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American History to 1865

See American History from 1865, African American History, Native American History, Pacific Northwest History, State History, History of Women, and World War II for other sites related to American history.

General American History Sites

• American Memory
  The premier site for American history. The Library of Congress has digitized more than 100 collections of primary sources spanning everything from the Thomas Jefferson papers to baseball cards.
• Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Government
  "The Avalon Project will mount digital documents relevant to the fields of Law, History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy and Government. We do not intend to mount only static text but rather to add value to the text by linking to supporting documents expressly referred to in the body of the text." Primarily American documents but also includes others.
• American Journeys
  "American Journeys contains more than 17,000 pages of eyewitness accounts of North American exploration, from the sagas of Vikings in Canada in AD1000 to the diaries of mountain men in the Rockies 800 years later." Also see Western Trails.
• A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation 1774-1873
  Digitized collection of the journals, debates and records of the Continental Congress, House of Representatives and Senate. Also includes Statutes at Large. As of October 1999 documents from 1774-1829 are available. Part of the American Memory project at the Library of Congress.
• From Revolution to Reconstruction
  A collaborative HTML-hypertext on American History, from the colonial period until the First World War. Includes a variety of historical documents and essays. For another overview of American history see A Biography of America which covers American history through the late 20th century.
• The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
  The institute provides access to some of it's more than 60,000 primary documents dealing with American history through a searchable database. The institute also provides an extensive section for teachers and students.
• Immigration to the United States 1789-1930
  "Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930, includes approximately 1,800 books and pamphlets as well as 6,000 photographs, 200 maps, and 13,000 pages from manuscript and archival collections" at Harvard University.
• Making of America
  Digitized collection of more than 8,500 American books and 50,000 journal articles published between 1850-1877.

Biographical Sites

• John Adams
  • Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive
    "The Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive presents selections from the most important manuscript collection held by the Massachusetts Historical Society. Digital images of the letters exchanged between John and Abigail Adams, John Adams's diary, and John Adams's autobiography are presented alongside transcriptions."
• John Quincy Adams
  • The Diaries of John Quincy Adams
    Substantial sections of the 51 volumes of diary spanning from 1779 to 1848.
• Martha Ballard
  • DoHistory - Martha Ballard's Diary
    This "an experimental, interactive case study based on the research that went into the book and film A Midwife's Tale, which were both based upon the remarkable 200 year old diary of midwife/healer Martha Ballard." The site includes the complete diary (both transcription and image), a collection of related documents and various activities.
• Benjamin Franklin
  • Benjamin Franklin: A Documentary History
    Site created by Professor Lemay at the University of Delaware detailing the life of Franklin. A work in progress due to be completed in 2005. For a more general account see the World of Benjamin Franklin, an exhibit at the Franklin Institute and Benjamin Franklin, a site created by three students for the Thinkquest competition.
• Nathanael Green
  • The Papers of Nathanael Greene
    Mini-edition of his papers -- "documents contained in this sample comprise the critical period of Greene's campaign in the South--19 January 1781 through 15 February 1781. Starting with the battle of Cowpens, a pivotal battle in the war in the South, they highlight what has become known as the "Race to the Dan" as the British general, Lord Cornwallis, used all his resources to attempt to overtake and destroy Greene's army as the Americans retreated across the Dan River toward safety and succor in Virginia. Part of the Model Editions Partnership.
• John Jay
  • Papers of John Jay
    Searchable collection of thousands of letters, manuscripts and documents relating to John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States.
• Thomas Jefferson
  • Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress
    Collection includes "correspondence, commonplace books, financial account books, and manuscript volumes." The first release comprises "Series 1, General Correspondence, dating from 1621 through 1789, and all of Series 8, relating to Virginia history, from 1606-1737." Part of American Memory. Also see Thomas Jefferson Online Resources at the University of Virginia.
• Henry Laurens
  • Papers of Henry Laurens
    The documents in this mini-edition highlight the American patriots' successful efforts to oust the royal governor of South Carolina in the fall of 1775. Part of the Model Editions Partnership.
• Robert E. Lee
  • Apotheosis of Robert E. Lee
    Site exploring Lee as an icon of "devotion, humility, self-sacrifice, reserve, gentlemanliness, Christian character, acceptance of defeat, moderation." See also a small collection of Lee papers at Washington and Lee University.
• Abraham Lincoln
  • Abraham Lincoln Papers
    First release of 2,200 documents from the General Correspondence series. This series includes "incoming and outgoing correspondence and enclosures, drafts of speeches, and notes and printed material." Part of American Memory.
  • Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project
    Goal of this project is to " bring together digital versions of documents, images, and music related to Abraham Lincoln's life in Illinois."
  • Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln
    Digitized version of the printed set of Lincoln's correspondence, speeches, and other writings.
  • The Martyred President: Sermons Given on the Occasion of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
    "This site contains the full text of 57 sermons published on the occasion of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. The original copies of the sermons have been drawn from the Pitts Theology Library" at Emory University.
• Dolley & James Madison
  • Dolley Madison Project
    "This website is devoted to the life, letters, and legacy of Dolley Payne Todd Madison, wife of James Madison and the most important First Lady of the 19th Century."
  • The James Madison Papers
    Digitized collection of more than 12,000 items from the James Madison collection at the Library of Congress. Part of American Memory.
• George Meade
  • Meade Archived
    Brief laudatory biography of General George Meade with selected documents and images.
• George Washington
  • George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress
    Collection includes "correspondence, letterbooks, commonplace books, diaries, journals, financial account books, military records, reports, and notes accumulated by Washington from 1741 through 1799." Also see the diaries.Also see The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799 and George Washington Papers Home Page.

