Web Sites for Students

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Colonization to Revolution | From the Constitutional Convention to 1860 | The Civil War | From Reconstruction to 1900 | The Twentieth Century | General Information | People of America |

Colonization to Revolution

• 1492 :An ongoing voyage - Columbus and the new world.
• History of Jamestown - English settlement in 1606.
• Mayflower History - The Mayflower Compact, the Mayflower passenger list, and lots more information on the first permanent settlement in New England.
• The Pilgrim Story - The history of the Pilgrims from Pilgrim Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
• 13 Originals - Founding the American Colonies. Brief histories of the founding of each colony.
• Colonial Currency - Plenty of pictures of colonial money.
• Colonial Williamsburg - Visit a colonial town.
• USHistory.Org - Information on colonial Philadelphia, and links to other American history sites. By the Independence Hall Association of Philadelphia
• The World of Benjamin Franklin
• Virtual Tour of Historic Philadelphia - Take a tour of the most historic mile in America. See Independence Hall, Carpenters Hall, The Liberty Bell and much, much more.
• Explore Pennsylvania History - Information about the history of the state.
• Fort Necessity - The French and Indian war started at this fort in Pennsylvania.
• The French and Indian War - A YouTube video by Watertown High School.
• The French and Indian War Timeline - From PBS.
• The Birth of the Navy - Find out about the early years of the US Navy. This site is by the Mariners' Museum.
• Liberty! The American Revolution - Important events in the American Revolution.
• The Philadelphia Campaign 1777 - Revolutionary war battles in the Philadelphia area - includes Germantown, Brandywine, Whitemarsh, and Valley Forge.
• Historic Valley Forge - Visit the site of the winter camp of the Colonial army during the Revolutionary War.
• The Betsy Ross Homepage - Information on the history of the US flag.
• The Declaration of Independence - See a copy of the Declaration and read about its history.
• Colonial Hall - Biographies of America's founders including the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
• History of the Constitution - Short history of the writing of the constitution.

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From the Constitutional Convention to 1860

• The Louisiana Purchase - In 1803, Jefferson purchased this huge amount of land from France. It would double the size of the United States.
• Lewis and Clark - For two years, Lewis and Clark explored the western part of North America.
• The War of 1812 Website - This site has articles, a chronology and battle maps.
• The Erie Canal: A Brief History - Opened in 1825 in New York, this canal was important to the growth of the young United States.
• Remember the Alamo - This site has maps, biographies, and a timeline of events in Texas history.
• The Minnesota Territory : 1849-1858 - An excellent web exhibit on the people and events that shaped the early years of the state of Minnesota.
• The Donner Party - Logs of the members of a wagon train who were trapped in the snow in the mountains of the west in the years of 1846 - 1847.
• The US-Mexican War - (1846 - 1848) Bilingual site. It has a really nice timeline.
• The Mexican War - One page summary of the Mexican war.
• The Oregon Trail - OK, you've played the game, now learn more about the trail.
• Memoirs of the Gold Rush - Many stories about the California gold rush. There is much useful information here for school reports.
• The Gold Rush - Americans rush to California to get rich.
• The Discovery of Gold in California - By John A. Sutter, 1848.
• Wells Fargo - The Wells Fargo stage coach was a very important way to cross the United States from coast to coast.
• I Will Be Heard - Abolitionism in America. This site tells about the history of movement to abolish slavery. It also has biographies of abolitionists.
• The Underground Railroad - Great site by the National Geographic
• The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center

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The Civil War

• The Civil War - This site has lots of information about the war. Look at some of the Harper's Weekly magazines which have articles and pictures of the war.
• The American Civil War Homepage - This is a page of links to many civil war sites.
• The Timeline of the Civil War - The events of the war in chronological order with pictures.
• The Civil War at a Glance - This site is good if you only need a chronology of the war. This site also has maps.
• Eyewitness History: The Civil War - Real people describe the historical events that they lived through.
• The Abraham Lincoln Research Site - This site has a lot of information about president Lincoln and about his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.
• Civil War Battle Summaries - Description of all of the battles of the war. They are listed by state or by campaign - use the menu on the left side of the screen.
• Manassas Battlefield - Site of the first and second battles of Bull Run (Manassas).
• Antietum - Sept. 17, 1862. The bloodiest battle of the Civil War.
• The Battle of Chancellorsville - May, 1863. Lee's greatest victory.
• Vicksburg - The battle for Vicksburg was conducted from March to July of 1863.
• The Battle of Gettysburg
• Sherman's March to the Sea

