Today in History–April 27–the Library of Congress features the World Transportation Commission (WTC). On this date in 1895, Harper’s Weekly carried a story on theWTC’s visit to Ceylon, now called Sri Lanka. The WTC was organized by a railroad publicist to find out more about international railroads and other foreign transportation systems. Find out more by visiting…
For each of the following questions, use specific details from the map to support your conclusions (zoom into this map online or download a larger image). Who created this map? How do you know? Why do you think this map was created? Who do you think the audience might have been when it was published…
How does this source present the state of Florida? What details from the source support your response (see larger image)? Who is sponsoring this map? Why do you think so? What might that company hope to gain? Does the company still exist today? What more can you discover? Do a bit of research about the Spanish-American…
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…
Today in History–November 18–the Library of Congress features time. On this day in 1883, precisely at noon, North American railroads switched to Standard Railway Time (SRT). SRT was quickly adopted throughout the United States, resulting in the creation of four national time zones: eastern, central, mountain and Pacific. A year later, at an international conference in…
The Library of Congress has custody of the largest and most comprehensive cartographic collection in the world and there are so many places you can visit with the Library of Congress’ fabulous digitized map collections. Take a look at the wide variety of maps you can explore in incredible detail and discover engaging primary source…
Today in History–January 22–the Library of Congress features the Florida Keys. On this day in 1912, the Florida East Coast Railway connected the island of Key West with the Florida mainland. After a 1935 hurricane damaged the line, the Overseas Highway built on the foundation of the old railroad bed. The current system of dozens of bridges…
Today in History–May 10–the Library of Congress features the U.S. transcontinental railroad, celebrated on this day in 1869 when a symbolic golden spike was driven into the ground at Promontory Summit, in Utah Territory—approximately thirty-five miles away from Promontory Point, the site where the rails of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific were joined. This railroad connected the…
Today in History–March 2–the Library of Congress features Mount Rainier National Park, established on this day in 1899. But was America’s fifth national park created to preserve nature or to help out an industry? Learn more by visiting the Today in History section and reviewing the resources linked to below. from America’s Library Mount Rainier, Washington Mount Rainier becomes…
Today in History–February 28–the Library of Congress features the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which became the first U.S. railway chartered for transporting commercial freight and passengers on this day in 1827. The first track was 13 miles long and opened in 1830. Find out more about this groundbreaking railroad by visiting the Today in History section, then clicking the links below to…
Today in History–December 30–the Library of Congress features the Gadsden Purchase (treaty), signed on this day in 1853. U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis influenced President Franklin Pierce to send U.S. Minister James Gadsden to negotiate the treaty in order to obtain land for construction of a southern transcontinental railroad. Under the treaty, the United States…