American History Documents

America - still a young country by world standards - began as an experiment in self-government. This collection includes stories of America's people as they follow a path of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

In his December 8, 1964 investigation report, H. L. Hopkins - working for the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission - reports that Michael ("Mickey...

Free blacks who worked as seamen (during the years of American slavery) needed to prove they were not slaves.  To avoid capture, such men were gi...

This image depicts the front cover of Flu: The Story of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus that Caused It, by Gina Kola...

Image of a federal-government memo called Report of McNamara-Taylor Mission to South Vietnam, dated October 2,1963.  This document is significan...

This image depicts the 10th page of a federal-government memo entitled Report of McNamara-Taylor Mission to South Vietnam, dated October 2,1963. ...

This image depicts the 4th page of a federal-government memo entitled Report of McNamara-Taylor Mission to South Vietnam, dated October 2,1963.  ...

In February of 1820, the U.S. Senate passed an amendment which would prohibit slavery in the newly purchased Louisiana territory.  An exception, ...

To resolve the issue of admitting Missouri as a "slave state," thereby ending the senatorial "balance of power" between "free and slave states," the S...

In July of 1917, not long after the US entered WWI, the NAACP invited African-Americans to march in a silent protest held in New York City.

Six Days in October, by Karen Blumenthal, is intended to help children understand the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

The Skid-Row area of Los Angeles, as defined by the LA Police Department, extends from 3rd to 7th streets, and Los Angeles to Alameda streets.  T...

This document, filed with the U.S. District Court for the State of Maryland, was permitted under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law.  It was submitted a...

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