Featured Primary Sources
Global History and US Foreign Policy
Nothing can enrich and enliven our understanding of the nation’s past, or dispel apathy about it, more powerfully than primary sources. The primary sources below open up a variety of viewpoints and have been chosen by master teachers specifically for use in the classroom. Affiliate School members can print a packet that includes an image of the document, photograph, or other resource, a transcript where applicable, and text to place the document in historical context. Additionally, you may want to search the Gilder Lehrman Collection itself for other resources to enrich your lessons.
Alexander Hamilton’s “gloomy” view of the American Revolution, 1780
Creator: Alexander Hamilton Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi, 1718
Creator: Guillaume De l’Isle Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels:
Christmas in Kuwait, 1990
Creator: Brett G. Coughlin Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels:
Confirming governors for territories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, 1901
Creator: Theodore Roosevelt Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
De Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi, 1541
Creator: Johnson, Fry & Co. Curriculum Subjects: Art, Geography, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Eyewitness account of the sinking of the Titanic, 1912
Creator: Washington Dodge Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inauguration, 1933
Creator: Franklin D. Roosevelt Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, Literature Grade Levels:
Harry S. Truman responds to McCarthy, 1950
Creator: Harry S. Truman Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Henry Knox’s Order of March to Trenton, 1776
Creator: Henry Knox Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Herbert Hoover’s Inaugural Address, 1929
Creator: Herbert Hoover Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Jefferson on the French and Haitian Revolutions, 1792
Creator: Thomas Jefferson Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
JFK on the containment of Communism, 1952
Creator: John F. Kennedy Curriculum Subjects: Economics, World History Grade Levels: 13+
John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, 1961
Creator: John F. Kennedy Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History Grade Levels:
Landing of Columbus, 1492
Creator: Martin, Johnson & Co. Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Late seventeenth-century map of the Northeast, 1682
Creator: Nicholas Visscher Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Our Victorious Fleets in Cuban Waters, 1898
Creator: Currier & Ives Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Physicists predict a nuclear arms race, 1945
Creator: Association of Manhattan District Scientists Curriculum Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
President Truman’s Farewell Address, 1953
Creator: Harry S. Truman Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Recruiting posters for African American soldiers, 1918
Creator: Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Robert F. Kennedy on Vietnam, 1967
Creator: Robert F. Kennedy Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
Sacco and Vanzetti, 1921
Creator: Sacco-Vanzetti Defense Committee Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
Sir Francis Drake’s attack on St. Augustine, 1586
Creator: Baptista Boazio Curriculum Subjects: Economics, World History Grade Levels:
Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836
Creator: Delegates of the People of Texas Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:
The British evacuation of Boston, 1776
Creator: Benjamin Duvivier Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
The Cold War in the classroom, 1952
Creator: Federal Civil Defense Administration Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
The Doctrine of Discovery, 1493
Creator: Pope Alexander VI Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Religion and Philosophy, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
The Monroe Doctrine, 1823
Creator: James Monroe Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
The Province of Massachusetts Bay requests aid from Queen Anne, 1708
Creator: Thomas Oliver Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
The United Nations and the international community, 1967
Creator: Israel Goldstein Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy, World History Grade Levels:
Theodore Roosevelt on the sinking of the Lusitania, 1915
Creator: Theodore Roosevelt Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:
Treaty of Versailles and President Wilson, 1919 and 1921
Creator: Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:
Victory Order of the Day, 1945
Creator: Dwight D. Eisenhower Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels:
World War II: Commemorating Pearl Harbor, 1941
Creator: Office of War Information Curriculum Subjects: Art Grade Levels: