Historical Documents

Letter from Alexander Graham Bell to Helen Keller, March 23, 1907
Letter from Alexander Graham Bell to Helen Keller, March 23, 1907
ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
Broadside of John Brown's Last Speech
John Brown's Speech to the Court at his Trial
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The rough draft of The Declaration of Independence written in June, 1776.
Jefferson’s “original Rough draught” of the Declaration of Independence
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Hitchcock Scene
YouTube Video of Dream Sequence from Spellbound
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930), ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945), ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present), Multiple Eras
Life, Trial and Execution of Captain John Brown
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Dead Soldiers at Gettysburg
Civil War Battle Statistics
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Calvin Coolidge and group of Native Americans at the White House, 1924. Library of Congress
Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Measures Proposed to Amend the Constitution
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
A Gold Hunter's Experience
A Gold Hunter's Experience, Chalkley J. Hambleton
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861), ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
Gun Violence
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Steven Spielburg
Gettysburg Dedication Day Ceremony a Naturalization Ceremony & remarks from Steven Spielberg
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan (Spiritual Plan of Aztlan)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Lincoln, Hollywood, and an Opportunity for Historians- Excerpt
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Grant Inauguration
First Inaugural Address of Ulysses S. Grant
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The acquitted defendants in the Sleepy Lagoon murder trial reunite with their families.
People v. Zamora
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Rebecca Nurse
Trial of Rebecca Nurse- Excerpt
ERA 2: Colonialism and Settlement (1585–1763)
"The Evolving Federal Role in Education: An Introductory Essay" (Excerpt)
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference in February 1945
The Yalta Conference
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Montesquieu The Spirit of the Laws Book XI- Excerpts
Montesquieu The Spirit of the Laws Book XI- Excerpts
ERA 2: Colonialism and Settlement (1585–1763), ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Custer's Last Charge
Custer's Last Charge (Song)
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Joint Resolution Submitting 13th Amendment to the States; signed by Abraham Lincoln and Congress Congress, Wednesday, February 01, 1865
Joint Resolution Submitting 13th Amendment to the States; signed by Abraham Lincoln and Congress Congress, Wednesday, February 01, 1865
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Poem
Nat Turner by T. Thomas Fortune
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861), ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
Amendments to the Constitution Proposed by the Hartford Convention
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
Chinese Exclusion Act
ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
Shabana Maani, gives a polio vaccination to a child in the old part of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday March 29, 2021 (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Loving v. Virginia 1967
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
A Winter Walk
"A Winter Walk" Essay
ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900), ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930), ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945), ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present), Multiple Eras
Amendments Proposed by the Peace Conference, February 8-27, 1861
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Voting Rights Act of 1965
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Land Grant Colleges and Universities as of 1890
Second Morrill Act 1890
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Eisenhower's Farewell Address
Eisenhower's Farewell Address
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
U.S. Constitution
Amendments to the Constitution of the United States
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Additional Article to the Treaty for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
In this isolated mountainous Spanish American community in Ojo Sarco, New Mexico, a one-room school serves students across eight grades with just two teachers. These teachers work with minimal equipment, relying on the blackboard to teach the alphabet, penmanship, and grammar.
Serna v. Portales
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
This political cartoon illustrates James Buchanan beset by figures who employ quotes from the Ostend Manifesto to legitimize their criminal acts.
Ostend Manifesto
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861), ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The Tehran Conference
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Newspaper image
Old Style Parents and New Style Sons
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930), ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945), ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present), Multiple Eras
Lyons Seward Treaty of 1862
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Susan B. Anthony Conviction Notice
Susan B. Anthony Trial Statement (1873)
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Hand written Emancipation Proclamation 1863
Emancipation Proclamation 1863
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The document on permanent display in the Rotunda is the enrolled original Joint Resolution passed by Congress on September 25, 1789, proposing 12-not 10-amendments to the Constitution.
U.S. Bill of Rights
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Boston Harbor
Boston Port Act, 1774
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
"Help the Guatemalans!" poster
American Baptist Churches v. Thornburgh
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Treaty of Fort Atkinson
Original document of the enrolled acts and resolutions of Congress pertaining to the Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act 1964
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
The Frost King, a short story by Helen A. Keller
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
The Narrative of Sojourner Truth
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The North Atlantic Treaty
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
American Treaty on Pacific Settlement (1948)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)