Colonial America, 1600 - 1750

Early America
Although this is a commercial site, one that hopes to sell images and reproductions to visitors, it also includes many resources that will help teachers of early American history. The "Explore the World of Early America" section is the best for teachers since it includes images of many important documents. Visitors can read in contemporary accounts the text of the Newburgh Address, the Louisiana Purchase, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Washington's Farewell Address, and many more significant documents. The site also includes numerous maps created in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Moreover, the site allows teachers and students to read obituaries of famous Americans, including George and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benedict Arnold, the victims of the Boston Massacre, and more.

Jamestown
This site, from the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, contains information on the archaeological excavation at Jamestown.

Colonial Williamsburg
This website's target audience includes potential tourists as well as teachers, but it does have a section devoted entirely to teacher and student resources. Most helpful in this section are the seventeen "classroom-tested lesson plans" prepared for a variety of grade levels. Most include the necessary primary sources and other instructional materials within the plans themselves. The "Electronic Field Trips" will also interest teachers and students, especially the Sample Electronic Field Trips. These are very interesting interactive exercises (in the tradition of "Choose Your Own Adventure" books) that your students will find enjoyable and informative.

Antebellum South, 1800 - 1850

Uncle Tom's Cabin
Devoted to both the story and the historical context of American attitudes towards slaves and slavery.

Westward Expansion, 1800 - 1850

The Oregon Trail
Overview of the Oregon Trail, including an online teachers guide.

The Sectional Crisis & Civil War, 1850 - 1865

civilwar.com
Contains a timeline and listing of battles, as well as primary documents including letters, diaries, and songs.

Valley of the Shadow
Award winning site from the University of Virginia covering the experience of two communities during the Civil War.

The New South, 1877 - 1920

The Negro Holocaust
This site contains a number of resources to aid teachers in a discussion of racial violence in American history.

Without Sanctuary
This website was designed to accompany the book, With Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America. The site primarily contains photographs taken from the book.

Industrialization, Gilded Age & The Progressive Era, 1877 - 1917

1912: Competing Visions for America
The site uses the presidential election of 1912 to understand the progressive era.

By Popular Demand
This site from the American Memory Project at the Library of Congress contain numerous photographs of important individuals, suffrage parades, and picketers, as well as political cartoons.

The 1920's

The Ad Access Project
The Ad Access Project web site, presented and supported by Duke University, is the most comprehensive electronic archive for print advertisements in the first half of the twentieth century.

The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921
Information from the African American Resource Center.

Depression and New Deal America, 1929 - 1940

A New Deal for the Arts
This site from the National Archives offers several different ways to examine the creations of New Deal arts projects and introduces visitors to several different themes that emerged from the era's visual, print, musical, and theatrical creations.

New Deal Network
A comprehensive site covering the entire New Deal.

World War II

National Archives: Poster Art of W.W.II
Ten samples from the National Archives of American propaganda posters. See NARA's Digital Classroom for teaching ideas.

The Cold War & 1950's America

CNN: The Cold War
A rich site on the political tensions surrounding the Cold War.

University of Pennsylvania: 1950's Culture
Contains an alphabetical listing of various cultural documents with a Cold War emphasis.

The Civil Rights Movement, 1950 - 1970

The African American Odyssey
The website is part of the Library of Congress exhibition entitles The African-American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship. The link to the sit from this page takes you directly to the section dealing with the civil rights movement.

Civil Rights in Mississippi
The website is part of an ongoing project from the University of Southern Mississippi, with its strength being oral histories.

SNCC: 1960 - 1966
This website devoted to the Student Non-Violent Coordination Committee (SNCC) contains a wealth of information including biographies of major individuals from the group with audio clips (Real Audio), a description of major events from the time period, a timeline, and links to other sources on the civil rights movement.