Sites Arranged Chronologically

• Colonial
  • Virtual Jamestown
    Growing collection of primary documents from Jamestown including maps, public records, letters and contracts.
  • The Plymouth Colony Archive Project
    This project at the University of Virginia provides a collection of primary documents from the Plymouth Colony including court and probate records and laws.
  • Salem Witch Trials
    "The Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project consists of an electronic collection of primary source materials relating to the Salem witch trials of 1692 and a new transcription of the court records."
  • Cultural Readings: Colonization and Print in the Americas
    Exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania Library illustrating early books, maps and graphics depicting the new world.
  • Archives of Maryland
    Online version of the multi-volume set of colonial records and papers.
  • Virginia Colonial Records Project
    Searchable database of Virginia colonial records providing a finding aid to documents. Produced by the Library of Virginia.
  • First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820
    This American Memory collection "consists of 15,000 pages of original historical material documenting the land, peoples, exploration, and transformation of the trans-Appalachian West from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century... Among the sources included are books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, scientific publications, broadsides, letters, journals, legal documents, ledgers and other financial records, maps, physical artifacts, and pictorial images."

• Revolution and Early Republic
  • Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
    Library of Congress exhibit includes images of artifacts and documents.
  • Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents
    Library of Congress exhibit includes various drafts of the Declaration of Independence.
  • American Revolution in South Carolina
    Collection of transcripts of letters, diaries and orders dealing with the Revolution in South Carolina. Presented by the South Carolina Historical Society.
  • Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention 1774-1789
    Printed broadsides plus extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations and treaties. Part of the American Memory project at the Library of Congress.
  • Early Virginia Religious Petitions
    "Early Virginia Religious Petitions presents images of 423 petitions submitted to the Virginia legislature between 1774 and 1802 from more than eighty counties and cities. Drawn from the Library of Virginia's Legislative Petitions collection, the petitions concern such topics as the historic debate over the separation of church and state championed by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, the rights of dissenters such as Quakers and Baptists, the sale and division of property in the established church, and the dissolution of unpopular vestries." Part of the American Memory project at the Library of Congress.
  • Spy Letters of the American Revolution
    Collection of 12 letters with accompanied by narrative and biographical information from the Clements Library at the University of Michigan.
  • Documentary Hisory of the Ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
    Mini-edition of the series focusing on slavery and the ratification of the constitution. Part of the Model Editions Partnership.
  • Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789-1791
    "This mini-edition presents documents relating to establishing the first three executive departments, and in particular, the critically important constitutional debate over the power of removal of executive branch officials." Part of the Model Editions Partnership.
  • Journals of Lewis and Clark
    Digitized version of the journals. Also see the PBS page Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery.

