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About This Site	The Modern Presidency	FDR and the New Deal	FDR and World War II	HST and the Cold War
Eisenhower	JFK and the Missile Crisis	LBJ & The Great Society	LBJ & Vietnam	Nixon and Watergate
Carter & End of An Era	The Reagan Revolution	Bush & New World Order	William J. Clinton	Instructor's Home Page

ABOUT THIS SITE:  The web sites listed below have been organized to assist undergraduate students to learn more about the history of the modern American presidency.  Many of these sites are themselves collections of links to other web sites. Most (though by no means all) have been created by librarians, historians, museum curators and other members of the historical community.  They are organized by general category, though there is inevitably much overlap.  Many of the sites link to one another, which may sometimes lend a recursive quality to your search.   Moreover, although the web is growing very rapidly and new information is constantly appearing;  sites also move and sometimes disappear entirely. Because the web is constantly growing and changing, this particular site is perpetually "under construction."  New sites are added, old one's deleted, and broken links repaired.  At this point, the annotations are very impressionistic.  I hope in time to improve them.  If you have contributions, corrections or other comments to offer, please let me know at bgriff@american.edu.

 Having said this, several additional qualifications are in order:

• Don't confuse the web and  world.  The web is huge and growing every day.  But it represents only a tiny fraction of  human knowledge.  Most of  what is available in our libraries and archives has NOT been digitally formatted; and, for a variety of reasons, is not likely to be in the near future.  Thus, the web can supplement, but not replace traditional libraries and archives.
• Web based materials must be subject to the same rigorous rules used for evaluating printed material.  Indeed, web based materials must be scrutinized even more rigorously.  After all, information that you find in a library has already gone through a rigorous selection process managed by highly trained professional librarians; but literally anyone can post material on the web.  Thus, you will need to evaluate material by asking:  who "published" the material?  when?  how credible is the source?  what bias of point of view shapes the selection and content of the material? etc., etc.

Navigating the web can be confusing.  Many web links, including those listed below, list the same sites.  Many list one another.  The result is a recursive effect, with many loops doubling back on one another.

American University Library U.S. History Pathfinder:  Links to a number of major sites, many with multiple links.  The Library's overall history pathfinder can be found at History Pathfinder (AU).   See also the AU Library U.S. Politics and Government Pathfinder for links to important political and government sites, many of which have historical (as opposed to contemporary) relevance.  See also, the general listing of AU Library Electronic Pathfinders. Also see AU Library Electronic Resources, a valuable list of  electronic resources available through the Library, many of which are of interest to historians. These resources include searchable runs of the American Historical Review, the Journal of  American History and other history  and political science journals.

 

The American Presidency: Selected Resources -- a large, if occasionally uneven collection of links pertaining to the presidency.

American Presidents: Life Portraits -- a web site designed to accompany C-Span's 20th anniversary series on the presidency. C-Span's series will roughly parallel his course, taking up FDR on October 11 and finishing with Bill Clinton on December 24.  See the exact dates, click on Schedule.

American Presidents.com -- a commercial site targeted at younger viewers, but has some interesting materials, including the tax returns of recent presidents.

American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies

Celebrating Democracy -- a collection of links on the presidency drawn together by the the Smithsonian, the Library of Congress, the National Portrait Gallery and other institutions.

Center for the Study of the Presidency --see also its publication, Presidential Studies Quarterly.

Federal Government Resources [for the Study of the] the President of the United States -- one of the best one-stop sites on the presidency, this large and professionally organized site is maintained by the University of Michigan Library.

Political Science Resources on the Web -- an excellent mega-site maintained by the University of Michigan, with links to both contemporary and historical data.

The Modern Presidency -- web site for Professor Susan Thompson's Syracuse University political science course, with links to many resources.

POTUS.COM -- a major web site on the Presidency, maintained by the Internet Public Library.

Presidential Debates: History and Transcripts of  Presidential Debates.

Presidential Elections, 1948-1996 -- a handy guide to recent elections, part of the "Geocities...Capitol Hill" site.

