Today in History–July 26–the Primary Source Nexus features two presidential edicts signed by President Harry S. Truman on this date in 1948. Executive Orders 9980 and 9981 mandated, respectively, that “All personnel actions taken by Federal appointing officers shall be based solely on merit and fitness. . .” and “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons…
April certainly is not the cruelest month if you’re looking for poetry resources from the Library of Congress, LOC.gov has loads of treasures to choose from. Library collections PSN poet primary source collections Digitized poetry materials from the Library’s collections Poet Laureates Finding Resources: Poetry in Historical Newspapers Multimedia & music Poetry online exhibition materials Civil…
“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…
Zoom into this 1888 presidential election document online or in a .pdf document. Look closely at the graphical elements of the complete document and compare and contrast the presentation of information in the Harrison and Cleveland maps. Which is more pleasing visually and why? How does the visual presentation affect the tone of each map? Describe…
Learning from the Source: lessons Abraham Lincoln & Me Primary Source Activity Book The Art of Mourning (Lincoln) Monumental Men Mourning Lincoln & the Art of Tribute Presidential Portraits Indian Territory Resettlement Guided primary source analysis activities A Plan of My Farm (Washington) Jefferson’s Pasta Machine Abolition frowned down (Quincy Adams) Rats Leaving a Falling House (Van…
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…
Ask students to deduce which man in the picture above is President Warren G. Harding, using specific details from the image to support their answer. Presidential Election of 1920 resource guide Warren G. Harding 1921 presidential inauguration primary source set Warren G. Harding images President Harding and Calvin Coolidge film Warren G. Harding-Carrie Fulton Phillips correspondence…
Today in History–May 23–the Library of Congress features Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. On this day in 1865 the Army of the Potomac paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue in celebration of the end of the Civil War. Just weeks before, mourners had watched Abraham Lincoln‘s funeral cortege pass by the same route. A march down Pennsylvania Avenue has been featured in every…
The Teaching with Library of Congress blog provides some great tips for finding articles in the Chronicling America Historic Newspaper Collections and provides some teaching ideas as well. Be sure to check out, too, the following learning activity: Comparing Reports: Battle of Little Bighorn. Below is a list of topic guides by subject, each of which…