Although the federal government still calls the holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February Washington’s Birthday, most people (and many states) call it Presidents’ Day. Presidents’ Day began as a holiday honoring George Washington and then both Washington and …[Continue]
American History Resources
Black History Month
In 1915, historian Carter G. Woodson proposed a “Negro History Week” to honor the history and contributions of African-Americans. Nine years later, his dream became reality. Woodson chose the second week of February to pay tribute to the birthdays of …[Continue]
U.S. Constitution
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, …[Continue]
Independence Day
Happy Birthday, America! Today’s holiday assortment includes a look at our early American history, with a special focus on the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution, along with a Fourth of July craft and activity page especially for the …[Continue]
Lewis and Clark
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s trailblazing expedition departed from St. Louis 201 years ago, on May 14, 1804. In a span of twenty-eight months, they covered 8,000 miles, journeying to the Pacific Ocean and back again….[Continue]
Civil War
More than 620,000 Americans died in the Civil War (1861-1865), more than any other war in American history. The North prevailed over the South, but the grief and bitterness caused by the war casualties and injuries healed very slowly. Learn …[Continue]
Star-Spangled Banner
“Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light / What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming? / Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, / O’er the ramparts we watched were so …[Continue]
Women’s Suffrage
Women’s national suffrage was fought for for more than fifty years, until the Nineteenth Amendment become national law on August 26, 1920. The idea began to gather steam at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York, and then again …[Continue]
Persian Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War (August 2, 1990 – February 28, 1991) was waged against Iraq in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Authorized by the United Nations, forces from thirty-four countries were led by the United States. The war is …[Continue]
Voting Rights Act of 1965
On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. Its purpose was to remove legal barriers at the state and municipal levels that prevented Black Americans from voting. Then in 2013, key aspects of the …[Continue]
