Written by Stephanie Townrow and Mary Kate Kwasnik.
William Woodlin enlisted in the United States Colored Infantry 8th Regiment in October 1863. Remarkably, Woodlin kept a journal during his service with the US Colored Troops. Woodlin’s brief entries describe camp life, his service with the regimental band as a horn player, several battles, the weather, equal pay with white soldiers, and the famous 54th Massachusetts Regiment, among many other topics.
In October 1864, Woodlin describes the bravery of black troops in the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia, reporting that "the johnnies made furious
Read the full transcript of the letter Lincoln wrote Mary Owens and view the Lincoln Speaks exhibition that explores the power of Lincoln's words.
Throughout American history, enslaved people have resisted bondage in a variety of ways: some escaped, rebelled, or sabotaged work tools or work product. They also resisted in more subtle ways, refusing privately to use names given to them by slave holders and maintaining their identity by keeping track of family members. Music, folk tales, and other African cultural forms also became weapons of resistance. Take a look at the next digital exhibition in Gilder Lehrman’s Black History Month initiative, created through a partnership with the Google Cultural Institute.
Click here to launch the
Looking for something interactive to use with your students? Check out Gilder Lehrman’s new Online Exhibitions page to see what resources we can offer your classroom. Our digital exhibitions range from the founding era to the twentieth century, and focus on key people, events, and themes in American history.
In a rare 1846 freedom suit, Dred and Harriet Scott sued their master for their own freedom as well as their daughters’. The resulting appeals and rulings that pushed the suit to the Supreme Court marked a turning point in the years leading up to the Civil War, calling into question issues of slavery, freedom, and states’ rights. Take a look at the next digital exhibition in Gilder Lehrman’s Black History Month initiative, created through a partnership with the Google Cultural Institute.
Click here to launch the interactive feature in a new window.
Today is the anniversary of the publication of the groundbreaking book The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan in 1963. Debunking the idea of the feminine mystique which glorified the role of women as homemakers as a myth, which has "succeeded in burying millions of women alive," Friedan challenged American women to seek fulfillment through education and work outside of the home. Friedan’s book quickly became a sensation and a catalyst for a second wave of the women’s rights movement. As a leader of the movement, Friedan was a key founder of NOW (National Organization for Women) in 1966, and
Read a transcript of the certificate and examine an African American’s pay warrant from the Revolutionary War.
Read the transcript of Henry Weeden’s note and read an essay about abolition and antebellum reform.
George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Virginia. To celebrate, enjoy a performance of "One Last Time" from the Broadway musical Hamilton, performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Sydney James Harcourt, and Ian Weinberger at the 2015 George Washington Prize dinner in New York City. Want more George Washington? Enter the Dear George Washington Essay Contest or read a letter Washington wrote about his reluctance to become president.
Between 1855 and 1886, Franklin E. McNear collected autographs in his leather-bound, red autograph book. Among the eighty-four signatures are notable historic figures like P.T. Barnum, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Frederick Douglass. Penned in 1860, the Frederick Douglass page includes more than just his autograph. Take a look at the image shown here to see the words Douglass wanted to accompany his autograph:
This then is my autograph and something more. I am for Liberty, the right of each man to own his own body and soul, whatever may be his colour wherever he may be born - whether of one race
The twentieth century was packed with socio-economic changes in American society. It is often difficult to understand just how different our country was at the beginning of the century. Use the infographic below as you are teaching the modern era to your classes to help students understand the extent of change in social structures during the twentieth century.
View this infographic, and download a printable PDF, on our website.
There are only six short weeks until the first student matinee of Hamilton on April 13!
To celebrate the launch of the program, we are excited to give you a series of posts that offer insight into the life of Alexander Hamilton. Every Wednesday until the first student matinee, look for an intriguing document, video, essay, or online exhibition that examines the Founding Father’s world.
First, explore the titular man behind the musical with the Gilder Lehrman exhibition "Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America." This digital exhibition includes documents and images that span
Looking to celebrate Women’s History Month by teaching women’s suffrage? Take a peek at our new infographic map and explore which states did (and did not) pass women’s suffrage before the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920. Want to dig deeper? Read about the fight for suffrage in essays by Jonathan Soffer, and Barbara Winslow, or explore some of our women’s history Featured Primary Sources here.
View this infographic as a PDF.
On March 5, 1770, tensions in the American colonies culminated with an armed skirmish between British troops and American colonists in Boston. Although the American Revolution did not begin in earnest until five years later, the Boston Massacre is considered the spark that ignited revolutionary fervor in the colonies. Below is an interactive exploration of one of the treasures of the Gilder Lehrman Collection, Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre, entitled "The Bloody Massacre in King-Street."