Presidents of the United States -- handy reference to presidential administrations maintained by the Internet Public Library(IPO), it includes online biographies, historical documents, lists of cabinet members, notable events and some additional links

The Presidents: -- PBS series on U.S. Presidents.

Library of Congress-- links to many LC sources, including especially The American Memory Project.  Accessible through LC are numerous important finding aids, including the National Union Catalog of  Manuscript Collections, which may be found via the Library's home page by clicking on "N" under "Browse the Index."

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) -- the web site of the National Archives.  For instructional resources, see especially its Digital Classroom.Presidential Libraries-- a gateway to the various presidential libraries.

The Smithsonian Institution-- this is the front door to all of the museums, galleries research centers and other activities that constitute the Smithsonian Institution. The National Museum of American History is one of the most important of these for historians.  See also the National Portrait Gallery, the American Folklife Center Home and SI's many other divisions.

U.S. Diplomatic History Resources -- maintained by a history professor at the Texas A&M at Commerce, Texas.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library -- the Roosevelt Presidential Library.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal -- an extensive collection of links to FDR/New Deal sites set up at Geocities.

The Great Depression -- a liberal interpretation of the Great Depression, reached through StudyWeb (which includes many, many history links); or go there directly by clicking on The Great Depression: Its Causes and Cure.

The Great Depression--Links -- assembled by R. Sutton.

The Great Depression and New Deal --Links on the 1930s--created by the Library at Liberty University.

Herbert Hoover Library -- the Hoover Library, in West Branch, Iowa.

A New Deal for the Arts: -- an exhibition by the National Archives.

New Deal Cultures -- developed by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, this site was incomplete as of June 30, 1998.

The New Deal Network --sponsored by the Franklin D. and Eleanor Roosevelt  Institute, the New Deal network contains a wealth of information, including a searchable data base to a host of scanned documents and images.

Presidential Election Maps -- a good source for tracing the emergence of the Democratic/New Deal coalition.

Social Security History Page -- set up by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

WPA Life Histories -- collected as part of the WPA Federal Writers project; organized as part of the Library of Congress' American Memory Project.

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Franklin D. Roosevelt and World War II

• Links to WWII sites -- not all of these have been maintained.

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Harry S. Truman, the Cold War and the Rise of the National Security State

Harry S. Truman As President:
 
• Harry S. Truman Library


The Cold War:

• Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of US Nuclear Weapons since 1940 -- a 1998 report by the Brookings Institution.
• The Avalon Project : A Decade of American Foreign Policy --basic documents, 1941-49.
• CNN Cold War Special -- this web site was designed to accompany the CNN's  24 part documentary series on the Cold War, which began airing on September 27, 1998. See also, the Discovery Channel's World in Conflict series, which includes documentaries (and lesson plans) on the Korean War, the Rosenberg Case, Eisenhower and the Cold War, and Star Wars.
• The Cold War International History Project (CWIHP) -- see the CWIHP virtual library for many documentary materials relating to the origins of the Cold War.
• Cold War Links -- a long list of cold war sites created by anthropologist Don Price.
• Department of State FOIA Reading Room -- this web site, and others like it, provide electronic access to some recently declassified documents, as well as guides to obtaining access to many others.
• Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy: The Cold War -- an extensive set of documents collected by Professor Vincent Ferraro at Mt. Holyoke College.
• The Harvard Project on Cold War Studies -- established under the aegis of the University's Davis Center for Russian Studies, the Harvard Project features a new journal, a book series and other activities relating to the study of the Cold War.
• The National Security Archive Home Page  -- includes documentary material on early nuclear policy.

Soviet Archives Exhibit -  by the Library of Congress, focuses on Soviet perspectives of the U.S. during the early Cold War.

