PRIMARY SOURCE
The Middle Ages and Renaissance (• = Interactive)
Life in a Christian Monastery, ca. 585
"When he was dead his body was not placed with the bodies of the brethren, but a grave was dug in the dung pit, and his body was flung down into it. . . " Crime and punishment in a medieval monastery: the monastery's Abbott provides insight into the monastic life.
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The Sack of Constantinople, 1453
"Nothing will ever equal the horror of this harrowing and terrible spectacle."The destruction of the last vestige of the Roman Empire.
Columbus Discovers America, 1492
The "Admiral" describes the first sight of land and landing on the shores of the "New World."
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America Sends Syphilis to Europe, 1493
"This distemper. . .has made such havoc that it deserves to be mentioned as a fatal calamity." The New World's revenge: the returning crews of Columbus’s voyage bring a new disease to Europe.
The Death of Pope Alexander VI, 1503
"One of the men took out a dagger and threatened to cut Cardinal Casanova's throat and to throw him out of the window unless he handed over the keys to all the pope's treasure." The death of the last of the Borgia Popes.
Michelangelo Paints the Sistine Chapel
"While he was painting, Pope Julius often wanted to go and inspect the work. . ." His enemies thought the attempt to paint the chapel's ceiling would be the sculptor's downfall.
The first circumnavigator of the world is attacked by natives in the Philippines.
The Spanish Massacre the French in Florida, 1565
The religious violence of the Reformation reaches the shores of America.
Brought Before the Inquisition, 1573 •
"Do you know the reasons why you have been called here?" The Inquisition summons a Venetian painter to defend his art.
An Audience with Queen Mary I, 1557
"She is of short stature, well made, thin and delicate, and moderately pretty..." The Venetian Ambassador reports on his meeting with England's "Bloody Mary."
The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1587
"Please help me mount this. This is the last request I shall make of you." An eyewitness account of the death of the "star-crossed" Queen.
Crime and Punishment in Elizabethan England
A contemporary description of crime and punishment in Shakespeare's time
Torture in the Tower of London, 1597
"We went to the torture room in a kind of procession, the attendants walking ahead with lighted candles." A victim describes his experience in the tower of London.
An Audience with Queen Elizabeth, 1597
"As for her face... it is long and thin, and her teeth are very yellow and unequal." The French Ambassador gives an "up close and personal" description of the Queen.
The Vikings Discover America, ca. 1000 •
"There was no want of salmon either in the river or in the lake." Five hundred years before Columbus, the Vikings discover a New World.
The Norman conquest of Anglo-Saxon England described through the images of the 900 year-old Bayeux Tapestry.
> Anarchy in 12th Century England
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle paints a sobering picture of life in 12th century England that contrasts strikingly with Hollywood's image of the Middle Ages.
The Murder Of Thomas Becket, 1170
The killing of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Was King Henry II behind it?
The Crusaders Capture Jerusalem, 1099
The assault and capture of the Christian "Navel of the World"
Richard The Lionheart Massacres The Saracens, 1191 •
Atrocity during the 3rd Cursade.
“I gave him a thrust with my lance just under the arm-pits and struck him dead.” A knight describes combat in the Seventh Crusade.
Marco Polo describes the battle between the great Khan and a rival.
“The said Reymund struck her with his foot under the navel so that she fell.” The Sheriff of London investigates a murder.
"No doctor's advice, no medicine could overcome or alleviate this disease." The deadly Plague invades Florence, Italy.
The Flagellants Attempt to Repel the Black Death, 1349
"Each had in his right hand a scourge with three tails." Religious zealots of the Middle Ages resort to extreme measures in an attempt to thwart the onslaught of the Plague.
"...their horses stumbled among the stakes, and they were speedily slain by the archers." England's Henry V and his out-numbered army defeat the French.
17th Century
Captain John Smith is Saved by Pocahontas, 1608
A young Indian girl saves an English adventurer from execution.
"...the ship was thoroughly shaken, and her upper works made very leaky." The Pilgrims brave the dangers of the sea to make a new home.
