Presidents' Day

History U

History U offers free, self-paced courses for high school students.

• The American Revolution with Professor Carol Berkin, Baruch College and the Graduate Center, CUNY
• Foundations of American Government with Professor Denver Brunsman, The George Washington University
• The Declaration of Independence with Professor Eric Slauter, University of Chicago
• America’s First Civil Rights Movement with Professor Kate Masur, Northwestern University
• The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass with Professor David Blight, Yale University
• Origins of the Civil War with Professor James Oakes, City University of New York

Self-Paced Courses

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.

• George Washington and His World led by Professor Denver Brunsman, The George Washington University
• Presidential Leadership at Historic Crossroads led by Professor Barbara A. Perry, University of Virginia
• The Presidents vs. The Press led by Harold Holzer, Roosevelt House Public Policy Center, Hunter College
• The Age of Jefferson led by Professor Peter S. Onuf, University of Virginia
• Lincoln and Leadership led by Professor Michael Burlingame, University of Illinois
• The Era of Theodore Roosevelt led by Professor Bruce Schulman, Boston University
• Dwight D. Eisenhower and His Times led by Professor Michael J. Birkner, Gettysburg College
• The Kennedy Presidency led by Professor Barbara Perry, University of Virginia

History Now

History Now, the online journal of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, features essays by the nation’s leading historians.

Full Issues

• History Now 36 (Summer 2013), “Great Inaugural Addresses”
• History Now 33 (Fall 2012), “Electing a President” 
• History Now 22 (Winter 2009), “Andrew Jackson and His World” 
• History Now 18 (Winter 2008), “Abraham Lincoln in His Time and Ours” 
• History Now 17 (Fall 2008), “Theodore Roosevelt in the Progressive Era” 
• History Now 6 (Winter 2005), “Lincoln” 

Online Exhibitions

The Gilder Lehrman Institute has more than eighty online exhibitions that cover American history from the colonial era to the present day.

• Electing the President
• Wilberforce, Lincoln, and the Abolition of Slavery
• Abraham Lincoln in His Own Words
• Lincoln, Douglas, and Their Historic Debates
• Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation
• Ulysses S. Grant: Civil War General and US President
• Timeline: The Era of Theodore Roosevelt

Spotlights on Primary Sources

Each Spotlight on a document from the Gilder Lehrman Collection provides explanatory text, a transcript, and an image of the featured document.

• George Washington’s reluctance to become president, 1789
• Washington on a proposed third term and political parties, 1799
• The Monroe Doctrine, 1823
• American Colonization Society membership certificate, 1833
• John Quincy Adams and the Amistad case, 1840
• President Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, 1861
• President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, 1865
• “The President is murdered,” 1865
• Nominating the first African American for vice president, 1880
• William Jennings Bryan and the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, 1895
• Teddy Roosevelt campaigns for a third term, 1912
• Herbert Hoover’s Inaugural Address, 1929
• The origins of FDR’s New Deal, 1932
• George Washington would have supported the New Deal, 1934
• “Reelect Roosevelt—Friend of Labor,” 1936
• FDR on racial discrimination, 1942
• Harry S. Truman responds to McCarthy, 1950
• President Truman’s Farewell Address, 1953
• The assassination of John F. Kennedy, 1963
• President Ford’s statement on pardoning Richard Nixon, 1974
• President Ford’s remarks in Japan, 1974
• Reagan Speech: “Tear down this wall,” 1987
• Address to the Nation Announcing Operation Desert Storm, 1991
• George W. Bush on the 9/11 attacks, 2001
• Barack Obama’s First Inaugural Address, 2009

High School Students

• Presidential History and Civics

Elementary School Students

• Interviewing Mount Rushmore
• The Life of Abraham Lincoln

Elementary and Middle School Students

• George Washington’s Rules of Civility

Middle and High School Students

• President George Washington’s Farewell Address, 1796
• The Gettysburg Address, 1863
• Lincoln’s First and Second Inaugural Addresses

High School Students

• The First Inaugural Address of George Washington

Book Breaks

Book Breaks is a free weekly public program where hosts interview scholars about their new books.

• Life After Power: Seven Presidents and Their Search for Purpose Beyond the White House by Jared Cohen
• Washington’s Farewell: The Founding Father’s Warning to Future Generations by John Avlon
• The Property of the Nation: George Washington’s Tomb, Mount Vernon, and the Memory of the First President by Matthew R. Costello
• And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meacham
• Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times by David Reynolds
• Grant at 200: Reconsidering the Life and Legacy of Ulysses S. Grant by Frank J. Scaturro & Alvin Felzenberg
• Klan War: Ulysses S. Grant and the Battle to Save Reconstruction by Fergus M. Bordewich
• President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier by C.W. Goodyear
• The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created a President by Edward O’Keefe
• Woodrow Wilson: The Light Withdrawn by Christopher Cox
• The Last 100 Days: FDR at War and at Peace by David Woolner
• Presidents at War: How World War II Shaped a Generation of Presidents by Steven M. Gillon
• How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions by Susan Eisenhower
• JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917–1956 by Fredrik Logevall
• Reagan: His Life and Legend by Max Boot
• The Black President: Hope and Fury in the Age of Obama by Claude Clegg

Inside the Vault

Inside the Vault highlights unique primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection each month.

• Washington’s Crossing of the Delaware River
• George Washington and Slavery
• George Washington’s Inauguration
• What Makes a Great Leader?: John Adams Discusses the “Ten Talents” of George Washington
• The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
• Abraham Lincoln
• Lincoln’s Refusal to Pardon Nathaniel Gordon
• The Gettysburg Address
• Ulysses S. Grant
• The New Deal & FDR’s Presidential Campaigns
• “Pathological Liar”: Harry Truman and the Rise of Joseph McCarthy in 1950
• Harry Truman on National Healthcare
• The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
• Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Views on Vietnam in 1967 and 1968