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 […]

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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 […]

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This year a freshman at Miami University in Ohio discovered a rare fingerprint from Abraham Lincoln just barely visible on one of his letters housed within the college’s archives.  Lydia Smith, now a psychology major, made the discovery in November 2008 while examining a letter that Lincoln wrote on October 5, 1863.   John Lupton, director […]

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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 […]

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PBS now offers on their website selected full-length episodes from programs like the American Experience. While these documentaries cover a wide variety of subjects, several episodes are on 19th century American history – Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Walt Whitman, and Kit Carson. “We Shall Remain,” a documentary on Native American history, is also available. Also be […]

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American history teachers may want to check out Emory University’s “The Martyred President,” which provides full text access to fifty seven sermons on Abraham Lincoln’s death. The site includes sermons from different regions and religious denominations, such as Rev. Richard Eddy’s “The Martyr to Liberty” (Universalist) and Rev. Samuel T. Spear’s “The Punishment of Treason” […]

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Admirers of Robert Hicks, the acclaimed author of Widow of the South will be very pleased to know that in a couple of weeks his new novel, A Separate Country, will appear.  The new novel has as its main actor John Bell Hood and there are other connections, too, with Franklin, Tennessee.  But the real […]

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