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300+ American History Research Paper Topics

American history is a vast and complex subject that encompasses a wide range of events, movements, and individuals who have shaped the country’s past and present. From the struggles for independence and civil rights to the exploration and settlement of the continent, American history provides an abundance of topics for research papers . Whether you’re interested in politics, social issues, cultural trends, or military history, there are numerous topics to choose from that will help you delve deeper into the fascinating story of the United States. In this arcticle, we will explore some of the most compelling and thought-provoking American history topics that you can choose to explore in your own research .

American History Research Paper Topics

American History Research Paper Topics are as follows:

The Salem witch trials: religious hysteria and persecution.
The California Gold Rush: immigration and economic boom.
The Harlem Renaissance: cultural movements and African American creativity.
The Stonewall riots: LGBTQ+ rights and activism.
The Underground Railroad: abolitionist movement and escape from slavery.
The New York City Draft Riots: racial tensions and class conflict during the Civil War.
The Battle of Little Bighorn: Native American resistance and US expansionism.
The Scopes Monkey Trial: evolution and religion in the public school system.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln: political upheaval and the aftermath.
The Bracero Program: labor migration and Mexican American relations.
The Japanese American internment: civil liberties and government policies during WWII.
The Black Panthers: civil rights and revolutionary politics.
The Montgomery bus boycott: racial segregation and nonviolent protest.
The War of 1812: US-British relations and national identity.
The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution: US involvement in Vietnam and presidential power.
The Trail of Tears: forced relocation of Native Americans and government policy.
The Louisiana Purchase: westward expansion and territorial acquisition.
The Emancipation Proclamation: Abraham Lincoln and the end of slavery.
The Boston Tea Party: colonial resistance and the American Revolution.
The Haymarket Riot: labor movements and the struggle for workers’ rights.
The Sacco and Vanzetti trial: political prejudice and the justice system.
The Nixon administration and Watergate: political corruption and media coverage.
The Battle of Gettysburg: turning point in the Civil War and military strategy.
The United States’ entry into WWI: neutrality and international relations.
The assassination of JFK: conspiracy theories and the impact on American politics.
The Montgomery GI Bill: post-WWII veterans’ benefits and education.
The 1968 Democratic National Convention: anti-war protests and police brutality.
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster: NASA and government accountability.
The Wounded Knee Massacre: Native American activism and government response.
The Oklahoma City bombing: domestic terrorism and extremism.
The Pentagon Papers: government secrecy and media freedom.
The American eugenics movement: racial science and government policy.
The Zoot Suit Riots: racial tensions and discrimination in WWII-era Los Angeles.
The Tet Offensive: turning point in the Vietnam War and media coverage.
The 1920s: flappers, jazz music, and cultural transformation.
The Seneca Falls Convention: women’s suffrage and gender equality.
The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.: civil rights and the struggle for racial justice.
The Tea Party movement: conservative populism and political polarization.
The space race and the moon landing: US-Soviet competition and national pride.
The Gulf War: US military action in the Middle East and international relations.
The Hurricane Katrina disaster: government response and racial inequality.
The Rodney King verdict and LA riots: police brutality and racial justice.
The Iran-Contra scandal: government corruption and foreign policy.
The civil rights movement and the Freedom Riders: nonviolent protest and desegregation.
The Flint water crisis: environmental racism and government negligence.
The Occupy Wall Street movement: economic inequality and social justice.
The AIDS epidemic: public health crisis and societal attitudes.
The American Revolution: causes and consequences.
The impact of slavery on the development of the United States.
The Reconstruction Era: successes and failures.
The Civil War: social, political, and economic impacts.
The women’s suffrage movement: progress and setbacks.
The rise of industrialization and its impact on society.
The Progressive Era: reforms and political changes.
The New Deal: success or failure?
The impact of the Great Depression on American society.
The Second World War: America’s involvement and impact.
The Cold War: the US and Soviet Union’s global influence.
The civil rights movement: leaders and strategies.
The Vietnam War: political, social, and cultural impacts.
The Watergate scandal: corruption and the presidency.
The Reagan Revolution: conservatism and change.
The Gulf War: America’s role in international conflict.
The 9/11 terrorist attacks: effects on domestic and foreign policy.
The Obama presidency: achievements and controversies.
The rise of Silicon Valley: technology and innovation.
The labor movement: unionization and workers’ rights.
The Trail of Tears: the forced relocation of Native Americans.
The Mormon migration: religious freedom and settlement.
The gold rush: economic and social impacts.
The women’s liberation movement: progress and setbacks.
The rise of the suburbs: lifestyle changes and the American Dream.
The Harlem Renaissance: cultural and artistic movements.
The Dust Bowl: environmental disasters and migration.
The Ku Klux Klan: racism and terror in America.
The rise of the Christian Right: religion and politics.
The Cuban Missile Crisis: America and the Soviet Union on the brink of war.
The Manhattan Project: the development of nuclear weapons.
The Bay of Pigs invasion: US foreign policy in Latin America.
The Space Race: America’s competition with the Soviet Union.
The Black Power movement: self-determination and political activism.
The Stonewall riots: the birth of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.
The War on Drugs: the impact on minority communities.
The rise of hip hop: cultural expression and social commentary.
The Iraq War: America’s intervention in the Middle East.
The Tea Party movement: populism and conservative politics.
The Dakota Access Pipeline protests: Indigenous rights and environmentalism.
The #MeToo movement: sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.
The 2020 presidential election: controversies and historical significance.
The COVID-19 pandemic: social, economic, and political impacts.
The climate crisis: America’s role in mitigating global warming.
The opioid epidemic: public health crisis and government response.
The gig economy: labor rights and the changing nature of work.
The immigration debate: policies and social attitudes towards immigrants.
The Black Lives Matter movement: racial justice and police reform.
The Battle of Antietam: bloodiest day in American history and its impact on the Civil War.
The Salem Witch Trials: causes and consequences of the infamous witch hunt.
The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: examining the unethical medical study conducted on African American men.
The Stonewall Riots: analyzing the LGBTQ+ rights movement and the impact of the Stonewall uprising.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion: evaluating the failed US attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba.
The Battle of Little Bighorn: examining the conflict between the US Army and Native American tribes.
The Red Scare: analyzing the fear of communism in the US during the Cold War.
The Manhattan Project: evaluating the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
The Seneca Falls Convention: examining the first women’s rights convention and its impact on American society.
The My Lai Massacre: analyzing the massacre of Vietnamese civilians by US soldiers during the Vietnam War.
The Treaty of Versailles: evaluating the impact of the treaty that ended World War I.
The Dust Bowl Migration: examining the migration of farmers from the Great Plains to California during the Great Depression.
The Black Lives Matter Movement: analyzing the movement for racial justice and police reform in the US.
The Oregon Trail: examining the westward expansion of the US and the impact of the Oregon Trail.
The 1968 Democratic National Convention: evaluating the protests and violence that occurred during the convention.
The Indian Removal Act: examining the forced relocation of Native American tribes in the 1830s.
The Great Society: evaluating the social and economic reforms of President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The Wounded Knee Massacre: analyzing the US Army’s killing of Native American men, women, and children in 1890.
The Ku Klux Klan: examining the rise and fall of the white supremacist group.
The Gadsden Purchase: evaluating the US acquisition of land from Mexico in 1853.
The Second Great Awakening: analyzing the religious revival of the early 19th century and its impact on American society.
The Haymarket Riot: examining the labor unrest and violence that occurred during the 1886 Chicago labor rally.
The Dust Bowl Art: analyzing the art and literature inspired by the Great Plains drought.
The Roe v. Wade Decision: evaluating the impact of the landmark Supreme Court decision on abortion rights.
The Salem Customs House: examining the significance of the customs house in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter.”
The Homestead Strike: analyzing the violent labor dispute that occurred at the Carnegie Steel Company in 1892.
The War of 1812: evaluating the US conflict with Great Britain and its impact on American society.
The Sacco and Vanzetti Trial: examining the controversial trial of two Italian immigrants in the 1920s.
The Scopes Monkey Trial: evaluating the trial that pitted science against religion in the 1920s.
The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty: examining the US treaty with Panama that led to the construction of the Panama Canal.
The Bonus Army: analyzing the World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C. to demand government benefits.
The O.J. Simpson Trial: evaluating the impact of the high-profile murder trial on American culture.
The Iran-Contra Affair: examining the political scandal that involved the US selling weapons to Iran and using the profits to fund anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua.
The Buffalo Soldiers: analyzing the history of the African American soldiers who served in the western frontier.
The American Civil War: examining the factors that led to the conflict.
The New Deal: evaluating the impact of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s economic policies.
The Space Race: the competition between the US and Soviet Union to explore space.
The Vietnam War: analyzing the US involvement in the conflict.
The American Revolution: evaluating the role of key figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
The Civil Rights Movement: examining the fight for racial equality in the US.
The Gold Rush: exploring the impact of the California Gold Rush on American society.
The Watergate Scandal: the political scandal that brought down President Nixon.
The Great Migration: analyzing the movement of African Americans from the South to Northern cities.
The Harlem Renaissance: examining the cultural and artistic movement of the 1920s.
The Trail of Tears: evaluating the forced removal of Native American tribes from their lands.
The Cold War: analyzing the political and economic tensions between the US and Soviet Union.
The Industrial Revolution: examining the changes brought about by industrialization in the US.
The Boston Tea Party: evaluating the impact of the colonial protest against British taxation.
The Underground Railroad: analyzing the network that helped slaves escape to freedom.
The Women’s Suffrage Movement: examining the fight for women’s right to vote.
The Dust Bowl: evaluating the environmental and economic impact of the Great Plains drought.
The Emancipation Proclamation: analyzing Lincoln’s decision to free slaves in Confederate states.
The Transatlantic Slave Trade: examining the forced migration of Africans to the US.
The Louisiana Purchase: analyzing the impact of the US acquisition of Louisiana from France.
The Spanish Flu Pandemic: examining the global pandemic that killed millions.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor: evaluating the impact of the Japanese attack on the US.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott: analyzing the nonviolent protest against segregated public transportation.
The Panama Canal: examining the construction of the canal and its impact on international trade.
The Salem Maritime Trade: analyzing the economic and social impact of maritime trade in the colonial period.
The Cuban Revolution: examining the overthrow of Batista and the rise of Fidel Castro.
The Iraq War: analyzing the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The New York City Draft Riots: evaluating the racial and class tensions that led to the riots.
The Black Panther Party: examining the political and social impact of the Black Panther movement.
The American West: analyzing the expansion and settlement of the American West.
The Berlin Wall: examining the construction and fall of the Berlin Wall.
The 19th Amendment: evaluating the impact of women’s right to vote on American society.
The United States and the United Nations: analyzing the US involvement in the UN.
The Jim Crow Laws: examining the laws that enforced racial segregation in the US.
The Bracero Program: analyzing the US-Mexico labor agreement during World War II.
The Korean War: evaluating the US involvement in the conflict.
The Alamo: examining the battle that became a symbol of Texas independence.
The Assassination of JFK: analyzing the impact of the assassination on American politics and society.
The Great Chicago Fire: evaluating the impact of the fire that destroyed much of Chicago in 1871.
The Americanization Movement: examining the movement that sought to assimilate immigrants into American culture.
The Spanish American War: US imperialism and expansion in the late 19th century.
The Red Scare: political repression and the fear of communism in the 20th century.
The National Parks system: conservation and environmentalism in the US.
The Women’s Liberation Movement: feminism and gender equality in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Brown v. Board of Education decision: landmark ruling on desegregation in public schools.
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill: environmental disaster and corporate responsibility.
The American Revolution: causes, major events, and legacy.
The Great Depression: economic crisis and government response in the 1930s.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964: legislative landmark in the struggle for racial justice.
The Dust Bowl: ecological disaster and its impact on American agriculture.
The Waco Siege: government overreach and religious extremism.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire: workplace safety and labor reform.
The Black Lives Matter movement: police brutality and racial justice in the 21st century.
The Homestead Strike: labor dispute and the fight for workers’ rights.
The Panama Canal: engineering marvel and US influence in Central America.
The Marshall Plan: US aid to Europe after World War II and the Cold War.
The Cuban Missile Crisis: nuclear brinksmanship and US-Soviet relations.
The Montgomery Improvement Association: nonviolent resistance and the bus boycott.
The Roe v. Wade decision: reproductive rights and the women’s movement.
The My Lai Massacre: war crimes and US military conduct in Vietnam.
The Salem-Keizer school desegregation case: busing and the limits of integration.
The Flint sit-down strike: labor unrest and unionization in the auto industry.
The transcontinental railroad: westward expansion and economic growth.
The Iranian Hostage Crisis: US foreign policy and Middle East tensions.
The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty: US control of the Panama Canal and sovereignty issues.
The Black Sox Scandal: corruption and gambling in Major League Baseball.
The Freedom Summer: civil rights activism and voter registration in the South.
The Salem maritime trade: piracy and international commerce in the colonial period.
The Stono Rebellion: slave rebellion and resistance in South Carolina.
The Alaska Purchase: US acquisition of Alaska and its impact on Native Alaskans.
The United States and the League of Nations: US foreign policy and internationalism.
The Chicago Seven trial: political dissent and government repression during the Vietnam War.
The Reagan Revolution: conservative politics and the changing face of American politics.
The American Indian Movement: Native American rights and activism.
The Battle of Bull Run: first major battle of the Civil War and its impact.
The Wounded Knee Occupation: Native American sovereignty and government response.
The Whiskey Rebellion: taxation and the limits of federal authority in the early US.
The Iran-Iraq War: US involvement and Middle East politics.
The United States and the Cold War: US-Soviet relations and the arms race.
The Ku Klux Klan: white supremacy and domestic terrorism in American history.
The Battle of Midway: turning point in World War II and military strategy.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott: analyzing the civil rights movement and its impact on segregation in the South.
The Cuban Missile Crisis: evaluating the US and Soviet Union’s tense standoff in 1962.
The Trail of Tears: examining the forced removal of Native American tribes from their lands in the 1830s.
The Space Race: analyzing the competition between the US and Soviet Union to explore space.
The Emancipation Proclamation: evaluating the impact of President Lincoln’s proclamation on slavery during the Civil War.
The Black Panthers: examining the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Harlem Renaissance: analyzing the cultural movement that celebrated African American art, literature, and music in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Korean War: evaluating the US and UN’s conflict with North Korea and China in the 1950s.
The Boston Tea Party: examining the protest that sparked the American Revolution.
The National Parks System: analyzing the history and impact of the National Parks System in the US.
The New Deal: evaluating President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s economic reforms during the Great Depression.
The Black Codes: examining the laws passed in Southern states after the Civil War to restrict the rights of African Americans.
The Watergate Scandal: analyzing the political scandal that led to the resignation of President Nixon.
The War on Drugs: evaluating the US government’s policies and actions to combat drug use and trafficking.
The McCarthy Hearings: examining the anti-communist hearings led by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s.
The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake: analyzing the disaster and its impact on the city and American society.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: examining the tragedy that led to significant labor reforms in the early 20th century.
The Rodney King Riots: analyzing the 1992 riots in Los Angeles following the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King.
The Transcontinental Railroad: evaluating the construction of the railroad and its impact on American transportation and commerce.
The New York Draft Riots: examining the violent protests against the Civil War draft in New York City in 1863.
The Tulsa Race Massacre: analyzing the 1921 race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma and its aftermath.
The 1918 Influenza Pandemic: examining the deadly global pandemic and its impact on American society.
The Battle of Gettysburg: evaluating the pivotal Civil War battle and its impact on the war and American history.
The Mexican-American War: analyzing the US conflict with Mexico and its impact on American expansion.
The American Indian Movement: examining the Native American organization and its activism for Indigenous rights.
The War in Iraq: evaluating the US-led war in Iraq and its impact on US foreign policy.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964: analyzing the landmark legislation that prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The Jim Crow Laws: examining the laws that enforced racial segregation in the South after the Civil War.
The Women’s Suffrage Movement: evaluating the fight for women’s right to vote in the US.
The Anti-Vietnam War Movement: analyzing the protests and activism against the US involvement in the Vietnam War.
The Donner Party: examining the ill-fated wagon train journey and its impact on westward expansion.
The Great Migration: analyzing the mass movement of African Americans from the South to the North and West in the early 20th century.
The Red Scare: examining the anti-communist hysteria in the US during the Cold War era.
The Alamo: evaluating the 1836 battle in Texas and its significance in American history.
The Cuban Revolution: analyzing the revolution led by Fidel Castro and its impact on US-Cuban relations.
The Dust Bowl: examining the environmental disaster that devastated the Great Plains in the 1930s.
The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.: analyzing the impact of the civil rights leader’s death on American society.
The California Gold Rush: evaluating the rush of people to California in search of gold in 1849.
The Salem Witch Trials: examining the 1692 witch hunt and its impact on American society.
The Reconstruction Era: analyzing the period of US history following the Civil War that aimed to rebuild the South and integrate newly freed slaves into society.
The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: evaluating the tragic 1986 event that claimed the lives of seven astronauts.
The Great Society: examining President Lyndon B. Johnson’s domestic policies in the 1960s and their impact on American society.
The Bataan Death March: analyzing the brutal forced march of American and Filipino prisoners of war by the Japanese in World War II.
The Detroit Race Riot: examining the violent 1967 riots in Detroit and their impact on American race relations.
The Wounded Knee Massacre: analyzing the 1890 massacre of Sioux Indians by US troops and its impact on Native American relations with the US government.
The Spanish-American War: evaluating the US conflict with Spain in 1898 and its impact on American imperialism.
The Cold War: examining the geopolitical tensions between the US and Soviet Union from 1945-1991.
The Underground Railroad: evaluating the network of secret routes and safe houses used to help enslaved people escape to freedom in the 19th century.
The Tuskegee Airmen: examining the all-Black fighter squadron that served in World War II and their impact on American history.
The Boston Massacre: analyzing the 1770 event in which British soldiers killed five colonists and its impact on American revolutionary sentiment.
The 1968 Democratic National Convention: examining the protests and clashes between police and anti-war demonstrators during the convention.
The Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision: evaluating the landmark decision legalizing abortion in the US in 1973.
The Louisiana Territory: analyzing the US acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803.
The Stock Market Crash of 1929: examining the causes and impact of the crash that led to the Great Depression.
The Lusitania sinking: analyzing the 1915 sinking of a British passenger ship by a German submarine and its impact on American entry into World War I.
The Second Great Awakening: evaluating the religious revival movement in the US in the early 19th century and its impact on American society.
The Black Panthers: analyzing the impact of the Black Panther Party on the civil rights movement and American society in the 1960s.
The Mexican-American War: examining the US conflict with Mexico in the 1840s and its impact on US expansionism.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: analyzing the 1911 tragedy and its impact on workplace safety regulations.
The Transcontinental Railroad: evaluating the building of the railroad in the late 19th century and its impact on American transportation and economy.
The Stono Rebellion: examining the 1739 slave uprising in South Carolina and its impact on American slavery laws.
The Battle of Gettysburg: analyzing the 1863 battle and its significance in the Civil War.
The Black Sox Scandal: evaluating the 1919 scandal in which members of the Chicago White Sox baseball team were accused of throwing the World Series.
The Oregon Trail: examining the westward expansion of American settlers to the Pacific Northwest in the 19th century.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964: analyzing the landmark legislation outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The Indian Removal Act: evaluating the 1830 law that authorized the forced removal of Native American tribes from their lands in the Southeastern US.
The Battle of Antietam: analyzing the 1862 battle and its impact on the Civil War.
The Iran-Contra Affair: examining the political scandal involving the Reagan administration’s secret arms sales to Iran and illegal funding of Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
The Pullman Strike: analyzing the 1894 labor strike by railway workers and its impact on American labor laws.
The 1920s: examining the cultural, social, and political changes that occurred during the “Roaring Twenties.”
The Battle of Little Bighorn: analyzing the 1876 battle between US forces and Sioux and Cheyenne warriors and its impact on Native American relations with the US government.
The Montgomery GI Bill: evaluating the legislation that provided education and training benefits to US veterans after World War II.
The Black Codes: examining the laws enacted in the South after the Civil War that restricted the rights and freedoms of newly freed slaves.
The Korean War: analyzing the US involvement in the conflict and its impact on American foreign policy.
The Seneca Falls Convention: evaluating the 1848 convention advocating for women’s suffrage and its impact on the women’s rights movement.
The Bay of Pigs Invasion: examining the failed 1961 US attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro’s government in Cuba.
The Homestead Strike: analyzing the 1892 labor strike by steelworkers and its impact on American labor relations.
The Gadsden Purchase: evaluating the US acquisition of land from Mexico in 1853 and its impact on American territorial expansion.
The Harlem Renaissance: examining the cultural and artistic movement in the 1920s and 1930s that celebrated Black creativity and identity.
The Fourteenth Amendment: analyzing the constitutional amendment that granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the US.
The Battle of New Orleans: evaluating the 1815 battle in which American forces led by Andrew Jackson defeated British troops and its impact on American nationalism.
The Birmingham Campaign: analyzing the 1963 civil rights campaign in Alabama and its impact on the movement.
The Pullman Palace Car Company: examining the company’s history and impact on American railroad travel and labor relations.

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US History Research Paper Topics: Moments that Shaped a Nation

Table of contents

1.1 Interesting US History Topics for Research Paper Before 1877
1.2 US History Paper Topics on the Civil War
1.3 American History Topics for Research Paper on Industrialization
1.4 American History Research Topics on Reconstruction
1.5 20th-Century American History Paper Topics
1.6 US History Term Paper Topics in World War I and II
1.7 American History Paper Topics about the Civil Rights Movement
1.8 Native American History Thesis Topics
2 Which Topics to Choose for History Research?
3 Conclusion: Reflections on America’s Past

Exploring the rich and complex narrative of the United States, this article is designed as a resource for students and researchers embarking on assignments that require a deep dive into American history. Perfect for term papers, thesis projects, and detailed historical analyses, the guide presents a curated selection of interesting US history research paper topics.

We provide a comprehensive guide for students, researchers, and history enthusiasts seeking engaging and insightful topics for their research papers on American history.
These topics cover critical eras and events shaping America, from the early days before 1877 to the transformative 20th century.

With these good US history research topics in mind, let’s go over each one in-depth, creating a foundation for smart research and analysis.

List of 160 American History Research Paper Topics

History is a rich and complex subject, ripe for exploration in academic research. Whether you’re a student seeking a topic for an assignment or a history enthusiast looking to delve deeper into America’s past, this list offers a diverse range of subjects. From early colonial times to the modern era, each topic provides a unique lens through which to examine the nation’s history.

Interesting US History Topics for Research Paper Before 1877

The impact of European colonization on Native American societies.
The Salem Witch Trials: Causes and effects.
The role of the Seven Years’ War in shaping early American society.
The Declaration of Independence: Context and legacy.
The Articles of Confederation: Strengths and weaknesses.
The Constitutional Convention of 1787: Key debates and outcomes.
The Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist debate: Impact on the US Constitution.
The Louisiana Purchase: Motivations and consequences.
The War of 1812: Causes, course, and outcomes.
Manifest Destiny: Ideology and impact on westward expansion.
The Trail of Tears and Native American Removal Policies.
The role of slavery in antebellum America.
The Mexican-American War: Origins and effects.
The Gold Rush of 1849 and its impact on American expansion.
The Compromise of 1850 and its role in the lead-up to the Civil War.
The Dred Scott Decision: Implications and controversy.
The Underground Railroad: Key figures and operations.
The election of 1860 and its role in the secession crisis.
The role of women in antebellum America.
Early American foreign policy: Principles and practices.

US History Paper Topics on the Civil War

The causes of the American Civil War: A comprehensive analysis.
Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and its impact on the Civil War.
The role of slavery in sparking the Civil War.
Military strategies of the Union and the Confederacy.
The Emancipation Proclamation: Intentions and effects.
Key battles of the Civil War: Gettysburg, Antietam, and others.
The role of technology in the Civil War.
The impact of the Civil War on civilian life in the North and South.
The role of African American soldiers in the Civil War.
The diplomatic dimensions of the Civil War.
Reconstruction plans: Lincoln vs. Johnson.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Impact on post-war America.
The economic consequences of the Civil War for the South.
The role of women during the Civil War.
The Draft Riots of 1863: Causes and impact.
The impact of the Civil War on American literature and art.
The role of nurses and medical practices during the Civil War.
The use of propaganda in the Civil War.
The transition from slavery to freedom during and after the Civil War.
The legacy of the Civil War in American memory.

American History Topics for Research Paper on Industrialization

The Second Industrial Revolution: Key innovations and their impact.
The rise of American industrial tycoons: Carnegie, Rockefeller, and others.
The impact of the railroad expansion on American society and economy.
Urbanization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Labor movements and strikes of the late 19th century.
The rise of monopolies and antitrust laws in the United States.
The impact of immigration on American industrial growth.
The role of women and children in industrial labor.
Technological advancements and their societal impact during industrialization.
The emergence of consumer culture in the late 19th century.
The environmental impact of industrialization.
Social Darwinism and its influence on American society.
The rise of organized labor and the American Federation of Labor.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and its aftermath.
The Homestead Strike: Causes and consequences.
The impact of the Industrial Revolution on American agriculture.
The role of education during the Industrial Revolution.
Transportation innovations and their impact on American life.
The evolution of American business practices during industrialization.
The Gilded Age: Wealth, poverty, and social disparity.

American History Research Topics on Reconstruction

The Reconstruction Amendments: Impact and limitations.
Presidential vs. Congressional Reconstruction: A comparative analysis.
The role of the Freedmen’s Bureau in post-Civil War America.
Sharecropping and tenant farming: Continuation of slavery by another name?
The rise and impact of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction.
The Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction.
The Black Codes: Purpose and effects.
The impeachment of President Andrew Johnson: Causes and consequences.
The role of African Americans in politics during Reconstruction.
Economic challenges of the South during Reconstruction.
The establishment of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
The legacy of Reconstruction in the South.
The Jim Crow laws: Origins and impact.
The role of women during Reconstruction.
The Slaughterhouse Cases and their impact on civil rights.
The Enforcement Acts and their effectiveness in protecting African American rights.
The impact of Reconstruction on Northern society and politics.
Education reform in the South during Reconstruction.
The role of the U.S. military in enforcing Reconstruction policies.
The long-term effects of Reconstruction on American race relations.

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20th-Century American History Paper Topics

The Progressive Era: Reforms and key figures.
The impact of World War I on American society and politics.
The Roaring Twenties: Culture, economics, and politics.
The Great Depression: Causes and the New Deal response.
The impact of World War II on the American home front.
The Cold War: Key events and American foreign policy.
The Civil Rights Movement: Key figures and legislative milestones.
The Vietnam War: Causes, course, and impact on American society.
The Women’s Rights Movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
The Watergate Scandal and its impact on American politics.
The Space Race: Technological advancements and Cold War implications.
The rise of environmentalism in the 20th century.
The impact of the automobile on 20th-century American life.
The rise of the American suburbs in the post-World War II era.
The counterculture of the 1960s and its impact on American society.
The Reagan Era: Policies and impact on the United States.
The War on Drugs: Origins, strategies, and consequences.
The impact of technological advancements on late 20th-century life.
The rise of the internet and its impact on society and culture.
The 9/11 attacks and their aftermath on American foreign policy.

US History Term Paper Topics in World War I and II

The causes and consequences of American entry into World War I.
The impact of the Treaty of Versailles on post-war America.
American isolationism between World War I and World War II.
The Lend-Lease Act and American support for the Allies before entering World War II.
The attack on Pearl Harbor: Causes and immediate effects.
The home front during World War II: Women, minorities, and the war effort.
The role of propaganda in American support for World War II.
The development and use of the atomic bomb.
The impact of World War II on American foreign policy.
The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
The role of African Americans in World War II.
The D-Day invasion: Planning, execution, and significance.
The Battle of Midway: Turning point in the Pacific War.
American military strategy in the European and Pacific theaters.
The Holocaust and American responses to it.
The post-war world order and the establishment of the United Nations.
The GI Bill and its impact on post-war American society.
The Nuremberg Trials: Legal and moral implications.
The Marshall Plan and American post-war economic policy.
The start of the Cold War: Origins and early confrontations.

American History Paper Topics about the Civil Rights Movement

The Montgomery Bus Boycott: Causes and outcomes.
The role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement.
The Little Rock Nine and school desegregation.
The Freedom Rides: Objectives and impact.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Development and effects.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965: Importance and consequences.
The role of women in the Civil Rights Movement.
The Black Power Movement: Ideals and key figures.
The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on other minority groups.
The assassination of Malcolm X: Context and aftermath.
The Selma to Montgomery marches: Significance and outcomes.
The role of the NAACP in the Civil Rights Movement.
The Birmingham Campaign and the use of nonviolent protest.
The role of the media in shaping public perception of the Civil Rights Movement.
The Civil Rights Movement in the North: Challenges and Achievements.
The Economic Bill of Rights proposed by the Poor People’s Campaign.
The role of music in the Civil Rights Movement.
The impact of the Civil Rights Movement on American law and society.
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Contributions and challenges.
The legacy of the Civil Rights Movement in contemporary America.

Native American History Thesis Topics

The impact of European colonization on Native American cultures.
The Trail of Tears: Causes, course, and consequences.
Native American resistance movements: King Philip’s War, Pontiac’s Rebellion, and others.
The impact of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
Native American life on reservations in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The role of Native Americans in American wars.
The Ghost Dance Movement and the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Native American boarding schools: Policies and impact on culture.
The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 and its implications.
The American Indian Movement (AIM): Goals and major actions.
The impact of the Dawes Act on tribal land and culture.
The role of Native American women in their societies.
Contemporary Native American issues: Sovereignty, land rights, and cultural preservation.
The Native American Renaissance: A cultural and literary overview.
The impact of environmental changes on Native American communities.
The repatriation of Native American artifacts and remains.
The role of treaties in Native American history.
Native American spiritual beliefs and practices.
The impact of the fur trade on Native American societies.
Contemporary Native American political activism.

Which Topics to Choose for History Research?

Given the breadth and diversity of US history topics, choosing one to write about can be difficult. To reduce your options, think about your interests and the extent of your investigation. Look for themes that provide a balance of available materials and new perspectives to explore.

When choosing a topic, consider its significance in the larger context of American history. Consider how the topic has influenced or reflected societal, political, or economic trends. For example, topics such as the Civil Rights Movement and World War II provide insights into moments of revolutionary change and struggle.

