The American Colonist’s Library: A Treasure of Primary Sources
http://personal.pitnet.net/primarysources/
"An invaluable collection of historical works which contributed to the formation of American politics, culture, and ideals..."
The American Colonist’s Library is another site that offers quite a bit of information for the visitor. This site features the works of Benjamin Franklin, Sam Adams, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and many more. One great aspect of this site is that it offers the visitor access to a list of the classical and medieval texts that served to influence the thinking and lives of the Founders, and the formation of American politics, cultures, and ideals.

AmericanRevolution.org
http://www.americanrevolution.org/home.html
Originally a portal site, this domain now provides an impressive amount of useful original content. It still contains over 1,000 links and claims to verify them weekly for errors. One of the interesting features is the art gallery of famous Revolutionary War paintings. Included with these paintings are biographies on the artists, histories of the paintings and even guides showing whom the key figures in the paintings represent. The “Scholars Showcase” boasts a number of digitized books on various subjects. Within these documents are links to related sites and subjects. The greatest strength of this site is that the thousands of links it provides connect to quality sites, are well organized throughout the site and most of all, work. (BR)

Archiving Early America
http://www.earlyamerica.com
“Our main focus at Archiving Early America is primary source material from 18th Century America-- all displayed digitally. A unique array of original newspapers, maps and writings come to life on your screen just as they appeared to our forebears more than 200 years ago.”
If you can wade through the advertisements that fund and pop up all over this site, there are many valuable resources to be found. There are some interesting documents under the “Firsts” heading as well as the “Milestones” section. Within the latter is a document of particular import, the only privately held copy of the Maryland Gazette that contains George Washington’s journal. This and all other documents may be viewed as a digital image or as a textual transcription. If Internet access is available in the classroom, there are a series of short narrated slideshow movies on topics including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Molly Pitcher, Paul Revere and the treason of Benedict Arnold. There are also portraits, paintings, maps and other useful primary documents that are all presented in a well-organized fashion. One other amusing feature is the news-ticker that runs along the top of the page, showing important events that happened on the current date. (BR)

James Madison Center
http://www.jmu.edu/madison/center/index.htm
“The James Madison Center was founded in 1999 to honor the legacy of the nation's fourth President and Father of the United States Constitution. Located on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the Center serves as a repository for information on Madison's life and times (1751-1836) as well as that of the Federalist Era.”
The James Madison Center webpage contains an abundance of material about James Madison’s life and times. While they place special emphasis on Madison’s role in the Constitutional Convention and his presidency, they also include plenty of material about his boyhood, personal life, friends, and family. Moreover, they include excerpts from Madison, Jefferson, the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, as well as other primary sources. Teachers can access lesson plans from this website, too. Finally, this site provides links to other sites on Colonial History and the Early Republic.

Jamestown Virtual Colony
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/socialstudies/projects/jvc/home.html
“The Jamestown Virtual Colony was developed by the Program in Social Studies Education of the Curry School of Education, with the assistance of a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy.”
This website’s main purpose, provided by the University of Virginia, is to help teachers plan lessons and activities about America’s first colony, Jamestown. They provide enough material for an entire course (5 full units), but recognize that many teachers won’t be able to devote that many classes to the subject. They offer a series of well developed and researched lesson plans that can be adapted to the individual teacher’s needs. The lesson plans include activities and bibliographies, but still leave some work for the teacher in fitting the lesson to their students’ needs. With these lesson plans, the teacher has an excellent framework of ideas and approaches to build upon. This site also includes a few interesting webquest activities for students that could be productive if there is access to a computer lab. The historical overview should help give background information for teachers and students, and the additional links provide a portal to some primary documents and other useful sites. This site is an excellent starting point for information on the Jamestown Colony (through its links) and a great resource for lesson plans and other classroom ideas. BR

The Papers of George Washington
http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/
“The Papers of George Washington, a grant-funded project, was established in 1969 at the University of Virginia, under the joint auspices of the University and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, to publish a complete edition of Washington's correspondence.”
The Papers of George Washington project currently consists of 52 volumes and will ultimately comprise 90 volumes. The project’s website offers a selection of articles, documents, maps and images related to the George Washington papers. Although it does not provide full access to the published volumes (they are for sale), this website does give a good overview and provides many interesting resources. The greatest of these resources is the series of scholarly articles that cover various aspects of George Washington’s life and history. Found in the “Documents and Articles” section under “Washington Articles,” these resources should be referred to for reliable background information on a variety of George Washington related topics. (BR)

Pilgrim Hall Museum
http://www.pilgrimhall.org/plgrmhll.htm
“Pilgrim Hall Museum is a gallery museum in the center of historic Plymouth, Massachusetts. Through its exhibition of Pilgrim possessions and Native American artifacts, Pilgrim Hall tells the stories of America’s founding and traditions in stirring detail.”
This homepage for the Pilgrim Hall Museum gives a fascinating glimpse into early colonial life in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In the links “The Pilgrim Story” and ”Beyond the Pilgrim Story” you can find an excellent detailed historical overview with links to primary documents and other related subjects. The Exhibits and Collections found in the museum are also provided to a large extent online. Especially intriguing are the sections on Arms and Armor of the Pilgrims, Native American documents, Medicine in the Old colony, History Paintings and Portraits. Within each of these sections the site includes pictures, detailed descriptions of the artifacts and historical background. Although the museum is out of reach physically, their site puts many of their holdings within our reach electronically. The diverse selection of topics, images and primary documents make for a useful and fun site. (BR)

The Plymouth Colony Project
http://etext.virginia.edu/users/deetz/
“This Plymouth Colony Archive presents a collection of fully searchable texts, including: court records, colony laws, seventeenth century journals and memoirs, probate inventories, wills, town plans, maps, and fort plans; research and seminar analyses of numerous topics; biographical profiles of selected colonists; and architectural, archaeological and material culture studies.”
As suggested by the website’s introduction, it promises an extensive selection of primary source material and data. Boasting awards, accolades and widespread academic and public recognition, this University of Virginia website lives up to its self praise. The best primary documents are the selection of wills and court records. Throughout the rest of the site are numerous other primary documents, biographies and texts which all prove insightful. There are numerous images of historic paintings, sites, maps, and artifacts excavated in Plymouth. Mixed in with these images and documents are essays and articles that help contextualize the material culture and artifacts being displayed. The site also contains an internal search engine to speed up the process of finding information relevant to the browse’s interests. One last valuable feature of this site is the numerous links that it provides. If something of interest is not found on this site, there are many links to other sites that will hopefully prove more fruitful. For someone interested in Plymouth, this website definitely warrants consideration and attention. BR

Remembering Black Loyalists, Black Communities in Nova Scotia
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/blackloyalists/index.htm
“Between 1783 and 1785, more than 3000 Black persons came to Nova Scotia as a direct result of the American Revolution. They came from slavery and war to take control of their lives, making choices within the limits they faced.”
Sponsored by the Nova Scotia Museum and Department of Canadian Heritage, Remembering Black Loyalists, Black Communities in Nova Scotia gives browsers the history of black loyalists who fled to Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War. Having fought for or supported the British Empire during the conflict, these individuals faced re-enslavement after the departure of the British military. Finding solace in Nova Scotia, the settlers began the long and arduous process of establishing communities in their new homeland. This website includes their story, as well as images, documents, and recordings.

The Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/salem/17docs.html
“…consists of an electronic collection of primary source materials relating to the Salem witch trials of 1692…”
The Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project provides a large collection of important primary documents. The Archives section includes a portal to numerous sites that contain digitized archival sources. The digital images of contemporary maps, books and letters are easy to navigate through and very helpful. The most useful feature of the site is the original court record transcriptions. One group of these, the Salem Witchcraft Papers ,contain a name index and internal search engine. The documents on this site would greatly enhance any discussion of the early colonial period, Salem witch trials or Puritan society. (BR)

Spy Letters of the American Revolution
http://www.si.umich.edu/spies
“The Revolutionary War was not fought by proclamations and battles alone. A major component of the war was the challenge of organizing military strategies over thousands of miles of battlefield. From the very beginning of the war, a complex network of spies, double agents, and traitors began to emerge in an effort to learn the plans of the enemy before they were enacted.”
Created by four students at the University of Michigan School of Information—Kate Foster, Cynthia Ghering, Michelle Light, and Melissa McCollum—this site is a great resource for students and teachers desiring to learn more about covert operations during the American Revolution. Utilizing primary documents as examples, the authors explain the methods employed by spies to slip their communiqués past enemy lines. Also, the site offers browsers stories about famous royal and colonial spies, as well as an overview of the war. Finally, the creators give teachers great classroom ideas in the Teachers’ Lounge. Lesson plans outline projects like making invisible ink, coded letters, and mask letters.

University of Virginia Electronic Text Center
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/
“The Etext Center at the University of Virginia Library has pursued twin missions with equal seriousness of purpose since its inception in 1992: To build and maintain an internet-accessible collection of SGML and XML-encoded texts and images…To build and maintain user communities adept at the creation and use of these materials.”
The most useful collection in this online library is The Modern English Collection (AD 1500-present). Within this collection there are primary documents from African American and Native American sources, the American Civil War, the Colonial era, Women Writers and many others. These documents range from runaway slave advertisements to works of early American fiction. This collection has many of the common documents that are easily found elsewhere, but also contains thousands of unique resources. The selection offers the opportunity to go beyond well-known sources and to utilize new and fresh documents. This collection is an excellent place to find primary documents for classroom use. Though not directly applicable to U.S. History there are also interesting sources for European and world history. (BR)

Virtual Jamestown
http://www.virtualjamestown.org
“The Virtual Jamestown Archive consists of seven main archival sections plus other sections devoted to student/researcher and teacher usage.”
Students, teachers, and scholars desiring a detailed examination of the Jamestown colony will find this website invaluable. The primary sources digitally preserved on this site include letters, faxes, charters, constitutions, and minutes from various colonial organizations and settlers. Moreover, these primary documents are not limited to Jamestown after 1607. Filtering through the Internet pages at Virtual Jamestown, the viewer will also locate communications from Raleigh’s attempts at colonizing Roanoke Island.

The visual and interactive aspects of Virtual Jamestown demand attention, too. For teachers who wish to bring Jamestown to life, these programs will truly aid in capturing the students’ attention. With nifty clips like the panoramic view of Jamestown, the viewer is drawn into a sense of the historic past as they sit next to the settlers for a town square meeting. Even the maps have a unique ability to revive the past. The interactive nature of the maps visually unfolds the expansion of the Virginia colony or Captain John Smith’s explorations in the Chesapeake area.

Finally, the site is properly documented and free of technical pit falls. Granted, some features require an extended load time, but overall, Virtual Jamestown is a well-maintained site with many attributes that make is attractive for research.