We’ve been busy adding new primary sources and features to DocsTeach, the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives. Here are some recent highlights:
WWI, WWII, & Korean War Photos
This set comes from the more than 6,000 recently digitized photographs of U.S. Marine Corps activities in the holdings of the National Archives. Topics include servicemen in action, leisure activities, food, aircraft, victories, religion, animals, and more.
Alexander Hamilton Documents
Primary sources include Hamilton’s statement of property and debts, written days before his death when he feared his debts would burden his family; Washington’s nomination of Hamilton to be the First Secretary of the Treasury; a letter to the Marquis de Lafayette describing the Battle of Yorktown; and more.
Resurrection City Photos
In 1967, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) announced the Poor People’s Campaign to call attention to unemployment and poverty in America, regardless of race. They aimed to use media coverage to prompt legislation providing jobs and housing for the poor. The campaign included a temporary city on the National Mall in Washington, DC, known as Resurrection City.
Staff Favorites
We asked our staff to pick a can’t-miss document on DocsTeach. Katie Munn, education specialist at the National Archives in Washington, DC, likes to share the Senate markup of the Bill of Rights with educators and students.
After the House of Representatives passed 17 Constitutional amendments that James Madison had proposed, the Senate took up the matter. This document shows handwritten revisions by Senators to the House list, cutting it to 12 amendments by combining and deleting items.
The document shows that the Bill of Rights didn’t spring fully formed from Madison’s head, but was instead a product of debate and compromise in the first Congress.
Do you have a “favorite” primary source? Let us know in the comments!
Yesterday a visitor asked me if I had a favorite document. I told him I would think about it and give him an answer at end of the tour. It took a few minutes, but I settled on a pair written by John Quincy Adams. My favorites are almost always in pairs! JQA wrote the first in 1812 when he was posted in Russia and reported on Napoleon’s failed invasion. The second was written in 1815 when he was in Paris and reported on Napoleon’s return to the French throne after his first exile. The man got around!
Thanks so much for sharing, Jim! I’m impressed you could narrow it to two. I love document pairs too!
Great information.Thank for sharing.
This is very helpful sir.