Historical Imprints

Round, blue-tinted eyeglasses rest on a stack of handwritten papers on a wooden surface. The lenses reflect cursive writing, and the background is softly blurred, creating a quiet, scholarly atmosphere.

Reflecting upon the influence of the blue color of the sky: Seeing the world through General A.J. Pleasonton's blue-tinted glasses

In 1871, General A.J. Pleasonton presented ten years' worth of experimental findings to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture in an effort to "shed light" on a new subject. Standing...

Black-and-white illustration of armed colonial militia confronting British soldiers on a village green, with men firing muskets amid smoke and fallen bodies in the foreground, while organized troops advance near large colonial buildings, barns, and a church steeple in the background—depicting an early Revolutionary War skirmish.

"Huzzah!" The Semiquincentennial of American Independence is Upon Us

In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson, sequestered in a Philadelphia boarding house, drafted the Declaration of Independence as an "expression of the American mind." Just weeks later, on July 2, Congress...

The Smithsonian Institution Building, known as the “Castle,” made of red sandstone in Romanesque Revival style, stands under a partly cloudy sky. A bronze statue of a man in formal 19th-century attire stands prominently in the foreground before the arched entrance, surrounded by greenery and trees.

"...the chief exponent of the scientific thought of the people of the United States...": How to Research the History of the Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution and its twenty museums and galleries have been in the news recently. There is controversy. If you would like to know more, we encourage you to do your own research and urge...

Engraving showing a 19th-century royal interior where men in formal dress carry a decorated Christmas tree through a grand room, while other figures look on. The scene depicts an early British royal Christmas celebration, with period clothing, ornate architecture, and a sense of ceremony.

Dinner with Victoria: Recreating the 1894 Christmas Feast with Old American Recipes

Industrial class opulence, stark social inequality, and unmatched global influence, this mixture of power and disparity not only reshaped the political and social world but also left enduring cultural...

An 18th-century prison scene depicting British soldiers guarding sick and emaciated prisoners inside a dark, crowded cell aboard a ship. The central figure, a red-coated guard with a musket, stands among suffering inmates—some lying on straw, others slumped or comforting one another. Light filters dimly through barred windows, highlighting the harsh and unsanitary conditions. The illustration conveys despair, illness, and confinement during wartime imprisonment.

"Rebels! Turn out your Dead!": The Prison Ship Martyrs of the American Revolution

The modern rush of life in Brooklyn's historic Wallabout neighborhood is a stark contrast to the brutal history beneath the pavement. Just a stone's throw away is Wallabout Bay where, in the winter of...

Image from New York Public Library digital library, Wikimedia Commons. Black-and-white engraving depicting the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga (1775) during the American Revolution. In the foreground, Ethan Allen, dressed in military uniform with sword raised, confronts the British commander inside the stone fort. The caption below reads: “Capture of Fort Ticonderoga. ‘By what authority?’ ‘In the name of the Great Jehovah & the Continental Congress.’”

Ethan Allen: "...farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician..."

On September 25, 1775, Ethan Allen of Vermont was captured during the Battle of Longues-Pointe, his failed attempt to wrest Montreal from the British. After his storied capture of Fort Ticonderoga...

Black-and-white photo of the Old Belfry in Lexington, Massachusetts, a wooden structure with a small belfry tower and a plaque above the door. Surrounded by trees and grass, this historic building is where the alarm was sounded early on April 19, 1775, summoning the Minute Men to the Lexington Common at the start of the American Revolutionary War. From the Library of Congress

"A cry of defiance, and not of fear": Did Paul Revere Ride Alone?

In June 1776, Thomas Jefferson, sequestered in a Philadelphia boarding house, drafted the Declaration of Independence as an "expression of the American mind." Just weeks later, on July 2, Congress...

Black and white photograph of a group of suffragettes and supporters gathered at Union Square, New York, dated February 16, 1908. The central women are smiling and dressed in winter coats and elaborate hats, holding flowers and pamphlets, surrounded by a crowd of men in bowler hats. The image has a handwritten caption at the bottom: "Suffragettes at Union Sq. 2/16/08."

"Moving Forward Together!": Amplifying Women's History and Experiences

Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations -National Women’s History Alliance 2025 Women’s History Month theme Researchers will uncover diverse voices to build historical...

An engraved illustration of The Custom House in New York, which was in use from 1799 to 1815. The neoclassical building features a grand portico with columns and a triangular pediment, surrounded by a fenced courtyard. In the foreground, a lively street scene depicts men and women in period attire engaging in conversation, a horse-drawn cart, and individuals carrying goods. The engraving is credited to W.M. Aikman and Wm. Rollinson, and it was published for the Society of Iconophiles in 1906.

"Tinkering the Tariff": Uncovering Tariff Debates in Historical Newspapers, Imprints, and Government Documents

Tariff: "a tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports" per Oxford Languages. It seems simple on the surface. It has never been. A simple search using Readex AllSearch and...