Also, examine the availability of primary and secondary sources. A well-documented topic provides for a more thorough study and a stronger argument. Always ensure that your chosen topic adheres to the criteria and objectives of your assignment or research aim.

Conclusion: Reflections on America’s Past

In this journey through American history, we have explored various topics that offer a window into the nation’s complex and multifaceted past. From the struggles and triumphs of early American society to the transformative events of the 20th century, these topics provide a foundation for understanding how the United States has evolved. Engaging with these topics enriches our historical knowledge and deepens our understanding of the present. As students, scholars, or simply curious minds, delving into these aspects of America’s past can provide valuable insights and perspectives on the nation’s journey and its ongoing story.

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Navigating US History: A Student’s Guide to Research Paper Topics

As a student of history, you’re on a constant journey through time. Writing a research paper is more than just an assignment—it’s an opportunity to delve deeper into the events and periods that shaped the world we live in today. Whether you’re just beginning your journey or looking for fresh perspectives on well-trodden paths, this guide will provide a comprehensive list of US history research paper topics.

Table of content

The Importance of History Learning

Studying history provides a deeper understanding of societies, cultures, and the human condition. History shapes our collective memory, instilling a sense of identity and understanding of our place in the world. Exploring different eras helps us comprehend the consequences of certain actions, understand patterns, and better anticipate the future. Writing research papers on US history equips us with an analytical lens to critically assess the past, promoting empathy and encouraging informed citizenship.

The Art of Research Writing

Research writing requires a careful synthesis of existing knowledge with original thought. As a historical researcher, you act as a detective, deciphering mysteries, drawing connections, and unveiling the truths hidden in the annals of time. Your research paper is an exploration of your chosen topic and a demonstration of your analytical skills, critical thinking, and the ability to articulate complex ideas coherently.

Crafting your Research Paper Topic

Selecting an engaging and manageable topic is crucial in the research process. Your topic should be both broad enough to offer plenty of study sources and narrow enough to allow in-depth exploration. Below is a list of possible US history research paper topics.

Colonial Period

The Colonial Period, from the late 15th Century to the late 18th Century, marked the beginning of European settlement in what is now the United States. This era saw significant events such as the arrival of the Pilgrims, the establishment of the thirteen colonies, and the interactions between the settlers and the Native American tribes. This period set the stage for America’s diverse cultural, political, and social foundation.

Research Paper Topics for the Colonial Period

Role of the Church in Colonial Society.
Jamestown: Successes and Failures.
Impact of Tobacco Cultivation on Colonial Economy.
Life of Indigenous Tribes Pre-Colonization.
The Salem Witch Trials: Causes and Consequences.
The Role of Women in Colonial America.
Early Forms of Democracy: The Mayflower Compact.
Slavery in the Early Colonies.
The Transatlantic Trade: Its Impact on the Colonies.
Comparison of Northern and Southern Colonies.
Analysis of Colonial Laws and Their Impact on Society.
Evolution of Education in Colonial America.
The Great Awakening and Its Impact on American Society.
Indentured Servitude vs. Slavery: A Comparative Study.
Navigation Acts and Their Influence on the Colonies.
Impact of European Diseases on Native American Population.
The Role of the Dutch in New Amsterdam (New York).
The French and Indian War: Causes and Consequences.
The Influence of the Enlightenment in the Colonies.
Colonial Architecture: A Reflection of Cultural Identity.
The Pennsylvania Colony: A Quaker Experiment.
Cultural Exchange between Colonists and Native Americans.
The Evolution of Colonial Economies: From Mercantilism to Capitalism.

Revolutionary Era

The Revolutionary Era, roughly from the 1760s to the 1780s, marked a period of political upheaval and radical change. It included events such as the American Revolution and the drafting of the US Constitution. This period represents America’s struggle for independence and the nation’s birth.

Research Paper Topics for the Revolutionary Era

The Impact of the Stamp Act on the Colonies.
The Boston Massacre: An Analysis.
Role of Women in the American Revolution.
The Philosophical Underpinnings of the Declaration of Independence.
The Continental Congress: Achievements and Challenges.
The Role of Propaganda in the American Revolution.
Significance of the Battle of Saratoga.
Comparative Analysis of the American and Haitian Revolutions.
The Treaty of Paris (1783): Implications for America.
Founding Fathers: Contributions and Controversies.
The Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist Debate.
The Role of African Americans in the Revolutionary War.
The Impact of the Revolutionary War on Native Americans.
Influence of the Enlightenment on the US Constitution.
George Washington was a Military Leader.
The Articles of Confederation: Strengths and Weaknesses.
The Legacy of Thomas Jefferson.
The Formation and Influence of the Sons of Liberty.
Impact of the American Revolution on French Political Thought.
The Bill of Rights: A Study in Civil Liberties.
The Northwest Ordinance and Its Impact on American Expansion.
Impact of the Revolutionary Era on American Literature.
Loyalists during the American Revolution: Their Experiences and Contributions.

Nineteenth Century

The 19th Century was a time of dramatic transformation in America. From the expansion westward to the abolition of slavery and from the Industrial Revolution to the Civil War, these changes forged a new nation. It was an era defined by innovation, conflict, and expansion.

The Impact of the Cotton Gin on the Southern Economy.
The Missouri Compromise: An Analysis.
The Role of Women in the 19th Century.
Manifest Destiny and Its Impact on American Identity.
The Abolitionist Movement: Key Figures and Contributions.
The Mexican-American War: Causes and Consequences.
The Impact of the Industrial Revolution on American Society.
Analysis of the Compromise of 1850.
The Fugitive Slave Act and Its Implications.
The Influence of Transcendentalism on American Thought.
The Homestead Act and Westward Expansion.
Causes and Consequences of the Civil War.
The Reconstruction Era: Successes and Failures.
Role of African Americans in the Civil War.
The Trail of Tears: Causes and Implications.
The Emancipation Proclamation: Its Impact and Legacy.
The Indian Removal Act: An Analysis.
The Influence of the Gold Rush on American Society.
The Formation of Labor Unions and Workers’ Rights.
The Women’s Suffrage Movement: Key Events and Figures.
The Dred Scott Decision and Its Impact on American Politics.
The Impact of Railroads on Economic and Social Change.
The Gilded Age: An Analysis of Social and Economic Disparities.

Twentieth Century

Monumental changes in technology, culture, politics, and social norms marked the 20th Century. The US emerged as a global superpower through its involvement in two World Wars, the Cold War, and numerous other international conflicts. This era also witnessed significant social changes, including the Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Liberation, and the Gay Rights Movement.

Research Paper Topics for the Twentieth Century

Impact of World War I on American Society.
The Harlem Renaissance: A Cultural Revolution.
Causes and Consequences of the Great Depression.
The Influence of the New Deal on American Government.
Role of Women in World War II.
The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II.
The Rise of Suburbia in Post-War America.
The Cold War: An Analysis of US Foreign Policy.
The Civil Rights Movement: Key Figures and Milestones.
Impact of the Vietnam War on American Culture.
The Watergate Scandal and Its Effect on Public Trust.
The Feminist Movement in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Space Race and Its Influence on Technology.
The Impact of Television on American Society.
The Environmental Movement and the Creation of the EPA.
The Gay Rights Movement: Key Events and Figures.
The Cuban Missile Crisis: An Analysis.
The Immigration Act of 1965 and Its Impact on American Demographics.
The War on Drugs: Causes and Consequences.
The AIDS Epidemic and Its Impact on Public Health Policy.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall and the End of the Cold War.
The Role of the Internet in the Digital Age.

Final Thoughts

History research can be a challenging but rewarding endeavor. Remember, the best papers reflect your curiosity and passion for the topic. So, pick a topic that resonates with you, immerse yourself in the research, and enjoy the journey through time.

📎 Related Articles

1. Hot Topic History: A Journey Through Pivotal Moments 2. Pioneering Perspectives: Navigating Civil War Topics for Your Research Paper 3. Engaging 8th Grade Research Paper Topics for Budding Historians 4. Unraveling Threads of Time: Early American History Topics for Students 5. The Great Wall: An Essay Topic Examples

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The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' American History Research Guide is a select list of resources for students, teachers, and researchers to learn about various topics of American History.

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Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies : The Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies which documents and interprets the ethnic and immigrant experience in the United States. Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies has recently merged into the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
Bracero History Archive : The Bracero History Archive collects and makes available the oral histories and artifacts pertaining to the Bracero program, a guest worker initiative that spanned the years 1942-1964. Millions of Mexican agricultural workers crossed the border under the program to work in more than half of the states in America.
Ellis Island : The Ellis Island Immigration Museum and their online American Family Immigration History Center (AFIHC) allows visitors to explore the collection of immigrant arrival records stored in the Ellis Island Archives.
Immigrant Arrivals: A Guide To Published Sources : Library of Congress bibliography of print and web based resources.
Immigration History Research Center : The IHRC develops and maintains a library and archival collection, provides research assistance, produces publications, and sponsors academic and public programs. Its work supports the parent institution, the University of Minnesota.
Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930 : Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930, is a web-based collection of selected historical materials from Harvard's libraries, archives, and museums that documents voluntary immigration to the US from the signing of the Constitution to the onset of the Great Depression.
I mmigration: The Changing Face of America : A Library of Congress site for teachers and students.
National Archives & Records Administration Immigration Records: Immigration Records : NARA has immigration records for arrivals to the United States from foreign ports between approximately 1800 and 1959. The records are arranged by Port of Arrival.
Beyond Steel: An Archive of Lehigh Valley Industry and Culture : This Lehigh University Digital Library site highlights the Lehigh Valley's mid nineteenth-century boom, late twentieth-century decline and continuing community readjustment. Through the digitization and presentation of letters, books, photographs, maps, essays, and oral histories the site will aid researchers in understanding not only the lives of railroad barons and steel titans, but also the experiences of average folks who worked and lived in the community.
Inside an American Factory: Westinghouse Works Collection : A part of the Library of Congress American Memory Project, this collection of films, images and text. The collection contains 21 films showing various views of Westinghouse companies. Most prominently featured are the Westinghouse Air Brake Company, the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, and the Westinghouse Machine Company.
U.S. Steel Gary Works Photograph Collection : The Indiana University Digital Library Program is produced this series of more than 2,200 photographs of the Gary Works steel mill and the corporate town of Gary, Indiana held by the Calumet Regional Archives at Indiana University Northwest.

American Music History Resources

African-American Sheet Music, 1850-1920 : The sheet music in this digital collection has been selected from the Sheet Music Collection at the John Hay Library at Brown University. The full collection consists of approximately 500,000 items, of which perhaps 250,000 are currently available for use. It is one of the largest collections of sheet music in any library in the United States.
Azúcar! The Life and Music of Celia Cruz

A bibliography of monographs and lesson plans for teachers from K to 12.

Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments : Features descriptions and images of many items in the collection and publication lists.
Historic American Sheet Music : The Historic American Sheet Music Project provides access to digital images of 3,042 pieces from the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University, published in America between 1850 and 1920.
Historic Sheet Music, 1800-1922 : This sheet music collection from the Library of Congress consists of approximately 9,000 items published from 1800 to 1922, although the majority is from 1850 to 1920. The bulk was published in many different cities in the United States, but some of the items bear European imprints. Most of the music is written for voice and piano; a significant minority is instrumental. Notable in this collection are early pieces by Irving Berlin and Jerome Kern, as well as music by other popular composers such as Victor Herbert, Jean Schwartz, Paul Dresser, Ernest R. Ball, Gussie L. Davis, Charles K. Harris, and George M. Cohan. Numerous arrangements of classical tunes by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert and other famous classical composers are also well-represented.
Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music : This collection, at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library of The Johns Hopkins University, contains over 29,000 pieces of music and focuses on popular American music spanning the period 1780 to 1960. All pieces of the collection are indexed on this site and a search will retrieve a catalog description of the pieces and an image of the cover and each page of music.
RoJaRo Index : An index to more than 300,000 entries, covering 250 music magazines from 20 countries, covering all types of contemporary popular music: rock, jazz, roots, blues, rap, soul, gospel, country, reggae, etc.

The Sheet Music Consortium : The Archive of Popular American Music is a non-circulating research collection covering the history of popular music in America from 1790 to the present. The collection is one of the largest in the country, numbering almost 450,000 pieces of sheet music, anthologies, and arrangements for band and orchestra, and 62,500 recordings on disc, tape, and cylinder. Subject strengths within twentieth-century holdings include music for theater, motion picture, radio and television, as well as general popular, country, rhythm and blues, and rocksongs.

A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation : A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation consists of a linked set of published Congressional records of the United States of America from the Continental Congress through the 43rd Congress, 1774-1875. A select number of documents and reports from the monumental U.S. Congressional Serial Set are available as well.
American Presidency : This online exhibition from the National Museum of American History has a bibliography under the Resources and Teacher Materials which are age and grade specific.
American Presidency Project : The American Presidency Project was established in 1999 as a collaboration between John Woolley and Gerhard Peters at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The archives contain 75,117 documents related to the study of the Presidency.
American President : This resource is sponsored by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Launched originally in 2000 as the online companion to "The American President" -- the six-part PBS television series -- American President is a resource on the history of the presidency and the nature of contemporary policy making.
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress : Online publication of the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, published by the Senate Historical Office and the Legislative Resource Center of the House of Representatives. Includes images from the Senate Historical Office. Database is searchable by name, position, and state.
Center for the Study of the Presidency : The Center is a non-profit educational institution devoted to the study of the presidency, government, and politics.
Data.gov : The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Data.gov includes searchable data catalogs providing access to data in three ways: through the "raw" data catalog, the tool catalog and the geodata catalog.
Encyclopædia Britannica's profile of the American Presidency : Read about the presidents and explore the electoral process, election results, images, video, and important documents related to the evolution of the nation's highest office.
I Do Solemnly Swear... Presidential Inaugurations : This Library of Congress collection offers approximately 400 items or 2,000 digital files from each of the 54 inaugurations from George Washington's in 1789 to George W. Bush's inauguration of 2001. This includes diaries and letters of presidents and of those who witnessed inaugurations, handwritten drafts of inaugural addresses, broadsides, inaugural tickets and programs, prints, photographs, and sheet music.
JFK Assassination Records Collection Reference System : Over 170,000 assassination-related documents. Contributing agencies include: the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); the Department of Justice; and the Department of State.
Miller Center of Public Affairs : The Scripps Library and Multimedia Archive serves as a research facility for scholars of U. S. public policy. The Library’s collection is a specialized one focused on American politics and history with special attention paid to the American Presidency.
POTUS: Presidents of the United States : This resource you will find background information, election results, cabinet members, notable events, and some points of interest on each of the presidents. Links to biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included.
Presidential Libraries of the National Archives & Records Administration : The Presidential Library system is made up of ten Presidential Libraries. This nationwide network of libraries is administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), located in College Park, MD. These are not traditional libraries, but rather repositories for preserving and making available the papers, records, and other historical materials of U.S. Presidents since Herbert Hoover.
The Role of the Vice President : A brief history of the role of the Vice President as President of the U.S. Senate.
THOMAS - The Library of Congress : THOMAS has the Congressional Record and full text of legislation available from 1989 (101st Congress) to the present. In addition, THOMAS has summaries (not full text) of legislation from 1973 (93rd Congress). From the Library of Congress.
Voting America: United States Politics, 1840-2008 : This University of Richmond project examines the evolution of presidential politics in the United States across the span of American history. It offers a wide spectrum of cinematic and interactive visualizations of how Americans voted in presidential elections at the county level over the past 164 years. There are expert analysis and commentary videos that discuss some of the most interesting and significant trends in American political history.
Voting and Registration (U.S. Census Bureau Data) : Contains information on reported voting and registration by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics for the United States.
White House Historical Association : The White House Historical Association is a charitable nonprofit institution whose purpose is to enhance the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the White House.
The White House Building : Information on the White House, including historical details.
Women in Congress : This web site, based on the book Women in Congress, 1917–2006, contains biographical profiles of former women Members of Congress, links to information about current women Members, essays on the institutional and national events that shaped successive generations of Congresswomen, and images of each woman Member, including rare photos.
American Jewish Historical Society : The American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest national ethnic historical organization in the United States. The Society’s library, archives, photograph, and art and artifacts collections document the American Jewish experience.
American Religion Data Archive : The ARDA collection includes data on churches and church membership, religious professionals, and religious groups (individuals, congregations and denominations).
Divining America: Religion and the National Culture : Divining America: Religion and the National Culture is designed to help teachers of American history bring their students to a greater understanding of the role religion has played in the development of the United States.
Journal of Southern Religion : JSR is an online journal targeted toward scholars, students, and others who are engaged in or interested in the study of Southern religion and culture.
Material History of American Religion Project : The Material History of American Religion Project studied (1995-2001) the history of American religion in all its complexity by focusing on material objects and economic themes.
North Star: A Journal of African-American Religious History : An online journal sponsored by Princeton University.
Religion and the Founding of the American Republic (Library of Congress) : Encompassing over 200 objects including early American books, manuscripts, letters, prints, paintings, artifacts, and music from the Library’s collections and complemented by loans from other institutions, Religion and the Founding of the American Republic explores the role religion played in the founding of the American colonies, in the shaping of early American life and politics, and in forming the American Republic.
Religious Movements Homepage Project at the University of Virginia : This Web site presents detailed profiles of more than two hundred different religious groups and movements in the United States.
Santos: Substance and Soul : There are nine separate reading lists on topics related to the history, culture, preservation, and identification of Santos objects.
Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online (1841-1902) : The Brooklyn Daily Eagle was published from October 26, 1841 to 1955 and was revived for a short time from 1960 to 1963. Currently, the digitized newspaper collection includes the period from October 26, 1841 to December 31, 1902, representing half of the Eagle's years of publication.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers : This Library of Congress site allows you to search and read newspaper pages from 1900-1910 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.
Common-Place: The Interactive Journal of Early American Life : Common-Place is an electronic quarterly journal about early American history and culture before 1900.
Documenting the American South - University of North Carolina : Documenting the American South (DocSouth) is a digital publishing initiative that provides Internet access to texts, images, and audio files related to southern history, literature, and culture. Currently DocSouth includes ten thematic collections of books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews, and songs.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History : The Gilder Lehrman Collection is the largest private collection of American history documents in the world. It preserves, exhibits, and disseminates archival resources chronicling the history of the United States from the beginning of European colonization, with emphasis on the period from 1760 through 1876. The collection contains resources on the history of colonial settlement, Indian relations, the American Revolution and its origins, the Constitution, the struggle over slavery, and the Civil War.
H-Net Web Site : H-Net Web Site includes archived copies of all history related listserv discussion lists and vacancy announcements for various fields in the humanities.
Making of America - Cornell University : Materials accessible here are Cornell University Library's contributions to Making of America (MOA), a digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology.
The G.I. Roundtable Series : The American Historical Association produced the G.I. Roundtable Series to help win World War II. The site is comprised of three main sections. Section I: The pamphlets, reproduced here as primary documents, provide a unique insight into what Americans were thinking about at the end of the war, and how the recent past was seen as a prelude to the future. Section II: A still-evolving selection of Background documents and related readings to provide context on the origins and production of the series and the historiography of the period. Section III: The site provides an extensive analysis of the origins of the series, and how it fit into both the Army's larger program of preparation for postwar changes as well as the larger culture in which they were produced.
Within These Walls : An annotated reading list for elementary and middle school students and an extensive bibliography for older students interested in the themes related to the Ipswich House exhibition.
Cookery and Foodways Collection : The University of Denver Cookery and Foodways Collection is particularly strong in American regional cookery, and contains a large number of privately published fund-raising cookbooks from churches, service organizations, and other community groups.
Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl: Immigrant Women in the Turn-of-the-Century City : This web site is based upon curriculum materials produced by American Social History Project as part of the Who Built America? series.
National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Collection : The complete National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Collection is a library of 700-800 titles collected between 1890 and 1938 by members of NAWSA and donated to the Rare Books Division of the Library of Congress on November 1, 1938. The bulk of the collection is derived from the library of Carrie Chapman Catt, president of NAWSA from 1900-1904, and again from 1915-1920. Additional materials were donated from the libraries of other members and officers, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Alice Stone Blackwell, Julia Ward Howe, Elizabeth Smith Miller, and Mary A. Livermore.
Online Biographical Dictionary of the Woman Suffrage Movement in the United States : This free crowd-sourced project contains over 3,000 biographical sketches of grassroots women suffragists, including a special section focused on nearly 400 Black Women Suffragists.
Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College : The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history.
Women & Social Movements in the United States, 1775-2000 : The Women and Social Movements website is a project of the Center for the Historical Study of Women and Gender at the State University of New York at Binghamton and includes roughly 900 documents, 400 images, and 350 links to other websites.
Women in America: 1820-1842 : During the first half of the nineteenth century, Tocqueville and Beaumont were joined by scores of other European travelers curious about the new republic, and anxious to fill the European demand for accounts of American life. One of the most striking was the status of women--their domestic roles, their freedom in youth, their responsibilities in marriage, and their importance to the moral and religious life of the republic. Tocqueville and Beaumont observed all manner of social gatherings and recorded the conversations with prominent American citizens on a number of matters, including morality and the status of women.
Women Working, 1800 - 1930 : Women Working, 1800 - 1930 focuses on women's role in the United States economy and provides access to digitized historical, manuscript, and image resources selected from Harvard University's library and museum collections. The collection features approximately 500,000 digitized pages and images.

Automobile and Transportation History

America on the Move : Teachers and parents can use the resource guides, lessons, and activity plans to teach children (K- Middle School) about transportation in American history.
Antique Automobile Club of America : The Antique Automobile Club of America, founded in 1935, is dedicated to perpetuating the memories of early automobiles by encouraging their history, collection and use.
Automobile in American Life and Society : This site was created and developed by the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Henry Ford Museum. Each of the site’s five sections (design, environment, gender, labor, race) contains two essays—an overview of the topic and a more focused case study—plus a select annotated bibliography or bibliographic essay to guide further reading.
Carriage Association of America : The Carriage Association of America is an organization devoted to the preservation and restoration of horse drawn carriages and sleighs. The site features information about the organization and links to related sites.
Hemmings Motor News : This is the online resource of the advertising monthly that is devoted to antique, classic, vintage, muscle, street rod, and special interest automobiles, catering to car collectors and restorers. HMN also features the hobby's most complete calendar of upcoming events, hobbyists' legislative alerts, and a monthly listing of stolen collector cars.
Henry Ford Museum : The Henry Ford Museum began as Henry Ford's personal collection of historic objects. Today, the 12 acre site is primarily a collection of antique machinery, pop culture items, automobiles, locomotives, aircraft, and other items.
Rural Heritage : The online version of the print journal in support of small farmers and loggers who use draft horse, mule and ox power. It features articles and dialogues on animals, equipment, health information, and other resources.
Society for Commercial Archeology : Established in 1977, the SCA is the oldest national organization devoted to the buildings, artifacts, structures, signs, and symbols of the 20th-century commercial landscape.
Best of History Web Sites
Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
History Matters: The U. S. Survey Course on the Web
National Archives Research Room
National History Day
Smithsonian History Explorer
Using Primary Sources on the Web
Architecture and Urbanism of the Southwest : Architecture and Urbanism of the Southwest, is an illustrated essay by John Messina (AIA, Research Architect) and the University of Arizona Southwest Studies Center and the School of Architecture. The site also provides a recommended readings list of books and articles.
Bata Shoe Museum : Located in Toronto, the Bata Shoe Museum holds over 10,000 shoes in the collection.
Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) 1933 to present : The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) collections are among the largest and most heavily used in the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. This online presentation of the HABS/HAER collections includes digitized images of measured drawings, black-and-white photographs, color transparencies, photo captions, data pages including written histories, and supplemental materials.
City Beautiful: The 1901 Plan for Washington, DC : A University of Virginia American Studies project, this site documents the first explicit attempt to utilize the vaguely classical Beaux-Arts architectural style, which emerged from the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, for the explicit intent of beautification and social amelioration was the Senate Park Commission's redesign of the monumental core of Washington D.C. to commemorate the city's centennial. The McMillan Plan of 1901-02, named for Senator James McMillan, the commission's liaison and principal backer in Congress, was the United States' first attempt at city planning.
Corning Museum of Glass : The Corning Museum of Glass's home page begins with its local address and phone numbers and provides a menu of places to visit within the museum site, including, "A Resource for Glass," a collection of information developed to answer questions about glass, and "Glossary of Glassmaking Terms," an alphabetical list of terms with in-depth definitions.
Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture : The Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture collects electronic resources for study and research of the decorative arts, with a particular focus on Early America. Included are electronic texts and journals, image databases, and information on organizations, museums and research facilities. The site was created and is maintained at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries.
Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture: Image and Text Collections : The Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture collects and creates electronic resources for study and research of the decorative arts, with a particular focus on Early America. Included are electronic texts and facsimiles, image databases, and Web resources. Made possible by the Chipstone Foundation, the project is produced at the University of Wisconsin Madison General Library System.
Furniture Glossary : A compilation of terms and acronyms on furniture styles, design and construction.
Harper's Bazaar Magazine : A browse-able collection of issues from the 19th Century magazine, Harper's Bazaar (1867-1900).
MAD: Maine Antique Digest : MAD's bulletin board, with table of contents from current issues, and over 90 book reviews of books dealing with antiques and collectibles.
Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art : The Museum of Glass: International Center for Contemporary Art in Tacoma Washington presents contemporary art with a sustained concentration on the medium of glass. The Museum exhibition schedule includes works by internationally known artists and trends in contemporary art. The exhibition program offers artists and audiences the opportunity to experiment with and experience a full range of media in the visual arts.
National Building Museum : Created by an act of Congress in 1980, the National Building Museum is America’s premier cultural institution dedicated to exploring and celebrating architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning.
National Register of Historic Places : The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed in the Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Noble Craftsman We Promote: The Arts and Crafts Movement in the American Midwest : An online version of the Toledo University exhibition, looks at four particular areas of Arts and Crafts in the Midwest: the book arts, architecture, interior and exterior design, and the decorative arts and attempts to explain how the movement in the heartland differed from its purer British counterpart.
Paint by Number: Accounting for Taste in the 1950s : A brief resource list for a unique subject.
Quilt Index : The Quilt Index aims to be a central resource that incorporates a wide variety of sources and information on quilts, quiltmakers and quiltmaking. The Quilt Index was conceived and developed by The Alliance for American Quilts and implemented in collaboration with Michigan State University's MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online and the Michigan State University Museum.
Sears Modern Homes : This site features a history of the Sears Modern Homes program, photos, catalog advertisements, references and a registry of owners. More than 100,000 Sears ready-made houses were sold from 1908 to 1940.
Skyscraper Museum : Founded in 1996, THE SKYSCRAPER MUSEUM is a private, not-for-profit, educational corporation devoted to the study of high-rise building, past, present, and future. Located in New York City, the world's first and foremost vertical metropolis, the museum celebrates the city's rich architectural heritage and examines the historical forces and individuals that have shaped its successive skylines. Through exhibitions, programs and publications, the museum explores tall buildings as objects of design, products of technology, sites of construction, investments in real estate, and places of work and residence.
Society of Architectural Historians (SAH) : Founded in 1940, the Society encourages scholarly research in the field and promotes the preservation of significant architectural monuments that are an integral part of the worldwide historical and cultural heritage. They publish the quarterly Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians and bimonthly Newsletter. There are several bibliographies and links to related organizations.
Stained Glass Magazine : Stained Glass Magazine on the World Wide Web, featuring the Stained Glass Association of America's conference schedule, professional announcements, calls for papers, and lists of useful catalogues and resources of interest to collectors and historians of stained glass.
Strong Museum (Rochester, NewYork) : The Strong Museum's more than 500,000 objects include the world's largest and most historically significant collection of dolls and toys, America's most comprehensive collections of homecrafts and souvenirs, and nationally important collections of home furnishings and advertising materials.
Textile Society of America : The Textile Society of America provides a forum for the exchange and dissemination of information about all aspects of textiles: historic, artistic, cultural, social, political, economic, and technical.
Urban Planning, 1794-1918: An International Anthology of Articles, Conference Papers, and Reports : These documents are primary source material for the study of how urban planning developed up to the end of World War I. They include statements about techniques, principles, theories, and practice by those who helped to create a new professional specialization. This new field of city planning grew out of the land-based professions of architecture, engineering, surveying, and landscape architecture, as well as from the work of economists, social workers, lawyers, public health specialists, and municipal administrators.
Vernacular Architecture Forum : The term "vernacular architecture" applies to traditional domestic and agricultural buildings, industrial and commercial structures, twentieth-century suburban houses, settlement patterns and cultural landscapes. The Vernacular Architecture Forum was formed in 1980 to encourage the study and preservation of these informative and valuable material resources.
Victoria & Albert Museum (London) : The Museum's ceramics, glass, textiles, dress, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, sculpture, paintings, prints and photographs span the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa, and date from ancient times to the present day. There are 2000 images of the collection available for online viewing.
Winterthur Museum & Library (Delaware) : The Winterthur Library contains approximately half a million imprints, manuscripts, visual materials, and printed ephemera for research from the 17th century to the early 20th century. The museum collections include 85,000 domestic artifacts and works of art made or used in America to 1860.
Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention : This site is in association with the Eames exhibition tour
American Environmental Photographs, 1891-1936: Images from the University of Chicago Library : This collection consists of approximately 4,500 photographs documenting natural environments, ecologies, and plant communities in the United States at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. The photographs were taken by Henry Chandler Cowles (1869-1939), George Damon Fuller (1869-1961), and other Chicago ecologists on field trips across the North American continent.
Bureau of Reclamation History : The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation History site is a collection of oral histories, photographs, and papers on the agency and it's work.
Conservation and Environment - Library of Congress : The historic and more recent maps contained in this category show early exploration and subsequent land use in various areas of the United States. These maps show the changes in the landscape, including natural and man-made features, recreational and wilderness areas, geology, topography, wetland area, vegetation, and wildlife. Specific conservation projects such as the growth and development of U.S. National Parks are included in this category.
Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920 : The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920 documents the historical formation and cultural foundations of the movement to conserve and protect America's natural heritage, through books, pamphlets, government documents, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and motion picture footage drawn from the collections of the Library of Congress. The collection consists of 62 books and pamphlets, 140 Federal statutes and Congressional resolutions, 34 additional legislative documents, excerpts from the Congressional Globe and the Congressional Record, 360 Presidential proclamations, 170 prints and photographs, 2 historic manuscripts, and 2 motion pictures.
Forest History Society Databases : The Forest History Society has six databases that are searchable on the website via InMagic's Web Publisher software. All of the databases provide useful, detailed information about primary or secondary resource materials that aid research in the broad fields of forest, conservation, and environmental history.
H-Environment - H-NET, the Humanities & Social Sciences Online initiative : This website is intended as a general resource for people interested in environmental history. Much of its content is compiled from the discussion list H-Environment and includes book reviews, conference announcements, a course syllabus library, and a survey of films. There are also links to other organizations and websites where you can find materials of interest.
History of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service : Official website of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, with links to their archival collections, oral histories, and other information sources.
Love Canal Collection : The University Of Buffalo Library holds the records of the Ecumenical Task Force, 1979-1991 which contain extensive documentation of the toxic waste controversies associated with the Love Canal and related toxic waste sites in Niagara County, New York. The ETF assembled a resource file of government and other reports concerning the Love Canal and related environmental issues. The reports in the resource file and elsewhere in the records include draft documents, photocopied statements prepared by Love Canal residents, scientists and ETF members for hearings on the Love Canal, speeches, consultant reports, articles, as well as printed and online reports.
Bon Appétit! Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian : The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History website of their Julia Child's Kitchen exhibition.
Doubtless as Good: Thomas Jefferson's Dreams of American Wines Fulfilled : This short bibliography, prepared by staff at the National Museum of American History, includes books on the material culture of viniculture, some historic works on American winemaking not included in the Gabler bibliography, and some relevant works on American culture and taste.
Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project : The Michigan State University Library and the MSU Museum have created an online collection of some of the most influential and important American cookbooks from the late 18th to early 20th century.
Food Reference Website : A fairly comprehensive private website that provides links to articles, information, food history dates, and a wide range of useful information on food.
Food Timeline : A resource about food history, social history, manners and menus covering Prehistory through modern day.
Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive : The Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the William L. Clements Library on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor contains thousands of items from the 16th to 20th centuries - books, ephemera, menus, magazines, graphics, maps, manuscripts, diaries, letters, catalogues, advertisements, and reference works. It is a work in progress, and material is being added and catalogued daily.
New York Food Museum : A new and developing web-based resource on New York City foodways and food history.
Peacock Harper Culinary Collection - Virginia Tech University : The Peacock Harper Culinary Collection is a collection of cookbooks and related items housed in the Virginia Tech Library. The VT Image Base contains over 700 images pertaining to culinary history and the collection. They publish an online newsletter called the Virginia Culinary Thymes
Southern Foodways Alliance : The Southern Foodways Alliance website contains links to ongoing research projects, symposiums and their oral history texts. It is a subsidiary of the University of Mississippi's, Center for the Study of Southern Culture.
Taking America to Lunch : This Smithsonian exhibition in the National Museum of American History features samples from the museum's collection of lunch boxes from the 19th century plain metal buckets to 20th century popular culture images on boxes made of synthetic materials.

