Primary Source Spotlight: Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

Primary Source Spotlight: Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic

In the midst of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the Library of Congress is collecting images, maps, web content and many more primary sources in order to, in the words of collection development officer Joe Puccio, “acquire and what a researcher in a hundred years will need to see from what is being produced today.” Learn…

World Spotlight: Afghanistan

World Spotlight: Afghanistan

Afghanistan primary source set World Digital Library The Great Game and Afghanistan story map Voices from Afghanistan online exhibition highlighting citizen letters Afghanistan maps Afghanistan image set Films & webcasts related to Afghanistan Books & articles about Afghanistan Dance styles Pashtu Afghanistan Alan Lomax Collection Veteran oral histories Current Conflicts: Afghanistan and Iraq Persian Gulf and…

Primary Source Spotlight: Influenza

Primary Source Spotlight: Influenza

Early influenza sources An address of thanks from the faculty to the Right Honble, Mr. Influenzy for his kind visit to this country 1803 An account of the origin, symptoms, and cure of the influenza or epidemic catarrh 1832 Kartogramma “grippa”, oktiabrʹ 1889-mart 1890 shows occurrence of influenza by province (Russia) Influenza pandemic 1918-1919 Rampaging…

Primary Source Spotlight: Civil Rights

Primary Source Spotlight: Civil Rights

Civil rights primary source collections Collection Spotlight: Civil Rights History Project Presidential Spotlight: Lyndon B. Johnson Primary Source Spotlight: NAACP Primary Source Spotlight: Voting Rights Act of 1965 Selma Marches March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Freedom story map Civil rights books, reports & other texts Select civil rights primary sources Civil Rights: Before,…

Primary Source Spotlight: Slavery (U.S.)

Primary Source Spotlight: Slavery (U.S.)

Library slavery collections Slave narratives Frederick Douglass primary source set Frances Ann Kemble primary source set Books Correspondence & early texts Other texts Legislation Slavery newspapers Slavery maps Slave song recordings Slavery sheet music Slavery image set Slavery political cartoons PSN curated primary source collections related to slavery Library blog posts related to slavery Primary Source…

Primary Source Learning: Protest & Reform Primary Source Set

Primary Source Learning: Protest & Reform Primary Source Set

Have students use the primary sources in this set to tell a story about protest and reform in the United States. (For background information, check the bibliographic records for dates then review the relevant sections of the American Memory timeline.) Related primary source collections highlighted on the Primary Source Nexus are linked to below. The…

Today in History: Skyscrapers

Today in History: Skyscrapers

Today in History–November 8–the Library of Congress features architect skyscrapers. On this day in 1906, cameraman Fred A. Dobson began filming The Skyscrapers of New York atop an uncompleted skyscraper at Broadway and 12th Street. To learn more about how engineering and architectural innovations in the mid-to-late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries transformed the skylines of American cities,…

Today in History: D-Day

Today in History: D-Day

Today in History–June 6–the Library of Congress features D-Day. On this day in 1944, American, British and Canadian forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France in a coordinated effort to open the western front. Learn more about this tragic but ultimately successful strike by visiting the Today in History section, then click the links below to access loads of primary sources…

Today in History: Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre

Today in History: Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre

Today in History–November 18–the Library of Congress features French photography pioneer Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, born on this day in 1789. The daguerreotype was a convenient and effective process which rapidly gained in the United States. Learn more about Daguerre and the daguerreotype by visiting the Today in History section and following the links below. America’s First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotype Portraits and Views,…

Today in History: Puerto Rico

Today in History: Puerto Rico

Today in History–October 18–the Library of Congress features Puerto Rico. On this date in 1898, American troops fighting in the Spanish-American War raised the United States flag in Puerto Rico formalizing U.S. control of this former Spanish colony. Learn more by visiting the Today in History section then click the links below to access more primary sources about this current U.S. commonwealth. Puerto Rico during the…

Today in History: Orson Welles’ First Macbeth

Today in History: Orson Welles’ First Macbeth

Today in History–July 25–the Library of Congress features Macbeth,  “The Play That Electrified Harlem“. The closing night performance of Macbeth, produced by John Houseman and directed by Orson Welles for the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), was staged on July 25, 1936 and featured an all African-American cast. Find out more about this production by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the…

Today in History: Washington D.C.

Today in History: Washington D.C.

Today in History–July 16–the Library of Congress features Washington D.C. It’s designation as the United States capital city was assured on this date in 1790 with the signing of the Residence Act. Learn more about the planning of this singular city by visiting the Today in History section, then follow the links below to access more primary source treasures. Primary source…