U.S. History by Time Period
Note: resources may cover more than one time period, so be sure to check surrounding time periods
Transatlantic Encounters & Colonial Beginnings
- Maps of Discovery & Exploration
- Related PSN primary source sets
- Spain, the United States, and the American Frontier: Exploration and Early Settlement
- 1492: An Ongoing Voyage
- Images of Christopher Columbus and His Voyages
- Encounters in America
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- The Americas: Cultures & History
- Kraus Collection of Sir Francis Drake
- Bank note explorer vignettes
Colonial North America
- Colonial Settlement, 1600s – 1763: Primary Source Timeline
- Colonial America primary source set
- Settlement primary source set
- Related PSN primary source sets
- Stories About Colonial America from America’s Library
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Words & Deeds in American History
- Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
American Revolution
- American Revolution, 1763 – 1783: Primary Source Timeline
- Primary Source Learning: American Revolution
- Primary Source Spotlight: American Revolution
The Early Republic
- The New Nation, 1783 – 1815: Primary Source Timeline
- Young Nation Primary Source Set
- Related PSN primary source sets
- Words & Deeds in American History
- Information and Resources about the New Nation
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Temple of Liberty: Building the Capitol for a New Nation
- Thomas Jefferson
- The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress
- Cartoon Prints, American 1776-1876
- Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America
- A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
- Stories About the New Nation from America’s Library
Territorial Expansion & Manifest Destiny
- National Expansion and Reform, 1815 – 1880: Primary Source Timeline
- Primary Source Spotlight: Western Expansion & Manifest Destiny
- Stories of Western Expansion from America’s Library
- Related resources from the time period 1800-1860
Transformation in Antebellum America
- PSN slavery primary source sets
- Related PSN primary source sets
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Abolition
- Words & Deeds in American History
- The African-American Mosaic
- The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
- Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860
- Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories
- America Singing: Nineteenth-Century Song Sheets
- Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music
- Daguerreotype Portraits and Views, 1839-1864
Civil War & Reconstruction
- Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861 to 1877: Primary Source Timeline
- Civil War themed link set
- Stories about Reconstruction from America’s Library
- Related PSN primary source sets
Origins of the New South
- Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936-1938
- The African-American Mosaic
- African American Photographs Assembled For 1900 Paris Exposition
- After Reconstruction: Problems of African Americans in the South
- Jim Crow in America
- Related PSN primary source sets
- Reclaiming the Everglades: South Florida’s Natural History, 1884-1934
Western Expansion
- Related PSN primary source sets
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Frontier Life in South Dakota & Wyoming
- Western Nevada & Northern California settlement
- First-Person Narratives of California’s Early Years
- Nebraska Photographs & Family Letters
The U.S. & the World Around the Turn of the 20th Century
- Rise of Industrial America, 1876 to 1900: Primary Source Timeline
- Related PSN primary source sets
- Chronicling America historical newspaper topic guides
- Stereograph Cards
- World Transportation Commission Photos from the 1890s
- Railroad Maps, 1828-1900
- The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers
- Samuel F. B. Morse Papers, 1793-1919
- Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers
- Films of the Westinghouse Works
- Early Motion Pictures & Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies
- Panoramic Maps
- Panoramic Photographs 1880-1930
- Detroit Publishing Company 1885-1930
- America at Work, America at Leisure: Films, 1894-1915
- American Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920
- Early Films of New York, 1898-1906
- Early Films of San Francisco, 1897-1916
- Baseball Cards, 1887-1914
- Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870-1920
Populism & Progressivism
- Progressive Era to New Era, 1900 to 1929: Primary Source Timeline
- Related PSN primary source sets
- Words & Deeds in American History
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920
- Theodore Roosevelt: His Life and Times on Film
- Films of McKinley and the Pan-American Exposition, 1901
- Mapping the National Parks
- Miller NAWSA Suffrage Scrapbooks, 1897-1911
- National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection, 1848-1921
- “Votes for Women” Suffrage Pictures, 1850-1920
- Photographs from the Records of the National Woman’s Party
World War I
The 1920s
- The Coolidge Era & the Consumer Economy, 1921-1929
- Related PSN primary source sets
- Harlem Renaissance
- Bain Photo Collection 1900-1931: New York city & Worldwide News Events
- Al Hirschfeld, Beyond Broadway
- Life of the People: Realist Prints & Drawings
- Frank Lloyd Wright, 1922-1932
- Selected Images – The Twenties: Fads, Dress, and Trends
The Great Depression & the New Deal
- Great Depression and World War II, 1929 to 1945: Primary Source Timeline
- Great Depression primary source collections & teaching resources
- New Deal primary source collections
- Words & Deeds in American History
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Life of the People: Realist Prints & Drawings
- Federal Writers’ Project American Life Histories, 1936-1940
- Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943
- John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip
- Florida Folklife, 1937-1942
- Voices from the Dust Bowl, 1940-1941
- Northern California Folk Music
- Blues, Gospel, & the Fort Valley Music Festivals, 1938-1943
- The Zora Neale Hurston Plays
- Selections from the Federal Theatre Project, 1935-1939
World War II
The Cold War
- Online exhibits
- Visual Guide to the Cold War
- Webcasts
The 1950s
- The Post War United States, 1945 to 1968: Primary Source Timeline
- Words & Deeds in American History
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Voices of Civil Rights
- “With an Even Hand”: Brown v. Board at Fifty
- Brown v. Board of Education Resources
- Ranching Culture in Northern Nevada, 1945-1982
- Woody Guthrie and the Archive of American Folk Song: Correspondence, 1940-1950
- Fifty Years of Coca-Cola Television Advertisements: Highlights from the Motion Picture Archives
- Webcast: National Security – Unchecked Presidential Power and the Reynolds Case
- Related PSN primary source sets
The 1960s
- Primary Source Learning: Civil Rights
- Civil Rights Era: Images from U.S. News & World Report
- Photos of Signs Enforcing Racial Discrimination
- More Civil Rights Primary Sources
- Primary Source Spotlight: Voting Rights Act of 1965
- African American Odyssey: Civil Rights Era
- Voices of Civil Rights
- American Treasures of the Library of Congress
- Words & Deeds in American History
- Webcast: Letters from the Civil Rights Years
- Webcast: A Memoir of Struggle in the Cause of Equal Rights
- Related PSN primary source sets
Politics & Economics Toward the End of the 20th Century
- Foreign Affairs Oral History Collection
- Humor’s Edge: Cartoons by Ann Telnaes
- Oliphant’s Anthem: Cartoons by Pat Oliphant
- Enduring Outrage: Editorial Cartoons by HERBLOCK
- 1970s printed ephemera
- Related PSN primary source sets
Society & Culture Toward the End of the 20th Century
- Omaha Indian Music
- Quilts & Quiltmaking in America, 1978-1996
- Occupational Heritage in an Urban Setting
- Folklife & Landscape in Southern West Virginia
- American English Dialect Recordings: The Center for Applied Linguistics Collection
- Donald Hall: LOC Poet Laureate
- Webcast: Renewing American Culture: The Pursuit of Happiness
- Related PSN primary source sets