American History

American Eras: “A Valued Resource for the Classroom and Library Alike”

Searching for “a valued resource” to provide users with topics in early American History? Look no further, Gale’s American Eras: Primary Sources feature a fascinating, student-friendly reference to provide a unique understanding of songs, speeches, advertisements, letters, laws, legal decisions, newspaper articles, cartoons, and much more! With over 900 primary-source documents that provide vivid first-hand account of key events, trends, and people, Gale’s American Eras will be your go-to source.

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ECCO the World, and Why…

Published on December 18, 2015

Gale’s Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) recently celebrated its 14th anniversary on December 4th and it got me to thinking.  Most commonly, the conversations surrounding the 18th century point to the major stories or developments of the American Revolution, French Revolution, and Industrial Revolution. For example, the industrialization of the world and manufacturing of powered, special-purpose machinery, factories, and mass production.  Others might think about the American Revolution’s Boston Tea Party or the Battle of Bunker Hill, for instance.  But what about the moments that lead up to these events?

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Happy National One Cent Day: So What Could a Penny Buy You 100 Years Ago?

By Melissa Rayner

Why is everyone so hung up on April Fool’s Day, when there’s actually a far more fascinating pseudo-holiday happening today? That’s right, people; it’s National One Cent Day, so get excited!

Okay, a penny won’t buy you much these days, except maybe good luck if you were to find one and pick it up…

But back in the golden age of yore, one cent went a long way. Don’t believe me? Check out these fun examples.

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A Grown Woman’s Tribute to Little House on the Prairie

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

If any of you happened to use Google on February 10, you would have seen the customized home page for Laura Ingalls Wilder’s birthday. Dead for 58 years, her name is still synonymous with Westward Expansion and the nineteenth century prairie. All these years later, her literature continues to have a life of its own. After all, few go through childhood without reading Little House on the Prairie.

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I loved the Little House books as a child (and now as an adult) and read them all several times. Her writing took me to another time and place, a place that I found fascinating, especially during a time when the game Oregon Trail was immensely popular on floppy disk.  And don’t forget the Little House TV series! When my parents and I traveled West on a two-week vacation, we stopped along the way at some of the places the Ingalls family stopped; we even saw the giant wagon ruts in Wyoming.

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The History of Transcontinental Travel Part 2: Wheels and Wings

Chilton DIY

By Ryan Price

In October of 1893, General Roy Stone, a Civil War hero and roads advocate, was appointed to be in charge of the new Office of Road Inquiry (ORI) within the Department of Agriculture. With a budget of $10,000, ORI promoted new rural road development to serve the wagons, coaches, and bicycles on America’s dirt roads.

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