Today in History: County and State Fairs

Today in History: County and State Fairs

Today in History–August 22–the Library of Congress features county and state fairs, many of which are held around this date. County and state fairs feature entertainment as well as showcase the agricultural industry and rural lifestyles. Learn more by reviewing the Today in History section, then click the links below to access primary sources & more. County and State…

World Spotlight: New Zealand

World Spotlight: New Zealand

Places in the News: New Zealand April 2009 September 2010 February 2011 September 2011 July 2013 New Zealand country profile BBC New Zealand timeline BBC New Zealand primary source set World Digital Library New Zealand maps New Zealand image set Books & reports about New Zealand Historical newspaper coverage of New Zealand U.S. veteran oral history collections (service…

Today in History: Juneteenth

Today in History: Juneteenth

Today in History–June 19–TPS-Barat features Juneteenth. On this date in 1865, Major General Gordon Granger issued General Order No. 3 in Galveston, Texas, informing the slaves of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued two and a half years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln. Although Juneteenth was informally celebrated each year since 1865, it wasn’t until June 3,…

Today in History: Clara Barton & the Red Cross

Today in History: Clara Barton & the Red Cross

Today in History–May 21–TPS-Barat features Clarissa “Clara” Barton, who founded the Red Cross on this date in 1881. A former teacher, Barton was working in the U.S. patent office at the start of the Civil War. Despite having little nursing training, Barton administered aid to soldiers at several battlefields. After the war she established the…

Collections Spotlight: Women Photojournalists

Collections Spotlight: Women Photojournalists

Below you will find links to biographies, images, and more resources related to women photojournalists from the Library of Congress. Documenting World War I: Women Photographers on the Front Lines Teaching with the Library of Congress Late 1800s and early 1900s Jessie Tarbox Beals (1870-1942) bio Ladies Behind the Lens Library of Congress Blog November 29,…

Primary Source Spotlight: Jeannette Rankin

Primary Source Spotlight: Jeannette Rankin

Jeanette Rankin was the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916. Learn more about this remarkable citizen by clicking the links below. Primary sources Jeanette Rankin image set “‘Wonder-Woman’ is Miss Jeannette Rankin; Will be First of Sex to Sit in Congress” Evening Public Ledger (Philadelphia, PA), November 11, 1916 “I can’t vote…

Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & Scientific Racism

Timely Connections: Frederick Douglass & Scientific Racism

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Eric Herschthal, a fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, suggests that we remember Frederick Douglass “as someone whose insights about scientific theories of race are every bit as relevant in our era as they were when he wrote…

Primary Source Spotlight: Tuskegee Airmen

Primary Source Spotlight: Tuskegee Airmen

Online exhibition items Tuskegee Airmen Breaking Flight Barriers Tuskegee Airmen with Lena Horne The 332nd Fighter Group Tuskegee Airmen image set Tuskegee Airmen in Art Exhibit The Detroit Tribune. (Detroit, Mich.), 01 Sept. 1945 Tuskegee pilots historical newspaper coverage 332nd Fighter Group historical newspaper coverage 332nd Fighter Group veteran oral history collections WWII Reunion: Tuskegee Airmen streaming webcast…

Teaching Now: Using Primary Sources to Create a Lincoln Assassination Newscast

Teaching Now: Using Primary Sources to Create a Lincoln Assassination Newscast

This is a guest post from Tim Anderson, a middle school English teacher and Google Certified Educator at Sulphur Springs Elementary School in Jonesborough, Tennessee. There often seems to be a disconnect between students and historical events. Connecting literature to history helps make it come alive for students. Since my eighth graders are studying the…

Timely Connections: Foundational Lessons in Democracy & Civil Discourse

Timely Connections: Foundational Lessons in Democracy & Civil Discourse

“Conspiracy theories run amok. Fear of spies and meddling in American politics at the highest levels by foreign powers. A bipartisan divide so bitter that the federal government moves to muzzle what many politicians believe to be a biased, out-of-control news media.” Current events? Actually, the excerpt paints a picture of the political climate during…

World Spotlight: Italy

World Spotlight: Italy

Library blog posts related to Italy European Month of Culture: Spotlight on Italy In the Muse May 13, 2016 Alan Lomax in Italy: a letter to Goffredo Plastino Folklife Today May 21, 2015 Deciphering the Land: An Unknown Estate Survey Book from Late Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Century Italy Worlds Revealed: Geography & Maps February 19, 2016 The Italian Legislative…