U.S. Historical Chronology

Prewar Twentieth Century: 1900 - 1917

Make the Dirt Fly - Grades 6-12 - is a site based on a Smithsonian exhibition about the digging of the Panama Canal. The introduction is mostly pictures, but visitors will eventually get to text describing the process by which the canal was designed and created. It's a great visualization of a century-old engineering feat.

The Conservation Movement - Library of Congress - Grades 7-12 - The Evolution of the Conservation Movement documents the historical formation and cultural foundations of the movement to conserve and protect America's natural heritage. The collection consists of 60 books and pamphlets, 140 Federal statutes and Congressional resolutions, 34 additional legislative documents, excerpts from the Congressional Globe and the Congressional Record, 360 Presidential proclamations, 170 prints and photographs, 2 historic manuscripts, and a two-part motion picture. The chronologies, each with multiple links, are particularly useful for students.
: Baseball Cards - 1887-1914 - The Library of Congress has collected this exhibit of early baseball trading cards, published at a time when collecting was a passion among adults, not children. The site is interesting as a reflection of cultures and interests at the turn of the century, and also for its portrayals of some of the greats of the game as their contemporaries saw them.; Early Motion Pictures from American Memory at the Library of Congress - Film, English, Communications, History: Grades 7-12 - Download film clips of American Factories, The McKinley Era, New York circa 1900, San Francisco before and after the earthquake, and other indexed historical early films. The clips are long, so take a few minutes to download, but the results could illustrate a history lesson or a communications study. This site also links to Edison’s early motion picture and sound recordings. Students can also use these for primary research for National History Day or other major projects.

Examine Their Faces - Children at the Turn of the Century - Grades 6-12 - Created by an independent school in California, this site examines the condition of children at the turn of the last century, providing information about how children lived and how their lives differed from those of children today. Notable both for its content and its use of historical photos. Great starting point for a discussion of, "What was it like to be a kid back then?"

Raising the Titanic - Grades 6-9 - This site from the Discovery Channel traces efforts to dive to the Titanic wreck, examine the remains of the liner, and determine precisely how and why the "unsinkable" ship sank. This site is an intriguing combination of history and state-of-the-art science. There are plenty of photos, as well as detailed explanations of both the ship and the high-tech effort to reach and explore the wreck. TeachersFirst offers an exclusive student web activity to accompany this site.

Technology - 1900 - Grades 4-8 - This kids' page from the PBS American Experience series offers a look at some of the technological revolutions with which people were coping 100 years ago. How did Americans react to the coming of the automobile, the telephone, and the phonograph? Find out here.

The Titanic Sinks: Newspaper Reporting - Grades 6-12 - This site, created by the University of Virginia, examines the role of the press in creating the massive public reaction to the Titanic sinking. The site examines the large number of erroneous reports, as well as some of the sensationalized coverage of the tragedy. Excellent site for research or discussion-starters.

American Themes
Historical Chronology
Original Documents
US History Lessons
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