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From Reconstruction to 1900

• The Gilded Age - The time period between 1865 and 1901 which saw industrial prosperity, westward expansion, the arrival of many immigrants, and the beginning of the formation of labor unions.
• Reconstruction - A brief summary.
• The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow - A century of struggle for rights for African Americans which begins with Reconstruction. From PBS
• The Transcontinental Railroad - Made travel from the east coast to the west coast easier. It was finished in 1869.
• The Chisholm Trail - Brought beef from Texas to Kansas and into the American diet.
• Andrew Carnegie - The story of a poor immigrant who became one of the richest men in American.
• The Age of Imperialism - The history of the US during the late 19th and early 20th century. Expansion of the US interests to Pacific and Latin America.
• Timeline of the Woman's Rights Movement - from Infoplease.
• Votes for Women - A history of how women got the vote. This site has nice time line.
• The Spanish American War - An introduction.
• The Spanish American War in Motion Pictures - the first time that the motion picture camera was used to film a war.

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The Twentieth Century

• The 20th Century - Year by Year - Events for each year of the century plus timelines and news of disasters, entertainment and sports.
• World War I: Trenches on the Web - Start your visit at the Reference Library page where you will find links to timelines, biographies, and maps.
• The Great War - This site has maps and a timeline of events in World War I.
• The Time Magazine Archive - Search for articles from 1923 to the present.
• Wessels Living History Farm - Life in an American farming community in the 1920's and 1930's. Though this farm is located in Nebraska, the life described here is the same as that in many American rural communities.
• The Great Depression - Many Americans lost their jobs and their money. Western farms suffered from a long drought, and many farmers had to move.
• The New Deal Network - America during FDR's administration between 1930 and 1940.
• World War II - A directory of web sites by Yahoo!.
• World War Two - The United Kingdom in World War II by the BBC. You can also find out about the life of British Children during WWII.
• The Korean War - Information from InfoPlease.
• The Civil Rights Timeline - a history of the modern civil rights movement. From Infoplease.
• The War in Vietnam - A history of the Vietnam war including a timeline and biographies.
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial - A monument to the longest and least popular war in American history.
• The First Gulf War - 1990 - 1991. America secures its oil interests in the Persian Gulf.
• The Iraq Timeline - A history of Iraq and its wars.
• 9/11: A Date Americans will never forget

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Other Information

• America's Story - Introduction to American history and geography. Meet amazing Americans, visit the states, travel in time, and learn about America's music.
• Fun With History - Free streaming videos about many events in American history.
• The American Currency Exhibit - The history of money in the United States. There are lots of illustrations.
• Nature Transformed: The Effect of Environment on American History - Essays on the impact of the environment on the development of America.
• The American Memory - A variety of topics in American history illustrated with photos and other materials from the Library of Congress.

The People Who Make America

• Native Americans
  • America's Stone Age Explorers - Who were the first inhabitants of the Americas and where did they come from?.
  • Index of Native American Resources on the Internet - A good starting point for your search for information on Native Americans.
  • Native American Nations - Links to web site by and about Native American tribes.
  • NativeTech: Native American Technology and Art - The arts and crafts of New England's native Americans. Very clear explanations of how the native Americans used beadwork, plants, weaving, and pottery.
  • Native Languages of the Americas - This site has information about languages and the history of Native Americans. There is also a book list to help with your research.
  • American Indians of the Pacific Northwest - Information and many, many pictures from the American Memory collection.
  • The Indians of Pennsylvania
• African-Americans
  • K-12 Electronic Guide for African Resources on the Internet - From the University of Pennsylvania.
  • The African-American Mosaic - Exhibits on African-American history from the Library of Congress.
  • African-American History Timeline - Besides the timeline, there is also an large collection of links to African-American history websites.
  • Harlem 1900 - 1940 - Timeline and biographies.
• Arab-Americans
  • About Arab Americans - Information about famous Arab Americans.
• Asian-Americans
  • Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian Americans - information on the history and culture of Asian-Americans.
  • Ancestors in America - This site has a timeline and links to other Asian-American web sites. By PBS.
  • The Chinese in California: 1850 - 1925 - Many photographs from the Library of Congress.
  • Children of the Camps - Japanese American children who were sent to internment camps during World War II.
• European Americans
  • Immigration and US history. - From America.gov.
  • Jews in America: Our story
  • Ellis Island - Huge numbers of immigrants to American came through Ellis Island in the 1800's and 1900's.

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This site is maintained by Linda Bertland, retired school librarian. Please address any comments, additions, or corrections to info@sldirectory.com.