As the oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to “the study and promotion of history and historical thinking,” the American Historical Association (AHA) has a lot on its plate. The Association was founded in 1884 when a group of academics recognized that a new discipline was taking shape. They subsequently split from the American Social Science Association, despite objections from...

A commercial site, Animated Atlas provides excellent audio-visual resources for teachers and students of European and American history. The resources combine maps and animation to create short video presentations on such subjects as the growth of the United States and the First World War. Though most of the videos must be ordered, the site provides free samples of its presentations, including a...

The University of Washington is responsible for this excellent Website devoted to the history of the Pacific Northwest. The site makes available a generous selection of the Center's voluminous materials in regional history. The Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest also provides Curriculum Packets on topics such as "The Gold Rush", "The Cold War and Red Scare in Washington State" and the...

The National Park Service has become well-known for their Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plans series, and this recent addition is a fine complement to their previous endeavors. This particular plan deals with the workshop and life of Daniel Chester French, the noted American sculptor who is perhaps best known for his sculpture of Abraham Lincoln that graces the Lincoln Monument. The lesson...

The University of California has worked diligently to create themed collections for teachers and others interested in California history. The Calisphere gateway provides access to 200,000 digitized items, so it's great to see that those involved have created these smaller and more manageable collections as part of this fantastic effort. The collections are organized chronologically into sections...

Located in Dover, the Delaware Public Archives is the state's official repository for all types of government and state agency documents, including many from Delaware's days as a British colony. While there is plenty of information on their interaction with state and federal agencies, most visitors will want to take a look at their online finding aids to the Archives holdings and their online...

Utilizing digital and online technologies to teach different disciplines continues to be quite popular, and the Digital History website will be a most welcome find for teachers (and students) of American history. Developed in collaboration with the University of Houston, the Chicago Historical Society, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston and several other entities the site includes an online...

Based at the University of Richmond, the Digital Scholarship Lab develops "innovative digital humanities projects that contribute to research and teaching at and beyond the University of Richmond." On the website, visitors can learn about ongoing projects, publications, and the Lab's team of dedicated professionals. The Projects section is quite remarkable, as it contains seven unique projects,...

Just about every town in the United States has one post office, and a number of them have other federal government buildings. The United States experienced quite a boom in federal building construction during the Great Depression, and many of these structures remain iconic pieces of the built environment. This lesson plan from the Teaching with Historic Places program at the National Park Service...

For educators, students, and persons looking for information about any period in American history will find the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History Web site an excellent resource containing thousands of helpful materials ranging from the colonial period to the present day. The site is divided into three main sections: Resources by Period, Resources by Topic, and the Reference Room. Users...