Understanding family life in the 19th century necessitates a look at what was popular with children at the time.  This website, put together by an English professor at West Chester University, lists periodicals for children published in the nineteenth century, each of which includes a chronological list of its important articles and links to a digital copy.  The magazine Youth’s Companion (which has also been digitized here) covers the most extensive range of topics, with many articles imparting a moral lesson.  There are some very interesting articles from the war period to be found as well.   Other publications worth noting for their relevance to the circumstances of the Civil War are the Student and Schoolmate, The Slave’s Friend, and The Little Corporal.  These primary resources make a great addition to a classroom discussion of the nineteenth century from the perspective of children.

“True and Candid Compositions: The Lives and Writings of Antebellum Students at the University of North Carolina” is an interesting online exhibit from Documenting the American South at UNC-Chapel Hill.  The site breaks down this period (1795-1869) into six chapters and each one has essays on key topics and relevant primary sources.

One particularly interesting letter from 1856 shows what can happen to southerners who publicly supported the Republican party. UNC professor Benjamin Hedrick told Hinton Rowan Helper (The Impending Crisis of the South) that “all the means of the worst politicians were at once brought to bear against me,” including “efforts…to excite the students to mob me.” Eventually the UNC Board of Trustees forced him out of the university. As the “trustees [were] nearly all politicians,” Hedrick concluded “they were very willing to sacrifice me to the popular clamor.” (House Divided also has an editorial about this event.)  Check out DocSouth’s other digital collections here.

Among the many websites and digital projects bringing the 19th century to the World Wide Web is the Lincoln Archives Digital Project from researcher Karen Needles. This ambitious project began in 2002 with the goal of digitizing all federal records from the Lincoln administration, including every cabinet and every agency. The project is the first of its kind to digitize the holdings of an entire administration and its standards are high. The project uses high resolution scans of original documents from the National Archives and incorporates technology such as “Zoomify” to create a high quality and easily accessible collection.

The project is not limited to just federal documents and includes maps, newspapers, photographs, political cartoons, blogs, lesson plans and even a dictionary and who’s who of the period. The wealth of information is seemingly endless and is always growing, although a subscription is required for full access to the project. For more information, check out the project and the August article about it in Civil War News.

The Northern Illinois University offers digital access to a number of different publications. Nine magazines are available from the Illinois Periodicals Online, such as Illinois Heritage (1997-2007). Teachers may want to check out Illinois History Teacher (1994-2009). Each article provides suggestions on how to use it in your classroom. For example, take a look at “Yankees and Southerners Clash in Frontier Illinois” by James E. Davis and the accompanying curriculum materials.  In addition, some of the magazines are appropriate for younger readers (see Illinois History).

Teachers can also access the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1979-2006) through NIU’s Illinois Historical Digitization Project.

Digital collections of Civil War era newspapers are great resources and are available at a number of different sites. One that I want to highlight is UC Riverside’s California Digital Newspaper Collection, which includes the Daily Alta Californian (1849-1891) and the Sacramento Daily Union (1856-76). Each issue can be downloaded as a PDF file. Several lesson plans are also available on the site.

Teachers may also want to check out the USC Digital Library. This site offers several newspapers, including the Los Angeles El Clamor Publico (1855-1859) and the Los Angeles Star (1851-1864). Thousands of historic maps and images, such as California’s first State House, can also be downloaded.

The infamous location of Lincoln’s assassination, Ford’s Theatre, reopened its doors in February with a dual functionality: theatre and museum.  The Ford’s Theatre Society along with its partner the National Park Service renovated the historic Washington DC landmark, adding a 7,000 square foot exhibit which memorializes Abraham Lincoln, and restoring the theater to its appearance on the evening of April 14, 1865–the night John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln.  The memorial exhibit offers patrons an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the presidential tenure of Abraham Lincoln through mini exhibits that document his endeavors beginning with his inaugural train ride and ending with his funeral precession.  Additionally, the balcony where Lincoln sat has been completely restored and will remain as a permanent exhibit within the actual theater.

If you find yourself planning a tour of our nation’s capital, you should definitely add the Ford’s Theatre to your list of sites to see.  However, if you don’t see yourself making the trip, I suggest you check out the society’s virtual tour.  For more information you should look over the New York Times’ review of the theater as well as the accompanying slideshow of digital photographs.

The Smithsonian recently brought their Civil War collection to the internet.  The site allows users to view the different exhibits from the comfort of their own homes.  Each exhibit displays an image as well as a relevant description of the artifact.  The exhibits deal with issues such as slavery and abolition, soldiering, and leaders.  Additionally, the Smithsonian created a timeline section that follows the course of historical events beginning with John Brown’s raid in 1859 and ending with the convictions of the Lincoln assassination conspirators in 1865.  Also, the site lists a set of resources for each exhibit which includes general reference material, websites, and printed materials.  As expected (from the Smithsonian) this website smashes a home run when it comes to making history engaging and accessible.

While sifting through the House Divided images I found a unique image that looks southward down the Mississippi River. This zoomable picture allows the viewer to magnify sections of the image in the browser window without loosing clarity. Within one screen you get an idea of just how close locations such as Cairo, Illinois and Vicksburg, Mississippi were via the river. Definitely an interesting reminder to aid us in maintaining our geographical perspective.

The digital revolution is transforming both historical scholarship and the way we view our history. A great example of how new technology is transforming the past comes with the 21st Century Abe website. Presented by the Rosenbach Museum and Library, 21st Century Abe is a collection of photos, pictures, videos, articles, and essays that explore Lincoln’s legacy in a 21st century context. Lincoln related contents ranges from user submitted original art works to an enchanced viewer of original documents, with many different items in between. 21st Century Abe allows users to share and find Lincoln in every 21st century medium imaginable, from scholarship, to art, to even popular culture.

The National Park Service is looking to expand upon its Underground Railroad stops in its National Register of National Historic Places.  By visiting , “Aboard the Underground Railroad: A National Register Travel Itinerary” you can help the NPS. At the website, one can explore stops on the Underground Railroad, both in the North and South, and even a few stops in the territories. The site is also useful in offering a “Learn More” page, , where additional sources regarding the Underground Railroad can be found, including web resources.

With your help, by applying to the National Register of Historic Places to add your historic Underground Railroad site, this website and tool can only grow and become more useful.