Graphic Art

American Printing History Association : The American Printing History Association was founded to encourage the study of printing history and its related arts and skills, including calligraphy, typefounding, typography, papermaking, bookbinding, illustration, and publishing. APHA is especially, but by no means exclusively, interested in American printing history.
Fine Press Book Association : The Fine Press Book Association is an organization formed by individuals interested in the art of fine printing to promote printing skills and the appreciation of beautiful books.
Graphic Artists Guild
Robert C. Williams Paper Museum : This Web site traces the history, art, and science of paper making.
Society for the History of Authorship, Reading & Publishing : The Society (SHARP) provides a global network for book historians, 1000 members in over 20 countries, including professors of literature, historians, librarians, publishing professionals, sociologists, bibliophiles, classicists, booksellers, art historians, reading instructors, and independent scholars.
Separate Is Not Equal: Brown vs. Board of Education : The annotated bibliography includes information about related Web resources and teacher materials, as well as fiction and non-fiction books for children, young adults, and adults.
Slates, Slide Rules, and Software: Teaching Math in America : A collection of reference resources on the tools used in teaching mathematics in the United States from the 1800s onward.

History of Technology - Invention and Inventors

Canada Science and Technology Museum : This site links you to the various collections within the Canada Science and Technology Museum.
Edison After Forty : This listing includes Edison's Papers, book-length studies, children's books, and museums.
Edison Papers Web Site : The Edison Papers Web Site is a searchable database, based on the University Press of America's editions of Thomas Edison's papers, which detail the first 31 years of his life.
Hagley American Patent Models : The largest privately-owned collection of United States patent models in the world. Containing nearly 4,000 patent models and related documents, the collection spans America's Industrial Revolution.
Lighting a Revolution: A Bibliography of Lighting : A collection of books, articles, and web sites on the history and technology of electrical lighting.
National Inventors Hall of Fame : Web site for the National Inventors Hall of Fame, in Akron, Ohio. Features a collection of biographies of members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Powering a Generation of Change : This bibliography lists books, journal articles, and reports documenting the story of electrical power restructuring in North America.
Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) : The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is dedicated to the historical study of technology and its relations with politics, economics, labor, business, the environment, public policy, science, and the arts.
The Office Museum : This commercial website engages in research on the history and evolution of offices, antique office machines and equipment, and business technology based on original documents and artifacts.
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office : The official web site of the USPTO has a searchable database. Patents issued between 1790 and 1976 are searchable only by patent number and current US classifications.
Yesterday's Office : This site contains articles on antique or redundant office technology and links to related sites.
Charles Babbage Institute, University of Minnesota : CBI is dedicated to promoting study of the history of information technology and information processing and their impact on society.
Chronology of Events in the History of Microcomputers : A timetable of significant events in the history of computing, with product announcements and delivery dates from a variety of sources.
Computer Museum History Center (Silicon Valley) : The Computer Museum History Center is a non-profit entity dedicated to the preservation and celebration of computing history. It holds one of the largest collections of computing artifacts in the world.
Intel Museum (Santa Clara) : This museum documents the development and construction of computer chips by one of the leading manufacturers of chip technology.
Internet Archive : The Internet Archive is a non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library, with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. Founded in 1996 and located in the Presidio of San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in the collections.
Internet Histories : A collection of links about the history of the Internet, from the ISOC , the Internet Society, a non-governmental international organization, committed to global cooperation and coordination for the Internet.
Making the Macintosh: Technology and Culture in Silicon Valley : "Making the Macintosh" is an online project documenting the history of the Macintosh computer. This project collects and publishes primary material on the Macintosh's development and early reception. It draws on the extensive holdings of the Stanford University Library's Department of Special Collections, the personal papers of engineers and technical writers involved in the Macintosh project, and interviews conducted for the project.
Discovering Lewis and Clark : This comprehensive website contains more than 1,400 pages, and is updated monthly with additional material. This website includes a nineteen-part synopsis of the expedition's story by historian Harry W. Fritz, illustrated with selections from the journals of the expedition, photographs, maps, animated graphics, moving pictures, and sound files.
Kansas State Historical Society: Lewis and Clark : This website provides the user with information about the history of the expedition in Kansas.
Lewis and Clark Expedition: Selected Resources : The Smithsonian Institution has created this directory of sites on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Lewis and Clark Across Missouri : The Geographic Resources Center at the Department of Geography, University of Missouri partnered with the Missouri State Archives to create this website offering campsite maps, photo-realistic images of important river landmarks, and animated virtual Missouri River travel to trace Lewis and Clark's expedition.
Lewis and Clark in North Dakota : Lewis and Clark in North Dakota is one of most informative websites available about the expedition. A highlight is the In North Dakota Link that includes personal profiles of the individuals involved in the expedition, background information about the sites that Lewis and Clark visited, an expedition chronology, a facts and trivia section, maps, and a bibliography.
Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation Inc. : The mission of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation is to stimulate public appreciation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's contributions to America's heritage, and to support education, research, development, and preservation of the Lewis and Clark experience. Their website includes a detailed history of the expedition with a bibliography. The site also includes a link to the The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation Library. The Library has about 800 book titles and 300 articles relating to the Lewis & Clark Expedition. The library also has maps, genealogical information, sound, and video recordings. Users can search the library's catalog online.
Lewis and Clark: Indiana Bicentennial Commission : This site outlines Indiana's important role in the expedition and lists events to commemorate the expedition.
Lewis and Clark: Mapping the West : This Smithsonian site reviews the cartographic work of the Corps of Discovery.
Monticello, The Home of Thomas Jefferson: Jefferson's West : This website has a special section on Lewis and Clark that includes an expedition timeline, bibliography, website links, and online study resources for teachers and students. This site is particularly recommended for users who are interested in researching the role that President Thomas Jefferson played in the expedition.
PBS Online: Lewis and Clark : This website is a companion resource to the Ken Burns film: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery and contains several special features that will appeal to users. It provides users with a search engine enables users to search the expedition journals by author, date, or year. It contains transcripts of unedited interviews with various experts and historians about their perspectives on the expedition. It also includes expedition timelines, maps, a bibliography, and related links.
Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America : This site provides a small sampling of primary materials (maps and journal entries) related to the Lewis and Clark expedition that are housed in the Library of Congress.
The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition : The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition website makes available for users the text of the celebrated Nebraska edition of the journals, edited by by Gary M. Moulton. Moulton's edition is considered to be the most accurate and inclusive version published. Currently, the site offers almost two hundred pages from volume 4. In the future, the site will provide access to the full set of journals, almost 5000 pages of primary source material. This site also includes a full text search engine.
Artificial Anatomy: Papier-Mâché Anatomical Models : Resources on Anatomy, Papier- Mâché, Preservation, and Trade Catalogs.
DeWitt Stetten, Jr., Museum of Medical Research (NIH) : Established in 1986 as a part of the NIH centennial observance, the Stetten Museum collects and exhibits biomedical research instruments and NIH memorabilia.
Human Radiation Experiments (DOE) : A website from the US Department of Energy offering a "roadmap" to the stories and records of the cold-war story of radiation research on human subjects.
Medical Antiques & Pre-1900 Antique Surgical Sets : From the Arbittier Museum of Medical History, examples of medical antiques, amputation, and surgical sets by some of the most famous makers of the 1800's. Of particular interest are those surgical antiques used in the Civil War. There is a section on pricing and valuation of early surgical sets and kits as well as extensive topics on antique medical collecting.
Medical Heritage Library : The Medical Heritage Library is a digital curation collaborative among some of the world’s leading medical libraries. The collection resides at the Internet Archive.
Medicine in the Americas, 1619-1914 : The Medicine in the Americas website provides access to a number of key primary historical documents that deal with a number of areas, such as women’s health, public health, and clinical works of enduring historical value. Currently, there are a total of eight works in the archive, and they include Clara Barton’s “The Red Cross of the Geneva Convention” from 1878 and L. Emmett Holt’s 1894 work “The Care and Feeding of Children: A Catechism for the Use of Mothers and Children’s Nurses”.
National Library of Medicine : National Library of Medicine home page, with links to a variety of sites on the Internet.
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) : This database is a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders authored and edited by Dr. Victor A. McKusick and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere, and developed for the World Wide Web by NCBI, the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
The Medical Heritage Library : The Medical Heritage Library (MHL) is a digital curation collaborative among some of the world’s leading medical libraries. The collection resides at the Internet Archive.
Access to Military Service and Pension Records : The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official repository for records of military personnel who have been discharged from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard.
Air University Library's Index to Military Periodicals : The Air University Library's Index to Military Periodicals is a subject index to significant articles, news items, and editorials from English language military and aeronautical periodicals. The Index contains citations since 1988 and is updated continuously. A comprehensive list of all journals covered by AULIMP since 1949 is available as the Historical Index of AULIMP titles.
Company of Military Historians : The web site for the journal with several useful links and color plates of uniforms.
Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms : Sets forth standard US military and associated terminology to encompass the joint activity of the Armed Forces of the United States in both US joint and allied joint operations, as well as to encompass the Department of Defense as a whole.
Historic U.S. Government Publications from World War II : This Southern Methodist University Libraries site allows users to search or browse a collection of over 300 United States government documents produced during World War II.
Index to the Uniforms of the American Revolution : This site is provided by the Sons of the Revolution in the State of California and contains several images of American Revolutionary War uniforms.
Military Review - English Edition Archives : Archival collection of the professional journal of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC) and the Command and General Staff College (CGSC).
Military Women Veterans : This site documents the contributions of American women to the Armed Forces of the United States.
Papers of the War Department, 1784-1800 : Papers of the War Department is a project of the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. This collection of more than 55,000 documents is in an online format with extensive and searchable metadata linked to digitized images of each document.
Price of Freedom: Americans at War : This online exhibition from the National Museum of American History presents a timeline of American military conflicts from the War of Independence through the War in Iraq, 2003. It also includes information on hundreds of artifacts related to America’s military history, along with learning resources for educators.
Redstone Hyper-media Historical Information : Designed by the MICOM Historical Office, this home page features the Redstone Arsenal Complex Chronological Highlights such as; The Pre-Missile Era (1941-1949) and Women at War: Redstone's WWII Female
United States Army Center of Military History : CMH Online is an information and education service provided by the U.S. Army Center of Military History.
Valley of the Shadow : The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH) at the University of Virginia's Web page featuring Edward Ayers's material on the Great Valley in the Civil War.
Veterans History Project - Library of Congress : The Veterans History Project covers World War I, World War II, and the Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf wars. It includes all participants in those wars--men and women, civilian and military. It documents the contributions of civilian volunteers, support staff, and war industry workers as well as the experiences of military personnel from all ranks and all branches of service--the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy, as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and Merchant Marine.
War Times Journal : The War Times Journal is a free online magazine which covers all periods of military history and military science.
West Point in the Making of America : There are eight subject categories from this exhibition reading list on West Point graduates and their contributions to the nation in peace and war.
World War I Edition of Stars and Stripes - Library of Congress : From February 8, 1918, to June 13, 1919, by order of General John J. Pershing, the United States Army published a newspaper for its forces in France, The Stars and Stripes. This online collection, presented by the Serial and Government Publications Division of the Library of Congress, includes the complete seventy-one-week run of the newspaper's World War I edition.

Naval and Maritime History

Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology : The Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology has been at the forefront of underwater archaeology for over 35 years. The ACUA serves as an international advisory body on issues relating to underwater archaeology, conservation, and submerged cultural resources management.It is working to educate scholars, governments, sport divers, and the general public about underwater archaeology and the preservation of underwater resources.
All Hands Magazine Archives : Each issue of this U. S. Navy bulletin and magazine (1922-2011) has been scanned and digitized in Adobe Acrobat format. Free access.
American Merchant Marine at War : The U.S. Maritime Service Veterans complied this collection of war service related topical links.
Council of American Maritime Museum : The Council of American Maritime Museums (CAMM) is an organization dedicated to preserving North America's maritime history. The Members include museums, museum professionals, and scholars from United States, Mexico, Bermuda, Australia and Canada. CAMM works to promote high professional standards in the preservation and interpretation of maritime history. Our Members seek to convey and preserve this history through collections, sites, vessels, projects, exhibitions, and research.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships : The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, commonly known as DANFS, is the foremost reference regarding U.S. naval vessels. Published in nine volumes (from 1959 to 1991), it gives histories for virtually every U.S. naval vessel.
Fast Attacks & Boomers: Submarines in the Cold War : Selections for further reading on the growth and development of the U.S. Nuclear Navy.
Historic Naval Ships Association : The purpose of the Historic Naval Ships Association is to facilitate the exchange of information and provide mutual support among those who are working hard to maintain their aging vessels physically and financially. The ships of HNSA are located in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Australia. The ships are organized into three categories on the site: name of ship, type of ship, and location.
Index to Ships in Books -- Search Page : This index allows researchers to search the names of commercial and naval vessels that were published in a variety of books and serials. A bibliography of those printed resources is included.
International Congress of Maritime Museums : The International Congress of Maritime Museums is a professional guild of associations, organizations, and individuals in the maritime preservation field. Their website includes a news section that provides information about recently discovered wrecks, upcoming museum exhibits, and other developments in the field.
Maritime History Links on the Net : This comprehensive list covers a variety of subjects related to Maritime History.
Nautical Research Guild, Inc. : The Nautical Research Guild links researchers, collectors, and builders of the highest quality ship models. The Guild emphasizes learning about ships and maritime history through academic research, as applied and expressed in the process of ship model building and other artistic and academic endeavors.
Steamship Historical Society of America : The Steamship Historical Society (SSHSA) is an organization dedicated to preserving artifacts and memories from the steamship days of the past.
U.S. Naval Historical Center : The Naval Historical Center is the official history program of the Department of the Navy. The Center now includes a museum, art gallery, research library, archives, and curator as well as research and writing programs.
U.S. Naval Vessel Register : The Naval Vessel Register contains information on ships and service craft that comprise the official inventory of the U.S. Navy from the time of vessel authorization through its life cycle and disposal. It also includes ships that have been stricken but not disposed.
American Numismatic Society : Official website of the American Numismatic Society offers a list of online resources , including MANTIS , a searchable database of over 600,000 objects from the Society's collections of international coins, paper money, tokens, ‘primitive’ money, medals and decorations.
American Numismatics Association : Features information about ANA, a membership form, a link to ANA's ftp site, and links to an educational and museum directory. The FTP site includes press releases; ANA's library catalog; ANA's classification system; video list; and slide lists. The educational and museum directory features ANA's exhibits online; scholarship information; and convention updates.
Coins of Colonial and Early America : This University of Notre Dame site features discussions, descriptions and images of the coins and tokens used in Colonial and Confederation America based on examples in the Department of Special Collections. A companion project features Colonial and Confederation era paper currency.
Money - Past, Present & Future : Sources of information on monetary history, contemporary developments, and the prospects for electronic money.
National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History : The Smithsonian's National Numismatic Collection (NNC) is America's collection of monetary and transactional objects. This diverse and expansive global collection contains objects that represent every inhabited continent and span more than three thousand years of human history.
U.S. Department of the Treasury : U.S. Department of Treasury's Home Page includes press releases and updates on new programs and seminars being offered by the Department.
Freeze Frame: Eadweard Muybridge’s Photography of Motion : Information on the collection, links, and readings on Muybridge and his work on locomotion.
George Eastman Museum: International Museum of Photography and Film : The George Eastman Museum collects and interprets images, films, literature, and equipment in the disciplines of photography and motion pictures and cares for the George Eastman legacy collections.
International Center of Photography : The International Center of Photography is a museum, a school and a center for photographers and photography, whose mission is to present photography's vital and central place in contemporary culture and to lead in interpretation issues central to its development.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Collection : Link to the "Collection Finder" page of the Library of Congress American Memory site.
LIFE Magazine photo archive hosted by Google : Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.
Museum of Photographic Arts : The Museum of Photographic Arts (MoPA) is one of the first museum facilities in the United States designed exclusively to collect and present the world's finest examples photographic art.
National Stereoscopic Association : The association promotes the study, collection and use of stereographs, stereo cameras and related materials for collectors and students of stereoscopic history. There is a link to the Oliver Wendell Holmes Stereoscopic Research Library.
NYPL Digital : The New York Public Digital Library is a continually expanding collection of digitized images and text selected from throughout the Research Libraries' collections.
Stereoscopy : Stereoscopy.com provides information about stereoscopic imaging (3-D) for both amateurs and professionals.
The Daguerreian Society : The Daguerreian Society is an organization of individuals and institutions sharing a common interest in the art, history and practice of the daguerreotype.
UCR Arts : This museum features contemporary exhibitions, digital and web art online, and a vast historical photograph collection.
Building the Washington Metro : This site tells the story of the Washington Metro, a 103-mile rapid transit system serving Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia.
Center For Railroad Photography & Art : The center's focus is on the preservation and presentation of railroad-related photography and art.
Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum : This expansive website has an online library of 19th century pictures (more than 2,300), maps and descriptions of railroad construction and travel.
Great Northern Railway Historical Society : The Society works to preserve and promote the history of the Great Northern Railway, which was created in September 1889 from several predecessor railroads in Minnesota and eventually stretched from Lake Superior at Duluth and Minneapolis/St.Paul west through North Dakota, Montana and Northern Idaho to Washington State at Everett and Seattle.
National Railway Historical Society : Founded in 1935, the National Railway Historical Society has nearly 18,000 members and over 177 Chapters spread throughout the United States, Canada and Great Britain. It is now the United States' largest rail enthusiast organization.
Railroad Maps, 1828-1900 : The maps presented here are a selection from the Library of Congress Geography and Map Division holdings, based on the cartobibliography, Railroad Maps of the United States: A Selective Annotated Bibliography of Original 19th-century Maps in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress. This annotated list reveals the scope of the railroad map collection and highlights the development of railroad mapping in 19th-century America. Described are 623 maps chosen from more than 3,000 railroad maps and about 2,000 regional, state, and county maps, and other maps which show "internal improvements" of the past century.
Railroads and the Making of Modern America : This University of Nebraska project seeks to document and represent the rapid and far-reaching social effects of railroads and to explore the transformation of the United States to modern ideas, institutions, and practices in the nineteenth century. Railroads and the Making of Modern America seeks to use the digital medium to investigate, represent, and analyze this social change and document episodes of the railroad's social consequence.
Academic Info: The American West : Academic Info, an educational organization, created this directory of Internet resources on the history of the American West. This list covers a variety of subjects including Native Americans, women, religious history, the Gold Rush, Asian Americans, and railroads.
History of the American West, 1860-1920 : This site contains over 30,000 photographs, drawn from the holdings of the Western History and Genealogy Department at Denver Public Library. These photos illuminate many aspects of the history of the American West. Most of the photographs were taken between 1860 and 1920. They illustrate Colorado towns and landscape, document the place of mining in the history of Colorado and the West, and show the lives of Native Americans from more than forty tribes living west of the Mississippi River.
New Perspectives on the West : This is the companion website to the Ken Burns documentary series, the West. This site contains selected documentary materials, archival images and commentary, as well as links to background information and other resources.
The First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820 : This Library of Congress site consists of 15,000 pages of original historical material documenting the land, peoples, exploration, and transformation of the trans-Appalachian West from the mid-eighteenth to the early nineteenth century. The collection is drawn from the holdings of the University of Chicago Library and the Filson Historical Society of Louisville, Kentucky
The Oregon Territory and its Pioneers : This website focuses on the pioneers of the Oregon Territory up to and including 1855...The first section is called THE SETTLING OF OREGON and is a compilation of information [including pioneer lists by year of emigration] extracted from a variety of sources. The second section lists the UPDATES that are in progress. The third section is devoted to RESEARCHING THE PIONEERS and provides links to research and historic sites that may be of interest."
The Oregon Trail : This website is a comprehensive source of information about the historic Oregon Trail. It includes primary source documents such as Trail diaries and memoirs. The site was created by Prof. Mike Trinklein and Steve Boettcher, creators of The Oregon Trail, the award-winning documentary film which aired nationally on PBS.
Canadian Centre for Architecture CCA Library: Special Collections Trade Catalogues : Approximately 5,600 trade catalogues documenting building technology and construction methods from the late eighteenth century to the present. Core of the collection formed through acquisition of the relevant portions of the Franklin Institute trade catalogue collection. Coverage is broad and includes such categories as concrete and lumber, metalwork and woodwork, flooring, heating and insulation, plumbing and electricity, windows and roofing.
Columbia University. Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library : The American collection is one of the most extensive in existence. It begins with the first pertinent book to be published in the colonies, Abraham Swan's British Architect (Philadelphia, 1775), and includes a large number of titles listed in H.R. Hitchcock's basic bibliography, American Architectural Books. In the seventies and eighties the scope of the American collection was expanded to include printed source materials not previously collected. These include early trade catalogs from the manufacturers of building products (1840-1950).
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library Reference Collection : There are over 4,500 trade catalogs in the Cooper-Hewitt Library collection, some dating from the 17th century.
Corning Museum of Glass. Rakow Research Library : The Juliette K. and Leonard S. Rakow Research Library of The Corning Museum of Glass has a wide-ranging collection including books, magazines, trade and auction catalogues, personal and corporate archives, videotapes, microforms, sound recordings, drawings, prints, photographs, and slides. Its mission is to acquire and preserve all informational resources on the art, history and early science and technology of glass, in all languages and all formats.
D'Arcy Collection : The D'Arcy Collection of the Communications Library of the University of Illinois is a collection of almost two million original advertisements published between 1890 and 1970. The collection, which was donated by the D'Arcy, MacManus & Masius advertising agency (now D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles) in 1983, is a rich source of research information on products advertised by many agencies. While the vast majority of these advertisements appeared in newspapers, magazines and trade journals, there are a few in other forms such as brochures, signs, and programs. Most of the clippings advertise standard consumer products, but there are a number of obsolete categories such as spats, bathing shoes, and Prohibition.
Digital Collections & Trade Catalogs from the Indiana Historical Society : This collection concentrates on catalogs from businesses that were either headquartered in Indiana or had a substantial presence in the state. Items in this collection date from the 1840s through the 1990s. The catalogs document the wide range of commodities that have come out of Indiana.
Hagley Museum and Library : The library houses an important collection of books, pamphlets, trade catalogs, manuscripts, photographs, ephemera, and audiovisual materials documenting the history of American business and technology. Hagley's main strength is in the Middle Atlantic region, but the scope of collecting includes business organizations and companies with national and international impact.
Instruments for Science, 1800-1914: Scientific Trade Catalogs in Smithsonian Collections : Digital collection of scientific instrument trade catalogs
John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising, and Marketing History : The Ad*Access Project presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955. Ad*Access concentrates on five main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II. The advertisements are from the J. Walter Thompson Company Competitive Advertisements Collection of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in Duke University's David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
Marketing in the Modern Era : Marketing in the Modern Era: Trade Catalogs and the Rise of 19th-Century American Advertising: an online exhibit at the Baker Library at Harvard University.
National Museum of American History Library Trade Literature Collection : This collection contains more than 460,000 catalogs, technical manuals, advertising brochures, price lists, company histories and related materials representing over 36,000 companies.
National Museum of American History -- Archives Center, Warshaw Collection of Business Americana : The National Museum of American History purchased the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, ca. 1724-1977 in 1967. The collection was assembled by Isadore Warshaw and represents the largest advertising ephemera collection in the United States, occupying more than 1,020 cubic feet of storage space. Organization, re-housing, and description of the Warshaw Collection are a long-term project. Most portions of the collection are open to researchers in the Archives Center.
New Jersey Trade and Manufacturers' Catalogs : Housed in Special Collections and University Archives, the Rutgers University Libraries collection of New Jersey trade and manufacturers catalogs represents part of the University's effort "to collect, preserve and make available for research, primary and secondary materials in various formats, documenting all aspects of New Jersey's history, from its founding to the present."
Otis Historical Archives, National Museum of Health and Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology : Particularly strong collections within the OHA include the areas of medical illustration, including anatomical drawings and paintings, photographs, and photomicrographs; reconstructive surgery and prosthetics; tropical and infectious disease research; trade literature and advertisements; medical technology and battlefield surgery from the Civil War through to the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Seed Catalogs from the Smithsonian Libraries Trade Literature Collection : The Smithsonian Libraries has a unique trade catalog collection that includes about 10,000 seed and nursery catalogs dating from 1830 to the present, documenting the history of the seed and agricultural implement business in the United States, as well as providing a history of botany and plant research such as the introduction of plant varieties into the US. Additionally, the seed trade catalogs are a window into the history of graphic arts in advertising, and a social history, through the text and illustrations, showing changing fashions in flowers and vegetables.
Sewing Machine Galleries : Created by David and Lin Best, this site comprises photographs of over 130 sewing machines from their collection, together with information about the manufacturers that produced them.
Sewing Machines: Historical Trade Literature in Smithsonian Institution Collections : This guide illustrates the range of materials published by and about sewing machine companies in the United States, starting in the 1840s. Sewing machine catalogs and other industry materials are just one portion of the remarkable collections of manufacturers' trade literature held in the libraries, archives and curatorial units of the Smithsonian Institution.
Shedding Light on New York: Edward F. Caldwell & Co. : The E. F. Caldwell & Co. Collection at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, contains more than 50,000 images consisting of approximately 37,000 black & white photographs and 13,000 original design drawings of lighting fixtures and other fine metal objects that they produced from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries.
The Virtual Laboratory (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) : The digital library of the Virtual Library contains scans of historical books, journals, laboratory notebooks and instrument catalogues. Furthermore, it provides bibliographical information based on tables of contents (overview) and on existing personal bibliographies which have been checked for consistency. Every item can be acessed by author, title, year or word contained in the title.
University of California, Santa Barbara. Library. Special Collections. Romaine Trade Catalog Collection : Lawrence B. Romaine (1900-1967) was an antiquarian book dealer, who bought and sold rare books, manuscripts, trade catalogs, and other Americana. Romaine was recognized as the leading expert in the U.S. on trade catalogs, and was the author of A Guide to American Trade Catalogs, 1774-1900 (New York: R. R. Bowker Company, 1960), the standard reference work in this field. Romaine spent approximately 30 years collecting over 41,000 trade catalogs from the 19th and early 20th centuries, on every imaginable product from agricultural implements, clothes, medical and surgical instruments to weathervanes and windmills. The bulk of his collection focused on machines, tools, engines and other hardware used in agriculture and manufacturing industries.
University of Delaware Trade Catalogs: An online exhibition : The University of Delaware Library Special Collections Department houses an extensive collection of trade catalogs and advertising ephemera produced in the United States from the middle of the eighteenth century until the present day. The trade catalog collection also complements the Special Collections Department's traditional strengths in the history of horticulture, science and technology, printing and publishing, and the book arts. Companies selling printing supplies, agricultural implements and nursery stock, type founders, publishing companies, and booksellers are particularly well-represented as are the catalogs of Delaware businesses.
Victoria and Albert Museum, National Art Library : The National Art Library holds numerous examples of trade catalogues within its collections. Some items entered the NAL during the 19th century, and both current and retrospective examples of trade catalogues have been added to the collections throughout the 20th century. Since 1983 the policy has been to actively collect both current and retrospective examples of trade literature in areas broadly in line with the research interests of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Winterthur Museum Library : WinterCat is the Winterthur Library's online catalogue and includes nearly 60,000 bibliographic records, representing the holdings of the four collections that constitute the Winterthur Library. Records for imprints, periodicals, rare printed materials, manuscript and ephemera holdings, photographs, and archival resources are all in one database, which researchers can use to determine the library's holdings on any given topic, person, or organization through one search. WinterCat features hyperlinks to manuscript finding aids and selected images.
Women Working, 1800-1930: trade catalogs : To illustrate the world of women working, the Open Collections Program of Harvard University Library has digitized a group of trade catalogs. These colorful works illustrate the dramatic changes that were taking place between 1870 and 1930 in the home, in the workplace, and in the minds of retailers and manufacturers.
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) : This site contains approximately two million physical and cultural geographic features in the United States and its territories. The Federally recognized name of each feature described in the data base is identified, and references are made to a feature's location by State, county, and geographic coordinates.
Library of Congress Map Collection 1500-2004 : The Library of Congress' map collection contains the topical areas of cities and towns, conservation and environment, discovery and exploration, cultural landscapes, military battles and campaigns, as well as transportation and communication.
Mapping History: American History : The maps cover a variety of historical topics from pre-1500 Native American culture, to the Civil War and Reconstruction, to 20th century health. Some of these maps are interactive.
National Map Small-Scale Collection : The site from the U.S. Geological Survey offers a collection of small-scale datasets available for free download, along with hundreds of printable reference maps developed as part of the 1997-2014 edition of the National Atlas.
University of Georgia Libraries Hargrett Rare Books and Manuscripts : The collection encompasses 500 years including maps on Georgia, the New World, the Colonial America, the revolutionary America, the revolutionary Georgia, the Union and expansion, the American Civil War, the frontier to the new South, Savannah and the coast, and transportation.
University of Illinois Historical Maps Online : These maps mainly focus from 1650 to 1994 on North America and the Northwest Territory, Maps of the Midwest, Illinois and Champaign County, and the Warner & Beers Atlas of 1876.
University of Texas at Austin's Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection : This collection contains maps arranged by state, city, and topical. Many of the maps are from the late 1700s through the early 1900s.
US History by Online Highways : The topical maps include the areas of early America, Colonial Period, Revolutionary America, young republic, and election maps of the early 1900s.

