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.

A New York Historical Society exhibit that opened last month provides visitors with a variety of Lincoln-related documents and items. Entitled “Abraham Lincoln in His Own Words,” the exhibit features such items as a draft of the “House Divided” speech, an encouraging telegram to General Ulysses S. Grant, and other papers, letters, and original documents from all periods of Lincoln’s life. In addition to documents attributed to Lincoln are other period objects including photographs, testimonies, and sculptures. A full description of the exhibit can be found on the New York Historical Society’s webpage.

Also, according to a NY Times article, the Smithsonian Museum of American History has answered an age-old question regarding one Lincoln artifact; his gold pocket watch. According to the article, a secret message was engraved within the watch by watchmaker Jonathan Dillon when he repaired it in 1861. Part of the watch’s inscription reads “Jonathan Dillon April 13- 1861 Fort Sumpter was attacked by the rebels on the above date.”

Although this find is not a radical discovery by any means, it is another addition to Abraham Lincoln lore and can only make us wonder as to what other interesting and peculiar things can be discovered from the Civil War era, even after almost 150 years.

Yesterday, the New York Times blog The Lede posted this news update about Abraham Lincoln and the image sharing website Flickr. In honor of the Lincoln Bicentennial, the blog says, the Library of Congress uploaded 16 never-before-scanned photographs to their Flickr photostream. The 16 pictures, in honor of the 16th president, are a part of a set of 22 photographs on the LoC’s page on Flickr Commons. According to the blog, there are no known copyright restrictions on the pictures.

The pictures are a variety of Lincoln portraits from throughout his life and their presence on FlickR allows users to comment on and tag them like they would any other picture. It’s an interesting look at the combination of 19th photography and 21st century web technology, and is definitely worth a look.

The House Divided Project contains many depictions of Underground Railroad related violence, many taken from William Still’s The Underground Railroad. Depictions of events such as this one of the Christiana Riot are surprisingly graphic despite being hand drawn engravings.

Other pictures with titles like “Desperate Conflict in a Barn” and “Fight in the Bay” are equally as graphic yet very interesting to study. The story of the Underground Railroad had many important cases of violent conflict, and pictures such as these are useful for understanding those events. All pictures related to the Underground Railroad can be found on the image tab of the Underground Railroad page.