American History Documents

John Quincy Adams, who represented the Amistad defendants in the Supreme Court, pondered his responsibility and expressed his thoughts in his diary. ...

When he represented the Amistad captives in the U.S. Supreme Court, John Quincy Adams personally handwrote his briefs.  This image depicts one of...

Image of the signature page of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  President Lyndon Johnson signed this on July 2, 1964. Click on the image for a bet...

This image depicts the cover page of Philip Johnston's proposal to use the Navajo language as a code during World War II. He submitted his idea in Fe...

This image depicts the first page of Philip Johnston's proposal to use the Navajo language as the basis for a WWII code. Click on the image for a bet...

This image depicts the second page of Philip Johnston's proposal to use the Navajo language as the basis for a WWII code. Click on the image for a be...

During his trial, in the summer of 1867, John Surratt produced witnesses who swore he was in Elmira, New York the day after Lincoln's shooting.  ...

John Cass - from Elmira, New York - testified during the trial of John Surratt.  He told the jury he saw John Surratt in Elmira, New York on Apri...

Bookcover image of In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War, by Alice Rains Trulock.

How did his contemporaries view the job performed by Judge Isaac Parker (sometimes known as "The Haning Judge" of Ft. Smith, Arkansas? Take a look at ...

This text image depicts a page from Jupiter Hammon's famous speech to the African Society of New York City which he gave on the 24th of Sept...

This text image depicts a page from Jupiter Hammon's famous speech to the African Society of New York City which he gave on the 24th of Sept...