The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is pleased to present our new AP African American Studies Guide. Start your journey through African American Studies by exploring primary sources, essays, and videos, organized by course unit.
Image: PARADE (2018) © Derek Fordjour, NYCT 145 St. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design. Photo: Jason Mandella.
Whatever your budget and your interests, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has a professional development opportunity for you. Study with world-renowned scholars, connect with other teachers from across the United States, and reinvigorate your enthusiasm for teaching history.
Join us as we celebrate and recommit ourselves to the rising generation and the future of our democracy.
When: Monday, May 12, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: The Lighthouse, New York City
Honorees: Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Cast of Hamilton, and the Rockefeller Foundation
Image: Students introducing honorees at the 2024 Gilder Lehrman Annual Gala. Copyright Ilir Bajraktari.
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!
History Now, the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s quarterly journal featuring essays by leading historians, is now free and open to all!
Read the latest issue—and explore the hundreds of essays in our History Now archive–by visiting our new and improved History Now landing page.
MA students can choose from a wide variety of courses each semester. Browse fall courses, watch lecture previews, meet the professors, and see course details.
Summer Semester Dates
Professor Jennifer Van Horn (University of Delaware) investigates the creation, display, and reception of art and material culture in the United States from roughly 1650 to 1900, grappling with the question of what is “American” about American art.
Image: A landscape watercolor painted by Ulysses S. Grant as a cadet at West Point, ca. 1842. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC07641)
15 Professional Development Hours
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.
High school students in our Affiliate School Program are encouraged to participate in this prestigious competition.
Q&A session for prospective students to learn about the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman master's degree program.
Join us to celebrate the 2025 honorees: Doris Kearns Goodwin, the cast of Hamilton, and The Rockefeller Foundation!
Laborers toiled on America’s roughest terrains to build the transcontinental railroad, an engineering feat that transformed the nation.
Prepare for the exam using the Institute’s new AP African American Studies Guide.
Last day to submit your entry for the Citizenship Challenge
Deadline to register for the Gilder Lehrman Symposium in Gettysburg
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 Trouble of Color: An American Family Memoir
When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day
Presidents at War: How World War II Shaped a Generation of Presidents, from Eisenhower and JFK through Reagan and Bush
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 contains 87,000+ items documenting 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.
Beginning on March 14, History Now will be free for everyone and will not require a subscription or login.
Learn about the historical research process in this step-by-step guide. As you progress, you will have opportunities to apply what you are learning.
Image: American Servicemen and women in Paris celebrating the unconditional surrender of the Japanese, August 15, 1945 (National Archives, 111-SC-210241)
Stay up to date with all the work that we do to combat historical illiteracy and invigorate the study of the past.
Catch up on the highlights from our work with students, teachers, researchers, and the general public.
See all official press releases for our important events, significant programs, and special initiatives.