An antique illustration depicts three Chukchi people in a landscape near Plover Bay. One individual is wearing traditional hoop armor made of overlapping plates, covering their torso and head. They hold a bow and have a stoic expression. Another person, dressed in warm fur clothing, holds a spear, while a child reaches out toward them. The background consists of rolling hills and an open expanse. The caption below reads, "Chukchis wearing Hoop Armor, Plover Bay.

Martial Arts: Indigenous Use of Shields and Body Armor in 18th-20th Century North and Central America

Nearly two hundred years before Neo, the hero of the Matrix films, extended his consciousness to render bullets harmless in his ostensive reality, Comanche chief and medicine man Po-bish-e-quash-o...

Map of Hispaniola 1534. From: U.S. Serial Set Maps I, S.Exec.Doc. 38

"White Hell in Black Haiti": An Excursion to Haiti Wherein the Question is Asked, "What Happened?"

Ah, the Caribbean! Turquoise water, miles of sandy beaches, tropical climate. Island paradises mostly, large and small. The Bahamas. Jamaica. Also, Cuba, but that's another story. Vibrant, ancient...

Opening ballot boxes (LOC). Bain News Service, publisher. [between ca. 1915 and ca. 1920]. https://flic.kr/p/ANNMmc

The Electoral College: How One Senator from Indiana Almost Brought It Down

Much like Black Friday and spray cheese, the electoral college is a uniquely American invention. Surprisingly, though, unlike Americans' undying love of discount TVs and processed cheese product, the...

BBC Monitoring, Readex Text Explorer, word cloud analysis of the search terms space exploration and USSR

From Reading to Exploring: The Future of Textual Analysis with Readex Text Explorer

This article, originally published May 13, 2020, has been updated. For many years, faculty and students have been asking Readex to “bring history to life” in new ways. “You have tremendous products,”...

Cesare Dell’Acqua, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

“Our rulers bide their time…”: The Monroe Doctrine and the Mexican Empire

December 23, 2023, marked the 200th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine. The doctrine has ebbed and flowed in the American public’s awareness throughout two centuries, often dormant, but resurgent when...

Celebrating Women's History Month: Perspectives from Historical Primary Sources

Celebrate Women’s History Month with a look back through the Readex blog archive featuring articles from Readex digitized primary source collections. Read on to discover and celebrate the...

Sepia-toned photograph of four young women posing on outdoor stone steps. They wear long skirts, high-collared blouses with puffed sleeves, and decorative hats. Each leans on one arm with a composed expression, creating a staged, fashion-focused portrait from the late 19th or early 20th century.

Black History is American History: Perspectives from Historical Primary Sources

Explore Black history and American history with these resources and articles for research, teaching and learning. Discover more in the Readex blog archives. Celebrating the Remarkable Life and Work of...

Side-by-side black-and-white portraits of W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. Du Bois (left) wears a suit and tie and has a mustache and goatee, looking slightly toward the camera. Washington (right) wears a suit and bow tie, facing forward with a serious expression against a plain studio background.

The Early Histories of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Part IV: W. E. B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and the Great Debate

W. E. B. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1868. He died ninety-five years later in Accra, Ghana in 1963. During his long life he rose rapidly to become and remain a powerful...

From Academic Dissertations to World Literature: Highlights from 'Defining a Nation: The Literature of Early America'

The literature of Early America is a window which gives us a view into major events and everyday minutiae of the time that helped shape the United States into what it is today. In its earliest stages...

Image: Interior of the old John St. Theatre, N.Y., 1791

"All the World's a Stage": Highlights from The American Stage to 1819

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s influence over theater and literature far exceeded the borders of Europe and...

Trenton Evening Times. February 18, 1911

“Shed Underwear Says Suffragist": Fashion as Social Commentary in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries

A recent journey into the Readex archives reveals just how much clothing and fashion informed social, political, religious, and health opinions and commentaries in the 19th and early 20th centuries...

Announcing ‘Foundations of American Government’ and ‘The Rise of American Politics’: Explore the evolution of American democracy

Readex is pleased to announce two new digital historical collections supporting the study of early American government and politics: The Shaping of America: Foundations of American Government and The...

“All those individuals who, until this day, looked upon themselves as slaves, are free”: The Lost History of the Mexican Underground Railroad

When we are first taught about the Underground Railroad, we learn about following the drinking gourd and how “conductors,” such as Harriet Tubman, helped free enslaved people in the south, ushering...

The cow-pock - or - the wonderful effects of the new inoculation. James Gillray image. Library of Congress

“All Who Will Yield to Evidence:” An Historical View of Vaccine Opinions

The search for inoculation from the most dreadful diseases that afflict humankind has been relentless for centuries. The history of the American colonies was affected by the decision of George...

The Hunt for Captain Kidd’s Treasure and The Enduring Mystery of Oak Island

Any good mystery demands an answer; the best mysteries never give them up. For over 225 years, Oak Island has held its secrets and has unceasingly thwarted those who have tried to expose them. That...

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