Historical Documents

Young Mexican men stand outside a jail in Los Angeles, California, after police arrested them during the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots.
Zoot Suit Riots
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Franklin Letter
Letter from Benjamin Franklin to the Committee of Secret Correspondence
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Image of the first page of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation
Emancipation Proclamation
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Painting of Jamestown Life
A True Declaration of the Estate in Virginia, 1610
ERA 1: Three Worlds Meet (Beginnings to 1620)
Lincoln First Inaugural Address
First Inaugural Address of Abraham Lincoln
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The Defeat of Braddock
A French Account of Braddock's Defeat in 1755, Captain de Contrecoeur
ERA 2: Colonialism and Settlement (1585–1763)
Panama Canal Treaty
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Lincoln as They Saw Him by Herbert Mitgang- Excerpt
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Adams Letter
John & Abigail Adams Correspondence
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
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)
Civil Rights Act (1964)
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act 2021
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Stop forced sterilization poster/image
Madrigal v. Quilligan
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Treaty of Peace and Amity with Tripoli
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
The Tehran Conference
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Stamp Act
Stamp Act of 1765
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
John Brown Song
Glory hally, hallelujah! or The John Brown song. H. De Marsan, 54 Chatham Street, N.Y.
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The U.S. Constitution
U.S. Constitution
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Washington Letter to Benjamin Lincoln
George Washington Letter to Benjamin Lincoln
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Sitting Bull Arrest Letter
Sitting Bull Arrest Letter
ERA 6: The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900)
Newspaper discussing the 1934 Treaty of Relations
1934 Treaty of Relations
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
Additional Article to the Treaty for the Suppression of the African Slave Trade
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The Coffin of Patrick Carr
Coffin of Patrick Carr
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
Students Praying in School
Engel v. Vitale
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s), ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
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)
AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE WITCHCRAFT TRIAL OF 1692.
ERA 2: Colonialism and Settlement (1585–1763), ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Langston Hughes
Harlem, a poem by Langston Hughes
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
News Article: “Many Deaths”
News Article: “Many Deaths”
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945)
New Jersey Plan
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
"Keep Off!" cartoon
Monroe Doctrine
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s), ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
The text of the 19th amendment
19th Amendment
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
“Friends” Poem
“Friends” Poem
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
Historical Marker
Salem Covenant of 1629
ERA 2: Colonialism and Settlement (1585–1763)
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)
Liberator
The Liberator Comments on Nat Turner’s Insurrection
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
"History Will Absolve Me" Speech
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Clinton & Gore
Bill Clinton: Impact and Legacy
ERA 10: Contemporary United States (1968 to the present)
Newspaper Image
Abraham Lincoln on he day of his speech at the Cooper Union The New York Daily Tribune, Tuesday, February 28, 1860
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
James Madison by Glibert Stuart
Federalist No. 46
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
First Bank of the United States
Hamilton's Opinion as to the Constitutionality of the Bank of the United States
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
The Burning of Jamestown during Bacon's Rebellion of 1676. Painting by Howard Pyle, 1905.
Jamestown, Québec, Santa Fe: Three North American Beginnings
ERA 1: Three Worlds Meet (Beginnings to 1620)
Transcript of Letter from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Dr. Egleston Regarding his Polio Attack, 10/24/1924
Transcript of Letter from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Dr. Egleston Regarding his Polio Attack, 10/24/1924
ERA 8: The Great Depression and World War II (1929–1945), ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Theodore Roosevelt mountain climbing in the West, 1880
Theodore Roosevelt and Conservation
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
Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Viet-Nam
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Pamphlet
Democratic ticket. Our principals the Constitution. For President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky For Vice President Joseph Lane of Oregon
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
Hamilton and Washington
Letter to George Washington from Alexander Hamilton
ERA 3: Revolution and the New Nation (1754–1820s)
The Plan of San Diego
ERA 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890–1930)
Puerto Ricans rally for civil rights outside City Hall in New York City.
Katzenbach v. Morgan
ERA 9: Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970's)
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis' Farewell Address
ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)
This map shows the land acquired through the Gadsden Purchase Treaty
Gadsden Purchase Treaty
ERA 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861), ERA 5: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)