"...for three days we entertained and feasted."
The Price of Adultery in Puritan Massachusetts, 1641
Eighteen-year-old Mary Latham pays the ultimate penalty for violating the moral laws of her Puritan community.
Living Among the Mohawks, 1644
"The children and young folks to ten, twelve and fourteen years of age go stark naked." A Dutch minister describes living among the Mohawks.
The Execution of Charles I, 1649
The King loses his head during the English Civil War
The Great Fire of London, 1666
The Fire ravages London creating devastation rivaling the German bombing raids of World War II.
Inside The Court of Louis XIV, 1671
A magnificent feast, a harried chef, a suicide - all in one night. A letter sheds light on life in the court of the "Sun King."
The Puritans of Salem Village
hunt for witches within their midst.
18th Century
Daily Life on a Colonial Plantation, 1709-11
"At night some of my troop went with me into town to see the girls and kissed them without proceeding any further," The secret diary of William Byrd II provides an unvarnished view of life in the South in the early 18th century.
"The bodies and clothes of the dead belong to the executioner." - English jurisprudence in the 18th century.
George Washington's Rules of Good Behavior, 1746
Words to live by: guides to behavior penned by a teenage George Washington that molded and defined the character of the man who would become the "Father of his Country."
"No one can have an idea of the sufferings which women in confinement have to bear with their innocent children on board these ships." A German immigrant describes the arduous journey to colonial America.
A young girl and her family are captured by the Iroquois on the Pennsylvania frontier
Courtship in New England, 1760
A visiting English minister comments on the curious American ritual of "bundling", in which a board was placed between a young couple as they shared a bed through the night.
Daniel Boone Opens Up the West, 1769-71
"...a number of Indians rushed out of a thick cane-brake upon us, and made us prisoners." Daniel Boone ventures into the Kentucky frontier and becomes a legend.
The Boston Massacre, 1770: The British Perspective
"A general attack was made on the men by a great number of heavy clubs and snowballs being thrown at them, by which all our lives were in imminent danger. . ." Colonialists and Red Coats confront one another.
"We then were ordered by our commander to open the hatches and take out all the chests of tea and throw them overboard." The colonials get serious about their tea.
"I immediately gave him as hard a blow as I could with my fist over the face." The doctor-patient relationship of the 18th century was quite different than today's. The notes of a young English traveler in America provide some insight.
Battle at Lexington Green, 1775
"Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all dead men." The "shot heard round the world" that ignited the American Revolution.
Battle at Lexington Green, 1775: The British Perspective.
"Our troops advanced towards them, without any intention of injuring them." The British description of the confrontation that launched the American Revolution.
Ethan Allen Captures Fort Ticonderoga, 1775
". . . the Captain came immediately to the door, with his breeches in his hand, when I ordered him to deliver me the fort instantly." In the early days of the American Revolution, the colonists capture a strategic British stronghold.
Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776
"I will do as well as I can." Thomas Jefferson drafts the announcement of America's separation from the British Empire.
The Execution of Nathan Hale, 1776
"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
Washington Crosses the Delaware, 1776
The experience of a Continental soldier as General Washington leads his troops across the ice-swollen Delaware River and into one of the American Revolution's decisive battles.
The Continental Army at Valley Forge, 1777
"I saw....a few militiamen, poorly clad, and for the most part without shoes." A French observer describes the American revolutionaries at Valley Forge.
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"I Have Not Yet Begun to Fight!", 1779.
John Paul Jones in an historic naval battle off the coast of England.
Thomas Jefferson's Advice to his Daughter, 1783
"I hoped before this to have received letters from you regularly..." Some things never change. Jefferson tries to parent his eleven-year-old daughter from afar.
The British Surrender at Yorktown, 1781
The surrender that ended the War for Independence. The British band played "The World Turned Upside Down."
Slave Trade: the African Connection, 1788
"Most of the Negroes shipped off from the coast of Africa are kidnapped." The beginning step of the journey into slavery.
