Best of the Web

  • This web companion to the PBS documentary features a timeline, photos and history.
  • A digital collection of politcal campaign memorabilia from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.
  • Search the full text of hundreds of documents relating to New York State. Local documents include: Proceedings of the bi-centennial celebration of Richmond county, Staten Island, New York. November 1st, 1883 (includes hundreds of names of participants and descriptions of the festiviites) and Facts against rumor: being a brief statement, without note or comment, of the most important facts which transpired in the late difficulties between the vestry and the people of St. Andrew's and Trinity parishes, Staten Island, N.Y., prior to the 5th of February, 1857. By order of committee.
  • Historical, social, and political information guide provided by the Library of Congress. Country information can be accessed from an alphabetical listing or by clicking on the interactive map.
  • This collection offers access to primary materials documenting nearly a century of investigation, arrest, judgment and incarceration of many famous and unknown criminals in New York City. Materials have been gathered from the Lloyd Sealy Library's Special Collections at John Jay College and includes photographs and trial transcripts.
  • The first electronic review of the history of modern historiography. Its aim is the establishment of an online resource for studies and research relating to modern historical culture (historiography,erudition, philosophies of history, methodologies of historical research, didactics of history).
  • a website of maps and tables showing Presidential votes since 1860, state electoral votes, show major and independent presidential and vice presidential candidates. County election data is also available.
  • This collection provides access to over 11,000 maps online, focusing on rare 18th and 19th century North and South America maps and other cartographic materials.
  • This collection of photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company Collection includes over 25,000 glass negatives and transparencies as well as about 300 color photolithograph prints, mostly of the eastern United States including New York City.
  • This website "centres around biographical entries on individual labour movement figures. Many of these have been of national significance but, equally, others have been of local or regional prominence. Each entry is written by a specialist, in many cases by one of the editors. The text is supplemented by a detailed bibliography drawing attention to relevant archival deposits, works by the subject and appropriate secondary texts. In addition, the Dictionary has included a series of thematic essays on issues of interest for the historian of the labour movement.
  • Digital Gallery provides access to over 337,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs,
  • This site includes a wealth of resources including annotated primary sources on United States, Mexican American and Native American history, and slavery.
  • The Making of America is a digital library of primary sources in American social history . Items are currently located in two separate databases at the University of Michigan and Cornell University. Search each of these databases for "Staten Island" to find the full text of hundreds of books and articles that mention Staten Island. The Cornell database spans the years 1815-1926.
  • "This database provides access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States. These diverse collections range from Ancestral Pueblo pottery to Katrina Thomas's photographs of ethnic weddings from the late 20th century."
  • Documenting the American South provides access to texts, images, and audio files related to Southern history, literature, and culture from the colonial period through the first decades of the 20th century.
  • Rich informational site maintained at Minnesota State University with sections on Egypt, Greece, Mesopotamia and much more.
  • Digital library of primary sources in Canadian history. Currently contains the images of the pages of over 3,000 books and pamphlets. Browsing or searching can be done by title, author, or subject.
  • Background information about people, countries, and political or religious issues of North Africa and the Middle East. Covers Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
  • Collection of links on the subject of EU History, from the History Department of Leiden University in the Netherlands. Categories include: Archives, Historical Documents, Bibliographies, Histories, Brussels, Journals, Cold war sites, Non-EU institutions, Discussion groups, Oral histories,EMU's in the past, Statistical sources, EU-institutions, Timelines, Eurospeak, Useful finding aids, Federalism, WWW virtual library.
  • The English language version of the official site of the European Union.
  • List of EU servers, EU documents, and other University links.
  • "The EAWC Internet Index tracks a variety of resources that are relevant to ancient and medieval times and that might prove useful to students and teachers who are engaged in serious study. It is divided into five sub-indices: a chronology, an essay index, an image index, an internet site index and a primary text index. Each of these is further divided into sections, one for each of the cultures represented: the Near East, India, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, Early Islam and Medieval Europe."
  • This site is dedicated to the history and study of famous trials, most of which occured in the United States.
  • "Drawing on a wide variety of documents and artifacts, this site explores five main themes [alone at the top the path to power leading Canada private life afterwards] relating to Canada's prime ministers. The site examines our leaders' political careers as well as their private lives. It also sheds light on Canadians' perceptions of our prime ministers." Includes biographical profiles and speeches. In English and French.
  • Online encyclopedia featuring articles, chronologies, and biographical sketches.
  • Archaeologists and historians rediscover a famous nineteenth-century New York neighborhood.
  • Includes a timeline as well as photos, political cartoons, maps, images, and other documents.
  • The Foreign Relations of the United States series is the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions that have been declassified and edited for publication.