World's Fairs and Expositions

A Century of Progress: The 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair : The John Crerar Library (which is now part of the University of Chicago Libraries) collected various official publications, press releases, guidebooks, and other related materials pertaining to this world exposition. Approximately 350 of those collected items are now available on this website. The collection may be browsed by publication author, publication title, and the general subject of each publication.
Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition Centennial : This University of Washington Libraries digital collection contains more than 1200 photographs of the 1909 fair held on the grounds of the University of Washington, depicting buildings, grounds, entertainment and exotic attractions.
Donald G. Larson Collection on International Expositions and Fairs, 1851-1940 : The Donald G. Larson Collection at Cal-State Fresno, consists of approximately 1,600 books and more than 6,500 pamphlets, postcard, sheet music, and other materials.
ExpoMuseum : ExpoMuseum was first created as a web site in 1998 by Urso S. A. Chappell, and is maintained by him.The site pays tribute to the past, present, and future of these immensely popular expositions, and also includes a number of fun features, such as a discussion area and a special section dedicated to the architecture of these places.
Hyper-text Thesis on the World's Columbian Exposition : A Masters thesis, by Julie K. Rose, M.A. English, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA on the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, in Chicago, Illinois, which features a virtual tour of the Fair and offers analysis of social and cultural importance of the World's Columbian Exposition.
Paris 1900 - The Exhibit of American Negroes : The Exhibit of American Negroes is a reconstruction of highlights from an exhibit of the same name put together by W. E. B. DuBois, Thomas Calloway and the Historic Black Colleges for the Paris 1900 International Exposition.
Progress Made Visible: American World's Fairs and Expositions : The Special Collections Department of the University of Delaware Library holds a wide variety of primary source materials relating to the World's Fairs and Expositions held in the United States between 1876 and 1939.
Revisiting World's Fairs and International Expositions: A Selected Bibliography, 1992 - 1999 : This Smithsonian Institution Library bibliography supplements Bridget Burke's bibliography, "World's Fairs and International Expositions: Selected References 1987-1993," which was published as part of Fair Representations: World's Fairs and the Modern World, edited by Robert Rydell and Nancy Gwinn. It focuses on secondary materials that were published between 1992 and mid-summer 1999, but also includes some entries for materials prior to 1992 that were not included in the Burke's bibliography.
The 1904 World's Fair: Looking Back at Looking Forward : An online exhibition in association with the Missouri Historical Society's 2004 centennial celebration of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
The History of World Expositions : An EXPO 2000 resource on twenty previous World's Fairs and Expositions from 1851 to 2000.
The Iconography of Hope: The 1939-40 New York World's Fair : Created by John C. Barans, this site features historical information and digitized photographs chronicling the 1939-40 New York World's Fair.

History 112 - U.S. History Since 1865: Choosing A Topic

Choosing A Topic
Find Articles
History Databases

History Database for Topic Exploration

Browse the Issues & Controversies in History database if you aren't sure what topic you want to focus on. Use the American History Eras section on the right to find potential topics.

Reference Sources

Why use reference books? Reference books provide you with:

A springboard to background information on a topic
Important dates covering the who, what, where, when and why of a topic for the ‘who, what, when, and how for the ‘who, what, when, and how
Important individuals and explanation of terms surrounding a topic for the ‘who, what, when, and how

Reference resources can also be a good starting point in selecting a research topic. After reviewing reference resources you can develop a plan of where to concentrate your research efforts on topics you want to explore further.

Online Reference Resources (off-campus access requires signing in using your mymsjc user name and password):

Credo Reference - Credo Reference is an online resource that contains content from 524 reference books covering every major subject.
Gale eBooks - Gale eBooks is a database of academic eBooks, encyclopedias, and specialized reference sources covering a variety of subject areas.

Selected Subject Headings


Defining freedom during Reconstruction Era	Reconstruction (U.S. History, 1865-1877)
Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, and modern day slavery	Slavery-America-History
Indian board school and contemporary challenges faces by Native Americans	Off-reservation boarding schools. Indian residential schools ; Non-reservation boarding schools ; Non-reservation schools ; Off-reservation Indian boarding schools ; Off-reservation Indian schools ; Off-the-reservation boarding schools ; Residential schools, Indian-
Mexican-American Civil Rights	Chicano civil rights movement (Chicano movement)
Religious fundamentalism and social change	Fundamentalism, Religious; Fundamentalist movements, Religious, Social Change – Religious aspects
The Women’s Rights Movement	Rights of women; Women--Civil rights; Women--Rights of women; Women's rights--Law and legislation

Select Sources for Topic Exploration

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543 American History Essay Topics & Good Ideas

Icon Calendar 18 May 2024
Icon Page 4964 words
Icon Clock 22 min read

Exploring the multifaceted nature of American history provides a wide range of thought-provoking essay topics. Basically, there are many subjects that can be analyzed, studying the country’s indigenous origins, its struggle for independence, its participation in world wars, the civil rights movement, technological advancements, ongoing sociopolitical discourse, and others. In the United States (US), some themes can focus on significant events, like the Revolutionary War or the Space Race, important figures, such as Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, or Martin Luther King Jr., or major periods, including the Great Depression or the Cold War era. The examination of how historical influences have shaped current American society, issues of racial and gender equality, immigration policy, and foreign affairs, offers rich perspectives. Thus, American history essay topics cover a deep understanding of the evolution of the nation built on diverse ethnicities and ideologies.

Cool American History Essay Topics

Examination of Manifest Destiny’s Influence on Territorial Expansion
Colonial Era’s Impact on Modern American Democracy
Evaluating the Emancipation Proclamation’s Consequences
Prohibition Era: Analysis of Society and Law
Understanding the Trail of Tears: Native American Displacement
Civil War’s Effects on American Industrialization
Abolition Movement’s Roles in Shaping American Values
Vietnam War: Implications for Foreign Policy
Exploring Women’s Suffrage Movement: A Milestone in Gender Equality
Apollo Program’s Influence on Science and Technology
Examining the Harlem Renaissance’s Impact on African American Culture
McCarthyism’s Consequences on Freedom of Expression
Revolutionary War: Analysis of the Birth of a Nation
Influence of Immigration on the Cultural Landscape of America
Civil Rights Movement’s Impact on Legislation and Society
Japanese Internment during World War II: An Examination
Investigation of the Cuban Missile Crisis’ Effect on Cold War Tensions
Roles of Transcontinental Railroad in Westward Expansion
Impacts of the Great Awakening on American Religious Practices
Watergate Scandal: A Study in Political Ethics
Exploration of the Roaring Twenties’ Societal Shifts
Revolutionary Figures: Contributions of the Founding Fathers

American History Essay Topics & Good Ideas

Easy American History Research Topics

American Exceptionalism: Origins and Influence on Global Policy
Analysis of the Louisiana Purchase’s Impact on Expansion
Jazz Age: Implications for American Music and Culture
Evaluating the Space Race: National Pride and Technological Advancement
Consequences of the Teapot Dome Scandal in the Roaring Twenties
Federalist Papers: Shaping American Governance
Westward Expansion: Effect on Native American Communities
Impacts of the Dred Scott Decision on Slavery Debates
Cold War: Ramifications for American Society
Influence of Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ on Revolutionary Sentiment
Exploration of American Neutrality in World War I
Bay of Pigs Invasion: An Examination of Failed Foreign Policy
The Dust Bowl: Environmental Impact and Migration
Roles of Television in the Nixon-Kennedy Debates
The Stonewall Riots: Catalyst for the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement
Populist Movement: Impact on American Politics
Influence of the Gold Rush on California’s Development
Ratification of the Bill of Rights: Impact on Citizen Liberties
Rise of Labor Unions: Influencing Workers’ Rights
Civil War Reconstruction: Successes and Failures
The Zenger Trial: A Landmark for Freedom of the Press

Interesting US History Topics

Exploration of the Battle of Gettysburg’s Significance in the Civil War
Implications of the Monroe Doctrine on American Foreign Policy
Marbury vs. Madison: Analysis of Judicial Review
Unraveling the Causes and Consequences of the Iran-Contra Affair
The American Red Scare: Effects on Society and Politics
Causes and Implications of the 1929 Wall Street Crash
Underground Railroad: Role in Abolitionist Movement
Analysis of the Three-Fifths Compromise’s Impact on Representation
Significance of the Missouri Compromise in Slavery Debates
The Pentagon Papers: A Study in Government Transparency
Roles of Susan B. Anthony in the Women’s Suffrage Movement
Influence of the Scopes Trial on the Teaching of Evolution
Understanding the Impact of the GI Bill on Post-War America
Tracing the Development of American Modernism in the 20th Century
Federal Indian Policy: An Examination of Treaties and Legislation
Impacts of the Homestead Act on Westward Expansion
Analysis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s Contribution to Scientific Discovery
Analysis of the Pentagon Papers’ Effect on Public Trust
Exploration of the Boston Tea Party’s Impact on Revolutionary Sentiment
Vietnam War Protest Movement: Influence on Public Policy
Mexican-American War: Causes and Consequences
Repercussions of the Atomic Bomb on Global Politics
The Gilded Age: Scrutinizing Wealth and Inequality

US History Topics for High School

Impacts of the Gold Rush on California’s Development
Significance of the Monroe Doctrine in US Foreign Policy
Manifest Destiny and Expansion of the American West
Examination of The Great Depression’s Socioeconomic Effects
Role of Women in the American Revolution
Native American Resistance: Case Study of the Sioux Nation
Influence of Jazz Music on the Harlem Renaissance
Abolitionism’s Effect on Pre-Civil War Politics
Reconstruction Era: Assessing its Success and Failures
Impact of Immigration Waves on American Culture and Economy
Evolution of US Foreign Policy During the Cold War
Transformation of American Society During the Roaring Twenties
Examination of The Civil Rights Movement’s Major Milestones
Roles of Labor Unions in the Industrial Revolution
Influence of The Second Amendment on Gun Control Debates
Native American Assimilation Policy: The Carlisle Indian School
Cuban Missile Crisis: A Pivotal Moment in Cold War History
Women’s Suffrage Movement and the 19th Amendment
Exploration of the Gilded Age’s Economic Disparities
Significance of the Federalist Papers in Constitutional Interpretation
Analysis of the Patriot Act’s Impact on Civil Liberties
Effects of the Vietnam War on Domestic Social Movements
Roles of New Deal Programs in America’s Economic Recovery

US History Topics for College Students

Exploration and Impact of the Louisiana Purchase
Evolution of the American Civil Rights Movement
Native American Resistance to European Colonization
Establishment and Influence of the Federal Reserve System
Impacts of Industrialization on American Society
Consequences of Prohibition: The 18th and 21st Amendments
Influential Innovations During the Second Industrial Revolution
Manifest Destiny and Its Sociopolitical Implications
African-American Soldiers in the American Civil War
Formation and Legacy of the Hudson Bay Company
Roles of Religion in the Founding of American Colonies
American Policy and the Vietnam War: An Analysis
Development of the Transcontinental Railroad
Expansion of American Pop Culture During the Cold War
Key Legal Cases in the Fight for Desegregation
LGBTQ+ Rights: The Stonewall Riots and Beyond
Role of the American Media During the Gulf War
Technological Advances and the American Space Race
Examination of the US Immigration Policies Throughout History
Rise of American Suburbia in the Post-WWII Era
Development of the American Healthcare System: Legislation and Impact

US History Topics for University

Watergate Scandal and Its Influence on American Politics
Native American Civil Rights Movement in the 20th Century
Cuban Missile Crisis: Cold War Diplomacy and Consequences
Influence of the American Labor Movement on Working Conditions
Mexican-American War: Causes, Progress, and Consequences
Women’s Suffrage: From Seneca Falls to the 19th Amendment
Role of American Inventors in the Age of Enlightenment
Effects of the US Interstate Highway System on American Society
Examination of the US Intervention in Latin America
Impacts of the Baby Boomer Generation on American Culture
California Gold Rush and its Influence on Westward Expansion
Abolition Movement: Influential Figures and Strategies
Development and Impact of the US Postal Service
Key Economic Policies of the Roosevelt Administration
Influence of the Harlem Renaissance on American Literature
Technological Shifts and the Digital Age in America
Evolution of Gun Control Legislation in the United States
Exploration of the Oregon Trail: Migration and Hardship
Rise and Fall of the American Temperance Movement
Impacts of the GI Bill on Post-War American Society
American Imperialism: From the Philippines to Puerto Rico
Cultural Significance of the American Beat Generation
Causes and Outcomes of the American Housing Bubble in 2008

American History Essay Topics on Revolution Battles and Key Events

The Battle of Saratoga and Its Influence on the American Revolution
African Americans’ Roles in Revolutionary War
Impacts of the Battle of Yorktown on American Independence
Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” and Its Revolutionary Ideals
Women’s Contributions to the American Revolution
The Battle of Trenton: Pivotal Point in Revolutionary War
Boston Massacre: Instigator of Colonial Dissent
French Alliance: A Game-Changer in American Victory
Constitutional Convention: Shaping the American Government
The Battle of Bunker Hill: Boosting Revolutionary Morale
Declaration of Independence: Foundation of American Nationhood
Lexington and Concord: Sparking the Revolutionary War
Native Americans’ Impacts on the American Revolution
Treaty of Paris (1783): Securing American Independence
Battle of Cowpens: Key Turning Point in Southern Campaign
George Washington’s Influence on Revolutionary Leadership
Valley Forge: Endurance and Transformation During the Revolution
Guilford Courthouse: Decisive Battle in the Southern Campaign
Stamp Act Crisis: Prelude to Revolutionary Resistance
Militia’s Roles in the Revolutionary War

American Essay History Topics Before 1865

Founding Fathers’ Vision for a Democratic Republic
Revolutionary War: Catalyst for American Independence
Slavery and the Abolitionist Movement
Louisiana Purchase: Expanding National Borders
Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion
Underground Railroad: Resistance against Slavery
Boston Tea Party: Igniting the American Revolution
Emancipation Proclamation: Eliminating Slavery in the Confederacy
Declaration of Independence: Establishing American Nationhood
Constitutional Convention: Framing the US Constitution
Dred Scott Case: Impact on African Americans’ Rights
Lewis and Clark Expedition: Exploring the Western Frontier
Industrialization: Transforming American Society
Battle of Yorktown: British Surrender and American Victory
Women’s Suffrage Movement: Achieving Voting Rights for Women
Mexican-American War: Annexing Texas and Western Territories
Great Awakening: Religious Revival in Colonial America
Missouri Compromise: Balancing Free and Slave States
Marbury vs. Madison: Establishing Judicial Review
War of 1812: Forging American National Identity

US Research Paper Topics on Black History

Struggles and Triumphs: The Impact of the Underground Railroad on Black History
The Legacy of Harriet Tubman: A Trailblazer for Freedom and Equality
Examining the Abolitionist Movement: From Slavery to Liberation
African American Soldiers in the Civil War: Their Role and Contribution
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott: Igniting Change for Civil Rights
Martin Luther King Jr.: A Visionary Leader for Equality
The Black Panthers: Revolutionizing Racial Empowerment
Celebrating Black Culture and Artistic Expression: The Harlem Renaissance
Pioneers of African American Military Aviation: The Tuskegee Airmen
Desegregation in Schools: Brown vs. Board of Education’s Impact
The March on Washington: A Milestone for Civil Rights Advancement
Malcolm X: A Voice for Black Nationalism and Self-Determination
Rebuilding After the Civil War: The Era of Reconstruction
Breaking Down Legal Barriers: The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Great Migration: Black Americans’ Journey Northward
Integration of New Orleans Schools: Ruby Bridges’ Courageous Stand
Tragedy and Resilience in Tulsa: The Black Wall Street Massacre
The Vital Role of Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement
Redefining Black Identity and Empowerment: The Black Power Movement
Frederick Douglass: From Escaping Slavery to Becoming a Leader

US History Essay Topics on Civil Rights Movement Topics Beyond the 20th Century

Women’s Roles in the Civil Rights Struggle Beyond the 20th Century
LGBTQ+ Activism’s Impacts on Contemporary Civil Rights
Addressing Police Brutality in the Fight for Civil Rights Today
Progress and Challenges of the Voting Rights Act in Post-Civil Rights America
Intersections of Race and Immigration in the Struggle for Equal Rights
Environmental Justice: Linking It to the Civil Rights Movement Today
Reparations Debate: Remedying Historical Injustices for Civil Rights
Disability Rights Movement: Achievements and Ongoing Struggles
Indigenous Rights Movements: Continuing the Fight for Civil Liberties
The Battle for Educational Equality in the Post-Civil Rights Era
Affirmative Action: Equalizing Opportunities or Reverse Discrimination?
Asian American Civil Rights Activism in the 21st Century
Criminal Justice System and Civil Rights: Reforming for Equality
Reproductive Rights as Fundamental Civil Liberties: Progress and Challenges
Native American Tribal Sovereignty: Preserving Civil Rights in Modern America
Nonviolent Resistance: A Powerful Tool in Modern Civil Rights Movements
Addressing Racial Disparities: Civil Rights and the Mass Incarceration Crisis
Immigrant Rights Movements: Upholding Civil Liberties in America
Islamophobia and Civil Rights: Combating Discrimination in the 21st Century
LGBTQ+ Rights: Fighting for Equality and Marriage Freedom
Balancing Second Amendment Rights and Public Safety: The Gun Control Debate

American History Essay Topics on Cold War and McCarthyism

Impacts of the Korean Conflict on Cold War Politics
Red Scare and the Hollywood Blacklist
Space Race and Significance in Cold War Dynamics
Eisenhower’s “New Look” Policy and Nuclear Arms Race
Berlin Crisis and Construction of the Wall
McCarthyism and Suppression of Civil Liberties
Bay of Pigs Invasion: Failed US Intervention in Cuba
Vietnam Conflict as Proxy War in Cold Era
Marshall Plan and American Economic Aid in Cold War
Suez Crisis: Cold War Politics in the Middle East
U-2 Spy Plane Incident and Escalating Tensions
Hungarian Revolution and Soviet Repression
Cultural Impacts of the Beat Generation During the Cold War
Arms Control Negotiations: SALT and START Treaties
Domino Theory and US Involvement in Southeast Asia
CIA’s Roles in Covert Operations During Cold Conflict
Influence of Korean Conflict on US Military Strategy
Space Exploration: Cold War Competition for Technological Superiority
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: A Step Toward Détente
Brinkmanship Strategy and Cuban Missile Crisis

American History Topics on Civil Rights Movement

The Impact of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Influence of Brown vs. Board of Education on Desegregation
The March on Washington: Pursuing Equality
Nonviolent Resistance: Catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement
The Voting Rights Act: Expanding Ballot Access
Freedom Riders: Challenging Segregation in Transportation
Sit-In Movement: Breaking the Chains of Racial Segregation
Birmingham Campaign: A Turning Point in the Struggle for Civil Rights
Formation and Significance of the Black Panther Party
Assassination of Malcolm X: Impact on the Civil Rights Movement
Selma to Montgomery March: Milestone for Voting Rights
Mississippi Freedom Summer: Empowering African American Voters
Women’s Contributions to the Civil Rights Movement
Black Power Movement: Revolutionizing Activism
Civil Rights Act of 1964: Banning Discrimination
Integration of Little Rock Central High School: Breaking Barriers
Chicago Freedom Movement: Urban Segregation and Activism
Medgar Evers’ Assassination: Tragic Loss for the Civil Rights Movement
Fair Housing Act of 1968: Combating Housing Discrimination
Albany Movement: Lessons From an Unsuccessful Campaign
Impacts of the 24th Amendment: Eliminating Poll Taxes

US History Essay Topics on Immigration & Ethnic

The Impact of Irish Immigration on American Society
Chinese Exclusion Act: Origins and Ramifications
Mexican Migration and the Bracero Program
Italian Americans: Assimilation and Cultural Heritage
The Great Migration: African American Movement to the North
Japanese Internment: World War II Consequences
Ellis Island: Gateway to the American Dream
The Harlem Renaissance: Cultural Expression and Immigrants
Irish Americans: Famine, Resilience, and Success
Puerto Rican Migration and Nuyorican Culture
Angel Island: The West Coast Immigration Center
Immigration’s Impacts on Industrialization in the United States
Polish Americans: Traditions and Integration
The Bracero Program and Agricultural Labor
Jewish Immigration and American Zionism
Chinese Exclusion Act’s Influence on Immigration Policy
Mexican Americans: Struggles and Achievements in the Southwest
Immigration and the California Gold Rush
German Americans: Contributions and Integration in American Society
The Immigration Act of 1924: Restricting National Origins

American Industrial Revolution History Topics

Roles of Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin in Industrial Transformation
Evolution of Transportation: Railroad’s Influence on American Industry
The Rise of Urbanization during the Industrial Era
Women’s Participation in the Industrial Workforce: Challenges and Achievements
Native American Communities: Industrialization’s Impact
Labor Movements and Worker Rights in the Industrial Age
Technological Advancements and the Birth of the American Industrial Revolution
Development of Factory System: Transition From Artisanal to Mass Production
Immigration and Workforce Transformation in the Industrial Revolution
Agricultural Practices: Industrialization’s Impact on American Farms
American Markets: Industrial Revolution’s Role in Expansion
The Growth of Urban Centers: Industrialization’s Effect on Cities
Child Labor and the Industrial Revolution in America
Changing Roles of Women in American Society during Industrialization
Industrialization and American Trade and Commerce
Government Regulation and Control in American Industrialization
Impacts of the Industrial Revolution on American Education and Literacy
Technological Advances in Communication during Industrialization
Environmental Consequences of American Industrialization
Industrial Revolution’s Influence on American Architecture
Effects of Industrialization on American Art and Cultural Trends

Latin American History Essay Topics

Conquest and Resistance in Latin America
Economic Exploitation in Colonial Latin America
Independence Movements in Latin America
The Impact of European Immigration on Latin American Societies
The Role of Women in Latin American Independence Movements
Indigenous Cultures and Their Contributions to Latin American History
Latin American Revolutions: Comparing Mexico and South America
The Influence of African Slavery in Latin American Societies
Dictatorships and Authoritarian Regimes in Latin America
The Mexican Revolution: Causes and Consequences
Cultural Identity and Nationalism in Latin America
The Falklands War: Britain and Argentina in Latin America
The Zapatista Movement: Indigenous Rights in Mexico
Latin American Literature and the Boom of the 1960s
Neoliberalism and Economic Crisis in Latin America
Drug Trafficking and Its Impact on Latin American Societies
Environmental Movements in Latin America
Indigenous Land Rights and Conflicts in Latin America
The Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua
Chilean Dictatorship: Pinochet’s Rule and Its Legacy

American History Topics on Progressive Era

Reforming the American Education System During the Progressive Era
Industrialization and Urbanization: Impact on Progressive Era Society
Regulating Big Business: Anti-Trust Reforms in the Progressive Era
Political Transformations: From Municipal to National Level in the Progressive Era
Progressive Era Leaders: Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson
Investigating Corruption: Muckrakers and Journalism in the Progressive Era
Preserving America’s Natural Resources: The Conservation Movement in the Progressive Era
Labor Rights and Social Justice: Workers’ Struggles in the Progressive Era
Progressive Era Initiatives: Social Welfare Reforms and Their Impact
Temperance and Prohibition: The Progressive Era’s Crusade Against Alcohol
Suffrage and Equality: Women’s Fight for Political Rights in the Progressive Era
Progressive Era Policies: Immigration Regulations and Nativism
Ensuring Consumer Safety: Consumer Protection Reforms in the Progressive Era
Science and Social Control: Eugenics and Social Darwinism in the Progressive Era
Public Health and Sanitation: Reforms During the Progressive Era
African Americans and Civil Rights: Challenges in the Progressive Era
Expanding Federal Power: Progressive Era and the Growth of Government Authority
Intellectual Movements of the Progressive Era: Pragmatism and Social Gospel
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: A Turning Point for Labor Reforms
Child Labor and Reform Efforts: Progressive Era’s Fight Against Exploitation
Diversity and Assimilation: Progressive Era Immigration Policies

American History Essay Topics on Roaring Twenties

Economic Prosperity and Consumerism in the Roaring Twenties
Impacts of Prohibition on American Society During the Jazz Age
Women’s Empowerment Movement in the Roaring Twenties
Jazz Age: Cultural Revolution of the 1920s
Harlem Renaissance: African-American Art and Culture in the Jazz Age
Technological Advancements and Their Influence in the Roaring Twenties
Red Scare and Fear of Communism in 1920s America
The Great Gatsby: Symbolism and Critique of the Jazz Age
Flappers and the Evolution of Gender Roles in the Roaring Twenties
Scopes Trial: Clash of Evolution and Creationism in the 1920s
Mass Media and Popular Culture in the Roaring Twenties
Wall Street Crash of 1929: The End of an Era
Political and Social Movements in the Jazz Age
Prohibition Enforcement: Bootlegging and Hidden Bars in the 1920s
Fashion Transformations in the Roaring Twenties
Impact of Radio and Movies on American Culture in the Roaring Twenties
Women’s Suffrage Movement and the 19th Amendment in the 1920s
Race Relations and the KKK in the Roaring Twenties
Art Deco: Architectural and Design Trends of the Jazz Age
Automobile Industry’s Influence on American Society in the 1920s

American Reconstruction History Essay Topics

The Evolution of Freedmen’s Rights in American Reconstruction
Political Reforms and Transformation in Post-Civil War America
Economic Shifts and Development During the Reconstruction Era
The Influence of the Thirteenth Amendment on American Society
Reconstruction Policies and Their Impact on Southern States
Women’s Suffrage Movement: A Catalyst in Reconstruction
African American Political Leadership in the Reconstruction Era
The Struggle for Civil Rights in the Reconstruction Period
The Establishment and Impact of the Freedmen’s Bureau
African Americans’ Changing Roles in Post-Civil War America
The Reconstruction Amendments: Expanding the Notions of Citizenship
Education Reforms: Empowering the Disenfranchised During Reconstruction
The Ku Klux Klan’s Opposition to Reconstruction
The Reconstruction Act of 1867: Restructuring the South
The Debate on Land Redistribution in the Reconstruction Era
Reconstruction’s Enduring Influence on American Identity
The Compromise of 1877: An End to Reconstruction
Radical Republicans and Their Influence on the Reconstruction Era
Shifting Political Dynamics: Southern Power During Reconstruction
The Legacy of Reconstruction: Shaping American History
The Supreme Court’s Role in Shaping Reconstruction Policies

LGBTQ+ American History Research Paper Topics

Historical Milestones of LGBTQ+ Rights in America
The Stonewall Riots: Catalyst for LGBTQ+ Activism
Impacts of Harvey Milk on American LGBTQ+ Politics
Transgender Rights Movement in the United States
The AIDS Crisis and Its Effects on the LGBTQ+ Community
Intersectionality: Race and Activism in LGBTQ+ History
Lesbian Feminism in America: Past and Present
Homophobia and Its Roots in American Society
Evolution of LGBTQ+ Representation in Media and Entertainment
LGBTQ+ Veterans: Advocacy on the Battlefield
Significance of LGBTQ+ Landmarks in American History
Religious Perspectives on LGBTQ+ Rights in America
LGBTQ+ Activism in the Civil Rights Movement
Impacts of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
Challenges Faced by LGBTQ+ Youth in American Society
LGBTQ+ Resistance and Resilience in Conservative States
Role of LGBTQ+ Activism in Shaping Employment Discrimination Laws
Pioneering Transgender Individuals in American History
Queer Literature’s Contribution to LGBTQ+ Identity
Roles of LGBTQ+ Community Centers in Promoting Equality

Native American History Essay Topics

Native American Resistance During Early Colonial Encounters
Impacts of European Diseases on Indigenous Populations
Tribal Governance Structures and Political Systems of Native Nations
Contributions of Native Americans to the American Revolution
Forced Removal of Indigenous Tribes: The Trail of Tears
Significance of Native American Diplomacy in the 19th Century
Assimilation Policies and the Dawes Act: Effects on Indigenous Communities
Native American Women in History: Leaders, Activists, and Guardians
The Wounded Knee Massacre: Causes and Consequences
Indigenous Art, Literature, and Music: Cultural Contributions
Native American Tribes’ Role in the Civil War
The Indian Reorganization Act: Impact on Tribal Sovereignty
Land Rights and Legal Challenges Faced by Indigenous Peoples
Native American Religion and Spiritual Practices: Continuity and Adaptation
Native American Code Talkers in World Wars I and II
Boarding Schools and Cultural Suppression: Indigenous Experiences
The American Indian Movement (AIM): Impact on Indigenous Activism
Indigenous Trade Networks and Economic Systems
Reservation Policies and Tribal Self-Governance Among Indigenous Peoples
Hunting, Gathering, and Agricultural Practices of Native Nations
Indigenous Languages: Preservation and Revitalization Efforts