The Inauguration of George Washington, 1789
"Notice that [Washington had been sworn in] was communicated to the crowd by proclamation, who gave three cheers, and repeated it on the President bowing to them." America inaugurates its first president.
"A famine ensued, which will never be forgotten by those who . . . were then afflicted with the cruelest of wants." An eyewitness describes the hardships endured by residents of America's first western settlement after the Revolution.
The Beginning of the French Revolution, 1789
". . . in that instant a discharge from the Bastille killed four people." The streets of Paris erupt in violence and launch the destruction of the French monarchy.
The Execution of Louis XVI, 1793
"I die innocent of all the crimes laid to my charge..." The King of France looses his head during the French Revolution
Joining the British Navy, 1793
"I am very happy and as comfortable as if I was at home." An example of growing up quickly in the 18th century: an eleven-year-sailor writes his mother to describe his first day in the British Navy.
Yellow Fever Attacks Philadelphia, 1793
"The attendants on the dead stood on the pavement soliciting jobs." Yellow Fever threatens the nation's capital and its founding fathers.
The Death of George Washington, 1799
"I am dying, sir - but am not afraid to die." The "Father of his Country" catches a cold.
19th Century
"I arrived in this city on Sunday the 16th. Having lost my way in the woods on Saturday." Abigail Adams describes the new capital and her ordeal in getting there.
President Jefferson in the White House
His pet bird, the introduction of the dumb waiter, and dinner conversation - a frequent visitor provides a portrait of Jefferson as President.
". . .he gave the word present, as had been agreed on, and both parties presented and fired in succession." The fatal meeting of Vice President Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton on a New Jersey field.
The Death of Lord Nelson, 1805
"I am a dead man, Hardy. I am going fast: it will be all over with me soon." Britain's greatest naval hero meets his Maker during the Battle of Trafalgar.
Fulton's First Steamboat Voyage, 1807
"I could hear distinctly repeated- 'I told you it was so; it is a foolish scheme: I wish we were well out of it.'
"(I was) accosted by a person in seamen's dress who tapped me on the shoulder." Walking a street in London, a young man is forced into service in the British Navy.
"Old Ironsides" Earns its Name, 1812
"...we commenced a very heavy fire from all our guns, loaded with round, and grape..." Barely 50 yards from her opponent, the USS Constitution shoots it out with a British frigate and wins the name "Old Ironsides."
The British Burn Washington, 1814
"They proceeded, without a moment's delay, to burn and destroy everything. . .connected with government." British troops sack the nation's capital during the War of 1812.
Dolley Madison Flees the White House, 1814
"I must leave this house, or the retreating army will make me a prisoner in it." America's First Lady flees the approaching British Army, and saves a portrait of George Washington.
The Battle of New Orleans, 1815
"Well, in eighteen and fourteen we took a little trip along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Missip." A rag-tag force of Americans rout the world's mightiest military power in the last battle of the War of 1812.
Napoleon's bid to dominate Europe is squashed with his defeat on a Belgian battlefield.
Napoleon Exiled to St. Helena, 1815
The French Emperor is banished to a desolate, rock-crusted island in the South Atlantic.
The Inauguration of President of President Andrew Jackson, 1829
"Ladies fainted, men were seen with bloody noses and such a scene of confusion took place as is impossible to describe," The celebration of the inauguration of the "People's President" gets out of hand.
"The slaves were all inclosed under grated hatchways between decks." A minister recounts his experience of boarding a slave ship stopped off the coast of Africa
America's First Steam Locomotive, 1830
It was not a spectacular beginning: in its first outing, the locomotive Tom Thumb was beaten by a horse.
"Every boy knew that. . .there was nothing to hinder him from being President; all he had to do was to learn." America was on the threshold of dramatic change and buoyed by tremendous optimism for the future.
Traveling the National Road, 1833
"A covered one-horse wagon generally contains the whole worldly substance of a family consisting not un-frequently of a dozen members." Up and over the Allegheny Mountains, it was America's first gateway to the West and a pathway for dreams.