  • The hidden city: in advertisements, buildings, signs, and old maps.

  • Online version of "The Founders' Constitution," an anthology of documents from the 17th century through the 1830s about popular government in the United States.
  • The "first African-American owned and operated newspaper published in the United States. The Journal was published weekly in New York City from 1827 to 1829. All 103 issues have been digitized and placed into Adobe Acrobat format."
  • This collection contains about four hundred pamphlets by African-American authors and others who wrote about slavery.
  • Site hosted by the University of South Florida providing access to various images of concentration and death camps, Holocaust memorials throughout the world, and other photographic images.
  • The museum is a national landmark that collects, preserves and exhibits historical objects relating to the lives of General Giuseppe Garibaldi and Antonio Meucci.
  • Provides background information for events in the Middle East. Includes a timeline of key event from 1900 a thematic section viewing "events through the lens of politics, science, economics, and more: and a section for "big picture questions" featuring essays and lesson plans.

  • Housed at the City University of New York's Graduate Center, this Website includes a resources directory, a calendar of events, online discussion groups, and information for educators.

  • The Greater Astoria Historical Society, chartered in 1985, is a non-profit cultural and community oriented organization dedicated to preserving the past and promoting Long Island City's future.
  • The Greater Ridgewood Historical Society was established in 1975, by a groups of local residents to preserve the Onderdonk House. The Society maintains a history and genealogical research library.
  • Green-Wood Cemetery is one of the worlds great cemeteries. Founded in 1838 as the third rural cemetery in America, it is the final resting place of nearly 600,000 persons, including some of history's most memorable figures.
  • A collection of annotated links "relating to African American history". This Cornell University Library site "reviews several existing websites and digitization projects and lists noteworthy digitization projects that are forthcoming." These sites are searchable and browsable by the name of the institution or the title of the colelction.

  • Contains more than 1,600 old names of streets and other urban features that are no longer on the map.

  • This site presents a wealth of archival treasures and scholarship from Columbia University about the history of one of the world's most famous and influential neighborhoods.
  • An online exhibition from The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library.
  • Brooklyn Public Library's catalog of several thousand historic photographs from the Brooklyn Collection.

  • The Historic House Trust of New York City, a not-for-profit organization, was created in 1989 to preserve and promote the 22 historic house museums located in New York City parks.

  • Digitized text of the New York Times for those years. Searchable by date or browsable by topic.
  • Comprehensive and eclectic directory of historical resources. Includes primary documents, related links, and electronic versions of print books, organized by geography, nations, and topics.
  • This University of Virginia site provides searchable data, taken from the federal census, about the people and the economy of the United States for each state and county from 1790 to 1960.

  • The New York Public Library's blog on U.S. and New York history and genealogy.

  • "History in Focus is a new occasional series taking a thematic approach to history. Each issue is designed to provide an introduction to the chosen topic and to help stimulate interest and debate. The series will concentrate on highlighting books, reviews, websites and conferences that relate to thetheme, in order to provide a quality assured information resource for learning and teaching."
  • A gateway site to U.S. History material on the web.
  • About.com's History archive is divided into the following categories: 20th Century African African-American American Ancient/Classical British European Medieval Military Women's History.
  • A brief history of Queens from the Office of the Queens Borough President.
  • This browseable site provides access to over 30,000 photographs of life in the west from 1860 to 1920.
  • This online exhibit "dispels the myth that the Holocaust was a secret amd explores the reasons why America's newspapers downplayed the horrifying reports from Europe."
  • An archive/timeline of US interventions, coups, humanitarian incursions, covert actions, freedom fighters/terrorists and multilateral offensives.
  • Have you ever wondered what the value of a dollar was in 1895? Here is a place where you can ask questions of comparative value covering purchasing power, exchange rates, and other variables between the past and today.

  • This collection provides access to over 400 items relating to the inauguration of every president since Washington.

  • This site from Cornell University contains a wide range of authoritative information on Abolition.

  • An image finder database providing access to 65,000+ online images held at participating Canadian cultural institutions.
  • Site hosted by the University of Alabama-Birmingham contained digital photographs and images of various artifacts, art, writing implements, tools and other items from numerous different ancient cultural groups.
  • A digitized collection of books, pamphlets, maps, photographs and historical manuscripts and archives that illustrate the lives of immigrants to the United States as well as the culture they adopted.
  • Associated with the Cloisters in New York City, this site promotes research in the area of medieval art and cognate disciplines.
  • "The International Institute of Social History (IISH) was founded in 1935. It is one of the world's largest documentary and research institutions in the field of social history in general and the history of the labour movement in particular." The site includes a catalog of its holdings, exhibits, publications, and special projects. Includes table of contents for the International Review of Social History from 1995, and the full text of its newsletter. Portions available in Dutch.

