There are fashion plates, and then there are the exquisite fashion plates that constitute the University of Washington Libraries digitized collection. The plates were first collected by long-time home economics professor Blanche Payne, who taught at the University from 1927 to 1966. The plates come from leading French, American, and British fashion journals of the 19th and early 20th century and...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) levied its heaviest fine ever against a television broadcaster as it announced earlier this week that it would fine the Fox Broadcasting Company close to $1.2 million. The program that the FCC took exception to was the very short-lived “Married by America” episode that appeared on April, 7, 2003. In this particular episode of the poorly received...

The term "white-collar crime" was reportedly coined in 1939 by Professor Edwin Sutherland, and today it can refer to anything from elaborate health care frauds to government contracting scams. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a keen eye in tracking such matters, and this website provides ample information on their activities. The first thing visitors should check out is the "Don't Be...

There's a whole lot of material to cover within the world of communications law, and within their aegis, the Federal Communications Law Journal (FCLJ) covers everything from intellectual property to cable regulation. The Journal is published by Indiana University law students, and it also serves as the official journal for the Federal Communications Bar Association. This status also means that the...

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...

Created by an act of Congress in 1967, the Federal Judicial Center has served as a clearinghouse of information about the federal court system for four decades. While the Center is physically based in Washington, DC, their website brings information about the court system, its history, and its judges to any interested parties with access to the Internet. From their homepage, visitors can go...

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago has crafted a wide range of educational resources designed for economics and finance educators. This site is updated frequently, and it includes webcasts, lesson plans, blogs for educators, and so on. First off, visitors should take a look at the Making Learning Economics Fun student workbook and teacher's guide. This helpful resource is designed to help...

Each of the Federal Reserve Banks has its own outreach efforts, which include public lectures, discussion groups, and a panoply of materials related to financial reports, manufacturing trends, and topics both far-ranging and quite focused. This section of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's website brings together key reports and data sets divided into areas such as Dynamic Data and Maps from...

Based at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Center for Pacific Basin Studies is a program "to promote cooperation among central banks in the region and enhance public understanding of major Pacific Basin monetary and economic policy issues." On the site, visitors can find graphs that document the transformation of the Japanese auto industry, links to conference proceedings, and the...

Some people might not be aware that the Federal Reserve Banks provide a wide range of educational resources, including lesson plans, online economic indicators for classroom use, and materials on personal finances. The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco offers ten different resources, including interviews with economists and information about bank tours. The Economics in Person section features...