American History Research Paper Topics About World War I & II

The Impact of Propaganda on American Society During World War I
Women’s Roles in the American Homefront During World War II
The Aftermath of World War I: Treaty of Versailles and Its Consequences
America’s Race to Build the Atomic Bomb: The Manhattan Project
African Americans’ Contribution to World War II
The Great Depression’s Influence on American Entry Into World War II
America’s Aid to Allied Forces: The Lend-Lease Act During World War II
Racial Tensions in America During World War II: The Zoot Suit Riots
The GI Bill: Impact on Post-World War II America
America’s Shift in Foreign Policy After World War I: The Interwar Period
The Battle of Midway: A Decisive Moment in the Pacific Theater of World War II
Cold War Paranoia in America: The Red Scare and McCarthyism
Japanese Americans’ Internment During World War II
The Marshall Plan: American Aid for Post-World War II European Reconstruction
Unsung Heroes of World War II: The Navajo Code Talkers
Veterans’ Struggles During the Great Depression: The Bonus Army March
American Nurses’ Role in World War I and II
Tragedy in the Pacific Theater of World War II: The Bataan Death March
Mexican Laborers in the American War Effort: The Bracero Program
America’s Involvement in a Cold War Proxy Conflict: The Korean War

American History Essay Topics About Founding Fathers and the Constitution

The Revolutionary Vision: Exploring the Ideals of America’s Founding Fathers
Jefferson’s Influence on American Democracy
Hamilton’s Economic Policies and Their Impact on the Constitution
James Madison: Shaping the Foundation of the Constitution
The Delicate Balance: Compromises at the Constitutional Convention
Analyzing the Federalist Papers: Arguments for Ratifying the Constitution
Safeguarding Individual Liberties: The Significance of the Bill of Rights
John Adams: Statesman and Advocate for Independence
Thomas Paine’s Impact: Common Sense and Revolutionary Ideas
Benjamin Franklin: Influencing American Diplomacy
Abigail Adams: Trailblazing Woman and Her Role in Nation-Building
Opposition to the Constitution: Examining the Anti-Federalist Movement
Alexander Hamilton’s Economic Policies: A Federalist Approach
Shaping American Jurisprudence: The Contributions of John Jay
The Articles of Confederation: Weaknesses and the Call for a New Constitution
Crafting American Government: The Constitutional Convention
Slavery and the Constitution: Debate Over the Three-Fifths Compromise
Samuel Adams: Revolutionary Catalyst and Political Figure
Patrick Henry’s Inspiring Speeches: Fanning the Flames of Independence
The Northwest Ordinance: Guiding Principles for Westward Expansion
Challenging Free Speech: The Alien and Sedition Acts

American History Topics About Space Race and NASA’s Contributions

NASA’s Roles in the Space Race: A Historical Perspective
The Mercury Seven: Trailblazers of American Space Exploration
Apollo 11: A Monumental Leap for Mankind
The Impact of Sputnik on US Space Programs
Lunar Exploration: NASA’s Quest to Unravel the Moon’s Mysteries
Revolutionizing Space Travel: The Legacy of the Space Shuttle Program
Unsung Heroes: The Hidden Figures of NASA’s Early Years
The Cold War Context and the Space Race
Advancements in Weather Forecasting and Earth Observation by NASA
Beyond Our Solar System: NASA’s Voyager and Pioneer Missions
Skylab: America’s First Orbital Space Station
Robotic Pioneers: NASA’s Missions to Explore the Solar System
Lessons Learned From the Challenger Disaster for Space Exploration
Expanding Horizons: The Hubble Space Telescope’s Contributions
International Collaborations in Space Exploration: NASA’s Global Impact
Revealing Mars’ Secrets: NASA’s Robotic Rovers
Trailblazing With the X-15 Program: Advancing Spaceplane Technology
Enabling Satellite Communications: NASA’s Contributions
Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: A Symbol of US-Soviet Space Cooperation
The Space Shuttle Challenger Tragedy: Aftermath and Reforms

US Civil War Research Paper Topics

Causes and Consequences of the Battle of Gettysburg
Reconstruction Policies and Their Impact on Post-Civil War America
Women’s Roles in the Civil War: From Nurses to Spies
Abraham Lincoln’s Leadership and the Emancipation Proclamation
The Underground Railroad: Freedom Heroes and Heroines
Battle of Antietam: Decisive Turning Point
African American Soldiers in the Union Army
Sherman’s March to the Sea: Total Warfare Strategy
The Battle of Bull Run: A Shocking Wake-Up Call
Significance of the Vicksburg Campaign in the Civil War
Election of 1860 and the Secession Crisis
Civil War Photography’s Impact on Public Perception
Formation and Ideals of the Confederate States of America
Fort Sumter: Prelude to War
Clara Barton and the Red Cross: Humanitarian Aid during the Civil War
Draft Riots of 1863: Social Unrest in New York City
Robert E. Lee’s Military Strategies and Leadership
Emancipation Proclamation: Freedom for the Enslaved
Battle of Shiloh: Bloodiest Conflict in the Western Theater
Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Government’s Formation

American History Research Paper Topics on Vietnam War

The Nixon Doctrine: America’s Foreign Policy Approach During the Vietnam War
Women’s Role and Contributions in the Vietnam War Effort
The My Lai Tragedy: Atrocity and Its Consequences in the Vietnam Conflict
Draft Resistance Movements: Opposition to the Vietnam War
Negotiating Peace: The Paris Accords and the End of the Vietnam Conflict
The Ho Chi Minh Trail: North Vietnam’s Strategic Supply Route
Agent Orange: Environmental and Health Impacts of Chemical Warfare
The Fall of Saigon: The Final Chapter of the Vietnam War
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident: Escalation and Justification of the Vietnam Conflict
Battle of Khe Sanh: Symbolism and Significance in the Vietnam War
Anti-War Movement: Activism and Protests Against the Vietnam Conflict
The Phoenix Program: Counterinsurgency Tactics in the Vietnam War
Operation Rolling Thunder: Aerial Bombing Campaign During the Vietnam Conflict
Hamburger Hill: Intense Combat and Sacrifice in the Vietnam War
Kent State Shootings: Tragedy and Student Demonstrations in the Vietnam War
The Siege of Khe Sanh: A Crucial Moment in the Vietnam Conflict
Congressional Response: The War Powers Act and Its Impact on the Vietnam War
African American Soldiers: Contributions and Challenges in the Vietnam War
Strategic Hamlet Program: Counterinsurgency Strategy in the Vietnam Conflict
Laotian Civil War: Regional Dynamics and Their Influence on the Vietnam War

American History Essay Topics on Women’s Suffrage and Feminist Movement

The Evolution of Women’s Suffrage in American History
Key Leaders in the American Feminist Movement
Seneca Falls Convention: Catalyst for Change
Abolitionism’s Influence on Women’s Suffrage
Progressive Era: Intersection With Women’s Rights
Susan B. Anthony’s Impact on the Suffrage Movement
National American Woman Suffrage Association: Formation and Impact
Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party’s Influence
Women’s Suffrage and World War I: Shifting Perspectives
Battle for the 19th Amendment: Triumphs and Challenges
Suffragettes’ Strategies: Methods and Successes
African American Women’s Contributions to Suffrage Movement
Native American Women’s Role in the Fight for Suffrage
Women’s Suffrage in the Western States: Trailblazers of Progress
Feminist Movement and World War II’s Impact
Second Wave Feminism: Objectives and Accomplishments
Feminist Literature: Catalyst for Social Change
Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique” and Its Influence
Women’s Liberation Movement: Birth of NOW
Roe vs. Wade: Women’s Reproductive Rights Examined
Title IX: Transforming Women’s Sports and Education

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520 Excellent American History Topics & Tips for an A+ Paper

How can you define America? If you’ve ever asked yourself this question, studying US history will help you find the answer.

This article will help you dive deeper into this versatile subject. Here, you will find:

Early and modern US history topics to write about. We’ve also got topics for DBQ essays for students taking an AP US history class.
Tips on how to create a great history paper.

Have you checked out our custom writing service yet? Our experts are always ready to help you with your assignments.

🔝 Top 10 American History Topics

✅ how to write a history paper, ⭐ top 10 us history topics to research.

🦅 Topics Before 1865
⚔️ Civil War Topics
🛠️ Reconstruction & Industrialization
🗽 20th Century Topics
🔫 Topics on WWI & II
☮️ Civil Rights Movement Topics
💬 Debatable Topics
✊🏿 Black History Topics
🏞️ Native American Topics
⭐ Topics on Famous People

🔍 References

The ideology of the Black Panthers
How did tenements affect America?
Why was Wilmot Proviso so controversial?
What characterizes the Roaring Twenties?
Cause and effect of the Missouri Compromise
The role of women during the Great Depression
Did anyone profit from the 1929 Stock Market Crash?
Michael Collins’ contribution to the space exploration
How did the US benefit from the Bracero Program?
Brigham Young’s contribution to the development of the West

History writing is controversial by nature. Selecting questions and topics is already a subjective process. On top of that, you need to interpret the sources. So, there is much to think about when it comes to history papers.

We’ve compiled several tips to make it easier for you. Check it out:

Don’t be afraid to disagree . People explain many issues by conventional wisdom. Be skeptical and examine your own bias.
Explore new terrains . Not all historical events get the attention they deserve. Writing about generally neglected topics can yield fascinating results.
Consider how situations change over time . Frame your subject with a start- and endpoint.
Wonder . History is not just descriptions of what happened—it also questions how and why specific events took place.
Avoid relating everything to the present . Examine the past on its own terms. In doing so, keep the chronological order straight.
Don’t judge your subject . Your goal is to understand the past. Remember: moral norms might have been different in the period you’re studying.
Give context . It’s crucial to engage with and interpret your sources. Pinpoint their place in the grand scheme of events.

Finally, you might want to write in the present tense. While this works for other social sciences, it’s not advisable for history. It’s best to keep the past in the past! Also, if you need to construct a MLA title page , there’s nothing wrong in using a specialized tool to do that, as long as it allows you to concentrate on the more important part—writing.

What caused the Red Scare?
What did the Loyalists fight for?
Literacy rates during Puritan times
The effects of the Great Awakening
Why was the Boston Tea Party justified?
The aftermath of the Battle of Bunker Hill
Why was presidential Reconstruction a failure?
The causes of the economic recession of the 1780s
Railroads development role in the Industrial Revolution
Frederick Douglass’s contribution to the abolition of slavery

🦅 Essay Topics on US History before 1865

The period of colonial America is packed with turmoil. Think of the Boston Tea Party or the American Revolution. And these are only two of that era’s most notable events. In this rubric, you’ll find colonial American history essay topics. The period in question starts with the British arrival in the New World and ends with the Civil War.

The origins of Thanksgiving. One idea is to find out why the Pilgrims started celebrating it in the first place. Alternatively, you could examine how it became a national holiday.
Why did the British begin settling in the New World? This topic allows you to explore the rivalry with Spain. Or you could investigate England’s problem with poverty.
Discuss the emergence of joint-stock companies. Who profited from them? What is their legacy? You might also want to study their role in early settling attempts.
Compare and contrast the Jamestown and Plymouth settlements. You can concentrate on areas such as religion and government.

Why did Americans start revolting? An excellent place to begin might be America’s position in global power struggles. The impact of the European Enlightenment movement is also something to consider.
The history of African American culture. Ask yourself these questions: How does it differ from the way it is now? What factors influenced its development?
What problems arose during the drafting of the Constitution? You might want to write about the economic crisis. Other important factors include different interest groups and their expectations.
How did the American Revolution influence society? Your essay can be concerned with its immediate or long-term impact. Find out how women, slaves, and other groups reacted to the revolutionary spirit.
Consequences of the Royal Proclamation of 1783. American settlers didn’t obey the proclamation, but it still proved to be influential. Your paper could discuss why. Perhaps you’d also like to ponder if it was a good idea.
The role of nationalism in the westward expansion. Explore how Americans justified their belief in Manifest Destiny.

Don’t forget to check out these essay topics on early American history:

Why did the settlers start importing slaves?
How did Texas become a sovereign republic?
Why was the American Revolution successful?
Discuss the significance of the Louisiana Purchase.
What events led to the war of 1812 ?
How did the French Revolution impact America?
Describe the changes the American Revolution brought to the states.
What did “American” mean in the 18 th century?
The role of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty in achieving unity.
Why was the right to bear arms included in the Bill of Rights?
The first President of the United States.
Investigate the origins of the two-party system.
Alexander Hamilton’s financial policies: opposition and political consequences.
How did Washington, DC become the national capital?
Trace the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Analyze the importance of cotton for the South’s economy in the 1800s.
How did the relations between the settlers and Native Americans develop over time?
Who formed the abolitionist movement, and why?
How did Kansas become a battleground for proponents and opponents of slavery?
Who were the Border Ruffians?
What was the Compromise of 1850?
Consequences of the Mexican-American war.
Long-term influences of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin .
Compare the real Underground Railroad with the Underground Femaleroad in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale .
The Declaration of Independence and its legacy.
What did the philosophy of transcendentalism entail?
Abigail Adams and the fight for women’s rights in the new republic.
Who was Daniel Shays?
Trace the ratification process of the United States’ Constitution.
What problems arose with the Missouri Compromise ?
The revival of religion in the US after achieving independence.
How did the mass immigration of Germans and Irish people impact the US?
Nativism in the US: riots and the politics of the Know-Nothings.
How did the South and the North respectively argue for and against slavery?
Investigate the emergence of the “Old American West.”
Study the connection of the blue jeans’ invention with the California gold rush .
Describe a day in a life of a slave.
Why was the Dred Scott Decision significant?
How does the 1860 election relate to the southern states seceding from the Union?
Explain the term “popular sovereignty.”

⚔️ Civil War Topics for Your Paper

In the pre-war period, tensions in the US over state rights and slavery were high. The differences seemed impossible to overcome. Eventually, this led to several southern states seceding from the Union. What followed was the bloodiest war ever to take place on American ground. In writing about the Civil War, you can explore military, political, and social issues.

Did the South ever have a chance to win? The conflict seemed to be heavily in favor of the more industrialized North. Still, it took four years of fighting to get the South to surrender. Your essay could examine the South’s underestimated strengths.
Compare and contrast the South’s and North’s economic situation on the eve of the Civil War. You might want to investigate the following questions: What did they produce? How did this influence the decision to wage war?
How did the Emancipation Proclamation affect the war? You could focus on the contributions of African American soldiers.
Discuss the fatal mistakes made on the battlefields of the Civil War. What decisive moments impacted its results the most? Your paper might explore what the generals could have done differently.
Was the Civil War inevitable ? It may be interesting to contemplate a possible compromise. In doing so, think about whether this would have merely delayed the war.
The general public’s position on the Civil War. It might be compelling to analyze who supported the effort and why. One focal point could be on differences between social classes.
The role of beliefs during the Civil War. You could investigate what the South and the North respectively held sacred. Were religious beliefs a crucial motivator for one or both sides?
The “Angel of the Battlefield”: Clara Barton. An essay could analyze how she contributed to the recognition of women’s war participation. It could also examine how it forwarded the struggle for women’s rights.

What were the political reasons to fight the Civil War? Investigating this question might yield surprising insights.
Contrasting Stonewall Jackson and Ulysses Grant might be engaging for those who are interested in military strategies.

Do you want more? Have a look at the following topic samples for high and middle school students:

Analyze why Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address became a critical moment in American history.
Was the Civil War justified?
Why was Fort Sumter relevant?
How did the Civil War battles impact the American social sphere?
What does the notion of the “Lost Cause” mean?
Would the election of a different man other than Abraham Lincoln as president have prevented the Civil War?
Why did many former slaves enlist in the Union army after the Emancipation Proclamation?
Describe the consequences of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination .
Why was slavery essential for the South?
Foreign US policy during the 1860s.
European reactions on the American Civil War.
How did Jefferson Davis’ government differ from Abraham Lincoln’s ?
Analyze the notion “A rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.” Why was this especially true in the South?
Why did the Union rely heavily on blockades to weaken the Confederation?
Examine how Mary Boykin Chesnut’s A Diary from Dixie reflects on the war.
How did the war affect life in the South vs. the North?
Investigate the events that led to the Union victory in 1864-65.
Was the abolitionist movement the catalyst for the war?
The impact of industrialization on the battlefield.
What technologies emerged during the Civil War?
Discuss the societal effects of war photography.
How did the Civil War affect the many immigrants who recently entered the United States?
Did the American Civil War impact the rest of the globe? If so, how?
Can one consider Abraham Lincoln one of the best presidents in American history? If so, why?
Compare and contrast the most important generals and their tactics.
Debate the influence of Manifest Destiny on exacerbating tensions.
What states were devastated the most after the war, and why?
Describe the South’s and North’s goals during the Civil War.
What does the term “Bleeding Kansas” mean?
Newspaper coverage of the Civil War in the South vs. the North.
Analyze various letters to understand how people from different backgrounds perceived the Civil War.
Art and theater in 1860s America.
Debate how sectionalism and protectionism contributed to pre-war tensions in the US.
Why did the Crittenden Compromise fail?
How did the border states perceive the battles of the Civil War?
Explore the war contributions and legacy of Mary Edwards Walker.
The importance of the US navy in leading the Union to victory.
What happened on the West Coast during the Civil War?
Trace a timeline of the Civil War’s key battles.
Nation-building and national identity: how did the Civil War shape the idea of “Americanness”?

🛠️ Essay Topics on Reconstruction & Industrialization

After the war, industrialization was rapidly changing the American landscape. Additionally, restoring the order after years of fighting proved a challenge. In abolishing slavery, Republicans took the first step to ensure constitutional rights for African Americans. But not everyone shared the same viewpoints. Dive deeper into these confusing times with one of our topics on American history before 1877:

Why did scholars initially view the Reconstruction Era in a bad light? When answering this question, you can focus on the idea of “Black Supremacism.” You also might want to analyze what compelled them to shift their perspective.
Another option is investigating what caused Reconstruction to fail . You can further argue where it succeeded and perhaps offer a new interpretation.
Maybe you’d prefer an essay on why the Reconstruction Era mattered . This topic allows you to highlight crucial contemporary debates still relevant today.
Tracing the origins of the Ku-Klux-Klan has much to offer. You can link this topic to today and question if handling them has changed.
Why did President Johnson veto the enactment of the Civil Rights Act in 1866? It might be interesting to contrast his political reasoning and his personal beliefs.
Compare the phases of Reconstruction. How did the concept change from Lincoln’s initial plans to President Johnson’s execution?
How did urbanization affect American life? Your paper could contrast life in the city and the countryside. You can take economic, social, and health factors into account.
How did the American landscape change during industrialization? You might want to examine city growth and architecture.
The invention of electricity was one of the most important events in human history. It might be compelling to wonder what side effects its implementation had.
Why not investigate the symbolism of skyscrapers? Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead is a fascinating source for this subject.

But wait, that’s not all of it. We’ve got more, including topics on American history since 1877:

Did the situation for freedmen improve after Reconstruction?
How did industrialization affect African Americans?
Discuss what consequences the Compromise of 1877 had.
The role of transportation during industrialization.
How does an assembly line work?

The first ever assembly line was installed by Henry Ford.

The invention of the automobile.
Describe in what ways mass production affected American society.
What was the Panic of 1873?
Long-term effects of Plessy v. Ferguson.
How did the Freedmen’s Bureau help former slaves?
Why did rebuilding the South prove so difficult?
Debate the effects of the print revolution on American society.
What was the primary goal of Reconstruction?
How did the Reconstruction Act affect politics in the South?
What caused the formation of Radical Republicans?
The transformation of leisure in late 19 th century America.
Analyze why landownership was a crucial issue in establishing African American equality.
Was President Johnson’s attempted impeachment in 1868 justified?
How did the US government help exacerbate the wealth gap in the late 19 th century?
What changes did transcontinental railroad transportation bring?
How did John D. Rockefeller influence the American economy?
The role of oil in industrializing America.
Discuss the relevance of the Great Upheaval.
Changing gender roles in times of urbanization.
Industrialization and Education: obstacles and opportunities for women and African Americans.
Analyze how industrialization and urbanization in the USA challenged old values.
How did the American newspaper business change in the 19 th century?
The impact of sensationalism on the American public.
Why did steel become such a crucial material during the late 1800s?
What caused the Reconstruction Era to come to an end?
How did contemporary cartoons attempt to depict the mood during Reconstruction?
What problems did Ulysses S. Grant have to face with his administration?
Compare and contrast reconstruction measures in various states.
Why did cities become increasingly attractive for America’s rural population in the 19 th century?
Examine the significance of the Slaughterhouse Cases.
Determine the difference between Presidential Reconstruction and Radical Reconstruction?
From the black code to Jim Crow: institutionalized racism in the southern states.
The combined rise of populism and imperialism in the 1800s.
Discuss the significance of regional differences during industrialization .
The impact of labor unions on the American work environment.

🗽 20th Century US History Topics to Write About

By the turn of the century, the US was a significant global player. Events such as the Great Depression affected the whole world. In addition, American contributions to the arts changed the cultural sphere forever. If you’re looking for modern US history thematic essay topics, this section is for you.

Why did the “final frontier” gain such importance in the 20 th century? Your essay could examine if the space race was an extension of Manifest Destiny.
How did the Titanic’s sinking influence innovation and safety regulations ? The ship was the biggest and most technologically advanced ocean liner at the time. Carrying over 2000 passengers, it sank on its maiden voyage. Investigating its legacy might yield fascinating results.
How did progressivism shape the political landscape in America at the turn of the century? In the early 1900s, the USA was almost a different country than it was 50 years prior. How did this happen? And who were the leading figures of this process?
Are you curious about the development of American workplace laws? Write about the consequences of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire.
If you’re into corporate history, look into the rise and fall of America’s formerly largest retailer, Sears.
The real William Randolph Hearst vs. his portrayal in David Fincher’s Mank . This topic allows you to combine film theory and the history of American journalism.
The impact of Citizen Kane on movies around the globe. To this day, Citizen Kane is considered one of the most influential films ever made. In a paper on the 1941 masterpiece, you can focus on what made it special. Which features are still prominent in cinema today?
How did the eugenics movement affect American society? You might want to investigate marriage laws or forced sterilizations.
Consequences of the Spanish-American War. The brief battle didn’t last long, but its impact was immense. Your essay could highlight the war as a stepping stone to making the US a global power.
Escalating racial violence: The Rosewood Massacre. In 1923, the entire town of Rosewood, Florida, was wiped out by white aggressors. How did racial tensions get so far?

Haven’t found anything yet? Here are some other American history thesis topics for you to explore:

The impact of the Cold War on the American economy.
What caused the Great Depression?
Ellis Island as a beacon of hope for immigrants and refugees.
The transformation of the American school system in the 1920s.
What were pop art’s main concepts?
Moral vs. political considerations during the annexation of Hawaii.
Who were the Social Gospel preachers?
John Dewey’s role in advancing education.
What sources fueled American progressivism?
Trace the timeline of Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency.
What was laissez-faire capitalism?
How did President Woodrow Wilson reform businesses?
A dive into the speakeasy culture.
How did the widespread availability of cars impact American dating life?
Prohibition: reasons and consequences.
Connecting arts and civil rights: The Harlem Renaissance.
Al Capone and the rise of organized crime in the 1920s.
What was the New Deal, and why was it necessary?
How did FDR’s “Alphabet Agencies” help the economy after the Great Depression?
Explore the funding of the UN.
Discuss the significance of the Berlin Airlift.
Screen rebels: how James Dean and Marlon Brando changed American cinema forever.
Find a connection between McCarthyism and the Salem Witch Trials.
How did affordable television perpetuate the idea of the ideal American family?
Analyze the political consequences of the Watergate scandal.
A new American culture: variety shows in the 1950s.
The origins of Rock’n’roll.
What caused the US to slide into inflation in the 1970s?
Counterculture literature in the middle of the century: The Beat Generation.
The aftermath of the Vietnam War.
What made John F. Kennedy a popular president?
The development of Hippie culture in the 1960s.
Reproductive rights and the rise of American feminism in the late 20 th century.
Intertwining show-business and government: Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
Outline the tactical maneuvers of Operation Desert Storm.
How did MTV revolutionize the music industry ?
Why did drug use become an existential problem in America during the 1970s and 80s?
American environmental reform policies from 1960 to 1980.
’70s fashion as a social and political statement in the US.
How did the sexual revolution redefine American social life?

🔫 Topics about America in World Wars I & II

America during the World Wars is an engaging writing prompt. But it may be too broad for an essay. That’s why it makes sense to narrow your focus. Which area do you find most interesting about the subject? For example, you can choose between culture, economy, technology, and, of course, the military.

Repressions and progress went hand in hand in the postwar US. Writing about the impact of WWI on domestic American politics would give you various directions to research.
President Woodrow Wilson was against entering the war until 1917. What events led the US to break its neutrality?
Many Germans of the time called the Treaty of Versailles a “dictate of shame.” It is often considered a significant reason for World War II. What was the US’ position on the Treaty of Versailles?
After WWI, America followed isolationist politics. Until 1941, when they declared war on Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Could the USA have stayed out of WWII?
How did WWII affect the American economy? Think about military needs and rationing.
President Woodrow Wilson was a fierce supporter of the League of Nations. But congress coerced him not to have the USA join. Should America have become a member of this organization?

How did American civilians contribute to the war effort? Your essay can focus specifically on women. Be sure to examine new arrangements in daily life.
If you’re more into art, why not analyze how the world wars influenced American art?
WWII changed all aspects of American life, including their diet. What new methods of food preservation emerged during that time?
Another fascinating topic to engage in is propaganda and advertisement in the US during WWII. Your focus might lie on how they targeted different members of society.

Don’t forget to read the rest of our topics on this issue:

Evaluate Woodrow Wilson’s 14 points program.
How did the American army recruitment work in WWII?
“Kilroy was here”: examine where the mysterious slogan comes from.
Outline the history of Japanese Americans in Japanese internment camps.
US spies: where and how did they operate?
The Manhattan Project: trace the making of the atomic bomb.
How did migration shape American society in the 1930s and ‘40s?
The notion of freedom in America before, during, and after the wars.
What role did communication play for the military in WWI vs. WWII?
Canadian-American relations during WWII.
How did the wars spur transportation developments in the US?
Discuss the significance of D-Day.
Could the allies have won WWII without the USA?
Why did America emerge as a “Global Policeman” after the world wars?
The effects of National Socialism in America.
In what ways does the outcome of WWII still influence American society today?
Compare and contrast military strategies in Europe vs. the Pacific.
Was the dropping of the atomic bomb necessary?
After the Little Boy’s devastating results, why did the American government decide to drop Fat Man?
What made the Zimmerman telegram such a central document for American war participation?
What happened to prisoner-of-war camps in the US after the fighting was over?
Compare the leadership styles of Franklin D. Roosevelt in WWII and Woodrow Wilson in WWI.
Why did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor?
What methods did the American government use to conceal their operations?
Growing up in the ‘40s: how did the war impact the manufacture of toys?
Which medical advancements were helpful to American soldiers in WWII that didn’t yet exist in WWI?
How did the 1940s fashion in the USA reflect the global situation?
Did the two world wars change the civil rights situation for African Americans? If so, how?
How did the war affect employment in the US?
What was unique about the Higgins boats?
The role of submarines in WWI.
How did America cooperate with the allied forces in Europe in WWI?
Discuss how the American citizens reacted to being drawn into WWI vs. WWII.
Did anyone in the US profit from the wars? If so, who?
Describe how American families changed during WWII.
What stories do letters that soldiers sent to their families back home tell?
Joseph Heller’s depiction of World War II in the novel Catch-22 .
Compare and contrast memory culture concerning WWII in Russia vs. the USA.
How did the perception of America on the global stage change after World War I?
The role of women in the US military.

☮️ Essay Topics About the Civil Rights Movement

The struggle for African American equality finally intensified in the 1950s and 60s. Influential figures such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks emerged. Their resilience inspired countless others. Seventy years later, the fight is far from over. The rights of minorities and people of color are still a crucial topic in American society today.

Nine months before the Montgomery Bus Boycott , Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat to a white woman. Yet, Rosa Parks is the one commonly associated with sparking the event. Why is Claudette Colvin often ignored in history?
Everybody knows Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, but who were the Civil Rights Movement’s lesser-known figures? Start your research with Aurelia Browder and Susie McDonald.
Which concepts and themes can you find in Martin Luther King Jr. ’s I Have A Dream speech? One idea is to focus on how he expresses hope and freedom for black Americans.

Which committees and organizations were central to the Civil Rights Movement’s success ? Discuss the roles of the SNCC, CORE, and NAACP.
What makes Malcolm X a controversial figure? Be sure to mention his nationalist ideas and membership in the Nation of Islam.
The Little Rock Nine: what made their integration into Little Rock Central High School difficult? In your research paper, you can write about harassment issues and military intervention.
What did the Civil Rights Act of 1957 change? On the one hand, you can talk about the history of voter rights. On the other, you might want to investigate how the public reacted to the new law.
If you prefer personal stories, you can trace Ruby Bridges’ experiences. She became famous as the first black person to go to an all-white school. She’s still alive today.
History can be ugly. If you’re not afraid to encounter violence during your research, check out the Freedom Rides. How did they help attract international attention to the Civil Rights Movement?
Consequences of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Did the movement die with him? How did the government respond?

Are you curious for more? Have a look at these prompts:

Compare the modern Black Lives Matter movement with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
What did the Black Panthers party achieve?
The best way to teach about the Civil Rights Movement in 8 th grade.
What happened at the Greensboro sit-ins?
Why did the civil rights activists encounter so much violence, even though they mostly protested peacefully?
Compare and contrast Gandhi’s methods and those of Martin Luther King Jr.
Why was Bloody Sunday a crucial moment for the Civil Rights Movement
What was the “long, hot summer”?
Examine the creation of the Kerner Commission.
The role of students in advancing civil rights for African Americans.
What rights did black Americans gain through the Civil Rights Movement
Describe the Nation of Islam’s goals.
Who were the members of the Black Panther Party?
What distinguishes the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s from previous movements to establish more rights for African Americans?
Give a brief overview of the most important Supreme Court decisions concerning the struggle for equality.
The importance of the church for the Civil Rights Movement.
Compare the effects of various marches for freedom.
What made Martin Luther King Jr. a great leader for the movement?
How did the murder of Emmett Till affect the public’s view on segregation and racism?
How did the press support or hinder the Civil Rights Movement?
Loving v. Virginia: legacy and contemporary significance.
What did the notion of “miscegenation” entail?
What were the Jim Crow laws?
Describe the goals and achievements of Operation Breadbasket.
Who was Stokely Carmichael?
Analyze Ralph Abernathy’s autobiography And the Walls Came Tumbling Down . Why do some people consider it controversial?
Debate the criticism brought up against the Congress of Racial Equality.
Why did some civil rights activists in the 1960s radicalize?
Did the election of Barack Obama mark the end of the struggle for equal rights?
Discuss the success of the Baton Rouge bus boycott.
What events led to Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the Voting Rights Act?
Examine Coretta Scott King’s career after her husband’s passing.
Investigate conspiracy theories concerning James Earl Ray’s role in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
The publishing and writing process of Malcolm X’s autobiography.
How and why did the 2020 election undermine parts of the Voting Rights Act?
Is studying the Civil Rights Movement still relevant today? If so, why?
How did CORE help desegregate schools in Chicago?
Who is Jesse Jackson?
Contemporary commemoration of the Civil Rights Movement.
How did John F. Kennedy’s death impact the Civil Rights Movement?

