HIS 338 - Young America
This guide provides resources targeted to a greater understanding of American society from the War of 1812 through the Mexican - American war.
Writing Guide
A series of guides on reading, researching and writing history by Patrick Rael, professor of History at Bowdoin College can be found on the Reading, Writing, and Researching for History website.
Source: Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students (Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College, 2004).
Historical Associations and Communities
Professional associations and academic communities are often a good place to start for scholarly information and materials on methods and research.
American Historical Association
The professional and academic organization of academic historians, this organization has a wealth of information about careers in history as well as a directory of historians and historical programs
H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online
H-Net "creates and coordinates Internet networks with the common objective of advancing teaching and research in the arts, humanities, and social sciences." Contains public discussion lists related to numerous disciplines.
Organization of American Historians
Less focused on academic history, the OAH nonetheless provides quite a bit of information about the profession, jobs, and current topics in history.
U.S. History Videos Covering the Early - Mid 19th Century
- The Presidents: 1825-1849This program focuses on a period marked by rapid growth for the nation and contentious politics in Washington. It includes the rancid politics of the John Quincy Adams presidency; the Indian Removal Act of Andrew Jackson’s presidency; the economic turmoil of Martin Van Buren’s term; William Henry Harrison’s death, leading to the first crisis of succession; John Tyler’s expulsion from his own political party; and the Mexican War of James K. Polk’s presidency. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. A part of the series The Presidents. (45 minutes)
- The Margaret Fuller Legacy: America's First Feminist, 1810–1850The Margaret Fuller Legacy examines her Transcendental period as editor of the first literary magazine in America, The Dial, along with her professional and personal relationships with Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Additionally, the video brings to light her Conversations—the first successful women’s studies initiative in America—in Boston and at Brook Farm and her role as the first American female journalist and foreign reporter with the New-York Tribune. The program concludes at the Fuller monument at Mount Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, Massachusetts. (40 minutes)
- Introducing the TranscendentalistsIn this new release, host James H. Bride brings the language and lives of the Transcendentalists to realization by recognizing the context, expression, and foundation of the movement. This program pioneers a new way to be on familiar terms with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays, as well as the journals and writings of Henry David Thoreau. Professors Richard Baker, Joel Myerson, Bob Richardson, Wes Mott, and Larry Buell add significant biographical commentary to introduce this body of American philosophy and literature. Introducing the Transcendentalists reflects today’s 21st-century individual and philosophical challenges and associations. Additionally, historian and actor Richard Smith offers a reenactment of a day in Thoreau’s life at Walden Pond.
- Westward: America—The Story of UsThe drama of America’s unstoppable growth continues with wagon trains and cattle barons headed westward, confronting Native American Indians as well as the interests of the Spanish and French. Resulting increases in Westward migration and the discovery of gold and other natural resources are covered in this program, along with the rise of the steamboat and a new era of commerce and industry. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. Part of the series America: The Story of Us. (60 minutes)
- Empire Upon the Trails: The West, a Film by Stephen IvesFrom Mexican landowners in California to Native American tribes in the Black Hills of South Dakota, this film examines various perspectives on territorial claims to the West and the history of U.S. annexation. This program explains how events, such as the Texas War of Independence, opened the door to U.S. annexation. Diary excerpts, letters, and other primary resources vividly portray the experiences of early Oregon Trail settlers and the Mormons. Part of the series The West: A Film by Stephen Ives. Distributed by PBS Distribution. (84 minutes)
- The Romantic Horizon"Upon the boundless plains of the West I have viewed man in the innocent simplicity of nature," said George Catlin of the Indians. This program follows the path of Lewis and Clark, revealing the new lands through the eyes of artist-explorers George Catlin, Karl Bodmer, and Alfred Jacob Miller. Canvas and notebook in hand, they scoured the wilderness and returned East with the first glimpses of the frontier that would soon capture the world’s imagination. (57 minutes)
- The Golden LandHere is the saga of Manifest Destiny, the banner under which Americans surged westward in the mid-19th century. It is the story of the Texas Revolution, the Mexican War that doubled the size of the young United States, the gold strikes that doubled its wealth, and the pioneer spirit that made the Oregon Trail into Main Street. (57 minutes)
- The AlamoThis History Channel presentation of The Alamo, documents one of the most famous battles in American history. Using eyewitness accounts, commentary by historians, informative graphics, and dramatic re-enactments, the program offers a detailed description of the bloody showdown on March 6,1836, between the army of Mexican dictator Santa Anna and a band of Texan volunteers, including the legendary Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, fighting for their independence at a mission-turned-fort. Distributed by A&E Television Networks. (96 minutes)