United States Culture

Cultural aspects of life in the United States.

Resources in this category:

About.com: Southern U.S. Cuisine
http://southernfood.about.com/

An Internet guide for the food of the people of the southern United States, with feature articles, Website links, and discussion forums. Topics covered include cooking basics, canning, drying & curing, recipes, casseroles, desserts, and African-American & Cajun cuisines.

AdFlip
http://www.adflip.com/

"adflip.com is the world's largest searchable database of classic print ads. You can search by category, by decade, even by year. The 'what are you looking for' search box allows you to type in a brand name and even a specific model name. We won't guarantee that you will always get a match, but you may be surprised at what is lurking deep in our archives." Ads date back to the 1940's and feature all types of products. A great resource if you need ads, but don't want to destroy magazines to get them.

America in the 1930s
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/home_1.html

"The 1930s in America were a time of unparalleled contradiction and complexity. Encapsulated loosely on one end by Black Tuesday of the Great Depression and on the other end by the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the years between 1929 and 1941 were characterized by what Terry Cooney calls 'Balancing Acts,' a dance between big government and various regional movements, with the depths of the Depression and the height of the Modern Age thrown in for good measure. Despite its cultural richness, the 1930s remain nearly invisible in contemporary discussions of America's artistic, cultural, political, economic, and social development. This site is an attempt to shed light on that decade and emphasize its importance in American thought and culture. We have elected to view the 1930s through the lenses of its films, radio programs, literature, journalism, museums, exhibitions, architecture, art, and other forms of cultural expression."

American Studies Crossroads Project
http://crossroads.georgetown.edu/

"Provide[s] a rich resource in American Studies which includes a listing of: American Studies Programs; American Studies Curricula; Subject Maps to Fields of American Studies; Key American Studies Internet Sites; International American Studies; New Media and Technologies in American Studies."

The Colonial Music Institute
http://www.colonialmusic.org/

A source for a variety of resources related to American colonial music including instructions on how to dance a Country Dance, a Minuet, a Cotillion, or a Reel. Essays about American colonial music are also featured.

Country Music Hall of Fame
http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/

The Country Music Hall of Fames’s website includes news of current events as well as a history of country music. The "Explore the Music" section includes an in-depth perspective on the Grand Ole Opry, a discussion of the instruments that are traditionally used in country music, recorded interview with artists, and a explanation of various country styles including cowboy, bluegrass, honky-tonk, and rockabilly.

CreatAbiliTOYS!
http://advertisingiconmuseum.org/

This museum is a collection of over 650 advertising icons spanning a century of American history. The primary mission of the Museum is to "keep alive the most successful (and not so successful) advertising campaigns of today and yesteryear." In addition to the full Museum exhibit where the items can be looked at individually with a bit of their history included, the site contains information on what makes something a collectible, how to determine its value, types of collections and their quality ratings.

Dining Through the Decades
http://www.leitesculinaria.com/writings/features/dining1.htm...

An entertaining overview on popular trends in American cuisine from the 1900s through the 1990s. Includes recipes from each decade.

The Glass Ceiling Commission
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/glassceiling/

Assorted PDF-formatted articles that offer a variety of viewpoints on how the glass ceiling - as it affects women and minority workers - is a barrier in the workplace (in the United States specifically).

The Handbook of Texas Online
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/

"The Handbook of Texas Online is a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture. It comprises more than 23,000 articles on people, places, events, historical themes, institutions, and a host of other topic categories."

Indiana Historical Society
http://www.indianahistory.org/

"Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society -- an independent, nonprofit membership organization -- has worked to collect, preserve, research and interpret the unique heritage of our state. Please explore the Society's programs, collections and activities, as well as our mission statement."

The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/home.html

This searchable site features an extensive, alphabetical list of links and readings on the American 1950s and links to Cold War sites.

Oregon Historical Society
http://www.ohs.org/

"For over 120 years, the Oregon Historical Society has provided a place for history--a home for our heritage, our culture, our beginnings, and our future. The Programs of the Oregon Historical Society, while diverse, share a mission to extend the aims of the Society into the state of Oregon and engage its people through professional services, organizational affiliation, the coordination of educational information, projects and competitions, and the sponsoring of traditional arts communities and apprenticeships."

RootsWorld: They Call Themselves Roma
http://www.rootsworld.com/rw/gypsypage.html

At this site you’ll find answers to questions including: Roma: Who are they? What is Gypsy music? You’ll also find listening examples of works by the Karandila Brass Orchestra and saxophonist Yuri Yunakov.

State Historical Society of Missouri
http://shs.umsystem.edu/index.shtml

"Founded in 1898 by the Missouri Press Association and a trustee of the state since 1901, the State Historical Society of Missouri is the preeminent research facility for the study of the Show Me State's heritage." The site provides links to the Society's art collection; a directory of local historical societies, museums, and genealogical societies in the state; information about the Society's newspaper collection, reference library, and photograph collection; online listings of authors and titles within the historical scholarly publication, "Missouri Historical Review"; Missouri genealogy guides; and a link to the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

The Red Hot Jazz Archive
http://www.redhotjazz.com/

This jazz archive primarily focuses on music before 1930 and features artists like Benny Goodman, Coleman Hawkins, Gene Krupa, and Bessie Smith. Contents include artist biographies, audio files, video files and essays like "Billie Holiday’s Small Band Recordings of 1935-1939" and "The Young Sidney Bechet".

Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz
http://www.jazzinamerica.org/home.asp

A jazz resource library complete with lesson plans for educators, audio clips, artist biographies, and digital images. You will also find "style sheets" that describe the general characteristics of a variety of jazz styles including dixieland, cool jazz, swing, bebop, ragtime, and third-stream.

TVparty!
http://www.tvparty.com/

A nostalgic tribute to the history of television, from the advent of the medium until the present day. Read about and watch video clips of your favorite shows and commercials from the past, learn about TV-related scandals and mysteries, find out what happened to stars from the past, and discover interesting and little known facts. Covers all genres (drama, comedy, variety shows, commercials, animation, children's shows, TV specials, etc.)

U.S. Society, Values and Politics
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/

Contains bibliographies and links to legislation and sources on American Literature, Women's Rights and Resources, Disability, Federal Elections, and journal articles in Russian, Arabic, Spanish, French and Portuguese. Searchable archives and links to Federal legislation on line.

We Shall Overcome - Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/

Contains photographs, essays, travel maps, history of individuals and sites about and along the Underground Railroad. Covers paths taken through 20 U. S. States. References include links to other Civil Rights sites, documents, speeches and biographies.