History of Ideas, Ideals, and Institutions
Also be sure to check links
under American
Studies Research Resources - General which will point
you to additional materials on the history of American
ideas, ideals, and institutions.
General
Collated
Web Index of Significant Historians and Philosophers--Names
and dates of major thinkers in the western tradition. Links
to biographical profiles and full-text of major works for
many, but not all of them.
FindLaw --Comprehensive
entry point to legal resources on the web.
U.S.
Supreme Court Multimedia Database--Texts of Supreme
Court decisions (not a full record, but major cases
are here), information on the justices. Many of the
decisioins include hyperlinks to related cases.
Bureau
of Justice Statistics--U.S. Justice Department
overview of criminal justice system and links to databases
on criminal justice statistics. Helpful guides and
suggestions.
History
of the Federal Judiciary--Maintained by the Federal
Judicial Center. Includes the service record and professional
resume of presidentially-appointed judges since 1789,
capsule histories of the various levels of federal
courts, landmark federal court legislation, and other
historical information.
American
Religious Experience--Imaginative and student-oriented
site for courses in American religious history.
Finding
God in Cyperspace--Guide to on-line religious studies
resources.
The
Wabash Center Guide to Internet Resources--Selective,
annotated guide to a wide variety of electronic resources
of interest to those who are studying religion and
theology in an academic context. Look for entries marked "NB," denoting
those this site considers particularly valuable.
The
Catholic Encyclopedia--Contains all 11,614 articles
from the 1913 Edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia.
Strongest in Roman Catholic topics as well as Christian
and non-Christian religion, theology, philosophy, church
history, saints, bishops, Catholic dioceses, liturgy,
and European history. It is quite good in American
history--especially notable is its coverage of all
the states and major cities, and all the major Indian
tribes, most written by leading ethnologists.
17th & 18th
Centuries
Thomas
Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress--Searchable
online archive of Jeffersonian documents from 1606 to 1827.
The online collection will slowly grow as new sections
are digitized. The first installment includes part
of Series 1, General Correspondence from 1621 to 1789,
and the complete Series 8, which covers the history of
Virginia from 1606-1737. The site comes with a wealth of
bibliographical information, editorial notes, and time
lines for both Jefferson and Virginia.
19th
Century
Jacksonian
Miscellanies--Eclectic collection of primary source texts from 1810s-1830s.
Fascinating stuff; by no means confined to politics; in fact, social and cultural
materials are the most common.
19th
Century American Primers--Contains three of a planned
nineteen primary and secondary school primers and readers
from the19th century in the University of Pittsburgh's
Nietz Collection. Future offerings include a McGuffey's
reader as well as the titilation of tales "about the
heathen" for young readers and the promise of the art
of writing "reduced to a plain and easy system."
American
Political Prints, 1776-1866--Political
cartoon and illustrations from the Library of Congress
Collection of American Political Prints. Each cartoon
or print is extensively annotated. Very useful source
to get the "feel" or the rough and tumble of American
political discourse and issues.
Lincoln/Net--Primary
source materials shedding light upon the life of Abraham
Lincoln (selections from his writings and personal papers)
and his social and political context in antebellum Illinois
(letters, diaries, maps, broadsides and other images,
records of voluntary associations,
and political song books and pamphlets). Also includes interpretive (secondary
source) materials, including a brief Lincoln biography and discussions of eight
historical themes useful in analyzing Lincoln and his
milieu: Frontier Settlement; Native
American Relations; Economic Development and Labor; African-Americans' Experience
and American Racial Attitudes; Women's Experience and Gender Roles; Law and
Society; Religion and Culture; and Political Development.
The
Presidential Elections, 1860-1884--Compiled by
HarpWeek, features cartoons from Harper's Weekly,
especially by Thomas Nast, and from Vanity Fair, Frank
Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, Puck, and the
Library of Congress Collection of American Political
Prints: 1766-1876. These artoons are rich in the political
iconography of the 19th century, incorporating imagery
from Shakespeare, the Bible, fairy tales, and the popular
literature and events of the day.In addition to explanations
of each cartoon, the site contains biographies, explanations
of the issues, campaign overviews, and other relevant
information.
The
Gilded Page--Collection of electronic texts written
by US authors or widely read by Americans in the Gilded
Age (loosely defined here as 1866-1901). Texts include
both fiction and non-fiction.
The
Dramas of Haymarket-- Chicago Historical Society's
ambitious contribution to public memory on the web.
Merges key historical artifacts, documents and multi-media
technology to tell the story of the May 3, 1886 Haymarket
bombing in Chicago and its dramatic after effects.