  • A digital collection of archived websites, moving images, audio, and texts. This site also provides access to the Prelinger Archive of ephemeral films shot between 1927 and 1983.

  • Collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use. Find primary sources in ancient, medieval and modern history as well as African, East Asian, Islamic, Jewish, Lesbian and Gay, Science, and Women's history. This is a wonderful site for primary sources on the Internet.
  • Links arranged in the following categories: Pre-Islamic Arab World Muhammad and Foundations - to 632 CE Islamic Faith and Theology Islamic Expansion and Empire Caliphate Persians Turks Ottomans Expansion Eastwards Interaction wwith the West Western Intrusion Islamic Nationalism Islamic World since 1945 Islamic History Maps further resources on Islamic History.
  • Site is organized as three main index pages (Selected Sources, Full Text Sources, Saints Lives) and a number of supplementary documents. From the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.
  • Extensive guide to sites, featuring descriptive and evaluative annotations with many links.
  • Selections from the Fry Collection. An exhibition in the Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin.
  • Online companion to a PBS program, this site explores the story of Joe Hill, a labor organizer executred by the state of Utah in 1915." Includes biographical information, information on the labor movement of the early twentieth century, and perspectives on Hill's controversial trial.
  • A repository for 20th century New York City political and social history covering the mayoralties of LaGuardia, Wagner, Beame, Koch, and more.

  • The New York City agency that is responsible for identifying and designating the city's landmarks and the buildings in the city's historic districts. The Commission also regulates changes to designated buildings.

  • An extensive collection of Internet resources, guides, and collections information produced by Library Web - Columbia University Library.
  • A searchable directory of websites. For those who wish to target a particular country or region, there are direct links. Most sites are in English or English and Spanish.
  • A subset of Latin Americanist Research Resources Project, LAPTOC lists table-of-contents data from hundred of Latin American journals not indexed elsewhere.
  • This online collection contains 45 films of New York City dating from 1898 to 1906 from the holdings of the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting, & Recorded Sound Division. Provides streaming short films from the Edison Company and the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, including footage of Ellis Island, Central Park, skyscrapers, and subways.
  • Originally a series published by Newsday, provides information about Queens (plus Nassau and Suffolk) communities at the turn of the 19th century.
  • Browsable "selection of 155 photographs excerpted from a collection of more than 1100 company hitories, pamphlets, and technical brochures. . . Many of the images document factories and jobs that no longer exist."
  • An interactive recreation of P.T. Barnum's nineteenth century museum on Lower Broadway and the fire that consumed it. Includes essays and an archive.

  • This site documents the destruction of many of New York City's 19th century tenement and other buildings.

  • Web-based examination of New York City's African American history includes videos, audio, maps, images and teaching materials.
  • Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through Reconstruction.
  • The University of Michigan's contributions to MOA. This site provides access to approximately 8,500 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints from the university's collections.
  • 19th-century prints celebrating the ever-changing face of a thriving, bustling, confident city trace Manhattan's urban evolution. Provided by The New York Public Library.
  • Based on an exhibition mounted by Fordham University.
  • From the University of Texas's Perry-Cataneda Map Collection. Includes links to other city, outline, state, and U. S. map websites.
  • This developing project currently contains 2,600 searchable pages.
  • Promotes research in all aspects of medieval studies.
  • A collection of 30,000 digitized images from books, magazines and newspapers as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created before 1923.
  • A site meant for interested readersand beginning students of the Palestine/Israel conflict. Provides texts of reports, policy statements, and other documents from 1915 to the present. Some introductory text has been appended to each document in order toput it into context.
  • Directory of major information sources, divided into subject areas and by country or region, about and from the Middle East.
  • "The Middle East Virtual Library (MENALIB) is an information portal for Middle East and Islamic Studies. It provides access to online information and to digital records of printed and other offline media and thus supports the concept of a hybrid library for Middle East and Islamic Studies."
  • A primary sourcebook designed to "present a diversity of source material in modern European, American, and Latin American history, as well as a significant amount of materal pertinent to world cultures and global studies. A number of other online source collections emphasize legal and political documents. Here efforts have been made to includecontemporary narrative accounts, personal memoirs, songs, newspaper reports, as well as cultural, philosophical, religious and scientific documents.

  • Houses 150,000 cubic feet of historical government records, including manuscripts, official correspondence, vital records, ledgers, several thousand feet of moving images, over one million photographs, sound recordings, maps, and architectural plans.

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