• The Atomic Age at Fifty -- A Time-Life essay, with an especially valuable page of  Links.
• The Atomic Archive -- created by AJ software to accompany its CD ROM, The Atomic Age.
• The Avalon Project : The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- a collection of primary materials maintained by Yale University.
• "Bureau of Atomic Tourism" --it may take a bit to come to terms with a web site dedicated to atomic bomb related sites as tourist attractions; nevertheless, this page includes links to a number of museums and collections that might otherwise be missed.
• The Decision to Use the Bomb -- an excellent collection of documents, linked to the home page of the renown physicist Leo Szilard.
• Documents Relating to U.S. Foreign Policy --Hiroshima  -- an excellent collection of links, part of a larger site on U.S. International Affairs maintained at Mt. Holyoke College.  Thanks to Dustin Pickins for calling this site to our attention.
•  The Enola Gay Exhibit --in 1995, the Smithsonian Institution canceled a proposed exhibition on the atomic bomb and the end of WWII.  This site includes excerpts from the script and the layout of the exhibition. A much smaller, and studiously non controversial, exhibit was mounted in place of the intended exhibition..  For a description of this exhibition, click on Enola Gay.  Some of the principal artifacts intended for the original exhibit, loaned by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, were subsequently displayed at American University during the summer of 1995.   For more information about the controversy, point your browser to the web site organized by graduate students in library science at the University of  Maryland at College Park,  Enola Gay Perspective.
• The Hiroshima Archive -- Lewis and Clark Web site with extensive links and other sources on the use of the atomic bomb and the controversy over the Enola Gay exhibition.
• The Hiroshima City Home Page  -- includes links to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and other sites.
• The Hiroshima Project -- a huge collection of links, assembled by two European professors.
• The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum  -- web site maintained by the Nagasaki museum.
• Remembering Nagasaki -- part of a web site created by San Francisco's Exploritorium.

Yahoo's Atomic Bomb Links -- a list of links to sites dealing with various aspects of the bomb's manufacture and use, and with the ensuing debates.

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Library

The Eisenhower National Historic Site - presidential and retirement home in Gettysburg, Pa.

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John F. Kennedy

Kennedy as President:

• The John F. Kennedy Library
• John F. Kennedy Links -- maintained by the Access Indiana Teaching and Learning Center.

• CIA and Assassinations: The Guatemala 1954 Documents -- declassified documents relating to the U.S. intervention in Guatemala.
• CIA Inspector General's Report on the Bay of Pigs -- the recently declassified report is available on the web site of the National Security Archive.  For the print version, see above.
• CIA Documents -- declassified CIA documents released under the provisions of the Freedom of  Information Act (FOIA).  See also its extensive Links to other government sources.
• CNN Cold War Special -- this web site was designed to accompany the CNN's  24 part documentary series on the Cold War, and includes extensive treatment of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962  -- extensive documents on the crisis collected by the National Security Archive.
• Cold War International History Project (CWIHP) -- contains (among other things) a great deal of  newly accessible information on the Missile Crisis.
• Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy: The Cuban Missile Crisis -- collected by Professor Vincent Ferraro.
• Fourteen Days in October -- An outstanding site, probably the best for a comprehensive introduction to the crisis.  It is rivaled only by the Cold War History Project (CWIHP) and the National Security Archive in the amount of material it presents.  It is easily navigable and contains links to other sources of information about the crisis.
• ThinkQuest: 14 Days in October  another simulation, created by high school students as part of  the Thinkquest program..

Lyndon Baines Johnson and the Great Society

• Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.

Lyndon Baines Johnson and the War in Vietnam

• The American Experience: Vietnam -- web site to accompany the PBS series.
• Counterculture, the Sixties, and the War
• Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy: Vietnam -- collected by Professor Vincent Ferraro of  Mt. Holyoke College.
• Kali's Home Page/Vietnam Generation , Inc.
• Kent State University May 4th Collection -- at Kent State University.
• Kent State -- geocities web site, with links, commemorating the killing of four students at Kent State on May 4, 1970.
• Kent State May 4 Incident Studies (Emerson College
• Resources on the War in Vietnam
• Vietnam Generation, Inc. & Sixties Project
• The Vietnam Picture Archive
• The Vietnam War -- web site of Hanover College Department of History.
• The Vietnam War History Page
• More Vietnam Web pages
• The Vietnam War Museum
• Vietnam War Bibliography: WWI I and the First Indochina War, compiled by Professor Edwin Moise. See also his bibliography on U.S. Policy.

