2009, the U. S. Congress authorized a national initiative by passing The Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-19). The law directed the Library of Congress (LOC) and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) to conduct a national survey of existing oral history collections with relevance to the Civil Rights movement to obtain justice, freedom and equality for African Americans and to record and make widely accessible new interviews with people who participated in the struggle.

This award winning, multi-faceted project went beyond the collection and transcription of interviews on African American history and civil rights by providing thousands of Kentuckians with multiple platforms for connecting to the stories shared in more than 175 interviews.

Find oral histories from the Civil Rights Movement.

Civil Rights Greensboro provides access to archival resources documenting the modern civil rights era in Greensboro, North Carolina, from the 1940s to the early 1980s. During this formative period, Greensboro was an epicenter of activity, continuing a tradition that traces its roots back to the 19th century when members of the area's large Quaker population provided stops on the Underground Railroad.

This multi-media web site brings the vital history of Seattle's civil rights movements to life with scores of video oral histories, hundreds of rare photographs, documents, movement histories, and personal biographies, more than 300 pages in all.

Since its establishment in August 1991, the Cold War International History Project (CWIHP) has amassed a tremendous collection of archival documents on the Cold War era from the once secret archives of former communist countries. CWIHP has become internationally recognized as the world’s preeminent resource on the Cold War.

Find declassified documents from the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Find primary source documents.

This collection of declassified documents and other material highlights what the CIA provided President Reagan and other top members of his national security team on key issues affecting US-Soviet relations. The collection--made up of intelligence assessments, National Intelligence Estimates, high-level memos, and DCI talking points--consists of over 200 documents, some 60 of which are either being made available to the public for the first time or are being re-released with new material. To help put this material in perspective, we are also including non-CIA documents from the archives of the Reagan Library to fill out the collection on the policy end.

These primary sources are drawn from the emergence of resistance movements in the 1980s, the events of 1989, and the immediate aftermath in Eastern Europe.

The collections contain extensive resources on communist states and communist parties, as well as materials compiled by anticommunist organizations and individuals. Among the most significant are microfilm copies of Soviet Communist Party records and a number of collections relating to Trotskyist organizations in the United States and other countries.

A subfile of the Presidential Papers of John F. Kennedy constituting the working files of McGeorge Bundy, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. It is the primary foreign policy file of the Kennedy White House and consists of the following series: Countries, Regional Security Files, Trips and Conferences, Departments and Agencies, Subjects, Meetings and Memorandums, and staff files of Chester V. Clifton, Carl Kaysen, William H. Brubeck, Ralph Dungan, McGeorge Bundy, Robert W. Komer, Henry Kissinger, Charles Johnson, and Bromley K. Smith.

Find documents related to Senator McCarthy's Senate Permanent Investigation Subcommittee.