In addition to a wealth of images and information directly
related to the bombing and trials of anarchist defendants,
the site includes labor songs, "virtual" tours of key
sites, and interviews with Chicagoans knowledgable
about the legacy of the case. Also includes interviews
with descendants of one of the convicted men and with
one of the policemen severely injured in the riot.
Mark
Twain and Anti-imperialism--Jim Zwick's (Syracuse
Univ.) impressive array of texts and articles about
Mark Twain and anti-imperialism. Zwick also has a homepage
with many links to his others pages (and images) on American
imperialism and anti-imperialism at the turn-of-the-century.
Mark
Twain and His Times--This interpretive archive,
drawn largely from the resources of the Barrett Collection
(Univ. of Virginia), focuses on how "Mark Twain" and
his works were created and defined, marketed and performed,
reviewed and appreciated. Includes dozens of texts
and manuscripts, scores of contemporary reviews and
articles, hundreds of images, and many different kinds
of interactive exhibits.
1900-1945
Progressive
Era: Guide to Resources--Includes bibliographies on
specialized topics. The bibliographies cite both primary
and secondary sources on cultural as well as political
topics. For example, you can find bibliographies for baseball,
birth control, eugencis, movies, prohibition, prostitution,
suburbs, and women & reform. This site also includes
a very useful collection of internet links, pointing you
to wealth of web sites with material on the era.
Theodore
Roosevelt: His Life and Times on Film--Library
of Congres American Memory Project site. Features 104
films (in MPEG, Quicktime, and RealMedia formats) which
record events in Roosevelt's life from the Spanish-American
War in 1898 to his death in 1919. Four sound recordings
made by Roosevelt for the Edison Company in 1912 in
which he states his progressive political views are
also included.
Modernism
Timeline, 1890-1940--Lists culturally significant
events (U.S. and Britain) for each year, with links
to web sites for some of them. For example, click on "1893" and
you will find a link to a useful web site on the Chicago
World's Columbian Exposition.
Annotated
Index of Web Sites on Modernism--maintained by
the Malcom S. Forbes Center at Brown University. Annotated
reference links to web pages on European and American
artists, poets, novelists, musicians, critics, and
philosophers who wrote, created, and composed in the
first half of the twentieth century.
The
Emma Goldman Papers--Compiled by the Emma Goldman
Papers Project at UC Berkeley. Includes sample documents
from her papers, photographs, and selections from her
writing.
Aimee
Semple McPherson Resource Center--Early 20th century
popular evangelist in Los Angeles. This well-designed
site created by CSUF M.A. graduate Barbara Campbell
includes a brief history of Aimee, a list of her works
(in all media), a listing of works "about" her (books,
articles, films, and videos), and links to other web
sites.
America
in the 1930s--Ongoing American Studies project
at University of Virginia views the 1930s through the
lenses of its films, radio programs, literature, journalism,
museums, exhibitions, architecture, art, and other
forms of cultural expression.
New
Deal Network--Documents on American life in the
1930s.
By
the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943--During
the Great Depression and World War II, the federal
government employed artists to design posters to publicize
cultural programs, to encourage people to get appropriate
medical care, to promote better housing and to enlist
support for the war effort. Of the 35,000 posters created
by WPA Federal Art Project artists, approximately 2,000
are still in existence and 907 of these boldly
colored original posters are now featured at the Library
of Congress's American Memory site.
1945
to Present
Literature & Culture
of the American 1950s--Wealth of primary source documents put together
for a course at the University of Pennsylvania..
Senator
Joe McCarthy--Audio and video files documenting
McCarthy's infamous career. Links to related multimedia
sites (e.g., Richard Nixon Video Project).
The
Sixties Project--Wealth of primary sources, personal
narratives, references, and more on many aspects of
the sixties, including Vietnam War.
The
Psychdelic '60s: Literary Tradition and Social Change--Useful
images and some (not a lot) of critical commentary
on 1960s literary movements and social change trends
and movements. Put together by Special Collections
Department of the University of Virginia Library.
Re:
Vietnam -- Stories Since the War--A virtual oral
history. Submitted stories.
Religious
Movements--Lots of information on more than 200
religious movements, compiled by students in Univ.
of Virginia sociology course. See the "Profiles" page
for basic demographic and background information, summary
of beliefs, discussion of controversial issues (when
appropriate), links to important web sites about each
group, and select print bibliographies. Also includes
links to hundreds of other religious groups that are
not profiled on the site.
Death
Penalty Information Center--Statistic, articles,
bibliography, and links on this currently unfashionable
but important social justice issue. See also, statistics
and advocacy at the National
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty website.