The Wars for Vietnam, 1945-1975 -- Vassar web site with many documents on the war.

Richard M. Nixon and Watergate

• Watergate -- a part of Malcolm Farnsworth's VCE Politics site, this is arguably the most comprehensive Watergate web site, with extensive links to documents, news reports, and other sites.
• Watergate -- CNN/Time web site on the scandal.
• Watergate The 25th Anniversary -- a very good web site put up by Houston Chronicle Interactive.
• Watergate: The 25th Anniversary - Yahoo's web site, with links to other sites.
• Watergate Documents -- images of original documents,  by the National Archives.
• Watergate -- a look back in light of new documents by U.S. News.
• Watergate: The Washington Post -- Post web site, including timeline, interviews with key players and both contemporary and retrospective articles on Watergate.
• A Resource Guide to Watergate -- prepared by law school students at Seton Hall University.
• The Richard Nixon Audio Site -- audio clips from many of Richard Nixon's most famous speeches, including the "I am not a crook" speech.

Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and the End of the Postwar Era

• The Jimmy Carter Library -- presidential library, with links to the Carter Center.   See especially,  Related Links on Carter and the Carter Presidency.
• The Jimmy Carter Historic Site -- boyhood home, maintained by the National Park Service

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Ronald Reagan and the "Reagan" Revolution

The Ronald Reagan Homepage -- a useful, if extremely uncritical, collection of information about the former president, including many of his most famous speeches.

Ronald Reagan Links -- 75 links (at last count), some of which are duplicative.

The Roots of the Reagan Revolution -- an extensive web page with text, references and links, by a Hofstra University student.

Star Wars -  see the Discovery Channel's show on Star Wars and the accompanying lesson plans.

Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of US Nuclear Weapons since 1940 -- a 1998 report by the Brookings Institution.

Cold War International History Project -- the CWIHP web site includes extensive documentation on the Reagan policies and on the End of the Cold War.

The Contras, Cocaine and Covert Operations -- the National Security Archive has mounted a collection of documents relating to San Jose Mercury series on the U.S., the Nicaraguan contras and the drug trade.

Documents Relating to American Foreign Policy:  the Reagan Years -- collected by Professor Vincent Ferraro of Mt. Holyoke College.

Department of State FOIA Reading Room --web site provides access to recently declassified documents, including many relating to U.S. policy in El Salvador.

CIA FOIA Web site -- declassified CIA documents released under the provisions of the Freedom of  Information Act (FOIA).  See also its extensive Links to other government sources.

George Bush and the New World Order

George Bush -- bibliography and links organized by the University of Louisville Library.  Note its links on Desert Storm.

The George Bush Foreign Policy Project -- organized by the Center for Presidential Studies and the George Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M.

The Persian Gulf War -- web page of the Department of History, Hanover College.

The Whirlwind War -- the U.S. Army's Official History of the Gulf War.

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) -- a premier, public policy think tank; see especially its project on the U.S. and the New Global Economy.

Documents Relating to Global Economic Policy -- collected by Professor Vincent Ferraro of Mt. Holyoke College.

Free Trade: A Debate -- contrasting views of U.S. trade policy, at "Intellectual Capital" site.

Foreign Affairs -- web site of the distinguished publication. See especially its unparalleled collection of  Web Links.

The Foreign Policy Project -- a collection of studies and documents on future U.S. foreign policy, developed under the auspices of the nonprofit Henry L. Stimson Center.  See especially its collection of Foreign Policy/International Relations Web Sites.

Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) -- a list of  links to many private organizations concerned with contemporary foreign affairs.

William Clinton and the Postmodern Presidency

 The Clinton-Gore Internet Archive, part of a web site on the presidency maintained by the University of North Carolina.

The White House Home Page -- with many links to issues involving contemporary affairs, as well as the history of the presidency.

The Starr Report -- in case you may have missed it.

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