United States History

The March of Time first aired in March 1931 as a CBS radio series, in which the news of the day was dramatized using professional actors. In 1935 it was adapted for motion picture production and through its final airing in 1951 was one of the most notable newsreel and television series of the early 20th Century. A cross between confrontational journalism and docudrama, The March of Time series was provocative, amusing and sometimes outrageous. The 1938 release of "Inside Nazi Germany" was one of the most controversial films ever shown in American theaters.

The most unusual feature of the films was the re-creation or staging of events that had taken place, but had not been photographed by newsreel cameras. The producers argued that they had the same right to clarify news events with staged scenes as a re-write man on a newspaper had with words to make sense out of a reporter's notes. They used professional and amateur actors to impersonate famous people on the screen and then blended the staged scenes with newsreel footage.

The films were digitally re-mastered by HBO Archives.

Covers events from 1912-1966.

The Detroit Free Press published its first edition before Michigan entered statehood and when wild animals outnumbered the people living in the city. Its editor assigned a writer to walk the waterfront and record the shipping news each day, creating the first news “beat.” The Free Press also was the first U.S. newspaper to print a regular Sunday edition and the first to publish court testimony. It sent reporters to Civil War battlefields to describe the action, set up a Washington bureau to report on politics, and was the first American newspaper published in Europe when it began a London edition in 1881.

The Detroit Free Press witnessed the arrival of former slaves and the influx of Polish, German, Irish, and Italian immigrants to Michigan. It watched the mining and timber industries bring industry and wealth to the state. The publication witnessed the birth of the automotive industry and products such as Vernors Ginger Ale and Faygo pop. And, it followed Detroit Tiger’s baseball player Ty Cobb as he set record after record.

This Great Lakes Maritime Database was initially funded by the Library of Michigan in 2005 with a collaborative grant by Alpena County Library and the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. It contains the 19th century C. Patrick Labadie collection as well as an ever growing collection of 20th century data and pictures.

The Manuscripts Division Image Bank contains a selection of materials from the William L. Clements Library's rich collection of early Americana. These images are visual supplements to various Manuscripts Division projects and are not intended to be comprehensive or representative of the whole of the Clements' diverse collection of manuscripts, printed materials, and graphic items.

The Western Michigan University Libraries United States Civil War Collection was launched in 2007 with 8 diaries of men with connections to Michigan or the Midwest. It has since expanded and the current collection represents diverse military experiences, ranging from a musician to a prisoner of war. The handwritten originals have full transcriptions that are searchable with subjects.

Upon completion, American History in Video will contain over 5700 documentary films and newsreels (over 2000 hours) of significant events in U.S. history, in streaming video. Each film includes a transcript. Clips and playlists can be created, saved and shared. Videos can be downloaded to an Apple OS or Android phone, good for 48 hours.

Videos cover topics that occurred in 1492-2001. 1898-2010

Part I—Phyllis Lyon, Del Martin, and the Daughters of Bilitis—provides extensive information on the founding and growth of the homophile movement, especially the Daughters of Bilitis and The Ladder, including early meeting minutes, correspondence, chapter records, membership data, and manuscripts unavailable elsewhere.

Under the editorship of Sarah Josepha Hale, Godey's Lady's Book (1830-1898) became one of the most influential U.S. women's magazines in developing the concept of the "woman's sphere." Alongside articles concerning all aspects of the domestic sphere, the magazine included patterns for handcrafts, color plates of the latest fashions, and sheet music. Godey's also came to be known as an important literary magazine and included contributions by authors such as Stowe, Hawthorne, Poe, and Longfellow. This fully searchable and browsable online archive contains the full run of Godey's Lady's Book and includes all of its color plates.

1830-1898

The Sixties: Primary Documents and Personal Narratives 1960–1974 brings the 1960s alive through diaries, letters, autobiographies and other memoirs, written and oral histories, manifestos, government documents, memorabilia, and scholarly commentary. With 150,000 pages of material at completion, this searchable collection is the definitive electronic resource for students and scholars researching this important period in American history, culture, and politics. The database currently has over 35,000 pages.

The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States contains material that was compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration. It includes volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton. As subsequent volumes are published, they will be added online.