• Antebellum America
  • Democracy in America
    "The site now contains a virtual tour of America based on Tocqueville's itinerary, on his and his friend Beaumont's letters and journals, on contemporaneous accounts of other foreign visitors, and on a variety of examples of material culture of the period." A project of the American Studies Programs at the University of Virginia.
  • Jesuit Plantation Project
    Georgetown University project provides diaries, documents and narratives dealing with the Jesuit plantations of Maryland. Most material dates from the 1830s.
  • The Mexican-American War Memorial Homepage
    Created by students and faculty at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, this site includes documents and chronologies.
  • Mountain Men and the Fur Trade
    Currently small collection of documents and images relating to fur trade history in the Rocky Mountain region in the period 1800-1850. Includes items such as The Diary of William H. Ashley and the Journals of John Work.
  • Mexican-American War and the Media
    This project provides transcriptions of English language newspaper articles, images and documents dealing with the Mexican American War.
  • Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920
    "The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920 (EAA) presents over 9,000 images" of early advertising from the collections at Duke University. For later advertising see Ad*Access.

• Civil War
  • American Civil War Homepage
    An extensive collection of links to Civil War sites including photographic archives, electronic texts and rosters.
  • Antietam on the Web
    Collection of official records, other primary sources, essays and other material on the September 1862 Battle of Antietam.
  • Crisis at Fort Sumter
    "Crisis at Fort Sumter is an interactive historical simulation and decision making program. Using text, images, and sound, it reconstructs the dilemmas of policy formation and decision making in the period between Abraham Lincoln's election in November 1860 and the battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861."
  • Civil War Photographs
    Collection of more than 1000 Civil War photographs held by the Library of Congress. Part of the American Memory project. For other images see Civil War Images of Northern Virginia and Civil War Image Portfolio.
  • Civil War Treasures from the New York Historical Society
    Collection of photographs, drawings, posters and a small selection of letters from the collections of the New York Historical Society. Part of the American Memory project.
  • Civil War Women
    Links to primary sources dealing with women in the Civil War including letters, diaries and photographs. Also includes a bibliography of Duke University holdings on the topic.
  • Confederate Broadsides
    Wake Forest's digitized collection of 250 Confederate broadside poems written by southerners and southern sympathizers.
  • Crisis of the Union
    "This collection is comprised of pamphlets, books, broadsides, cartoons, clippings, paintings, maps, and other print memorabilia about America from circa 1830 to 1880."
  • Documenting the American South
    Ambitious project from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to present "primary sources documenting the culture of the American South from the viewpoint of Southerners." Includes diaries, slave narratives, and images.
  • CSS Alabama Digital Collection
    Small collection of documents and images dealing with the Confederate ship includes selections from the ship's log, articles from contemporary magazines and letters.
  • Eye of the Storm
    Selection of 20 entries from Private Knox Sneden's diary and watercolors which accompanies the printed version of the diary [available in Suzzallo Library E601 .S667 2000]
  • The Gettysburg Address
    Library of Congress exhibit includes various drafts of the Gettysburg Address.
  • A House Divided: America in the Age of Lincoln
    The exhibit "explores the institution of slavery, the fierce sectionalism of free and slave economies in the rapidly expanding county, and the destructive power of the Civil War." The exhibit is replete with images and includes a narrative written by Eric Foner.
  • Letter from an Iowa Soldier in the Civil War
    Collection of letters by Newton Robert Scott, a private in the Iowa Volunteers, dating from 1862 to 1865. Also see Civil War Letters of the Christie Family, Nettleton Civil War Collection and Civil War in Florida: Letters of a New Hampshire Soldier.
  • Pennsylvania Civil War Newspapers
    Collection of digitized Pennsylvania papers from the Civil War era including the Erie Observer and Tioga County Agitator.
  • Samuel J. May Anti-Slavery Collection
    Digitized collection of thousands of anti-slavery and abolitionist material from Cornell University.
  • Secession Era Editorials Project
    Collection of editorials dealing with the Nebraska Bill (1854), the Charles Sumner incident (1856), Dred Scott (1857) and Harper's Ferry (1859) provided by Furman University. Also see Causes of the Civil War.
  • Sheet Music about Lincoln, Emancipation and the Civil War
    Collection of more than 200 sheet music compositions illustrating Lincoln and the war in popular music. The collection spans music written between 1859 and 1909. Part of the American Memory project.
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture
    University of Virginia project that details the reception of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The site includes the full-text of the first edition as well as other editions, other abolitionist texts, contemporary reviews and subsequent renditions of the work in American culture.
  • Valley of the Shadow Project
    Ongoing project to produce a multimedia historical database on the impact of the Civil War on two towns. Includes military records, census data, diaries, photographs and newspapers.

Image: 1891 lithograph of Battle of Opequan, September 1864. Courtesy of the Library of Congress' Popular Graphic Arts Collection.