Collections Spotlight: National Jukebox

Collections Spotlight: National Jukebox

The National Jukebox provides streaming access to just over 16,000 recordings made between 1901 and 1925, mostly by the Victor Talking Machine Company and Columbia Records. You can browse and sort recordings by genre, artist, subject, language, or year, including a day-by-day guide of published recordings. There are selected playlists for you to sample or…

Primary Source Spotlight: Frances Willard & the WCTU

Primary Source Spotlight: Frances Willard & the WCTU

The Do-Everything Policy by Frances Willard primary source analysis activity Correspondence, speeches, & other texts by Frances Willard Texts about Frances Willard How Racism Tainted Women’s Fight to Vote (1894 showdown between anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells and temperance leader Frances E. Willard) The Root March 25 2011 Frances Willard temperance: historic newspaper coverage Frances Willard image set Causes: The Woman’s…

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Poor Richard Illustrated – Lessons for the Young and Old

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Poor Richard Illustrated – Lessons for the Young and Old

Benjamin Franklin was a man of many talents and one of the key figures in the founding of the United States. Franklin was also a printer and a writer. One of his most well known publications was an almanac, or yearly handbook, published under the pseudonym (a made-up name) of Richard Saunders. The source above, Poor…

Today in History: Coca-Cola

Today in History: Coca-Cola

Today in History–May 8–the Library of Congress features the soft drink Coca-cola, first sold  on this day in 1886 at Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.  This carbonated beverage soon became a favorite in the United States; the company sales were around 100 million by the late 1890s. Learn more about the history of this iconic soda by visiting…

Today in History: Carrie Nation & Temperance

Today in History: Carrie Nation & Temperance

Today in History–December 27–the Library of Congress features temperance zealot Carrie Nation, who smashed the bar at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas on this day in 1900. Abandoning the nonviolent agitation of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, Nation argued that destroying saloons was an acceptable way to battle the liquor trade. To learn more about why Nation and many…

Today in History: Temperance & Prohibition

Today in History: Temperance & Prohibition

Today in History–October 28–the Library of Congress features temperance and prohibition. On this day in 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act which allowed for enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Lauded by temperance societies and referred to as the Prohibition Amendment, the Eighteenth Amendment prohibited the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors” in the…