💬 Debatable US History Topics to Research

Controversy has been a constant companion of American history. And it’s not only questionable segregation practices that are up for debate. Women’s and LGBT rights, as well as welfare programs, are issues still unresolved today. If you want argumentative or persuasive essay topics about American history, check out this section.

Memories are always socially constructed. “How do various communities around the US perceive monuments of slaveholders?” is an engaging question to explore in your essay.
In 1995, an exhibition at the Smithsonian centered around the Enola Gay sparked a nationwide controversy. Critics said the exhibit focused too much on the Japanese suffering the nuclear bomb dropped from the aircraft caused. Was that criticism justified?
In the past, Colonial Williamsburg’s issues with slavery were often overlooked. Instead, when creating and developing the historical site, the focus lay on its democratic values. Is Colonial Williamsburg still a good place to learn about American history?
What does the Liberty Bell stand for today? You can include recent and older controversies surrounding the location and custody of the bell.
Tracing the history of LGBT rights will yield many debatable insights. Which court decisions would you consider especially controversial, and why?
The legacy of the Centralia massacre in 1919: are the events linked to the Red Scare? How did the town try to obscure the truth?
In 1887, President Eisenhower supported a campaign to promote patriotism. Part of this was the addition of “under God” to the American Pledge of Allegiance. Analyze the debates surrounding the issue.
The history of prostitution laws in the US. Your thesis could suggest a connection between decriminalizing sex work and the workers’ wellbeing.
In the 2020 election, several states voted to legalize not only marijuana but also other drugs. History shows many movements to legalize recreational drug use. What was different now?
Many older Disney cartoons depict racist stereotypes. The question of adjusting them to modern values sparked much debate. Using this discussion to explore how America should deal with problematic media from the past might be promising.

Keep reading and discover more controversial United States history topics.

Did President Barack Obama deserve his Nobel Peace Prize?
What did the US gain from the Iraq War?
Would Germany have won WWII without America’s intervention?
Should the presidents of the previous century have done more to promote animal rights?
Given its historical context, should we keep celebrating Thanksgiving?
Why did it take so long for American women to achieve legally equal rights?
Find historical reasons why the US never instituted universal healthcare.
The necessity of cow’s milk in America: past vs. present.
Was the annexation of Puerto Rico justified?
Did the Chicano Movement achieve positive changes for Mexican Americans?
John F. Kennedy’s most controversial presidential actions.
The ratification of the 8 th amendment.
Was the government’s response to 9/11 justified?
The role of faith in American history before 1877 and after.
Who or what caused the US’ drug overdose epidemic?
HIV/AIDS denialism in America in the 1990s.
What should Locust Grove do to restore its deteriorating African American cemetery? Can the place be considered a historical site?
Why did some states introduce felon disenfranchisement in 1792? Did the new law spark any outrage?
Trace the historical timeline of the same-sex marriage debate.
The USA has always been a country of immigrants. How did this lead to immigration being a fiercely discussed topic nowadays?
How did the US contribute to the current instability in the Middle East?
Was the “Lost Generation” reckless?
How do US historians influence public opinion?
Does the Red Scare reflect on Russian-American relations today?
Should Bill Clinton have stayed in office ?
Discuss the benefits of being a hippie in the 60s.
Can the members of the Beat Generation serve as role models for travel enthusiasts today?
Roe v. Wade: what made the court case a turning point in the fight for women’s reproductive rights?
Did American feminism become too radical by the late 19 th century?
The rise and fall of DDT: Why was it allowed in the first place?
What should US history education for high school students look like?
From a historical perspective, does the reality in Watchmen seem like a likely scenario for the future?
Psychiatric methods in early 1900s America.
The role of performance-enhancing drugs in the history of American sports achievements.
Why do some people believe that the moon landing was staged?
Criticism against Ayn Rand’s objectivism and its influence.
Before opening America’s first women’s hospital, gynecologist J. Marion Sims experimented on slaves. Should he still be celebrated as the ‘father’ of modern gynecology?
Is the notion of “American Century” accurate?
American exceptionalism in the 20 th century vs. now.
Has technological innovation always been beneficial for the American public?

✊🏿 Black History Topics for an Essay

African American experiences are still very different than those of their white compatriots. That’s why it’s crucial to analyze people of color’s perspectives of and contributions to history. Black history includes thematic topics on education, society, and culture.

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave adapts the 1853 memoirs of Solomon Northup. Though the film doesn’t shy away from brutal images, critics argued it was too soft. Should film writers surrender accurate historical representation to make their content more accessible?
After the Civil War, slavery was officially banned in the US. Still, the South continued to find ways to exploit black labor. Examine the consequences of new methods such as convict leasing and sharecropping.
Many of those who opposed slavery complied with the system by staying silent or inactive. What did this mean for the reality of African Americans? Why didn’t these people stand up?
A paper on what caused the Red Summer of 1919 can focus on the South to North migration of African Americans during WWI.
In the 20 th century, the Great Migration relocated many African Americans. How did this event impact the development of black culture? Your paper could concentrate on art movements or political activism.
The GI Bill promised financial benefits to veterans. But former black soldiers didn’t profit as much as their white compatriots. To analyze a concrete example of racist inequality, you can write about how the GI Bill affected African American veterans.
For decades, American universities did their best to keep African Americans from receiving higher education. How is education inequality still impacting black students today?
After WWI, Tulsa was a prosperous city home to the so-called “ Black Wall Street .” Then the Tulsa Race Massacre happened, and the area was left in shambles. Explore the moving history of Tulsa’s Greenwood District.
Do you want to investigate the powerful interplay between cinema and reality? Dedicate your essay to the connection between D.W. Griffith’s 1915 picture The Birth of a Nation and the Ku Klux Klan’s revival. What did this mean for black lives in the early 20 th century?
Pan-Africanism in the United States: Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Writing about this topic, you might want to highlight African American nationalism in the 20 th century.

Are none of these prompts for you? Don’t worry; we’ve got more African American history paper topics for college students:

Booker T. Washington vs. W. E. B. Du Bois: similarities and disagreements.
African American innovators who never received credit for their inventions.

The most important African American inventors.

From Hiram Rhodes Revels and Shirley Chisholm to Barack Obama: African Americans who paved the way for modern American democracy.
Should the US government pay reparations to descendants of former slaves?
Sojourner Truth: how did the former slave fight to end injustice?
How did job competition in the North intensify racial tensions in the 20 th century?
The accomplishments of Dorothy Johnson Vaughan.
Ida B. Wells’ legacy and the history of lynching in America.
Why do we celebrate Black History Month, and why is it important?
What does Juneteenth commemorate?
Histories of the most famous black scientists in the United States.
How did the geographic distribution of black people in America transform over time?
Key activists of the abolitionist movement.
How did African Americans contribute to NASA’s success?
African Americans in the age of Prohibition: views and effects.
Juxtapose the development of black rights and felon rights.
Analyze the significance of Marian Anderson’s show on the National Mall for the Civil Rights Movement.
African American women in the beauty business: the story of Madame C. J. Walker.
What motivated many black Americans to fight in WWI voluntarily?
How did enslaved people manage to escape to the Northern states?
Compare the origins and outcomes of the Civil Rights Movement’s various marches.
The New Deal’s effect on African Americans.
Explore the connection between black history in the US and cotton.
What does the term “black flight” mean, and why might the phenomenon be a problem?
How did white capping inhibit the development of black communities?
What were the goals of the Che Lumumba Club?
Analyze the Regents of the University of California v. Bakke case. What did its outcome mean for equality?
What makes Angela Davis a crucial figure in the black history discourse?
Analyze how Jackie Robinson broke the “color line” to pave the way for African American participation in professional sports.
Discuss the long-term consequences of the Tuskegee experiment.
How did the Watts Riots affect African American communities in California?
Explore the origins of Kwanzaa.
African American poetry before 1877: Lucy Terry’s Bars Fight .
Not so free after all: enactment of the Fugitive Slave Law.
Did the situation for American people of color improve after the implementation of Affirmative Action laws? If so, how?
Trailblazing black Americans in education.
How did sports help promote equality for African Americans in the 1900s?
Who were the Scottsboro boys?
Journalism’s fight for social justice: The Crisis magazine then and now.
How did Prohibition help dissolve segregation?

🏞️ Native American Topics to Write About

Much effort has gone into improving the relations between Americans and the indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, this hasn’t always been the case. The history of native Americans is tainted with cruel battles. Taking a closer look reveals the interplay of various cultures and customs.

Pocahontas is one of the most renowned figures in Native American history. Compare Pocahontas’ real life vs. how she is depicted in the media. Why was she often romanticized?
How did Andrew Jackson’s government justify the Indian Removal Act? Moral standards during that time and economic reasoning might be a compelling area to focus on.
Native American participation in American wars. The colonists fought many battles with each other. France, Spain, and England all competed for the new territory. Did Native Americans participate in these fights? If so, whose side were they on?
African peoples were not the only ones who suffered serfdom. Your research paper could cover the colonial enslavement of Native Americans.
In the 18 th century, settlers and natives negotiated a variety of treaties. What did they say? Were these treaties ever beneficial for the natives?
The Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 organized Native American lives into reservations. What did life look like for natives in these reservations? Additionally, you could examine how reservations affect their lives today.
Attempts to deal with Native Americans included assimilation and “civilization.” How did these methods work out? For a concrete example, investigate Henry Pratt’s Carlisle Indian Industrial school.
If you want to know more about Indian belief systems, research the emergence of the Ghost Dance. Originating in the late 19 th century, many native communities adapted the new tradition.
Geronimo escaped captivity countless times before turning himself in. How did he do that? Your essay can look at his beliefs and this geographical knowledge.
The Narragansett was the first tribe to encounter European settlers. What were their relations? How did they develop? Consider territorial struggles and the role of Roger Williams.

Are you looking for something else? Check out these US history essay questions and prompts:

Compare and contrast American and Australian historical relations to their native population.
What events led to the breakout of King Philip’s War?
Ancient Indian burial rituals and modern myths.
How did the Cherokees rebuild their lives after the Trail of Tears?
Sacagawea’s contribution to the success of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Great Native American leaders: Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.
What happened at the Battle of the Little Bighorn?
Consequences for Native American lives after the proclamation of 1763.
The crucial role of Navajo Code Talkers in WWII.
How did integration into American culture transform tribal life for different tribes?
Explore naming customs of various Native American tribes.
Is Black Elk Speaks an accurate representation of Lakota culture?
What did the American Indian Movement achieve?
What makes the Massacre of Wounded Knee significant?
Trace Leonard Peltier’s career in politics and activism.
Chief Tecumseh and the Indian confederacy.
Compare and contrast the cultures of native tribes from various regions in America before colonization.
How did American policies regarding the indigenous population change from the Mayflower’s arrival until now?
What happened to California’s extensive Native American population after it became a state?
The development of Native American music.
Traditional Cherokee farming tools and techniques.
Native Americans and religion: what compelled some chiefs to convert to Christianity?
How did N. Scott Momaday’s House Made of Dawn shape indigenous cultures’ image for the general public?
How did native spiritualism relate to the environment?
Gender roles of the Sioux tribe before 1900.
The greatest battles between First Nations and Americans.
Why were the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee considered the “Five Civilized Tribes”?
America’s first native newspaper: The Cherokee Phoenix and its modern equivalent.
How did many of today’s Native Americans become entangled with alcohol and gambling?
Myths and speculations on the ancient origins of indigenous Americans.
Economic development of Native American tribes in the 20 th century.
Why did Cochise and his Apache warriors raid American settlements?
Trace the history of indigenous feminism.
What were the blood quantum laws, and why were they introduced?
Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill: forging an unlikely friendship.
The accomplishments of Oglala Lakota chief Red Cloud.
How did the Louisiana Purchase impact First Nations in the region?
The history of Native Americans in law and politics.
The political aftermath of the Sand Creek Massacre
Cheyenne warrior societies: the emergence of Dog Soldiers as a separate band.

⭐ Topics on Famous People in American History

People shape history. Many of America’s leading historical figures made it to global importance. This section provides you with history essay topics on American artists, presidents, innovators, and more.

The “King of Pop” Michael Jackson died a decade ago. Why is he still one of the most debated American celebrities? Your essay could focus on the controversial allegations of child abuse towards him.
The social influence of Benjamin Franklin’s journalism is an enticing topic. It allows you to look at the founding father from a different angle. Make sure to include in your essay his desire to educate Americans in morality.
John Harvey Kellogg was a progressive healthcare leader. He was also a fierce follower of Adventism. If you endorse obscure things, write about Kellogg’s “warfare with passion.”
Mural made Jackson Pollock famous. Reflect on his career before and after the painting. How did the artist find his passion for drip painting?
As a First Lady, Betty Ford was a strong advocate for women’s rights. But her political influence didn’t end with her husband’s career. Discuss Betty Ford’s accomplishments after her time in the White House. Mention her addiction and the subsequent establishment of the Betty Ford Center.
In 1935, J. Edgar Hoover founded the FBI. In his later years, he became a controversial figure due to his abuses of power . Examine Hoover’s investigations of subversion. What do you find surprising about them?
Before his brother’s assassination, Bobby Kennedy wasn’t particularly popular in the US. Analyze his speeches during his political career after the event. What made him a compassionate orator?
The Kennedy-Nixon debates provide a rich foundation for those interested in political campaigning. How did the public react to them? What did the polls say? Keep in mind that it was America’s first televised presidential debate.
If you seek to combine environmentalism and politics, Al Gore is your man. How did Al Gore shape America’s political discourse in the 2000s? Consider his loss against George Bush in the controversial 2000 election.
Literature enthusiasts know Allen Ginsberg for his explicit poem Howl . How did he express his political and social activism in his works? You could focus on his fight for free speech and the Howl trial.

We’ve got more topics on regents and other famous Americans for you to check out:

Just Say No: Nancy Reagan and the failure of her anti-drug campaign.
Why was Abraham Lincoln such a controversial figure?
Kurt Cobain and Nirvana: the voice of the ‘90s youth.
Ronald Reagan was an actor before he became president. What drove him into politics?
What circumstances made Donald Trump’s presidency possible?
Why was Jimmy Carter such an unpopular president?
Discuss what Eleanor Roosevelt achieved for women.
Stanley Kubrick: was he the greatest filmmaker of the 20 th century?
The role of First Ladies before the Civil War.
Judith Butler’s influence on American feminism.
Margaret Sanger: the initiator of the birth control movement.
How did Oprah Winfrey get to where she is now?
Steve Jobs and the revolution of computer technology.
Research the mysterious Zodiac Killer and his ciphers. Why were many people obsessed with him?
How did the Wright Brothers shape the history of aviation?
Amelia Earhart’s disappearance: myths and facts.
J. Robert Oppenheimer’s contributions to physics.
Bruce Lee and the transformation of martial arts.
How did O.J. Simpson end up in the US’ most famous car chase?
Charles Goodyear and the road to vulcanized rubber.
Creating nanotechnology : the legacy of Eric Drexler.
Muhammad Ali’s influence on raising awareness for Parkinson’s research.
Describe how Bobby Fischer impacted the world of chess.
What made Chuck Norris so famous?
How did Marilyn Monroe change the American attitude towards sexuality?
Truman Capote’s role in advancing LGBT rights.
Harper Lee’s biography after the publishing of To Kill A Mockingbird .
Transforming science fiction: the legacy of Philip K. Dick.
Andy Warhol as a global anti-capitalist icon.
Bringing quantum physics forward: the brilliance of Richard Feynman.
Samuel Colt and the consequences of inventing the revolver.
Analyze the significance of Helen Keller’s work for women’s and disabled persons’ rights.
How did Sam Walton become the wealthiest American in 1985?
Discuss the importance of Thurgood Marshall for the Civil Rights Movement.
What inspired Bill W. to found Alcoholics Anonymous?
Paving the way for gay politicians: the activism of Harvey Milk.
What was Louis B. Mayer’s management style with MGM?
Walt Disney: who was the person behind the chipper cartoons?
Trace Estée Lauder’s success story.
How did Olympia Brown contribute to advance gender equality in the religious sphere?

We hope you found your ideal essay or project topic on US history. Good luck with your assignment!

100 History Research Paper and Essay Topics

15 August, 2021

13 minutes read

Author: Richard Pircher

History is reasonably one of the most important subjects every student encounters in their school, college, or university life. Some students adore it and prioritize history among all other subjects, while others hate it and find it ultimately boring. The truth is, history class is quite essential: it teaches you how to think critically, reflect on the events, find links between cases and occasions, and gives you a valuable opportunity to develop analytical skills. Indeed, studying what happened in the past is critical for understanding the future and being able to interpret current events. Moreover, learning history can make us capable of controlling the things happening around us and contributing to the better quality of our own lives.

As a history student, you are certainly expected to compose sound essays on world history topics as well as elaborate on any American history topic. To make sure you write quality essays , you need to learn how to process history essay topics, outline your arguments, and depict historical events in a convincing and accurate way. All in all, keeping some pieces of advice in mind can do you good if your goal is to come up with interesting history topics and craft excellent essays. In the following guide, we will talk about the key features of a history research paper, discuss how to choose history topics to write about, and provide you with sample history topics.

What Is a History Research Paper?

A history research paper challenges students with analyzing literature sources that are relevant to a particular historical event or historical era. Writing such a paper requires thorough preparation as well as in-depth research. Just like other types of college essays, a history essay follows a standard structure, where you need to develop a thesis statement and support it with relevant arguments and respective data. Thus, the only difference between a history research paper and other types of academic essays is that the first one analyzes solely historical events.

When writing a history research paper, it is critical to keep several points in mind, namely:

Relevance of the topic: why is it worth being discussed these days?
How is the topic related to the current times?
Why was the topic critical in the past?
How can a topic contribute to solving current economic and social issues?

Once you consider all the tips outlined above, you’ll become a pro at mastering any subject, from United States history research paper topics to the history of the middle ages.

Problems with writing Your History Research Paper ? Try our Essay Writer Service!

A Quick Guide to Choosing the Right Topic

If your goal is to craft an amazing history research paper with a strong thesis statement and not a less strong argument, there is a lot of effort to be made. A huge component of success lies in choosing the right topic. If you select a good and interesting one, you facilitate the writing process for yourself as well as make sure you will ultimately grab the reader’s attention. You might need to step out of your comfort zone and avoid limiting yourself to typical topics that have already been discussed thousands of times. Take a look at some tips that will help you come up with interesting but at the same time controversial topics in history:

It is always helpful if you take a look at existing, ongoing research topics. Coming up with your topic might be quite a challenge if you have no idea of what is going on in History research. For instance, find 20-30 US history topics, take a look at them, and think for a while. Which one has grabbed your interest the most? Which topic has the most potential and the biggest importance to you?

Do some prior research

Once you know the approximate direction of your research, go to the Internet and discover what others write about it. Try to search for some evidence you might need to apply in your paper. Once you find enough support and information, you will be able to narrow down the research topic and come up with your arguments for an essay.

Select the best sources

Writing a history research paper has a lot to do with literature research. You will need to find a bunch of online sources and select only the ones that are most relevant to your research topic. Make sure you use only the most reliable sources and always apply appropriate citations to avoid plagiarism.

Start outlining

Once you’re all set with a research paper topic, don’t forget to structure your history paper. Outlining is the key to writing a proficient, coherent, well-argumented paper. You will need to follow standard outlining: introduction, main body paragraphs, and a summary paragraph at the end. Make sure you have reasonable arguments and evidence for each point of your outline.

Develop multiple thesis statements

A thesis statement plays a critical role when we talk about history research papers. First, it gives the reader an idea of what you will be talking about in the essay. Additionally, it does let the reader know which line of arguments you will follow later on and helps them understand why you decided to talk about a specific historical event. To make it easier for you to structure body paragraphs, develop several statements. If you do so, you will develop several different arguments and finally choose the best ones.

Without further ado, take a look at 100 history research paper topics that will serve you as a basis for your own piece of writing:

Ancient History

Ancient Rome vs. ancient Greece: which one had more power in the past, and whose impact can be traced better today?
The philosophy of ancient greeks and its impact today
How the voting system of ancient Greece was organized
Protests in the ancient era: how demonstrations were organized in the past
The political system of ancient Rome
The military forces in ancient Greece
How Gladiator games were organized and which goal they pursued?
The society organization in ancient Egypt
Alexander the Great as one of the most leading figures in ancient History
Ancient Rome and civilian life

Middle Ages History Research Paper Topics

Crimes in the middle ages and how criminal behavior was treated
European Cities’ infrastructure during the medieval times
Philosophers of Medieval times and their impact on life today
The role of interfaith marriages in Medieval Europe
The most meaningful discoveries during the Middle Times and their contribution to the world economy
Revival of the Byzantine: the role and importance of the notion
Quran and its role in Medieval Europe
Middle Ages and the impact on the history of Europe
Why do some historians associate the Middle Ages with the era of discoveries?

Modern History

The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: the reasons and possible prevention mechanisms
Native Americans in the US today
US immigrant policy: the challenges that are being put on the foreign residents
Social movements and the role of the industrialization
Social movements in the US today
The notion of Westward Expansion
The most prominent inventions of the 21st century and their inventors
Industrialization and its consequences for the US
Great Recession: tracing the adverse consequence of the crisis today
The role of NATO in the modern society

World History Research Paper Topics

The war between the United States and Mexico: the reasons and outcomes
The colonization of South America
The famous battle at sea Spain and Great Britain
How Medieval Europe shaped and perceived social interactions and personal relationships
The long-term consequences of the Cold War between the countries of the Soviet Bloc and the United States
The Chernobyl explosion: one of the biggest nuclear catastrophes of the mankind
1968 student revolts
Formation of the European Union and the key events that contributed to it

European History

French revolution and the force distribution that followed
The history of the European economy
Early Modern Europe
Muslims of Europe
The propaganda of western theories in the 20th century
England of the 17th century and the problem of gender bias
The analysis of Mid-Tudor Crises in Europe
The history of Nazi Germany: comparing German government of the past to the government of today

World War I

The Treaty of Versailles and its impact on the events of World War I
The Gallipoli campaign and the World War I
The image of eastern and western fronts in World War I
Chemical Weapon in World War I: economic necessity or a hazard?
The entrance of America into the World War
Most influential alliances during the times of World War I
World War I and the Russian revolution
Battle at sea vs battle in the air: which countries used which strategies and why?
People and World War I: the cost of lives

World War II

How the Soviet army entered World War II and why its entry was critical for the World history
Child labor during the times of World War II
Africa and the World War II
Why did America decide to take a neutral role during World War II?
The fate of Germany after the end of the World War II
The state of diplomacy during World War II
The occupation of Japan
The events of the final year of World War II
Resistance towards Hitler in Germany during the times of World War II

African American History Research Paper Topics

The role of the 14th Amendment in the lives of African American society
Attempts to end slavery via Abolitionist Movement: success and failure factors
Angela Davis – one of the greatest civil rights activists in African American society
How Black Codes were designed to limit the freedoms of African Americans
Black History month: the roots of an opportunity to fight racism and learn the history of African Americans
Dr. Martin Luther King and his impact that finds reflection in the African American society today
Malcolm X and the rights of the people of color
How cultural movements of African Americans contributed to the cultural diversity of the United States
Robert F. Kennedy and the success of his speech

United States History

The causes of civil war in the United States
1776: the years of independence declaration
The key personalities during the times of revolutionary war
American social movements and the consequences that industrialization has had on the first
The history of slavery and human rights deprivation in the United States
The role of indigenous people: how is modern culture shaped by the impact of native Americans?
Analyzing the period between the wars
Emancipation Proclamation of 1863
Alcohol prohibition in the US: the roots and long-term consequences for the economy
Some of the most prominent historical events that took place during the times of Cold War
The Image of the United States during the Cold War
Cold War ar the period of uncertainty, fear, and resilience
The reason why Europe’s impact has been constantly shrinking at the times of cold war
Countries involved in the cold war and their role in it
Was it possible to prevent the Cold War or reduce its duration?
The influence of the Cold War in the current era: comparison of Russian vs. American pop cultures
The culture of the Soviet Union at the times of the Cold War
Chinese Communist Revolution during the Cold War

20th Century History Topics

American history of the 21st century
Ronald Reagan and the impact of the Mixed Legacies
The Holocaust and Roosevelt’s administration
Vietnam war: the role of females
Political Risks in American History during the reign of Harry Truman
Dictatorship in North Korea: the reasons behind it
The uprising of democratic movements
The history of organized crime in the 1920s in America
The greatest causes and consequences of the Great Depression
The death of the Soviet Union: how the world’s biggest country came to an end

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Ethical Research Paper Topics

Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]

Art Research Paper Topics

Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]

126 Modern History Topics: Essential Essay Ideas & Questions

Modern history covers an impressive number of significant events. It is fascinating but, at the same time, quite complicated. Therefore, the understanding of the key concepts can be challenging.

The unpredicted turn of events and difficulties in setting the exact time frames often confuse people. As a result, they become lost and discouraged. Sometimes, history studying even becomes a real torture for students.

Are you struggling with the search for modern history topics for your essay? You are on the right page! The selection of the appropriate and useful ideas for your successful paper has never been this easy. Our team created a comprehensive modern history topics list. We encourage you to use it to write a well-developed and robust history essay.

🔝 Top-10 Interesting Modern History Topics

📋 historical investigation topics: modern history, 🐉 16th-17th centuries, 🚂18th-19th centuries, ☢️ 20th century, 🚢 16th-17th centuries, ⚔️ 18th-19th centuries, 🏭 20th century, 🏹 16th-17th centuries, 🏗️ 18th-19th centuries, 🚀 20th century, ❓ modern history essay questions.

The Great Depression.
Modern history of Asia.
The Cold War.
World War 2.
The American Revolution.
The Mexican-American war.
Modern history of Africa.
Black Lives Matter Movement.
Modern Indian history.
Famous art movements in history.

To find relevant history essay topics, you need to be confident in detecting the time frames. The modern history is divided into three periods:

Early Modern Period (1500-1750)
Late Modern Period (1750-1945)
Contemporary Period (1945-present)

For your convenience, we divided modern history essay questions into several categories. We grouped our ideas according to location and time frames.

These modern history topics are for both essays and research papers.

For a proper search, first, choose a country of your interest—it can be the USA, for instance. Then, decide on the period that your assignment requires. For example, you may need interesting 20th-century history topics. After that, go to the corresponding section and explore the topic list. Pick one that you find the most fascinating and start creating your successful essay!

🗺️ Modern World History Topics

Starting from the 16th century and moving to the present times, modern history is developing. Think about it: what we have now reflects on what happened in the past. Analyzing the impact of historical events and figures, we cannot deny their significance.

The civilization went through two world wars, the industrial revolution, demographic movements, etc. All these events contribute to world development to a great extent.

Below, you’ll see modern history essay questions and topics. To examine a picked title on a deeper level, you may need to quite a lot of research. Worth it, though.

Religious symbolism in renaissance paintings .
China’s Qing Dynasty .
The growth of Daoism during the late Qing dynasty .
How did Buddhism become a tool of the Chinese Empire’s transformation?

Buddha presented the Four Noble Truths as guiding principles.

The 17th-century Catholic church: the historical authenticity vs. horizon expansion.
What was the history of the human rights’ evolution vs. violation in the modern world?
Ottoman–Safavid war of 1623–1639: a great conflict between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia.
Slavery in Africa . What was the dimension of slavery in Africa? Comment on who and how acquired native population for slavery. What were the roles of salves? Discuss the effects of slavery in Africa.
Qing dynasty : the last dynasty of China. How was the Qing dynasty developing? Comment on the origins of the Qing dynasty. Investigate political and economic development during the Qing Dynasty. How did the dynasty collapse?
Renaissance as the Revival of the World. What are the time frames of the Renaissance period? Discuss the origins of the Renaissance. Introduce the leading representatives of the Renaissance period? Explain why humanism was the central concept of the renaissance period.
The industrial revolution and beyond: culture, work, and social change .
What was the role of trade unions in the 18th-19th centuries?
Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878.
Evolution of the scientific revolution : the development of science.
History of Fukuzawa Yukichi: westernization of Japan.
Industrial revolution history . Briefly introduce the background of the industrial revolution. Which effects did the revolution have on society? Examine the world economy improvement due to the industrial revolution.
What were the cornerstones of scientific development? Examine the progress in biology studying. Who are the leading representatives of the biology progress of the given period? Comment on the impact of natural strides on the modern world. What are the most significant accomplishments of scientists?

The 19th century introduced photography and telephones.

Durrani Empire – the great empire of the 18th-19th centuries. How was the empire established? Who were the rulers? The Afgan state foundation as a part of the Durrani Empire’s existence. What was the relationship of the Durani Empire with China? Describe the decline of the empire.
Social studies advancement. What branches of social studies were the most developed in the 16th-17th centuries? Focus your attention on political science, geography, economics, sociology, psychology. Explain the reason for ongoing social studies’ progress.
Taiping Rebellion in China: the bloodiest conflict of the 19th century. Examine the causes of the conflict. What were the outcomes of the Taiping Rebellion? Discuss why Hong Xiuquan (the leader of the Taiping Rebellion) proclaimed himself Jesus’s younger brother.

The 20th century is one of the most influential and landmark periods in recent history. It focuses mainly on two world wars. The events of this period directly affect current society formation. The list below presents 20th-century world history essay topics. So, take benefit of it! Choose the most appropriate topic for your essay!

World War I origins (how and why the war started)
World War II positive and negative repercussions
Cold War major aspects and events
Feminist Movement in Canada.
What is the heritage of the Soviet Union ?

The Soviet Union was erased from world maps because it could not sustain itself.

