K–12 teachers: Study with world-renowned scholars and earn PD credits. Learn about our professional development opportunities this summer:
Image: Teachers on the Gettysburg Battlefield (Photograph by Jason Minick)
20 Programs
In Person & Online
K–12 educators can earn their graduate degree in this affordable, online, accredited program. Applications are open year-round and are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Spring course registration is now open.
Image: Master’s Degree in American History Commencement at Gettysburg College (Photograph by Jason Minick)
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is excited to introduce our new Citizenship hub. Take the US Naturalization Exam—available in short, intermediate, full, and Kahoot! formats—and receive real-time feedback on your results!
This new Self-Paced Course examines the development of the American Civil Rights Movement from roughly the Reconstruction era through the early twenty-first century, paying particular attention to the ways the movement unfolded in the American South, the region of the country that served as the tactical, political, and intellectual epicenter.
Image: Marion S. Trikosko, Marchers with SCLC sign for the Savannah Freedom Now Movement during the March on Washington, August 28, 1963 (Library of Congress)
15 Professional Development Hours
To make room for all the exciting new exhibitions, the Gilder Lehrman Institute is offering select used copies for 75% off the purchase price! These exhibitions have previously traveled the country as part of our rental program and remain in good condition.
Used exhibition purchases are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Photos are available in the shop for you to review your exhibition before purchasing. Visit the shop now to claim your copy!
Our master’s degree program gives K–12 educators an affordable way to earn a graduate degree while working full time.
Explore American history from your own home, in your own time, and at your own pace! Educators can obtain professional development credit.
Free, self-paced courses in American history for high school students. Students must be 13 or older to register for a course.
Henry Knox and his teamsters moved 60 tons of artillery across snow and ice to help drive the British out of Boston.
The MA in American History is now open to aspiring educators. Learn more at our upcoming open house.
Washington’s army struggled to survive with dwindling supplies, disease, and harsh weather.
Submit your best creative piece for the chance to see Hamilton in New York City! (Lottery deadline: February 15)
Students in the tri-state area and Pennsylvania can submit a performance piece about how New York City has shaped history and inspired the world.
Last day for books to be nominated.
Welcome to the Hamilton Education Program, which is free and open to students in grades 6–12, anywhere, whether learning at home with their family or under a teacher’s supervision at school.
In creating the musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda transformed historical documents into powerful art that challenges our understanding of the past and present. You can do the same.
Image: Students at a performance of Hamilton
Every Sunday at 2:00 pm ET (11:00 am PT) on Zoom
Join us for our weekly interview series in which historians discuss their acclaimed books followed by a Q&A with the at-home audience. Please click any of the upcoming episodes to register. You can purchase any of the books featured on our bookshop.org page, for which we receive an affiliate commission.
The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President
John Doe Chinaman: A Forgotten History of Chinese Life Under American Racial Law
In 1991, Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman embarked on a mission to create one of the most important repositories of historical American documents in the country. Today, the Gilder Lehrman Collection comprises over 87,000 items that document the political, social, and economic history of the United States.
We hold many rare copies of foundational American documents, like this first draft of the US Constitution
Discover 2,000+ individuals who lived through the American Revolution, like the poet Phillis Wheatley.
Bring history to life with visual sources, like this US War Department recruitment poster (ca. 1944–1945).
In addition to documents, the Collection includes objects, like this campaign button for Lyndon Johnson.
Our Collection highlights the contributions of many Americans, like those of a female pilot in the 1910s.
Explore the fight against slavery through abolitionist writings, like this note by Frederick Douglass.
The Online Journal of the Gilder Lehrman Institute
Published four times a year, History Now features essays by the nation’s leading historians for teachers, students, and general readers.
History Now is free for everyone and does not require a subscription or login.
See all official press releases for our important events, significant programs, and special initiatives.
