Economic History

Library of Congress/American Memory Collection
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html

Don't miss this site! At first glance it might seem to be more about history than economics, but the more you look at it the more economics you see:

• America from the Great Depression to World War II features some of the most compelling photographs ever made. Faces of 1930s America look at us from across the years and tell the story of ordinary people trying to cope with economic hard times.
  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/fsahtml/fahome.html
  
  
• The Panoramic Map Collection takes you on an aerial tour of Victorian-era cities and towns with a fascinating bird's eye perspective on urban and industrial development in post-Civil War America. The level of detail in some of the maps is exquisite, and with the aid of modern technology (the Mr.Sid online viewing tool) you can even zoom in on a particular street. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/pmhtml/panhome.html
  
  
• The Emergence of Advertising in America brings together "over 9,000 images that illustrate the rise of consumer culture" and the growth of advertising. There is also a link to the Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing at Duke University, which houses all the original images.
  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award98/ncdhtml/eaahome.html

State and Local Historical Societies and Archives

Some of the best economic history resources are right in your own backyard. State and local historical societies have extensive archives that document the economic evolution of our communities. And now the Internet gives us the capability to check out the resources in everyone else’s backyard, too. Here are two good examples of what’s out there:

1. Connecticut History Online
http://www.cthistoryonline.org

Connecticut History Online is a collaborative effort of the Connecticut Historical Society, the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, and Mystic Seaport Museum. The site’s database has more than 5,800 images that chronicle Connecticut life from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth. And the site’s links provide a virtual treasure map for researchers. The Dodd Center, for example, features a guide to the records of more than 35 Connecticut businesses,including companies that produced clocks, cutlery, hats, machine tools, organ pipes, textiles, toiletries, tobacco, and bathroom fixtures.

 

2. Art of the Draw
http://www.shsw.wisc.edu/artofthedraw/index.html

Art of the Draw is definitely worth a look.The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has put together an online exhibit of 50 advertising posters from its McCormick-International Harvester Collection. The posters, which date from 1849 to the 1980s are not only gorgeous to look at, but they also "provide physical evidence of the intentions, perspective,values, and tastes of the people who made and used them."

 

Making of America
http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moa.new/
http://moa.cit.cornell.edu/moa/

Making of America, a collaborative effort between the University of Michigan and Cornell University, is a must for anyone doing research on nineteenth century American life. The online digital library offers free electronic access to more than 9,000 volumes of nineteenth century primary sources (nearly 2.5 million pages, plus an additional 277,000 pages of online journal holdings). Each work was selected for the collection based on its capacity to demonstrate"what it was like to be an American at that time." Two examples of what you'll find:

• Twenty-One Years in the Boston Stock Market, or Fluctuation Therein from January 1, 1835, to January 1, 1856 by Joseph G. Martin, Commission Stock Broker — a brief but informative look at the workings of nineteenth-century American financial industry.
  
  
• Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet (Brent) Jacobs — a compelling memoir that contains a number of economic insights.

Women, Enterprise and Society
http://www.library.hbs.edu/hc/wes/

Economic history used to be all about guys — robber barons and captains of industry.omen were active participants in the marketplace, but hardly anyone was telling their story. Women, Enterprise, and Society goes along way toward setting the record straight by identifying business records, letters, diaries, and illustrated materials that “attest to historic female entrepreneurship, and offer a window on the lives of working women.”Eventually, the site’s creators — the “Women in Business Project” at Harvard Business School’s Baker Library — hope to put most of their archived material online, and they are organizing a physical exhibit to run at the Baker Library from January through May 2002.

EH.Net - Economic History Services
http://www.eh.net

EH.Net was created in 1993 to assist economists, historians, and other social scientists through the use of electronic communication and information technology. But even if you are “none of the above,” chances are that you’ll find something of interest on this website, which is owned and operated by the Economic History Association.

Be sure to check out:

• “How much is that?” is a tool that features five ways to figure out the relative value of a dollar, 1790 to the present, and a number of other interesting things.
• The EH.Net Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History provides highquality reference articles on dozens of topics.

Massachusetts Studies Project: Industrial History
http://www.msp.umb.edu/industrial_history.html

Any web site that can figure out a credible way to connect “industrial history” and “Lizzie Borden” deserves a look. The Massachusetts Studies Project developed this site as a way to help teachers and students tackle the Commonwealth’s curriculum frameworks for social studies and economics. But you don’t have to be from Massachusetts to benefit from the material, nor do you even need to be a student. There’s lots of interesting stuff here, including:

• a teachers guide;
• an industrial history bibliography; and
  
• a link to Lizzie Borden and Fall River, a University of Massachusetts industrial history course adapted for use in grades 7 to 12.

Particularly useful are the online primary source links included in the industrial history bibliography. Be sure to check out the Kids Info. Link on immigration and the Industrial Revolution: www.kidinfo.com/American_History/Industrial_Revolution.html

Museum of American Financial History
http://www.financialhistory.org

Even if you can’t get to New York, you can still visit the Museum of American Financial History online.

Be sure to check out:

• Financial History, the Museum’s membership magazine, carries an interesting mix of articles – everything from a history of the American Bank Note Company to the financing of early baseball teams.
• View online highlights of the Museum’s exhibits – the history of financial journalism, the Erie Canal, financing the Civil War, the artistry of African currency, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and more.

The Great Depression
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
http://www.stlouisfed.org/greatdepression

There was a time when cautionary tales of the Great Depression were a part of every child’s upbringing. Every family had at least one member whose mission in life was to impart the lessons of that bitter time. But those voices have begun to fade, and the day is fast approaching when no one will be left to remind us firsthand that “good health” and “a steady job” ought not to be taken for granted. Fortunately, we still have resources such as this website, which includes a full curriculum with six lessons on everything from “Measuring the Great Depression” to “Could it Happen Again?”.

Be sure to check out:
The glossary and the gallery of classic Depression-era photos.

The History of Economic Thought
Economics Department, New School for Social Research
http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/home.htm

The site’s creator describes it as “a repository of collected links and information on the history of economic thought, from the ancient times until the modern day.” Its “Alphabetical Index” lists more than 500 economists.

Be sure to check out:
The “Links” page

The New England Economic Adventure and Mass Moments
http://www.economicadventure.org
http://www.massmoments.org

Even if you don’t live in Massachusetts or New England, your life has been influenced by New England’s economic history. America’s Industrial Revolution had its origins in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and dozens of technological advances came out of the region’s many research labs. You can learn about all of this, and much more when you visit the New England Economic Adventure website and Mass Moments. The Adventure, created and operated by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, covers everything from improvements in the standard of living to changes in family life. Mass Moments, created by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, features an extensive archive of pivotal occurrences in Massachusetts history, everything from the Great Molasses Flood to the Robert Goddard’s pioneering efforts in rocketry.

Be sure to check out:

• The Adventure's "Timeline of Key Economic Events in New England"
• The Mass Moments Archive.

"Within These Walls ..."
Smithsonian National Museum of American History
http://americanhistory.si.edu/house/home.asp

When a 200 year-old house in Ipswich, Massachusetts was slated for demolition in 1963, the local historical society contacted the Smithsonian, which (fortunately) agreed to preserve it. The house was carefully dismantled, trucked to Washington and reassembled in a gallery of the National Museum of American History. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can tour the house online and learn about five of the families that once called it home. In the process, you’ll learn a thing or two about changes in our material standard of living.

Be sure to check out:
"Family Stories" and "go back in time!"