Traveling the Erie Canal, 1836
It was the engineering marvel of its day. It made New York City America's premier port and opened up the West to the first wave of settlement. Ride along on a canal boat - but watch out for those low bridges!
"When I was about seven years old I witnessed, for the first time, the sale of a human being." A former slave describes her life.
The 18 year-old Victoria describes to her diary the day she became Queen of the world's mightiest empire.
Frederick Douglass describes his dash to freedom.
"Swinging the rope over his head, and bending his body so as to give it full force, the captain brought it down upon the poor fellow's back. Once, twice - six times."
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P.T. Barnum Discovers "Tom Thumb," 1842
"I had heard of a remarkably small child in Bridgeport. . ." The "World's Greatest Showman" finds his greatest attraction.
Living among the Shakers, 1843
"During the dance the sisters kept on one side, and the brothers on the other, and not a word was spoken by any of them." The Shakers attempt to construct their own Utopia.
Visit to the "Red Light" District, 1843
"...there passed me a man holding up under his arm a woman who was so drunk that she could not walk alone." Descend into the dark side of early Victorian society in urban America.
"I saw the dying, the living, and the dead, lying indiscriminately upon the same floor." Travel with a reporter as he observes Ireland's greatest disaster
Thar She Blows!... "The boat spun after him with almost the swiftness of a top, now diving through the seas and tossing the spray, and then lying still while the whale sounded."
Entering the Forbidden City of Mecca, 1853
"...a splendid camel in front of me was shot through the heart." An intrepid British explorer risks his life to enter the holy city of Mecca.
The Charge of the Light Brigade, 1854
"They swept proudly past, glittering in the morning sun. . ." In an incident later immortalized by poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, a reporter describes the headlong charge of a British cavalry unit into murderous Russian gunfire.
Life on a Southern Plantation, 1854
"The plows at work, both with single and double mule teams, were generally held by women, and very well held, too." Life on a Mississippi plantation before the Civil War
Return of a Fugitive Slave, 1854
"...a detachment of infantry charged upon the dense mass, at a run, with fixed bayonets." On the eve of the Civil War, the return of a fugitive slave ignites a near-riot in Boston.
Livingstone Discovers Victoria Falls, 1855
". . .we came in sight, for the first time, of the columns of vapor appropriately called 'smoke,' rising at a distance of five or six miles." The great explorer becomes the first European to witness the "Smoke That Thunders"
Andrew Carnegie Becomes a Capitalist, 1856
“I showed them this check . . . none of us had ever received anything but from toil. A return from capital was something strange and new.” The world's richest man describes his transformation from worker to capitalist.
"...The expression on the faces of all who stepped on the block was always the same, and told of more anguish than it is in the power of words to express."
Good Manners for Young Ladies, 1859
"After twilight, a young lady would not be conducting herself in a becoming manner, by walking alone."
The Trial of Andrew Johnson, 1868
The vote of one Senator saves the President of the United States from removal from office
"I shook hands with Bob before they hanged him." A former slave describes his encounters with the KKK soon after the end of the Civil War
Stanley Finds Livingstone, 1871
"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"
Building the Brooklyn Bridge, 1871
"...a dreadful pain shot through both my ears." Nothing like it had ever been attempted before: join a "sandhog" working below the East River
The Baseball Glove Comes to Baseball, 1875
"He confessed that he was a bit ashamed to wear it..."
The Death of President Garfield, 1881
Who killed the President, his assassin or his doctors?
"I'm not a scientist. I am an inventor." An inside look at an inventor that changed our world.
"There were no coaches, trainers, rubbers, or even a water boy." A player describes the early days of college football.
Opulence in the Gilded Age, 1890
"Then, all around , and in fact above the entire table, hung little golden cages with fine songsters who filled the room with their melody.. ". A lavish dinner party exemplifies the life of America's wealthiest during the "Gilded Age."
"I found the patient on the top floor stretched upon two chairs. . ." Jacob Riis documents life in the New York City tenements.
Corbett Knocks Out Sullivan, 1892
It was the "fight of the century" and the 1st Heavyweight Championship fought with gloves.