The communist party in the Soviet Union and China.
The major causes of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.
What is the King–Byng affair? Consider the constitutional crisis in Canada of 1926. Discuss the causes and effects of the King-Byng affair. Examine how did the King-Byng lead to constitutional reform.
China’s democracy movement . Examine the beginning of the Chinese democratic movement. Consider the new democratic revolution and the cultural revolution. How do these events reflect on China’s democracy movement? Discover the issue of democracy wall movement. What was the reason for political persecution in China caused by the democratic movement?
World War I vs. World War II . Examine the differences and similarities of the two world wars. Analyze the causes and the outcomes of both wars. Give your own opinion: which war do you think has more positive effects on social development? Which war has more negative consequences on social development?

🛠️ European Modern History Research Topics

Modern European history is quite versatile and broad. Therefore, it offers a wide variety of topics to explore. The period of the 16th-20th centuries is full of landmark events. They are the reformation, the age of discovery, various worldwide conflicts, etc.

For easier writing, search for modern history topics about discoveries and inventions.

Our writing team developed a list of modern European history essay topics. So, if you need to compose an outstanding essay, you are more than welcome to use the ideas presented below!

European Christianity and its decline from the 16th century .
The significance of Martin Luther and the protestant reformation in the history of western civilization .
Age of discovery in Europe.
How and in what ways did the use of print change the lives of early modern Europeans?
The Spanish Armada: Britain and Spain in Battle of the Seas.
The centers of Christianity placement: a European approach to Christianity spreading.
The Enlightenment. How did the enlightenment philosophy affect Europe’s religions in the 16th and 17th centuries? Explain how the enlightenment philosophy impacted Europe’s political institutions. In what way did the enlightenment philosophy influence Europe’s social class in the 16th and 17th centuries?
Studies of Western Europe: Columbus’ journey. Discuss an account of Columbus’ voyage. How did Columbus’ journey influence the development of geography in the 16th-17th centuries? Examine the theories leading to Columbus’s voyage.
The Thirty Years War. Indicate the origins of the war. What were the outcomes of the war? Analyze the casualties and diseases caused by the Thirty Years War.
Reformation and development of the arts. Discuss the spreading of the reformation in Europe. Who were the key players in the reformation era? What was the effect of reformation on the arts?
The French Revolution and Napoleon’s governance.
Napoleon’s French army, 1800-1808: motivation and military culture
The most outstanding philosophers of Europe on the Enlightenment Age.

Some of the most important writers of the Enlightenment were the Philosophes of France.

The British Empire and international affairs.
Napoleon Bonaparte: His successes and failures.
Napoleon: A child and destroyer of the French Revolution.
James Cook – the first European to land on the Hawaiian Islands . Conduct small research on James Cook’s biography. Examine his three voyages. How did his discovery of the Hawaiian Islands impact Europe? Did the perception of American geography change?
Irish Rebellion of 1798 as the protest against British rule in Ireland . What was the background of the Irish Rebellion? Provide a detailed description of the timeline of the rebellion. What are the positive and negative outcomes of the Irish Rebellion?
The scientific progress in the 18th-19th centuries. Discuss the three outstanding inventions listed below: a. The identification of X-Rays by Wilhelm Röntgen. b. How did Joseph Swan invent the first electric lightbulb? c. The Hansen Writing Ball (the first commercially sold typewriter) by Rasmus Malling-Hansen. How did these inventions push the scientific progress forward?
The Kulturkampf (“Culture War”). Examine the timeline and laws established during the Culture War. What are the differences and similarities of the Culture War in the following countries: a. Germany b. Switzerland c. Austria d. Italy e. Belgium

The 20th Century is a watershed period in European history. The events, which occurred during that time, considerably contribute to European society formation. The list below includes 20th-century European history essay topics. Enjoy using it for your successful work!

What were the critical technological advancements in Europe during World War I?

The most important World War I technologies.

World War II Innovations.
How useful is the term ‘fascism’ when applied generically to describe the far-right in interwar Europe?
Role of the Woman during the Spanish Civil War.
Cold War Consequences for European Countries.
Has security been the main driver behind European integration since World War Two?
The Great Depression of 1929–1939 . What is the impact of depression in Eastern Europe and on Western Europe? Explain the role of the League of Nations in dealing with the Great Depression. What are the causes of the Great Depression in Europe?
How did European poets and writers of the 20th century describe World War I and World War II in the books? The visualization of the conflicts occurred during the wars in the literature.
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Briefly discuss reforms in the Eastern Europe geographical division. What was the compromise of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin? Analyze the consequences of Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact for different countries. Consider the effects on Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, and Romania. What was the outcome of the pact?
The cultural development of Europe in the 20th century. There are two famous influencers of European art advancement: a. Consider Richard Georg Strauss as the key figure of the 20th-century European music. b. Was Pablo Ruiz Picasso a significant figure of 20th-century European art progress? Discuss how these individuals contributed to the cultural flourishing in 20th-century Europe.

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer considered one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century.

📻 US History Topics to Write about

The USA is a relatively young nation. Nevertheless, American history impresses with a wide variety of significant events. During its lifespan, the country faced wars, revolutions, inner and outer conflicts, reformations, and more.

The list of essential episodes of USA history is unbelievably long. So if you are overwhelmed with the oversaturation, don’t be confused and upset. Take a look at our modern American history topics. You will find something useful here.

The Native Americans’ history.
Conquest and colonization of America by Europeans.
How did religion affect the pattern of colonization in America and life in those colonies?
The importance of the process of colonization and the formation of unique cultures in America to the formation of the United States.
Royal African Company. Why did a trading company have the greatest impact on the slave trade establishment in the USA?
What was the impact of European colonization on American culture?
The colonization of America as one of the most famous early American history topics . What were the goals of the conquest? What countries took part in the colonization of the USA?
French-Indian War of 1754–1763. Examine the background of the war. Then, describe the course of the war. What were the consequences of the conflict through economic and political perspectives?
How did the 17th century become the beginning of the slavery era in the USA?

The system of African slavery came slowly to the English colonists.

American History: the Road to Civil War
The political reforms in 18th-century America.
How does American literature reflect on the events of the Civil War?
The Ideas of Freedom and Slavery in Relation to the American Revolution
Visual art of the USA. Comment on Europe as a significant influencer of American art flourishing.
Causes of the Civil War in the USA.
History of the African-Americans Religion During the Time of Slavery
United States Declaration of Independence of 1776: causes and effects.
The Opium Trade: the new way of exporting goods from China to Britain through the USA.
Industrialization as the leading cause of economic growth in the 19th century.
The War of 1812 in American history .
Anti-slavery movements in the United States. The people’s desire to abolish slavery: a fiction or a reality? Who were the most outstanding leaders od the anti-slavery movement? Explain how movement pushed the slavery abolishment forward.

You may notice that the 20th century US history topics are diverse. An impressive number of landmark events occurred during the 1900s. They immensely contributed to modern USA development.

The following essay questions will help you investigate. Find the most significant events of 20th-century American history and start your research.

The American strategic culture in the Vietnam War.
How did Ellis Island become a hospital for the American army during World War I?

During the peak years of Ellis Island’s operation, almost two thousand people passed came every day.

Cold War Major Aspects and Events .
What were the USA contributions to the space age?
The problem of the USA exposed by the Great Depression.
Latinos’ civil rights’ winning in the post-war U.S.
America in World War II – experiences and impacts.
Martin Luther King as the main leader of the civil rights movement.
Immigration Act of 1924. Examine the provisions of the act. What was the reason for the Immigration Act implementation? What was the result of this event?
Charles Cough as the key figure of the populism movement in the U. S. Introduce the central concepts of populism. How did it affect America? Analyze Cough’s activities as a populist figure. What role did the National Union for Social Justice play in the movement?
When Does Modern History Begin?
What Is Meant by Modern History?
What Is an Example of Modern History?
When Did Modern History Start?
What Are the Features of Modern History?
Why Is the Study of Modern History Critical?
What Is the Difference Between Ancient History and Modern History?
How Is Modern History Different From Contemporary History?
What Is the Difference Between Medieval History and Modern History?
When Did Modern History Start and End?
What Are the Five Eras of Modern History?
What Are the Four Essential Characteristics of Modern History?
Who Is Known as the Father of Modern History?
Is Modern History Helpful?
What Is the Modern History Concept?
Who Is the Father of Modern History?
What Is Greek and Roman Influence on Modern History?
How Did Human Subjectivity Affect Foundations of Modern History?
What’s the Role of Liberalism Through Modern History?
How Modern History Changes the Family?
How Does the Printing Press Affect Modern History?
How the Boxer Rebellion Was a Turning Point in China’s Modern History?
Why Should Modern History Begin With 1815?
What Are the Similarities Between the History of the Easter Islands and the Modern History of Our Society?
Who Is Called the Mother of Modern History?

Thank you for visiting our page! We hope the article was helpful for your studies. Don’t forget to leave your comments and share this page with your friends.

🔗References

Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Paul Halsall for the History Department of Fordham University, New York
100 Good Research Paper Topics for History Class: Jule Romans for Owlcation
Writing Historical Essays: History Department, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
How To Write a Good History Essay: Robert Pearce for History Today
The Journal of Modern History, Vol 92, No 1: The University of Chicago Press Journals
Early Modern Europe: Department of History, Princeton University
Writing a Thesis and Making an Argument: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The University of Iowa
Tips for Writing Essay Exams: LSJ Writing Center, the University of Washington
Beginning the Academic Essay: Patricia Kain for the Writing Center at Harvard University
Demographics Topics
Modernization Theory Research Topics
Crime Ideas
Economic Topics
Culture Topics
Ethnographic Paper Topics
Globalization Essay Topics
Immigration Titles
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, October 27). 126 Modern History Topics: Essential Essay Ideas & Questions. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/modern-history-essay-topics/

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Bibliography

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How To Write A Research Paper

History Research Paper Topics

200+ Outstanding History Research Paper Topics With Expert Tips

24 min read

Published on: Mar 22, 2023

Last updated on: Jul 23, 2024

History Research Paper Topics for Colleg"e Students

How could World War II be prevented?
British Colonialism: How did it affect life in several parts of the world?
Allied occupation in Japan.
The role of religion in everyday life during the middle ages
The life and achievements of Alexander of Macedonia
The impact of science on sculptures in Ancient Greece
Explain the term "popular sovereignty."
How does the Aztec military compare to the Spanish army?
Why is Frederick Douglass such an important person in American History?
Evidence and significance of symbolism in Ancient Egypt

History Research Paper Topics India

What are the European Influences Evident in Indian Culture?
Prevention of Cyber Crimes: Legal Strategies in India
The establishment of the British East India company
What is the impact of Indian art on other cultures?
Impacts of the first world war on British policies in India
Influence of Hinduism on early Indian art
The issues of the partitioning of India in 1947
The political activism of Dalits in India
India's nuclear weapons program.
Mohandas Gandhi's involvement with Indian independence

History Research Paper Topics Philippines

History of the Philippines from different perspectives.
Historical analysis of inter-regional migration in the Philippines
The Barrio Government System's Foundations
The Philippines Communist Party has a long history.
Commerce with the Chinese
The Aftermath of Magellan's Death
The United States colonized the Philippines.
The Philippines' Fire Mummies
Christian-Muslim relations in the Philippines
Under the Maura law of 1893, municipal governments were reorganized.

History Research Paper Topics 1900s

What was the role of women in the 1900s?
The Russian Revolution lasted for ten days in the 1900s.
Describe fast food in the early 1900s.
What traditions followed in the 1900s?
The New York subway opens-innovation and science
What is the ancient history of the 1900s?
What did the western world think of the Middle East in the early 1900s?
The most impressive growth happened in the 1900s.
Events that caused the beginning of World War I
Gender and US literature, 1830â1900

History Research Paper Topics Before 1877

Here are some middle ages research topics to help you select the perfect historical theme.

The role of faith in American history before 1877 and after.
The U.S. revolution history before 1877
The first landing of Christopher Columbus and the new world
Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
In what ways did the Compromise of 1877 affect politics?
The role of civil war before 1877
Cause and Effect- History before 1877.
What effect did the compromise of 1877 have on politics in the North and South?
The world history has some relation with 1877
The role of labor before 1877

History Research Paper Topics Before 1500

Before 1500 is mostly referred to ancient history. So here are some ancient history research topics for your ease.

The early history of Franks.
Who were the five "Good Emperors" of Rome?
Empire and religion in the Middle East 1200-500 BCE
What was it like to live in London during the 15th century?
An overview of the world from prehistory to 1500 CE
Early Modern History 1500-1700
The cold war history
The American revolution history
World civilization
Why do monarchies still exist around the globe?

History Research Paper Topics 20th Century

Here are some amazing 20th century history research paper topics to select from:

Scientific advancements in the dark ages
Why should America rebuild New Orleans?
Apollo 8 and the story of the first-ever voyage to the moon.
How did the US become the world's largest industrial nation?
Islamic empire
San Francisco before and after the great earthquake and fire
Fashion in the 20th century
What caused the division in Christian values of the 20th century?
Analysis of Eastern Civilization vs. Western Civilizations
Ancient Rome and civilian life

History Research Paper Topics for Middle School

Is racial discrimination still a part of American society?
Fire Mummies of the Philippines
Rise of mafia
Color psychology in the works of Kazimir Malevich.
How did the Apartheid period impact global politics?
A comparison between communism and capitalism.
Establishment of a new government
Mozart's music: a phenomenal case study.
Marriage, divorce, and children in Ancient Rome

Art History Research Paper Topics

The depiction of beauty in ancient art
Why is photogravure used more than encaustic painting?
The costumes of the early Italian Renaissance in 1420-1490.
The determining factor behind the main principles of Medieval art
The Chiaroscuro and its role in the history of art
Biblical motives in the early paintings of Leonardo da Vinci.
Where you can locate gifted Russian artists
Discuss the history of printmaking
Hidden messages in famous works of art
Discuss the development and importance of photography in art history.

Struggling to understand the worth of these topics? Watch this video to understand how to ace your history class

European History Research Paper Topics

19th-century European literacy
Medieval economic history
Discuss 1984 with respect to the 20th-century history of Europe
Did women have any position in the history of Germany?
Events leading to World War I
Who was Europe's most influential composer?
The role of politics in the spread of Christianity across Europe
How did Venetian history affect present Europe?
Nationalism in Europe
Gender bias in 18th century Britain.

US History Research Paper Topics

Confederate monuments in the United States
The aftermath of the Battle of Chattanooga
Amelia Earhart: Who was she? What is the truth about her life and death?
Discuss the emergence of joint-stock companies.
The beginning of slavery in British America and the Middle Passage.
German-American immigration in 1854-1894
What important role did the Militia play in the revolution?
History of New York City in the 19th century.
Slavery in the USA
Should Immigration be banned?

Interesting History Research Paper Topics

What caused Hitler's rise to power?
The significance of the French Revolution in world history
Reasons why nationalism is becoming popular worldwide
Analysis of the daily lives of medieval Europe's peasants
What were the prominent features of the Roman Empire?
Human sacrifices in the world of ancient Maya.
The history of Native Americans
Discuss the African American soldiers bravery
Explain the economic conditions of the world in ancient times?
Is a great depression possible today?

African American History Research Paper Topics for College Student

The genre of the black popular music
The changes in schooling in the 19th century
African Americans during the civil war
Exploring the low-income black college students life
1968 democratic convention in Chicago
The politics of race and class in the age of Obama
Women's suffrage movement
Terror trophies of WWI in America.
African countries' reliance on the west and how the west is taking advantage of this.
The genre of black popular music

Women's History Research Paper Topics

How did women contribute to the labor force in WWI?
The fight for equal suffrage and its outcome
The role of women in Ancient Rome
Women's rights during World War II: A brief overview
The impact of Elizabeth I on gender roles and feminism.
Discuss history from the female perspective
Analyze gender roles in the 20th century
The representation of women in the media
Discuss the role of women in a developing country
Rise of feminism in 21st-century America.

World History Research Paper Topics

Check out these famous history topics for your next essay:

The significance of the industrial revolution to world history
The role of Genghis Khan in the Mongol Empire
Exploring maritime trade routes in medieval times.
Discuss the silk road and its impact on global trade
Roman colosseum: An iconic symbol of ancient rome
Analysis of Islamic caliphates' conquest in the 7th century
Impact of world war II on the global society
The rise and fall of Napoleonic France
Rise and fall of The Ming Dynasty
The cold war: its influences on world politics.

Best US History Research Paper Topics

The civil rights movement and its achievements
The US Constitution: Its evolution and modern role
Impact of religion on political decisions in America
Analyze the impact of transatlantic slavery on US economy
The Vietnam war: Was it a justified conflict ?
The role of the American Revolution in world history Analyze the military tactics used during World War I
Was the Watergate scandal a turning point in US History?
Impact of environmental movements in changing political views.
The significance of Westward Expansion in US History.

U.S. Civil War Topics

Impact of the surrender of Appomattox on the North and South
The role of Abraham Lincoln in the US Civil War
Discuss the roles played by women during the civil war
Significance of military strategies used in battles
Effects of Reconstruction policy on US Economy
The role of African American soldiers in the US Civil War
Analysis of the political decisions leading to the US civil war
Impact of technology in the US Civil War
Was secession a justified response and what were its consequences?
Exploring how different states participated in the civil war.

French Revolution Topics

Discuss the role of Robespierre in the French Revolution
Was the Reign of Terror justified?
Impact of Philosophers on Revolutionary Ideas
The role of women in the French Revolution
Analysis of Napoleon's rule and its effects on France
Exploring the socio-economic causes leading to the Revolution
Impact of the French Revolution on global history
Analysis of the importance of trading agreements to France's economy
The significance of US support for the French Revolution
Was the Declaration of Rights just a political move?

Related: Read this rubric for historical essays to craft a compelling essay

History Project Topics

The history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States
The impact of World War II on the global economy
The rise and fall of the British Empire
The history of apartheid in South Africa
The impact of the French Revolution on European politics and society
The history of the Cold War
The role of women in the American Revolution
The impact of the Industrial Revolution on labor and society
The history of the American Westward Expansion
The legacy of colonialism in Latin America

Great Depression Research Topics

The role of the US government in alleviating poverty during the Great Depression
Impact of trade policies on global economies
Discuss Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal
The effects of the economic downturn on women and minorities
Analysis of Hoovervilles and its impact on public opinion
Exploring the role of the media in shaping public opinion during the Great Depression
Discuss the gold standard and its impact on global markets
Examining US foreign policies during the Great Depression
Impact of labor unions on wages and working conditions during the Great Depression
Significance of Jazz music, literature, and art during the era.

World War II Topics

Analyzing the roles of military intelligence in Allied victory
Examining the role of women during World War II
The significance of rationing programs to the war effort
Discuss Japanese internment camps and their implications
Exploring how different countries participated in World War II
Analysis of the tactics used in major battles
The role of propaganda in influencing public opinion during the war
Impact of German Blitzkrieg tactics on Allied forces
Significance of technology in World War II
Discuss the impact of Holocaust on European culture.

European and United States History

Examining the role of the Medici family in Italian Renaissance
Exploring the causes and consequences of the French Revolution
Impact of colonialism on African countries
Discussing the roles played by European women during WWI and WWII
Analyzing how different religions influenced medieval Europe
The significance of the industrial revolution in Europe
Exploring how the slave trade affected economies of European countries
Discussing the role and impact of NATO on world politics
Analyzing US foreign policies during the Cold War
Impact of various civil rights movements on American society.

American Revolution Battles & Key Events

The Battle of Bunker Hill
The Siege of Yorktown
Exploring the role of General Washington's leadership in the Revolution
Discussing the impact of French involvement in the war
Analysis of British naval tactics used during the war
Examining how loyalists participated in the American Revolution
Discussing the significance of the Declaration of Independence
The role of African Americans and Native Americans during the war
Impact of taxes on public opinion prior to the revolution
Exploring Continental Army tactics and strategies used in battles.

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Industrial Revolution Essay Paper Topics

The impact of industrialization on working class lives
Examining the role of steam power in boosting production
Discussing how inventions changed people's lives during this period
Exploring the role of migrant workers in the industrial revolution
Analysis of factories and their effects on society
Discussing how industrialization benefited wealthy landowners
Examining the role of unions in promoting labor rights
Impact of new technologies on transportation and communication
Exploring how cities were affected by industrialization
Discussing successes and failures of the industrial revolution.

Related: List of good research paper topics for your history paper.

Tips for Choosing the Best History Research Paper Topic

The following are the tips for choosing the best history research paper topic that our writers recommend. This will give you an idea of which research topic is considered good.

Choose a topic that meets your teacher's requirements.
Pick a topic that is relevant and unique.
Do some research and then pick the topic for your research paper.
Read different research papers and get ideas from them for your topic.
Find history paper topics from reliable sources and study them.
Avoid choosing a topic that is too broad and simple.
Get help from the paper writing service writers.
Keep the audience's interest in mind and then choose the topic.

These unique history research topics tips will surely help you select the thought-provoking historical topic.

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Research Paper Guide

History Research Paper Topics

Last updated on: Nov 20, 2023

Good History Research Paper Topics For Your Help

By: Nathan D.

Reviewed By: Chris H.

Published on: Jan 4, 2022

Research papers can be boring and time-consuming for some high school and university students. However, students will easily create a successful paper if they pick a great research paper topic. Some professors assign topics and make them easy for students. At the same time, others leave the choice to students by giving them the freedom to choose what they want.

The following blog post is a helpful resource for students who need ideas on what topics they can write about. It includes some great topics from which you'll be able to choose the best topic or get inspiration for your paper.

History is a fascinating subject that we should all know more about. There are many topics, and it's always hard to pick which one will work best for your research paper.

However, for your help, we compiled a great list of history research paper topics that can be divided into different categories. So, pick the one that matches your interest and academic level.

On this Page

History Research Paper Topics For College Students

Nuclear weapons and their influence on the world military clashes
The Crusades and Jihad: What are the similarities and differences?
Constitutional change in America: what is the role of the amendments?
What does religion have to do with the colonist wars?
How were ziggurats used in ancient Mesopotamia?
Ancient conquests and their impact on modern world map development
When were vaccines invented? Are they really useful?
The influence of Japanese art on European culture
How did segregation affect the American music industry?
Is racial discrimination still a part of American society?

History Research Paper Topics Before 1877

How did the border states perceive the battles of the Civil War?
Impact of the 1964 elections on civil rights
History before 1877: cause & effect
Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the Fourteenth Amendment
Explain American history before 1877
Labor unions, conflicts, and strikes in the 1800s
The British rule in the Americas and the first British settlements
United States foreign policy in the early 19th century
Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?
The role of faith in American history before 1877

History Research Paper Topics Philippines

The fundamentals of the Barrio Government System
The origins of the name the Philippines
Communist Party of the Philippines
Trading with the Chinese
The Consequences of Magellan’s murder
US colonization of the Philippines
Fire Mummies of the Philippines
Christian-Muslim relations in the Philippines
The religious belief system in the Philippines
The reorganization of town governments under the Maura law of 1893

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Indian History Research Paper Topics

What are the European influences evident in Indian culture?
The establishment of the British East India company
British colonialism in India
The real problem at the heart of goa's Devasthan regulation
Indian art and the impact of Hinduism
The issues of the partitioning of India in 1947
First European powers in India and their trade relations
What were the devastating impacts of British rule in India?
India’s first empire and the rise of Buddhism
The political activism of Dalits in India

History Research Paper Topics 20th Century

McKinley role for American imperialism
The reasons and causes for the start of prohibition and its effects on subsequent US history
The assassination of John Kennedy in 1963 and its consequences
Were imperialism in the late 19th and early 20th century justified?
The implication of atomic weapon
China in the 20th century
Hiroshima and Nagasaki events
The role of America in the Cold War
The analysis of Martin Luther King’s speeches
Rise of mafia

History Research Paper Topics 1900s

Queen Victoria died-World politics and the monarchy
What was the role of women in the 1900s?
The formation of the league of nations
Psychiatric methods in early 1900s America
The first electric washing machine
The NAACP is first founded-politics and civil rights
The New York subway opens-innovation and science
The origin of the piano
How did sports help promote equality for African Americans in the 1900s?
Gender roles of the Sioux tribe before 1900

Art History Research Paper Topics

Why were the sculptures of great importance in ancient Greece?
Comparative analysis of Mikhail Vrubel and Gustave Moreau art
The relevance of Abbey Church of St. Denis in Gothic architecture
The shifts in the art development in ancient Greece
Can impressionism be termed as simple art or art for the simple?
The significance of Christian symbols in Renaissance art
The influence of Hinduism on art from ancient India
Color psychology in the works of Kazimir Malevich.
The Influences of Sumerian art found in Hittite art creations
Construction of the Great Wall of China

European History Research Paper Topics

European colonization impact on Native Americans
The history of the French Revolution: new perspectives from Chartier and Furet
What made Pope Alexander VI controversial?
Great mistakes of Napoleon
How did Venetian history affect present Europe?
The role of politics in the spread of Christianity across Europe
How were cities developed in Medieval Europe?
Historical development of East European Jewry
The main battles of World War I
Between World War I and World War II, what are the military innovations?

Environmental History Research Paper Topics

What is the little ice age, and what impact it may have on the climate?
Landscape painters and environmental photography
Renewable energy
Discuss the most significant causes of climate change
Global warming: what could happen if ice glaciers melt?
Prehistoric wildlife and its importance in future eco-systems
How do organisms survive under extreme conditions?
What effects does biodiversity loss have on humanity?
Ecosystem health
Biomes and Ecosystems. What is considered a biome?

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Theatre History History Research Paper Topics

Attitudes towards women and their role in American musical theatre
Puppetry influence on cartoons these days
President of the greater Euclid little theatre
Women in restoration theatre: stages of liberation
Theatre role as a tool in social commentary
Artaud’s theatre influence
Ancient Greek theatre and drama
Theatre play
State theatre
The use of historically accurate costumes on stage

Interesting History Research Paper Topics

The process of abolition of slavery and its meaning for the world
Timeline of the 21st century
American revolution facts
How have taxes been introduced throughout USA history?
Queen Elizabeth. The truth about her life.
The conditions of life for soldiers in the First Crusade
African American soldiers during the war
Money and its uses in the Ancient Greek world
The power of denial: Buddhism, purity, and gender
Polio vaccines: historical development, types, and efficiency

Us History Research Paper Topics

Industrialization effects on American social movements
Amelia Earhart: Who was she? What is the truth about her life and death?
Effect of the cotton gin on economy and slaves labor
What did “American” mean in the 18th century?
The oldest universities: who founded them?
How and why were National Parks created?
Immigrants and their ideas of the American Dream
What did France lose because of Louisiana’s purchase?
How did the war affect social life and citizens’ psychology?
German-American immigration in 1854-1894

19th Century American History Research Paper Topics

What struggles did women face in the Nineteenth Amendment?
The genre of black popular music
American south religious practices
Tobacco trade in early American colonies
The beginning of slavery in British America and the middle passage
Women’s suffrage movement
1968 democratic convention in Chicago
Was there a need to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
The role of the United States during World War 2
What conditions were faced by the Americans in the 19th century?

Tips for Choosing the Best History Research Paper Topic

Here are some things to consider when choosing the topic for a history research paper.
Make sure your topic meets the assignment requirements. Consult your professor for feedback if you're not sure, and then use their input as guidance in completing it.
Choose a topic that interests you and will make the writing process more engaging.
A topic that is too broad might seem impossible to research. But, the right scope will enable you to find information relevant and focused.
Do some research and then select the topic.
Read other researchers’ thesis statements and get an idea from them.
Find history research papers from the past and read them for a better understanding.
Keep the audience’s interest in mind and then choose the topic.

Keep these points in mind, and then select the best topic, then add it to our AI essay generator to get instant essay help!

But, if you still have any confusion, simply consult the best essay writing service 5StarEssays.com .

We offer the best paper writing services and have helped countless students just like you with their academic tasks. Now, finding a good history topic is easy with the help of our expert writers.

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World History

20th century history.

Gale provides useful resources for 20th century history research and education, available through your library.

20 th Century History

Learn more about the history of the world in the twentieth century, which was dominated by two world wars: World War I, from 1914 to 1918, and World War II, from 1939 to 1945. Both wars featured Germany as the primary aggressor against an alliance of countries. And while both wars originated in Europe, the conflicts engulfed much of the globe, before they ended with the defeat of Germany and its allies. The outcome of these wars completely restructured geopolitical power in the world in the second half of the twentieth century. Hardships in Russia because of World War I led to massive unrest and the overthrow of the tsar in the Russian Revolution of 1917, resulting in the creation of the Communist-controlled Soviet Union. Despite its ideological differences with the West, the Soviet Union joined with Great Britain and the United States (known as the Allied powers) to defeat Germany and its allies (known as the Axis powers) in World War II. After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union ascended to become the undisputed world superpowers, while Great Britain saw its influence diminish as its colonial empire crumbled. Ghana’s declaration of independence from Britain in 1957 set off a wave of nationalist movements in Africa, which resulted in the overthrow of colonial rule across that continent.

The continent of Asia also experienced upheaval following World War II. Japan, an Axis power and regional heavyweight, was forced to demilitarize and give up its colonial holdings. China stepped into the power vacuum that followed, bolstered by its association with the Soviet Union, with which it shared a Communist ideology. India, one of Britain’s key holdings in Asia, declared its independence in 1947, partitioning into Muslim-dominated Pakistan and Hindu-controlled India; the rivalry between the two would significantly impact the region through the end of the century and beyond.

The Middle East endured one of the more dramatic restructurings following these wars. Prior to World War I, the region had previously been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, which was on the losing side of the war. As a result, the Ottomans lost this territory, which was then administered by the French and British. Largely without the participation of representatives from the Middle East, France and Great Britain established new boundaries in the region, without regard to history or the ethnic and religious affiliation of the people who lived there. As a result, disparate communities of people were now expected to cooperate with each other to govern themselves, leading to political instability and bloodshed. The situation worsened after World War II, when international support for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine (in part to atone for the Holocaust, during which some 6 million Jews had died) led to the founding of the nation of Israel in 1948. The Arab nations surrounding Israel refused to recognize the new country, immediately launching the Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in the defeat of the attacking nations and loss of territory. Additional wars failed to restore Arab control, and the region remained unstable into the twenty-first century.

While the continual conflict in the Middle East was a perpetual news story in the second half of the twentieth century, the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union dominated the geopolitical scene. Known as the “Cold War” because there wasn’t open war between the two superpowers, the ideological differences between the capitalist West and the Communist Soviet Union nevertheless spawned numerous conflicts around the globe, most notably the Korean War (1950–1953), the Vietnam War (1955–1975), and covert skirmishes across Latin America from the 1960s until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989.

Other major global events of the twentieth century included a worldwide influenza pandemic from 1918 to 1919, which killed more people than the world war that had just ended (an estimated 20 to 50 million people), and the Great Depression of the 1930s, which impacted economies worldwide.

