Primary Source Spotlight: U.S. Presidential Inaugurations

Primary Source Spotlight: U.S. Presidential Inaugurations

“I Do Solemnly Swear…” U.S. Presidential Inaugurations primary source sets “I Do Solemnly Swear…” Inaugural Materials from the Collections of the Library of Congress online exhibition Inaugurations: Stepping into History presentation An Orderly Transition The Inaugural Address Looking Back and Looking Ahead Select historical newspaper articles The Inaugural–The Past Reign, the Coming Reign The Herald…

Primary Source Learning: U.S. Electoral College

Primary Source Learning: U.S. Electoral College

Background & context The Electoral College – What Is It and How Does It Function? In Custodia Legis November 6, 2012 Electoral College Fast Facts US House of Representatives History, Art & Archives The Electoral College National Archives The Electoral College National Conference of State Legislators Research Guide: The Law of the Electoral College Contemporary…

Finding Resources: Library of Congress Research Guides

Finding Resources: Library of Congress Research Guides

There are close to 800 Library of Congress Research Guides to the Library’s general collections of books and periodicals, as well as general subject guides prepared by reference librarians. You can browse or search the guides by subject (default), research center, or alphabetical list. Individual guides are included in curated primary source sets on the…

Looking Back: Top Content of 2020

Looking Back: Top Content of 2020

2020 certainly wasn’t easy but we hope that another year of highlighting great content from the Library of Congress and strategies and ideas for teaching with primary sources was helpful. In 2020 we began spotlighting TPS Consortium members and the resources and professional development opportunities that they provide. We also significantly expanded the Citizen U…

Collections Spotlight: Amplifier Posters

Collections Spotlight: Amplifier Posters

Don’t miss this arresting set of posters from Amplifier, a nonprofit design lab that builds art and media experiments to amplify important contemporary movements. Then check out this idea for using the collection to inspire students as they carry out their own creative poster project from TPS Teachers Network mentor and curriculum specialist Cheryl Davis….

Literature Links: The Great Gatsby & Primary Sources from the Roaring Twenties

Literature Links: The Great Gatsby & Primary Sources from the Roaring Twenties

This three-part lesson from the Library of Congress* provides students with insight into the historical context of the 1920s and helps them recognize how popular culture reflects the values, mores, and events of the time period as they synthesize fictional events and primary sources. In a culminating project, students create a newspaper containing multiple types…

TPS Spotlight: State Historical Society of Iowa

TPS Spotlight: State Historical Society of Iowa

Through the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) grant, the State Historical Society of Iowa developed free and downloadable Primary Source Sets to help K-12 educators meet the Iowa Core Content Standards for Social Studies. These sets address national and international history as well as Iowa-specific history. Educators outside of Iowa are encouraged…

Primary Source Learning: LOC.gov Teacher-Created Lesson Plans

Primary Source Learning: LOC.gov Teacher-Created Lesson Plans

The Teacher’s section on LOC.gov features close to 100 teacher-created lesson plans. As you can see from the image above, lesson plans are listed in alphabetical order and there is a handy search bar to help you easily conduct a keyword search. Use the links below to jump to select groupings of the LOC.gov lesson…

Finding Resources: LOC.gov Primary Source Sets & Teacher Guides

Finding Resources: LOC.gov Primary Source Sets & Teacher Guides

You’ll find nearly 100 primary source sets with Teacher Guides in the Teacher’s section of LOC.gov. Each set contains a carefully curated selection of diverse primary sources accompanied by information for teachers on how to use the set and help students analyze the sources within it. As you can see from the image above, there…

Primary Source Spotlight: 1876 Contested Presidential Election

Primary Source Spotlight: 1876 Contested Presidential Election

From America’s Library On the night of the 1876 presidential election, Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes went to bed early. He assumed that he had lost the election to his opponent, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden did win the popular vote that night, but the Republicans challenged the validity of the electoral votes from three…