Today in History: James McNeill Whistler

Today in History: James McNeill Whistler

Today in History–July 10–TPS-Barat features  James McNeill Whistler, born on this date in 1834. This American artist spent time in St. Petersburg, Russia during his childhood and later in England and France, where he studied. Learn more about Whistler through these primary and secondary sources. James McNeill Whistler images & art Whistler’s Butterfly Picture This blog June 20,…

Today in History: Salvation Army

Today in History: Salvation Army

Today in History–July 5–the Library of Congress features the Salvation Army, founded on this day in London in 1865 as the Christian Mission.  Methodist minister William Booth and his wife Catherine founded the organization to fight poverty and religious indifference with military efficiency. The organization was renamed the Salvation Army in 1878 and expanded to the United…

Primary Source Spotlight: John Philip Sousa

Primary Source Spotlight: John Philip Sousa

John Philip Sousa biography John Philip Sousa timeline John Philip Sousa and the Culture of Reassurance article The Sousa March: A Personal View article The March King: John Philip Sousa collection items Sousa’s Birthday NLS Music Notes blog November 13, 2014 Sousa and the Talking Machine May 19, 2020 Stars and Stripes Forever … Literally Library of Congress blog…

Presidential Spotlight: Chester A. Arthur

Presidential Spotlight: Chester A. Arthur

Today in History (September 20): Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur Papers The death of President Garfield–Judge Brady administering the Presidential oath to Vice-President Arthur Chester A. Arthur images & political cartoons Chester Arthur Papers webcast Chester A. Arthur books & other texts Topics in Chronicling America – Presidential Administrations: Chester A. Arthur (1881-1886) More historical newspaper…

Footrace, Pennsylvania Avenue

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Footrace, Pennsylvania Avenue

According to the summary of this political cartoon, who were the three candidates for president in 1844? What was the president’s salary at this time? What is the president’s salary now? According to the cartoon summary, who is the favored contender? What details in the cartoon—positioning, symbols, text labels—support this view? Use the Primary Source Nexus search…

Mending the family kettle

Today in History: Fourteenth Amendment

Today in History–July 28–the Library of Congress features the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. On this date in 1868, Secretary of State William Seward issued a proclamation certifying the ratification of the amendment. The 14th amendment granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States”, including former slaves freed…

Will the New Year Solve the Riddle of Mars

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Solving the Riddle of Mars?

Click the newspaper image above to zoom into the page. What is the riddle of Mars? Does the article answer the headline question? What evidence does the article give that there is life on Mars? What evidence does the article provide that Professor Lowell believes these Martian extraterrestrials are superior to mankind as the subhead claims?…

Chicora the original name of Carolina

State Spotlight: South Carolina

South Carolina stories from America’s Library South Carolina primary source set with teacher’s guide South Carolina resource guide Featured Source: Destruction of the Snake of South Carolina South Carolina maps South Carolina books & articles South Carolina historical newspapers South Carolina sheet music South Carolina oral histories, songs & dialect recordings South Carolina WPA life histories South Carolina images South Carolina legislation South…

Religion

Primary Source Spotlight: Religion

PSN Today in History primary source collections John Carroll, First Bishop of Baltimore Cardinal James Gibbons Anne Marbury Hutchinson William Penn Phyllis Wheatley Brigham Young & the Mormon Pioneers Religious Freedom Missions of Old California Touro Synagogue Library Collections The American Colony in Jerusalem, 1870-2006 The Hannah Arendt Papers at the Library of Congress La…

Twentieth century transportation

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Twentieth-century Transportation

List the different types of transportation that you see. How many instances of each type can you spot in the print? How have these types of transportation changed in the 21st century? What are some new types of transportation? What types of transportation can you imagine there might be in the 22nd century? What other observations, reflections or…

Mulberry Street, New York City

Literature Links: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street

Theodor Geisel—a.k.a. Dr. Seuss—was born in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was the first of many children’s books that he wrote and illustrated. Geisel supposedly received 27 rejections before the book was published by Vanguard Press in 1937 thanks, as the story goes, to a chance run-in with and…

Design sketch for T-1 Locomotive Pennsylvania Railroad

Primary Source Spotlight: Transportation

Primary source sets Transportation primary source set with teacher’s guide Transportation image set Transportation maps Films & webcasts related to transportation Oral histories related to transportation Life history mentioning transportation Historical texts related to transportation Historical newspaper coverage: modes of transportation PSN curated primary source collections Air Balloons & Airships America’s Roadways B&O Railroad Bicycles Cable Cars C&O Canal…