Blog Posts by Subject: History of North America

The Chelsea Fire Club formed in late 1788 to protect the people and buildings of Norwich, Connecticut from being destroyed by fire. The records of the Fire Club reveal far more about how early Americans grappled with the challenge of self-government than about firefighting.

Looking back on the Revolution in 1815, John Adams remarked that “The History of the United States never can be written” without the records of the Boston Committee of Correspondence.

Thomas Jefferson recorded, measured, and calculated things obsessively. He kept copious notes in his account book on the distances he traversed and the roads he traveled.

In the musical Hamilton, which opened last night on Broadway, George Washington tells Alexander Hamilton, “You have no control...who tells your story.” At the New York Public Library, we preserve the artifacts that allow such stories to be told, and we have an especially strong collection of archives related to the women and men whose lives inspired the characters in the musical.

Overview of National Geographic Virtual Library, Nineteenth Century U.S. Newspapers, and Indigenous Peoples: North America.

The New York Public Library has just digitized Jefferson’s manuscript account book from 1791 to 1803. The volume is basically a day-by-day running record of Jefferson’s transactions. The account book offers a glimpse of how Jefferson interacted with his world on a daily basis.

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the final battles of the Civil War, followed all too closely by the anniversary of President Lincoln’s assassination. The Library for the Performing Arts has materials that document this time period.

Come to the Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division to view three examples that demonstrate the role that maps play, years after their informational current-events function, in documenting histories of changing boundaries.

Stacy Whiteman and Cheryl Klein are editors, and Joseph Bruchac and Eric Gansworth are Native authors. It was interesting to see the interchange between authors and editors during the program.

October 2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the first publication of “The Star Spangled Banner.” There are only eleven copies of the first edition known to exist, and the Music Division of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is fortunate and proud to own one of those copies.

From July 28-Aug 1 we welcomed our second group of teachers from NYC or our second annual Education Innovation @ NYPL Summer Institute.

When few American collectors or museums were investing in the European avant garde, New York lawyer John Quinn (1870–1924) built an art collection primarily comprised of Modernist works. Through social connections and advice from trusted consultants, Quinn became discerning connoisseur and patron of new art.

Love history and literature? Original archival documents? Are you interested in new ways to incorporate primary source materials into your lesson plans? NYPL is looking for you!

Esta es la traducción del blog en ingles de Thomas Lannon.

Among the many treasures of the New York Public Library are documents created as the New World was explored and settled by Europeans and a hybrid culture emerged. James Lenox (1880-1880) whose books, manuscripts, and maps formed the great base for the Library's collection was interested in the history of the Americas. This blog post focuses on a set of documents long referred to as the Monumentos Guadalupanos, or Guadeloupean Monuments, and one document in particular, the Nican Mopohua. A facsimile edition of this historic manuscript is currently underway from SYL Creaciones Graficas and 

This Unit, for Grades 11-12, is a historical analysis of how school textbooks tell the story of the Post-Civil War Era, focusing on the evolution of how U.S. History textbooks interpret the history of Reconstruction.

In 1933, the US government established the first of many New Deal projects and initiatives. Four years later, in September 1937, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston was published in New York. The connection between the two? While many readers know of the novel's seminal status (it has been one of the most lauded—and banned—books 

Did you know that we're on Pinterest?

Check out our Pinterest Board—TeachNYPL—for educational resources from the New York Public Library including:

Finds from the Archives—letters from Harry Houdini to NYPL President John Shaw Billings, Civil War diaries, the infamous Newgate Calendar (the 'chronicles of 

"Freedom is not free." —Walter Hithcock "In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." —Franklin D. Roosevelt

American freedom has been achieved and maintained due to the perseverance and sacrifice of our service men and women. Although we show our support by honoring those in service as well as veterans twice a year, on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, this does not fulfill their daily needs as they once