American Studies

Primary Document Websites

 

American Memory - Library of Congress - The Library of Congress features many online exhibits of primary source documents relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections.

 

EyeWitness: History Through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It - Ibis Communications presents eyewitness accounts of historic events from the 17 century to the 20th.

 

The Authentic History Center - A collection of authentic primary history sources from American culture, from colonial days through to the 1990s. Included are text and audio documents such as: letters, diaries, political cartoons, and speeches.

 

History Matters - This feature contains primary documents in text, image, and audio about the experiences of ordinary Americans throughout U.S. history. Dozens of first hand accounts. 

 

Battle Lines: Letters from America's Wars - an online exhibition created by the Gilder Lehrman Institute and the Legacy Project, features correspondence from over 200 years of American conflicts, ranging from the Revolution to the war in Iraq.

 

Private Art: A Collection of WWII Letters To and From the Home Front - Letters of Pvt. Arthur Pranger of the 86th Chemical Mortar Battalion and his family and friends. 

Sgt.William Heller's World War II Memoirs-3rd Infantry Division  - “Sharing the pictorial history of World War II in Europe, is the main objective of this website.”

A Marine Diary: My Experiences on Guadalcanal by J. R. Garrett  - Excerpts from an actual diary of a WWII in Guadalcanal 

The Letters of Private Melvin W. Johnson – from WWII

Wesley Slaymaker: Letters Home - This site stores the text of the WWII-era letters written to and from (mostly from) machine gun infantry Sgt. Wesley Slaymaker (37th Division, 129th Infrantry, M Company) of Atkinson, Nebraska, while he was in basic training, serving in the Pacific, and recovering back in the States after being wounded.

Pictures of World War II - Select Audiovisual Records from the National Archives and Records Administration

Pieces: Recollections of a Rifleman by Ed Blanco - excerpts from the diary I kept during my tour with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam.

The USS Oriskany - Memories of Vietnam - from Larry Matthews, a U.S Navy sailor who served aboard the aircraft carrier.

TET Journal - Jeanette Wolfe's account of working as a nurse at the 71st EVAC in Pleiku, written on February 6, 1968, after the first week of the Tet Offensive.

Pure Torture - account of the suffering and perseverance of an American prisoner of war.

Visions of Vietnam - A Personal Perspective – Famous photos