Hobo, 1894: Hard Times in America
"'Thirty days,' said his Honor. . . The trial of that hobo had taken just about fifteen seconds." Thousands of unemployed take to the roads and railways of America as economic depression plagues the country. Join one of these hobos.
Leaving Home for the "Promised Land", 1894
"The procession [to the station] resembled both a funeral and a triumph. The women wept over us." A young girl describes the bittersweet departure of her family for America.
America's First Automobile Race, 1895
"While still in the lead, the left front wheel struck a bad rut at such an angle that the steering arm was broken off." NASCAR, the Indy 500: it all started here. Ride along in America's first automobile race.
First to Sail Around the World Alone, 1895-98
One of the greatest sea adventures ever told.
The United States Declares War on Spain, 1898
"(The President) broke down and cried like a boy of thirteen." President McKinley reluctantly asks Congress to declare a war that launches America along the path to becoming a world power.
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The Battle of Manila Bay, 1898
"I am happy to report that the damage done to the squadron under my command was inconsiderable." The words of Commodore Dewey, Commander of America's Asiatic Squadron after its victory over the Spanish Fleet in the Philippines: a triumph that launched America's journey to becoming a world power.
The Rough Riders Storm San Juan Hill, 1898
The successful charge up an obscure hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War puts Theodore Roosevelt on the path to the presidency.
The American Civil War (• = Interactive)
Robert E. Lee, commander of the U.S. forces that responded to the attack, describes John Brown's attempt to capture the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Va.
John Brown Defends His Raid, 1859
"You are guilty of a great wrong against God and humanity." Facing execution, abolitionist John Brown describes the motivation for his attempt to free the slaves.
Fort Sumter, the First Shot of the Civil War, 1861
The majority of Southern leaders did not believe that their secession from the Union would lead to war - Fort Sumter proved them wrong.
Views of President Lincoln, 1861
Revered today as one of America's greatest presidents, this perspective of Lincoln was not widely held in 1861. Read some contemporary views of America's 16th president.
An Early Casualty of the Civil War, 1861 •
"He fell forward on the floor of the hall and expired instantly, only exclaiming 'My God.' " A close friend of President Lincoln becomes one of the first casualties of America's bloodiest conflict as he loses life within sight of the White House.
The First Battle of Bull Run, 1861
The first major battle of the Civil War took place 20 miles from Washington. Union supporters thought it would be a cake-walk - it wasn't.
The Battle Of the Ironclads, 1862
The Monitor and the Merrimac square off and make naval history. Experience the battle from inside the Monitor's gun turret.
The first major slaughter of the American Civil War.
Father and son meet on the battlefield
The bloodiest day of combat in American military history.
President Lincoln Signs the Emancipation Proclamation, 1863
"His signature was attached to one the greatest and most beneficent military decrees of history in the presence of less than a dozen people."
William Quantrill Raids Lawrence, Kansas, 1863
"The troops then dashed back up into the town, down the main street, shooting at every blue coat that came in sight.." A Confederate raiding party that includes future Western outlaws Jessie James and Cole Younger sacks a pro-Union town in Kansas.
"Something very sad has just happened in Richmond..." Shortages on the Confederate home front lead to violence.
The memories of a 15-year-old girl as she watches Union and Confederate troops clash in her home town.
"General, shall I advance"” Often referred to as the South’s "High Water Mark" during the Civil War, the unsuccessful Confederate attack on Union lines during the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg was absolute carnage.
Lee's Retreat from Gettysburg, 1863
The agonizing escape of the Confederate Army across the Potomac River.
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, 1863 •
"It is a flat failure..." Lincoln remarked after the audience's lack of reaction to his speech at Gettysburg.
Sherman's March to the Sea, 1864: a Southerner's Perspective
"Oh God, the time of trial has come." A Southern woman describes the scene as her plantation is overrun by Sherman's March to the Sea.
President Lincoln tours the Confederate capital after its capture.
Grant and Lee meet to end the Civil War.
