Making of America Books

From the website:

Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The book collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books with 19th century imprints.

Enough said. Click on this link to find out more about this website.

Using Primary Sources on the Internet

Using primary sources on the internet can be tricky. The main problem is figuring out which documents are accurate and which are not.

On the University of Washington Library website, I found an excellent article titled Using Primary Sources on the Web. The website lists good sites, explains how to evaluate a website for accuracy, and how to cite material from the web.

History Detectives

One of my favorite shows is "The History Detectives" on PBS. On the show, investigators search out the history of certain artifcats. Not only is it interesting history, but the program also demonstrates research methods that historians use to gather facts.

The program's website includes do it yourself activities, games and lesson plans that teachers can use in their classrooms. Click on this link for more information.

The Fight for Iraq: A Regional Powerplay

I found a great link that summarizes regional, ethnic and religious issues regarding Iraq and its neighbors: The Fight for Iraq: A Regional Powerplay. This interactive site is on the MSNBC website.

Scopes Monkey Trial

Here's a great site about the Scopes "Monkey" Trial:

Famous Trials in American History: Tenessee v. Scopes

The site includes photos, trial transcripts, the textbook that Scopes used to teach evolution, and biographies of all the important figures of the trial. It's a fantastic site!

March is National Women's History Month

Bella Azburg, Abagail Adams, Maya Angelou, Susan B. Anthony. These are just a few of the women who have made a difference in our nation’s history, and these are just the women whose last names end in “A”!

Women have had a rich history in our country, but we have not always recognized their contributions. Therefore in 1978, the Educational Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women declared Women’s History Week . Women’s History Week focused around March 8th, which is International Women’s Day. In 1987, the United States Congress declared March to be National Women’s History Month. Since that year, more and more communities have celebrated this month by sponsoring activities in schools and in the workplace. To learn more about women’s history and how you too can celebrate women’s achievements in the United States visit the National Women’s History Project website.

Civil War site

Civil War.com is an excellent website about the war between the states. It includes:

* War photos;
* An interactive map on the battles; and
* Thousands of pages of primary documents.