Independence Day was unofficially celebrated in the United States until 1870, when, nearly a hundred years after the Declaration of Independence was written, Congress first declared Independence Day a national holiday.
Image: Nathaniel Currier, Presenting the Declaration of Independence, ca. 1850, based on a painting by Jonathan Trumbull. (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC10045)
The June 26, 2020, edition of Inside the Vault: Highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection explores a rare South Carolina printing of the Declaration of Independence and a soldier’s experience at the Battle of Gettysburg.
Students will write summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulate their understanding of the complete document by answering questions in an argumentative writing style.
An illustrated timeline beginning with the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and ending with Washington laying down his sword in 1783 with videos and images from the Gilder Lehrman Collection
Kevin Cline, 2016 Gilder Lehrman National History Teacher of the Year, joined the Institute’s curators to explore Paul Revere’s engraving depicting the Boston Massacre and Philip Dawe’s print “Bostonians Paying the Excise-man.”
Self-Paced Courses offer graduate-level online instruction in American history by eminent historians. Courses are available to watch or listen to on your own time and at your own pace. Teachers can also get certificates for CEU credits.
History U offers free, self-paced courses for high school students.
History Now, the online journal of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, features essays by the nation’s leading historians.
Full Issues
The Gilder Lehrman Institute has over eighty online exhibitions covering American history from the colonial era to the present day.
Each Spotlight on a document from the Gilder Lehrman Collection provides explanatory text, a transcript, and an image of the featured document.
Inside the Vault highlights unique primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection each month.
Book Breaks is a free weekly public program where hosts interview scholars about their new books.
