The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History: Primary Source Collection
Taken from the original website: “The Gilder Lehrman Collection is a unique archive of primary sources in American history. Owned by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and located at the New-York Historical Society, the Collection includes more than 60,000 letters, diaries, maps, pamphlets, printed books, newspapers, photographs, and ephemera that document the political, social, and economic history of the United States. An extensive resource for educators, students, and scholars, the Collection ranges from 1493 through the twentieth century and is widely considered one of the nation’s great archives in the Revolutionary, early national, antebellum, and Civil War periods.”
The website contains a wealth of primary source materials related to American history. In addition to the searchable archive, there are collections of primary sources and related education resources organized by selected time periods. When selecting texts for students to read, teachers may find the website helpful for finding primary sources related to specific historical events or topics. Accessing the materials requires creating an account, which is free for K-12 educators and students.