President Lincoln is Shot, 1865
"I heard the discharge of a pistol behind me." An eyewitness sitting with the President at Ford's Theater describes his assassination.
The Death of Abraham Lincoln, 1865
"The giant sufferer lay extended diagonally across the bed." The 16th President "joins the ages."
The Death Of John Wilkes Booth
Lincoln's assassin is trapped and shot in a burning barn in Virginia.
A young girl's diary reveals the impact of the end of the Civil War and Lincoln's death on a small Union town.
"We still remain in doubt as to the emancipation policy." A Georgia plantation owner's diary provides insight into life in the South immediately following the defeat of the Confederacy.
The Old West (• = Interactive)
"At last they were all destroyed by grape, musket shot and the bayonet." A former Catholic mission is the site of a fight to the last man in the Texas War of Independence.
In the days when the buffalo thronged the Plains.
The Tragic Fate of the Donner Party, 1847 •
"Snowed hard until twelve o'clock last night; many uneasy for fear we shall all perish with hunger." A group of pioneers abandon their homes in the mid-West with high hopes of finding a better life in California: their dream is shattered by the early snow of the Sierra-Nevada Mountains.
"They granted him a respite of three hours to prepare for his sudden entrance into eternity." The Vigilance Committee of a California mining camp attempts to establish order in a lawless community.
The California Gold Rush, 1849
A gold seeker describes his passage to the gold fields, digging for gold and life in camp.
The Sack of Lawrence, Kansas, 1856 •
"The newspaper offices were the first objects of attack." Five years before the attack on Fort Sumter, the opening shots of the Civil War were fired in a small Kansas town.
"As I was leaving Horse Creek one day, a party of fifteen Indians 'jumped me' in a sand ravine about a mile west of the station." Ride along with a Pony Express rider.
"Our coach was a swinging and swaying cage of the most sumptuous description." Mark Twain describes riding the overland stage.
Aboard a wagon train making the westward trek from Missouri to Montana
Completing the Transcontinental Railroad, 1869
It was a milestone in American history, unifying the country and reducing the travel time from one coast to the other from months to days. According to this eyewitness, the celebration in the Utah desert was a blast.
Shoot Out with Wild Bill Hickok, 1869
"Don't shoot him in the back; he is drunk." An eyewitness account of one of the exploits that made Wild Bill Hickok a legend.
A soldier's recollections of an attack on an Apache stronghold in Arizona Territory.
Buffalo Bill Entertains a Russian Grand Duke, 1872
"He fired six shots from this weapon at buffaloes only twenty feet away. . . not one of his bullets took effect." Some of the stars of the Old West, including Buffalo Bill Cody, Colonel George Custer and General Philip Sheridan, introduce a son of the Russian Czar to the buffalo hunt.
Encounter with the Texas Rangers, 1876
"'Drop that gun!' yelled McNelly. 'Drop it, I say, or I'll kill you.'" The Texas Rangers bring law and order to a lawless land.
"I and my two companions returned the fire over the backs of the mustangs and ponies which were used as a breastwork. . ." An intrepid traveler through the Old West finds more adventure than he anticipated.
The destruction of Custer's command on the banks of the Little Bighorn.
Traveling on an Emigrant Train, 1879
"There was a Babel of bewildered men, women, and children." Travel aboard a train filled with new immigrants to America as they make their way west.
The Death Of Billy The Kid, 1881
Sheriff Pat Garrett describes the night he confronted Billy the Kid.
Texas cowboys in a wide open town.
Ranchers and Farmers Collide in Nebraska, 1884
"The boys were having great fun at the expense of the settlers." Cowboys and Homesteaders fight over land.
Massacre At Wounded Knee, 1890
The bloody confrontation that ended the Indian wars.
The Dalton Gang's Last Raid, 1892
The story reads like a Hollywood script - but its all true.
"...the rifles snapped and the line broke with a huge, crackling roar." Thousands leave the starting line in America's largest land rush - and its last.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Rob a Train, 1899 •
Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and the "Wild Bunch" rob the Union Pacific