19th Century United States History

Resources in this category:

19th Century American Cultural History
http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/19thcentury.html

"In 1800 everyday life had changed little since the year 1000. By 1900 the Industrial Revolution had transformed the world's economy. To see the whole picture, we encourage users to browse all the way through these decades and then to visit the suggested links for more information."

African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/rpbhtml/

"This collection consists of 1,305 pieces of African-American sheet music dating from 1850 through 1920. The collection includes many songs from the heyday of antebellum black face minstrelsy in the 1850s and from the abolitionist movement of the same period. Numerous titles are associated with the novel and the play Uncle Tom's Cabin. Civil War period music includes songs about African-American soldiers and the plight of the newly emancipated slave. Post-Civil War music reflects the problems of Reconstruction and the beginnings of urbanization and the northern migration of African Americans. African-American popular composers include James Bland, Ernest Hogan, Bob Cole, James Reese Europe, and Will Marion Cook. Twentieth century titles feature many photographs of African-American musical performers, often in costume. Unlike many other sorts of published works, sheet music can be produced rapidly in response to an event or public interest, and thus is a source of relatively unmediated and unrevised perspectives on quickly changing events and public attitudes. Particularly significant in this collection are the visual depictions of African Americans which provide much information about racial attitudes over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries."

America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894 - 1915
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awlhtml/

"Work, school, and leisure activities in the United States from 1894 to 1915 are featured in this presentation of 150 motion pictures... Highlights include films of the United States Postal Service from 1903, cattle breeding, fire fighters, ice manufacturing, logging, calisthenic and gymnastic exercises in schools, amusement parks, boxing, expositions, football, parades, swimming, and other sporting events."

Buffalo Soldiers & Indian Wars
http://www.buffalosoldier.net/

History of the Buffalo Soldiers. Includes text, photos, and video from the Library of Congress (RealPlayer required). A story in five parts.

The Buffalo Soldiers on the Western Frontier
http://www.kyhorsepark.com/museum/exhibit.php?exhibition=Buf...

Provides historical information and images concerning the role of African-Americans on the western frontier during the Civil War. Also includes a comprehensive bibliography of works related to the "Buffalo Soldier."

From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aapchtml/

"Presents 397 pamphlets from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, published from 1824 through 1909, by African-American authors and others who wrote about slavery, African colonization, Emancipation, Reconstruction, and related topics. The materials range from personal accounts and public orations to organizational reports and legislative speeches. Among the authors represented are Frederick Douglass, Kelly Miller, Charles Sumner, Mary Church Terrell, and Booker T. Washington."

The Great Chicago Fire and The Web of Memory
http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/index.html

"The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory [is] an online exhibition ... to mark the 125th anniversary of one of the most famous events in American history, as well as the most formative event in the history of Chicago." In the two main areas, "each chapter consists of three integrated sections: thematic Galleries filled with electronic images of a great range of artifacts, a Library of relevant texts, and an Essay that provides a context for both the Galleries and the Library." This moving and intelligent account is a wonderful resource for anyone interested in the Fire or its effects on Chicago.

old magazine articles.com
http://www.oldmagazinearticles.com/

An assortment of newspaper and magazine articles, most of them dating from the Civil War era through World War Two. The articles describe contemporary major events, as well as cultural achievements and the harsh realities of prejudices of the time.

Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/umhtml/umhome.html

"Portrays the states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin from the seventeenth to the early twentieth century through first-person accounts, biographies, promotional literature, local histories, ethnographic and antiquarian texts, colonial archival documents, and other works drawn from the Library of Congress's General Collections and Rare Books and Special Collections Division. The collection's 138 volumes depict the land and its resources; the conflicts between settlers and Native peoples; the experience of pioneers and missionaries, soldiers and immigrants and reformers; the growth of local communities and local cultural traditions; and the development of regional and national leadership in agriculture, business, medicine, politics, religion, law, journalism, education, and the role of women."

Sunday School Books: Shaping the Values of Youth in Nineteenth-Century America
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/sundayschool/

"This collection presents 163 Sunday school books published in America between 1815 and 1865, drawn from the collections of Michigan State University Libraries and the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University Libraries. They document the culture of religious instruction of youth in America during the Antebellum era. They also illustrate a number of thematic divisions that preoccupied nineteenth-century America, including sacred and secular, natural and divine, civilized and savage, rural and industrial, adult and child. Among the topics featured are history, holidays, slavery, African Americans, Native Americans, travel and missionary accounts, death and dying, poverty, temperance, immigrants, and advice."

Trails to Utah and the Pacific: Diaries and Letters, 1846-1869
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/upbhtml/overhome.html

"Incorporates 49 diaries, in 59 volumes, of pioneers trekking westward across America to Utah, Montana, and the Pacific between 1847 and the meeting of the rails in 1869. In addition to the diaries, the collection includes 43 maps, 82 photographs and illustrations, and 7 published guides for immigrants. Stories of persistence and pain, birth and death, God and gold, trail dust and debris, learning, love, and laughter, and even trail tedium can be found in these original "on the trail" accounts. The collection tells the stories of Mormon pioneer families and others who were part of the national westering movement, sharing trail experiences common to hundreds of thousands of westward migrants. The source materials are drawn from the collections of Brigham Young University, members of the Utah Academic Libraries Consortium, and other archival institutions in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho."

Westward by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion, 1820-1890
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award99/mymhihtml/

"This selection of items from Mystic Seaport's archival collections includes logbooks, diaries, letters, business papers, and published narratives of voyages and travels. The unique maritime perspective of these materials offers a rich look at the events, culture, beliefs, and personal experiences associated with the settlement of California, Alaska, Hawaii, Texas, and the Pacific Northwest. A number of photographs, paintings, maps, and nautical charts are also included to illustrate the story of Americans’ western seaborne travel. Various themes are touched upon, including whaling, life at sea, shipping, women at sea, and native populations."

Women of the West Museum
http://www.museumoftheamericanwest.org/explore/exhibits/suff...

This website provides historical information about the struggle for women's suffrage in the American West. Included is a timeline of significant events, biographies, further resources, and activities pertaining to this topic.

Working Women 1870-1930
http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/

This is a prototype for a site sponsored by the Harvard University Library Open Collections Program that will eventually "provide access to digitized books (over 2000), manuscripts (10,000 pages) and images (1,000) from the collections of Harvard University Libraries and Museums on the topic of women in the U.S. economy from 1870-1930."