Today in History: Mrs. Abby Fisher

Today in History: Mrs. Abby Fisher

Today in History–June 10–the Library of Congress features Mrs. Abby Fisher, who went from being an enslaved plantation cook to an upscale caterer and cookbook author after migrating West to San Francisco, California. On this day in 2003, The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation opened a lunch-style restaurant, Mrs. Fisher’s Southern Cooking, in Dearborn, Michigan. Discover more tantalizing…

Primary Source Spotlight: Flint Sit-Down Strike

Primary Source Spotlight: Flint Sit-Down Strike

Labor strategists confer with heads image Jan. 12, 1937 Head of U.A.W. (United Auto Workers) Women’s Auxiliary kitchen set up in a restaurant image Jan.-Feb., 1937 More Flint strike photos Flint factory video Flint sit down 1936-37 historical newspaper coverage Flint strike 1936-37 historical newspaper coverage The Flint, Michigan, Sit-Down Strike resource guide Flint Sit-Down Strike (1936-1937)…

Primary Source Spotlight: The Sauk & the Black Hawk War

Primary Source Spotlight: The Sauk & the Black Hawk War

Sauk image set Sauk Indians historical newspaper coverage Sac Indians historical newspaper coverage Black Hawk 1832 historical newspaper coverage 1832 historical newspaper mention of the Black Hawk War More Black Hawk War historical newspaper coverage Sac & Fox primary source set Battle of Bad Axe print 1857 Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak, or Black Hawk, and scenes in the West:…

Literature Links: The Women of Copper Country

Literature Links: The Women of Copper Country

Anna Klobuchar Clemenc (Clements), also known as “Big Annie” and America’s Joan of Arc, is the central character in The Women of Copper Country, a historical novel by Maria Doria Russell. Set in Upper Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula in 1913, the novel chronicles the work of Anna and the Ladies Auxiliary of the Western Federation of Miners….

Primary Source Spotlight: North American Fur Trade

Primary Source Spotlight: North American Fur Trade

Articles Before Lewis & Clark, Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America online exhibition (scroll down to access Exploration of the Missouri River & British Passage to the Pacific sections) After Lewis & Clark, Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America online exhibition (scroll down to access the Fur Trade section) A Fortune Made from Fur: John Jacob…

Primary Source Spotlight: Western Expansion & Manifest Destiny

Primary Source Spotlight: Western Expansion & Manifest Destiny

This set of primary sources and teaching resources focuses, primarily, on the time period 1800-1860. Western expansion stories from America’s Library Western expansion timeline (includes primary source activities) Primary source sets Primary source collections American migration timeline and maps (in English and Russian) The right of Nebraska, 1854 (sheet music) Key government documents related to territorial expansion…

Today in History: Laura Ingalls Wilder

Today in History: Laura Ingalls Wilder

Today in History–February 7–the Library of Congress features writer Laura Ingalls Wilder, born on this date in 1867. Ingalls Wilder became well known for her semi-autobiographical stories collectively known as the Little House on the Prairie series. Learn more this iconic writer of American pioneer life and discover primary sources that will help illuminate her stories by visiting the Today in History section and then clicking…

Today in History: Michigan

Today in History: Michigan

Today in History–January 26–the Library of Congress features Michigan, which joined the Union as the twenty-sixth state on this day in 1837. The name Michigan is derived from a Native American word Michigama, meaning great water. Find out more by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the links below to learn more about the culture and history of the “Great…