Take a closer look at the first draft of the US Constitution to see an example of the "long S" in print.
Many American presidents are remembered for the landmark laws, amendments, or executive acts they passed while in office. We remember President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, or President Franklin D. Roosevelt asking Congress to declare war on Japan in 1941. First Ladies like Nancy Reagan and Ellen Wilson are also remembered for leading passionate crusades against drugs and inadequate housing. Probably less remembered, however, are the children of presidents.
When President Theodore Roosevelt took office in 1901, his eldest child Alice—often referred to by the press
There are now five weeks until the first student matinee of Hamilton!
This week, we’re continuing our blog series on Alexander Hamilton with Amtrak’s Arrive magazine—the March/April 2016 issue features a story on the student ticket program. In it, Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of Hamilton, reflects on finding inspiration in musical theater when he was in school, his hopes for the student ticket program, and the smash-hit popularity of the show. Miranda discusses how Alexander Hamilton’s non-elite, immigrant background may make him more relatable to audiences, perhaps especially to
Take a closer look at George Washington’s letter using 18th-century abbreviations.
There’s less than one month left until the Hamilton student matinee on April 13!
This week, discover Alexander Hamilton in the American Imagination, the newest issue of History Now, Gilder Lehrman’s online journal.
In five essays, historians weigh in on Alexander Hamilton’s life and legacy. Richard Brookhiser considers Hamilton’s influence in shaping the American economy, Joanne B. Freeman takes a closer look at the famous duel between Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and Brian Phillips Murphy explains the importance of having Hamilton on the $10 bill. Two essays reflect on modern depictions of
Yesterday, the cast of Hamilton were welcomed to the White House by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for a day of events that honored the musical’s groundbreaking qualities and showcased its ability to inspire students of American history.
It was a big day for everyone, and in her opening remarks, First Lady Michelle Obama revealed that she was excited too—"I’ve been waiting for this day for a long, long time," she said, and praised the musical as "best piece of art in any form that I have ever seen in my life."
Students from three Washington DC-area high schools took
There are only three short weeks until the first student matinee of Hamilton on April 13!
This week, discover a letter written by Alexander Hamilton. When the hotly contested election of 1800 ended in a tie between the two Democratic Republicans, Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, the House of Representatives was tasked with choosing the president. Hamilton was at odds with both candidates, but thought Jefferson was the better choice, as he had certain principles that Burr lacked. He wrote letters to his fellow Federalists, urging them to vote for Jefferson. In this letter to Massachusetts
On the afternoon of Saturday, March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City caught fire, killing 146 of the 500 employees—mostly young immigrant women and girls. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory produced women’s blouses—called shirtwaists at the time. Employees worked nearly twelve hour days, seven days a week for very low wages.
Around closing time on the day of the fire, a scrap bin went up in flames. The factory exits had been locked to prevent theft, and the shoddily built fire escape buckled under the heat from the fire and the weight of victims trying to escape. Many
We’re almost there—only two more weeks until the first student matinee of Hamilton!
This week, watch Ron Chernow, author of Alexander Hamilton—the biography that inspired the musical—discuss the Founding Father’s achievements and legacy. Chernow attempts to answer a question that many who know of Hamilton’s brilliance and ambition have asked—"Why did Alexander Hamilton never become president?"—and argues that Hamilton was one of the most influential Americans who never attained the presidency.
Want more Hamilton? Explore the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s videos, essays, featured primary
Watch highlights from the Frederick Douglass Book Prize ceremony, on February 4. The highlights include remarks by James G. Basker, president of the Gilder Lehrman Institute; David Blight, director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale; members of the Gilder Lehrman Student Advisory Council; and Ada Ferrer, winner of the 2015 Frederick Douglass Book Prize for her book Freedom’s Mirror: Cuba and Haiti in the Age of Revolution.
You can learn more about the Frederick Douglass Book Prize and see a list of past winners here.
In exactly one week, the Hamilton Student Education Program launches with its first matinee performance.
This 1804 letter was written by Angelica Schuyler Church, Alexander Hamilton’s sister-in-law and close friend, after Hamilton’s infamous duel with political opponent Aaron Burr. She informs her brother Philip that "General Hamilton was this morning woun[d]ed by that wretch Burr."
In the short, hastily written letter, Church tells her brother, "we have every reason to hope that he will recover." Unfortunately, Hamilton died the following morning, surrounded by family and friends, including