20 th Century History Resources

Gale provides scholarly resources, including databases , primary source archives , and eBooks , to advance researchers’ studies at home, in the library, or at school.

Gale databases offer researchers access to credible historical articles from 20 th century collections, including full-text articles covering many history topics. The database collections guide multifaceted research, with overviews of events as well as primary source documents from 20 th century newspapers, periodicals, and journals, as well as illustrations and photographs, and more, aligned with lesson plans for teaching and guides for additional research.

20th century american history research paper topics

Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism

This library resource fosters a deeper understanding of twentieth century literature by providing users with a collection of critical responses to the works of nearly 1,200 authors. Chronologically arranged excerpts of criticism represent the entire range of responses to each author. A typical excerpt is prefaced by an annotation that explains the critic’s reputation and critical philosophy and provides a synopsis of the excerpt.

Gale In Context: World History

This database provides an overview of world history with a collection of reference materials that include overviews, primary source documents, photographs, newspaper and journal articles, and other materials covering the most-studied events, cultures, civilizations, religions, people, and more. A search bar or comprehensive list of topics guides researchers to materials they need. Find context about the events of the twentieth century by learning more about the activities of the nineteenth century, or go straight to the materials related to the relevant topic.

Gale OneFile: World History

This resource provides balanced coverage of events in world history with its collection of relevant articles from scholarly journals and magazines that are updated daily—both current thinking and established scholarly work.

Primary Source Archives

Gale Primary Sources contains full-text archives of digitized records and documents that provide researchers with firsthand articles from 20 th century journals and 20 th century primary sources to drive research at your university, library, or at home. Historical primary source records comprise a variety of printed materials: books; government policy statements, studies, reports, and publications; personal papers and correspondence, manuscripts, interviews, and oral histories; newsletters; newspaper and periodical articles; press releases and texts of speeches; fliers, handbills, pamphlets, brochures, and presentations; works of art, cartoons, and photographs; and other ephemera now of interest to modern researchers.

Archives of Sexuality and Gender: Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century

This collection contains approximately 1 million pages of primary source documents and materials that were locked away by libraries for many years, available only via restricted access in special collections. With a date range of 1600 to 1940, this major collection of rare and unique material is available to support students, researchers, and faculty who study medicine, biology, anthropology, law, the classics, art, and erotic literature. The archives contain historical records of political and social organizations founded by LGBTQ individuals; government records, reports, and policy statements; personal correspondence and papers, oral history transcripts, diaries, photographs, and memorabilia; and gay and lesbian newsletters, newspapers, and periodicals by, for, and about gays and lesbians.

Political Extremism and Radicalism: Far-Right and Left Political Groups in the U.S., Europe, and Australia in the Twentieth Century

This is one of the first digital archives on Far-Right and -Left political groups, exploring the development, actions, and ideologies behind extremism and radicalism in the twentieth century. Digitized primary source material has been sourced from various locations and libraries, including The Searchlight Archives, UK Home Office, and Security Service files on right-wing extremists and suspected communists and terrorists and the American Radicalism Collection from Michigan State University. The collection includes documents that were originally created as ephemera, such as stickers, leaflets, and pamphlets, as well as more traditional primary source documents, such as magazine articles, interviews (available as audio or transcripts), and government records and documents.

Brazilian and Portuguese History and Culture

Brazilian and Portuguese History and Culture: The Oliveira Lima Library charts the development of Latin America’s most influential power, with unique primary source materials valuable for researchers, educators, and students. Topics covered include colonialism, the Brazilian independence period, slavery and abolition, the Catholic Church, indigenous peoples, immigration, ecology, agriculture, economic development, medicine and public health, international relations, and Brazilian and Portuguese literature. The collection comprises books, manuscripts, works of art, pamphlets, and governmental records and decrees, as well as many anonymous, pseudonymous, and satirical works that were kept separately from the main library collection of the Catholic University of America in Brazil.

Gale eBooks

Gale offers a variety of publications covering a wide range of 20 th century history studies topics, including World War I, immigration debate, and more. Users can add Gale eBooks to a customized collection and cross-search to pinpoint relevant content. Workflow tools help users easily share, save, and download articles.

Debating History: Debates on 20 th -Century Immigration, 1 st Edition

ReferencePoint Press | 2018 | ISBN-13: 9781682823705

Immigration was one of the most controversial social issues during the 20 th century, as debates intensified over whether immigrants adversely impact life for American citizens. Through a narrative-driven pro/con format—supported by relevant facts, quotes, and anecdotes—this book examines controversial issues stemming from historic events. Topics include: Do Immigrants Adversely Impact the American Economy? Do Immigrants Worsen Crime? Do Immigrants Threaten American Culture and Values? Is There Room for New Immigrants in 20 th Century America?

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Music of the First World War, 1 st Edition

Greenwood Publishing Group | 2016 | ISBN-13: 9781440839979

This book discusses World War I era music in a historical context, explaining music’s importance at home and abroad during WWI as well as examining what music was being sung, played, and danced to during the years prior to America’s involvement in the Great War.

World War I: A Historical Exploration of Literature, 1 st Edition

Greenwood Publishing Group | 2019 | ISBN-13: 9781440854354

The literary works of the first World War are one of the richest sources we have for understanding one of the twentieth century’s most significant conflicts. Not only do many of them have historical merit, but some were critically acclaimed by both contemporaries and subsequent scholars. For example, Henri Barbusse’s Under Fire , one of the earliest novels of the war, won accolades in France and the respect of war poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen as well as novelists Erich Maria Remarque and Ernest Hemingway. This book examines these works and the poetry of war poets Rupert Brooke, John McCrae, and others, providing context as well as opportunities to explore thematic elements with primary source documents, such as diaries, correspondence, manuscripts, memoirs, newspaper and journal articles, speeches, papers, and government publications. It’s unique in its use of literary and historical sources as mediums by which to both better understand the literature of the war and use literature as a guide to understand the war itself.

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Resources to boost your research.

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Early American History Research Paper Topics

Exploring a variety of early American history research paper topics is a fantastic way to deepen your understanding of the foundations of the United States. This page presents a comprehensive guide for students studying history, providing a vast range of topics, practical advice on how to select and approach them, and an in-depth article examining the richness of early American history as a field of study. In addition, iResearchNet’s custom writing services are introduced, offering professional support to students who wish to dive into this compelling subject area. Through this combination of resources, students are empowered to create a captivating and academically rigorous research paper on early American history.

100 Early American History Research Paper Topics

In this section, we will explore a comprehensive list of early American history research paper topics. These topics are divided into 10 categories, each offering a diverse range of subjects for exploration. Whether you are interested in politics, social dynamics, cultural developments, or economic aspects, there is a topic that will captivate your interest. Delve into the rich tapestry of early American history and uncover fascinating research paper topics that will broaden your understanding of this critical period.

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Politics and Government:

The influence of colonial charters on the development of early American governance
The evolution of colonial assemblies and the rise of self-government
Examining the impact of the Albany Plan of Union on colonial unity
The role of colonial legislatures in shaping early American political culture
The significance of the Stamp Act Congress in the lead-up to the American Revolution
Analyzing the creation and ratification of the Articles of Confederation
Exploring the debates surrounding the Constitutional Convention and the drafting of the U.S. Constitution
The impact of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers on American political thought
Investigating the origins and consequences of the Alien and Sedition Acts
Examining the influence of early political parties on the formation of American democracy

Social and Cultural Transformations:

The interactions between Native American tribes and European settlers in the early colonial period
The role of religion in shaping early American society and culture
Exploring the impact of the Great Awakening on religious practices and social values
Analyzing the institution of slavery and its effects on early American society
The emergence of religious toleration and religious freedom in the colonies
Investigating the social dynamics and gender roles in early American communities
The influence of Enlightenment ideas on the intellectual and cultural development of early America
Examining the role of education and the establishment of early American universities
The cultural assimilation of different immigrant groups and their contributions to early America
Exploring the development of early American literature, art, and architecture

Economic and Trade:

Analyzing the impact of the Columbian Exchange on the economies of early America
The role of mercantilism and the Navigation Acts in shaping colonial trade policies
Investigating the development of the triangular trade and the Atlantic slave trade
The rise of colonial industries and the growth of regional economies
The impact of the American Revolution on trade and commerce
The significance of the Embargo Act of 1807 in early American economic history
Exploring the role of early American banks and financial institutions
Analyzing the economic consequences of westward expansion and the Louisiana Purchase
Investigating the emergence of early American capitalism and the growth of the market economy
Examining the effects of the War of 1812 on early American trade and industry

Native American History:

The interactions between Native American tribes and European colonizers
Exploring the impact of disease on Native American populations
Investigating the role of Native American alliances in shaping the outcome of colonial conflicts
The effects of land dispossession and forced removal on Native American communities
The cultural, social, and political resilience of Native American tribes in the face of colonization
Examining the cultural exchange and adaptation between Native Americans and European settlers
The role of Native American leaders and warriors in early American conflicts
Exploring the impact of the Indian Removal Act on Native American sovereignty
The effects of reservation policies and assimilation efforts on Native American communities
Investigating contemporary Native American activism and the ongoing struggle for rights and recognition

Revolutionary War and Independence:

The causes and catalysts of the American Revolution
Analyzing the role of key individuals, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, in the Revolutionary War
The impact of foreign assistance, particularly from France, on the outcome of the Revolution
The experiences of soldiers and civilians during the Revolutionary War
Investigating the ideological foundations of American independence and the Declaration of Independence
Examining the impact of Revolutionary War battles, such as Saratoga and Yorktown
The effects of the Treaty of Paris (1783) and the establishment of the United States
Exploring the challenges of nation-building and creating a system of government after the Revolution
The significance of the Federalist Papers in the ratification of the U.S. Constitution
Investigating the debates over individual rights and the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in the Constitution

Slavery and Abolition:

The origins and development of slavery in the early American colonies
Exploring the experiences of enslaved individuals and the resistance against slavery
Investigating the impact of the American Revolution on the institution of slavery
The role of early abolitionist movements and individuals in the fight against slavery
Analyzing the economic, social, and political implications of the cotton gin and the expansion of slavery
The Underground Railroad and the network of abolitionist activities
Examining the impact of the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 on the slavery debate
The significance of the Dred Scott case and its role in deepening sectional tensions
Investigating the role of African Americans in the Civil War and the fight for emancipation
The effects of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment on the abolition of slavery

Early American Women:

Exploring the experiences of women in colonial America
The role of women in early American politics and social movements
Analyzing the impact of the American Revolution on women’s rights and gender roles
Investigating the contributions of early American women writers, artists, and intellectuals
The emergence of women’s suffrage movements in the 19th century
Examining the role of women in education and the establishment of female seminaries
The experiences of enslaved women and their resistance against oppression
Exploring the impact of the Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of Sentiments
Investigating the intersectionality of race and gender in early American women’s history
The effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction on women’s rights and social status

Immigration and Ethnicity:

Analyzing the patterns of immigration to early America and the motivations of different immigrant groups
The experiences of Irish immigrants and their role in early American society
Investigating the contributions of German immigrants to early American culture and industry
Exploring the experiences of Italian, Polish, and Eastern European immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
The impact of Chinese and Asian immigration on early American history
Examining the challenges faced by immigrant communities and the establishment of ethnic enclaves
Analyzing the nativist movements and the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment in the early 19th century
The effects of immigration policies, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Immigration Act of 1924
Investigating the experiences of African American migrants during the Great Migration
Exploring the cultural contributions of different immigrant groups to early American society

Early American Military History:

Analyzing the conflicts between European powers for control of North America
The role of Native American tribes in early American military engagements
Investigating the French and Indian War and its impact on the balance of power in North America
Examining the strategies and tactics of American Revolutionary War commanders
The significance of key battles, such as Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, and Trenton
The experiences of soldiers and civilians during the War of 1812
Analyzing the Mexican-American War and its consequences for American expansion
The role of military leaders, such as Andrew Jackson and Winfield Scott, in early American conflicts
Investigating the impact of the Civil War on military tactics and technology
Examining the effects of the Spanish-American War and the emergence of the United States as a global power

Religion and Early American Society:

Exploring the religious diversity of early American colonies
Analyzing the role of Puritanism in shaping the social and cultural landscape of New England
Investigating the religious revival movements of the Great Awakening and their impact on early American society
The religious tensions and conflicts in the Salem Witch Trials
Examining the establishment of religious freedom and the separation of church and state
The role of religious denominations, such as Quakers, Baptists, and Methodists, in early American society
Analyzing the impact of religious missionaries on Native American communities
Exploring the religious dimensions of the abolitionist and women’s rights movements
Investigating the religious aspects of the Second Great Awakening and its influence on American culture
The role of religion in shaping early American moral and ethical values

This comprehensive list of early American history research paper topics provides a wide range of subjects for students to explore and delve into the fascinating world of colonial America. From politics and social dynamics to economics, culture, and religion, there is a topic to pique the interest of every history enthusiast. By choosing a research paper topic from these categories, students can engage with the rich historical context and develop a deeper understanding of the complexities and dynamics that shaped early America. So, embark on this intellectual journey and uncover the untold stories and hidden gems of early American history through your research paper.

Early American History: Exploring the Range of Research Paper Topics

Early American history is a captivating and pivotal period that laid the foundation for the United States as we know it today. From the arrival of European explorers to the establishment of the thirteen colonies, this era is filled with significant events, influential figures, and cultural transformations that shaped the course of the nation’s history. For students studying history and embarking on research papers, early American history offers a vast and diverse range of fascinating topics to explore. In this article, we will delve into the rich tapestry of early American history and highlight the variety of research paper topics available, providing students with a glimpse into the complexities and significance of this era.

Cultural Encounters and Interactions

One intriguing aspect of early American history is the encounters and interactions between different cultural groups. The arrival of European explorers in the Americas brought together diverse societies, including indigenous peoples, European settlers, and African slaves. Researching the cultural exchange during this period can shed light on the complexities of early American history. Topics to consider include the impact of European exploration on indigenous populations, the cultural resilience of Native American tribes, the influence of African cultures on colonial societies, and the development of a distinct American identity shaped by these encounters.

Exploring the various forms of cultural exchange can provide insights into the dynamics of power, cultural adaptation, and resistance that defined early American history. Students can delve into specific case studies, such as the interactions between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe, the fur trade and its impact on Native American communities, or the cultural assimilation of enslaved Africans in the colonies. By examining these encounters, students can analyze the complexities of cross-cultural interactions and their long-lasting consequences.

Social and Economic Dynamics

Understanding the social and economic dynamics of early American society is essential for comprehending the development of the colonies. The colonial period was characterized by diverse economic systems, such as the plantation economy in the South and the mercantile economy in the North. Exploring the economic, social, and political aspects of this period can provide insights into the factors that influenced the growth and transformation of colonial society.

Students can explore the economic systems of early America by examining topics such as the role of indentured servitude, the establishment of cash crops like tobacco and rice, the development of trade networks, and the emergence of cities as economic centers. They can also investigate the social hierarchies that shaped colonial society, including the distinctions between social classes, the role of gender and family dynamics, and the impact of religious beliefs on daily life.

Political Movements and Revolutionary Ideals

The quest for political autonomy and the seeds of revolution began to take root in the colonies during this period. Investigating the political landscape and revolutionary ideals can provide valuable insights into the motivations and aspirations of early American colonists. Students can explore the ideas and ideologies that shaped the revolutionary spirit, the events that fueled the desire for independence, and the key figures who played significant roles in the American Revolution.

Research paper topics could include the influence of Enlightenment thinkers, such as John Locke and Thomas Paine, on revolutionary ideology, the causes and consequences of key events like the Boston Tea Party and the Stamp Act, and the significance of founding documents like the Declaration of Independence in shaping the nation’s identity. Additionally, students can examine the challenges faced by the colonists, the strategies employed in the fight for independence, and the formation of early American governments.

Struggles for Equality and Identity

The colonial period also witnessed struggles for equality and the formation of cultural and social identities. Researching the experiences of marginalized groups, such as women, African Americans, and Native Americans, provides a deeper understanding of social dynamics and the complexities of early American society. By exploring their perspectives and contributions, students can gain insights into the challenges and triumphs of these groups in shaping the nation.

Topics in this area could include the role of women in colonial society and their involvement in political movements, the institution of slavery and its impact on African American communities, the experiences and resistance of Native American tribes to colonial expansion, and the development of distinct regional and national identities. Students can analyze primary sources, such as diaries, letters, and newspapers, to uncover the voices of those who have often been marginalized in traditional historical narratives.

Early American history is a captivating period filled with rich narratives, significant events, and diverse cultural interactions. Exploring the range of research paper topics in early American history allows students to delve into the complexities and significance of this era. By examining cultural encounters, socioeconomic dynamics, political movements, struggles for equality, and the formation of identity, students gain a deeper understanding of the events, people, and ideas that laid the foundation for the United States. As they embark on their research journeys, they will uncover the untold stories, legacies, and lessons from early American history, gaining a broader perspective on the nation’s past and its enduring impact on the present. By delving into these research paper topics, students have the opportunity to contribute to the ongoing exploration and understanding of early American history.

Choosing Early American History Research Paper Topics

Selecting the right research paper topic is crucial to the success of your project. It sets the foundation for your investigation and determines the depth and breadth of your research. In the field of early American history, there are numerous fascinating topics to explore, each offering its own unique insights and opportunities for discovery. In this section, we will provide expert advice on choosing early American history research paper topics, helping you navigate the vast array of options and select a topic that aligns with your interests and academic goals.

Narrow down your focus : Early American history spans a vast period and covers a wide range of events, people, and themes. To choose an effective research paper topic, it is essential to narrow down your focus. Consider specific time periods, such as the colonial era, the American Revolution, or the early republic. Alternatively, you can concentrate on specific regions, such as New England, the Southern colonies, or the frontier. By narrowing your focus, you can delve deeper into the subject matter and provide a more comprehensive analysis.
Follow your passion : Passion is a key ingredient for a successful research paper. Select a topic that genuinely interests you and ignites your curiosity. Whether it’s exploring the lives of influential figures like Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson, investigating the impact of religious movements, or delving into the experiences of marginalized groups, choose a topic that resonates with your intellectual and personal interests. Your enthusiasm will fuel your research and enable you to produce a more engaging and insightful paper.
Identify knowledge gaps : Research is driven by the desire to expand knowledge and uncover new perspectives. As you consider potential research paper topics, identify knowledge gaps or underexplored areas in early American history. Look for topics that have received less scholarly attention but offer significant potential for exploration and discovery. This could involve examining lesser-known events, shedding light on marginalized voices, or challenging existing interpretations. By addressing these gaps, your research can make a unique and valuable contribution to the field.
Utilize primary and secondary sources : To develop a strong research paper, it is essential to utilize both primary and secondary sources. Primary sources provide firsthand accounts, documents, and artifacts from the period under study, while secondary sources offer analysis and interpretations by historians. When selecting a research topic, consider the availability of primary and secondary sources related to your chosen subject. Access to reliable and diverse sources will ensure a well-rounded and comprehensive investigation.
Consider interdisciplinary approaches : Early American history intersects with various disciplines, including literature, sociology, anthropology, political science, and more. Consider adopting an interdisciplinary approach when selecting your research topic. This allows you to explore connections and influences between different aspects of early American history and other fields of study. For example, you might analyze the representation of early American history in literature or examine the social and cultural impact of political ideologies. By integrating multiple perspectives, you can offer a more nuanced analysis of your chosen topic.
Engage with historiographical debates : The field of early American history is rich with historiographical debates—ongoing discussions and disagreements among historians. These debates provide an excellent opportunity for research and analysis. Consider choosing a topic that aligns with a particular historiographical debate. By examining the different interpretations and arguments put forth by historians, you can contribute to the ongoing dialogue and present your own analysis and conclusions.
Consult with your instructor or advisor : Don’t hesitate to seek guidance from your instructor or advisor when selecting your research paper topic. They can provide valuable insights, recommend relevant sources, and help you narrow down your focus. Discuss your interests and ideas with them to receive feedback and suggestions for refining your topic. Their expertise and experience will ensure that your research is focused, relevant, and academically rigorous.

Choosing the right research paper topic is a critical step in the process of studying early American history. By narrowing down your focus, following your passion, identifying knowledge gaps, utilizing primary and secondary sources, considering interdisciplinary approaches, engaging with historiographical debates, and seeking guidance from your instructor or advisor, you can select a compelling and meaningful topic for your research paper. Remember, the topic you choose should not only align with your academic goals but also ignite your curiosity and passion. Embrace the opportunity to delve into the rich tapestry of early American history and contribute to the ongoing exploration and understanding of this pivotal era.

How to Write an Early American History Research Paper

Writing a research paper in the field of early American history requires careful planning, thorough research, and effective organization. By following a systematic approach, you can navigate the complexities of the subject matter and produce a well-structured and insightful paper. In this section, we will provide you with a step-by-step guide on how to write an early American history research paper, from formulating a thesis statement to presenting your findings and conclusions.

Formulate a compelling thesis statement : A strong thesis statement serves as the foundation of your research paper. It succinctly states the main argument or purpose of your study. When formulating your thesis statement, ensure that it is specific, focused, and debatable. It should reflect the central theme or question that your paper aims to explore. For example, your thesis statement could address the impact of the American Revolution on the development of early American society or analyze the influence of religious beliefs on colonial governance. Make sure to refine and revise your thesis statement as you progress in your research.
Conduct extensive research : Thorough research is essential for producing a comprehensive and well-supported research paper. Utilize a combination of primary and secondary sources to gather relevant information and evidence. Primary sources may include historical documents, letters, diaries, newspapers, and firsthand accounts from the period. Secondary sources, such as scholarly articles and books, provide analysis and interpretations by historians. Consult reputable databases, archives, and libraries to access a wide range of sources. Take detailed notes, organize your findings, and keep track of your sources for proper citation.
Organize your paper : Effective organization is key to presenting your research in a logical and coherent manner. Begin by creating an outline that outlines the main sections and subtopics of your paper. Typically, an early American history research paper includes an introduction, literature review, methodology (if applicable), main body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Ensure that each section flows smoothly and supports your thesis statement. Use clear headings and subheadings to guide your reader through the paper. Consider the chronology of events or thematic categories to structure your arguments.
Analyze and interpret primary sources : Primary sources provide valuable insights into the historical context and perspectives of early American history. Analyze and interpret these sources to support your arguments and shed light on the topic you are investigating. Pay attention to the biases, limitations, and possible interpretations of the sources. Engage critically with the primary materials and draw connections between different sources to develop a nuanced understanding of the subject matter. Quote or paraphrase relevant passages, providing proper citations to give credit to the original authors.
Engage with secondary sources and historiography : Secondary sources offer scholarly analysis and interpretations of early American history. Engage with these sources to situate your research within the existing historiography. Identify key debates, arguments, and perspectives within the field and critically assess their relevance to your research topic. Use secondary sources to support or challenge your arguments, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the existing scholarship. Provide in-text citations and include a comprehensive bibliography to acknowledge the contributions of other historians.
Present your findings and analysis : In the main body paragraphs of your research paper, present your findings and analysis in a clear and organized manner. Develop coherent arguments supported by evidence from your research. Use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph and ensure smooth transitions between paragraphs. Provide detailed explanations and interpretations of your sources, demonstrating your ability to critically analyze the historical material. Incorporate relevant examples, data, or statistics to strengthen your arguments.
Craft a compelling conclusion : The conclusion of your research paper should summarize your main findings, restate your thesis statement, and provide a sense of closure to your paper. Reflect on the significance of your research in the context of early American history. Discuss any implications or broader insights that your study may have uncovered. Avoid introducing new information in the conclusion and instead focus on synthesizing your research and leaving a lasting impression on the reader.
Revise, edit, and proofread : Revision is a vital step in the writing process. Review your research paper for clarity, coherence, and logical flow. Ensure that your arguments are well-supported, and your ideas are effectively communicated. Edit for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. Pay attention to formatting guidelines and ensure proper citation of all sources. Consider seeking feedback from peers, instructors, or academic writing centers to gain valuable insights and suggestions for improvement.

Writing an early American history research paper requires a systematic and disciplined approach. By formulating a compelling thesis statement, conducting extensive research, organizing your paper effectively, analyzing primary and secondary sources, engaging with historiography, presenting your findings and analysis, and crafting a compelling conclusion, you can produce a well-structured and insightful research paper. Remember to revise, edit, and proofread your work to ensure its clarity and academic rigor. Embrace the opportunity to contribute to the field of early American history and advance our understanding of this important era.

iResearchNet’s Writing Services

At iResearchNet, we understand the challenges that students face when tasked with writing a research paper on early American history. The extensive research, critical analysis, and writing skills required can be daunting, especially when juggling multiple assignments and commitments. That’s why we are here to help. With our professional writing services, you can unleash your potential and achieve academic success in your early American history research papers. Let’s explore how iResearchNet can be your trusted partner in this journey.

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In-Depth Research : Research is at the core of any successful history paper. Our writers are skilled researchers who know how to access a wide range of credible sources to gather the necessary information for your early American history research paper. They have access to reputable databases, archives, and libraries, allowing them to conduct in-depth research and include the most relevant and up-to-date sources in your paper. You can trust that your research will be thorough and comprehensive.
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Top Quality : At iResearchNet, we are committed to delivering top-quality research papers. Our writers follow rigorous quality control processes to ensure that every paper meets the highest academic standards. They meticulously proofread and edit each document to eliminate errors and improve clarity. Our focus on quality extends to the content, structure, and overall coherence of the research paper. Rest assured that your early American history research paper will demonstrate excellence in every aspect.
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100 20th Century History Research Paper Topics. The 20th century was a period of immense historical significance, witnessing a plethora of transformative events and social changes that continue to shape the world we live in today. This comprehensive list of 20th century history research paper topics aims to provide students with a diverse range ...
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The Great Migration: analyzing the mass movement of African Americans from the South to the North and West in the early 20th century. The Red Scare: examining the anti-communist hysteria in the US during the Cold War era. The Alamo: evaluating the 1836 battle in Texas and its significance in American history.
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In this section, we present a comprehensive list of interesting American history research paper topics, carefully organized into 10 categories. From political milestones to social movements, cultural shifts, and economic transformations, these topics provide a broad spectrum of ideas for conducting in-depth research and analysis.
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20th-Century American History Paper Topics. The Progressive Era: Reforms and key figures. The impact of World War I on American society and politics. The Roaring Twenties: Culture, economics, and politics. The Great Depression: Causes and the New Deal response. The impact of World War II on the American home front.
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🏙️ 20th Century US History Topics. The 20th century for the United States and the world, in general, was highly eventful. Economic crises, two World Wars, the Cold War, and the fight over civil rights. Plus, a huge economic and technological upheaval, the space program.
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Research Paper Topics for the Twentieth Century. Impact of World War I on American Society. The Harlem Renaissance: A Cultural Revolution. Causes and Consequences of the Great Depression. The Influence of the New Deal on American Government. Role of Women in World War II. The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II.
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This page presents an exhaustive guide for students exploring American history research paper topics. American history, rich in its complexity and breadth, spans across centuries of transformative events, influential figures, and groundbreaking policies. Our comprehensive list of 100 research paper topics is systematically divided into ten ...
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Find and search American History primary source collections on the Internet. SHSU Library; Research Guides; History; ... Other 20th-Century Topics. John Mitchell Photograph Collection, 1898-1924. ... Supporting materials include photographs, oral history transcripts and public papers. (Harry S. Truman Library and Museum) Other 21st Century ...
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The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives' American History Research Guide is a select list of resources for students, teachers, and researchers to learn about various topics of American History. ... late twentieth-century decline and continuing community readjustment. Through the digitization and presentation of letters, books, photographs, maps ...
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Term Paper Resource Guide to Twentieth-Century United States History by Robert Muccigrosso; Ronald Blazek; Teri Maggio. ISBN: 9780313300967. Publication Date: 1999-05-30. This guide presents entries on 100 of the most important events and developments in twentieth-century U.S. history organized in chronological order.
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Cool American History Essay Topics. Examination of Manifest Destiny's Influence on Territorial Expansion. Colonial Era's Impact on Modern American Democracy. Evaluating the Emancipation Proclamation's Consequences. Prohibition Era: Analysis of Society and Law. Understanding the Trail of Tears: Native American Displacement.
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Salem Press | 2019 | ISBN-13: 9781642652826. This title delves into the extremely long and violent history of the titular subject. These volumes discuss slavery in multiple contexts, from ancient times to the slave trade during colonial America and from the abolitionist movement to issues of slavery in the modern era.
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The uprising of democratic movements. The history of organized crime in the 1920s in America. The greatest causes and consequences of the Great Depression. The death of the Soviet Union: how the world's biggest country came to an end. Composing a history research paper is easy when you know what to write about.
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126 Modern History Topics: Essential Essay Ideas & Questions
You may notice that the 20th century US history topics are diverse. An impressive number of landmark events occurred during the 1900s. They immensely contributed to modern USA development. The following essay questions will help you investigate. Find the most significant events of 20th-century American history and start your research.
List of 200+ Good History Research Paper Topics (2024)
History Research Paper Topics 20th Century. Here are some amazing 20th century history research paper topics to select from: Scientific advancements in the dark ages; Why should America rebuild New Orleans? Apollo 8 and the story of the first-ever voyage to the moon. How did the US become the worldâ s largest industrial nation? Islamic empire
100+ History Research Paper Topics to Write About
History before 1877: cause & effect. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Explain American history before 1877. Labor unions, conflicts, and strikes in the 1800s. The British rule in the Americas and the first British settlements. United States foreign policy in the early 19th century.
20th Century Primary Source Collections & Journals
Databases. Gale databases offer researchers access to credible historical articles from 20 th century collections, including full-text articles covering many history topics. The database collections guide multifaceted research, with overviews of events as well as primary source documents from 20 th century newspapers, periodicals, and journals, as well as illustrations and photographs, and ...
Best History Research Paper Topics
Get 10% OFF with 24START discount code. Ancient History Topics. The Causes and Effects of the Fall of the Roman Empire. Daily Life in Ancient Egypt. The Influence of Alexander the Great's Conquests on the Hellenistic World. The Role of Women in Spartan Society.
PDF 20th century american history research paper topics
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Early American History Research Paper Topics
Exploring a variety of early American history research paper topics is a fantastic way to deepen your understanding of the foundations of the United States. This page presents a comprehensive guide for students studying history, providing a vast range of topics, practical advice on how to select and approach them, and an in-depth article examining the richness of early American history as a ...