American Presidents
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The Presidents: From the White House
The Early Republic
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Colonial Hall: Biographies of America's Founding Fathers (includes portraits and some biographies on their wives)
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The People of the American Revolution: From the National Park Service
Native American Biographies
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Native American Biographies: From Native Nations
The American West
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People Index from PBS' The West
Civil War Biographies
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Civil War Biography Page: Formerly maintained by the LSU Civil War Center
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Civil War Biographies: From the Civil War Trust
African American History
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African American Perspectives: Pamphlets from the Daniel A. P. Murray Collection (1818-1907)
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African American Odyssey (Lots of fantastic materials!)
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Voices from the Days of Slavery, Audio Interviews
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Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writer's Project, 1936-1938
Biography Indexes
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The Library of Congress: America's Story (Link through the eras of American history)
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Biographies From Revolution to Reconstruction...and What Happened Afterwards:
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From the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland Biographical Index of Mathematicians:
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From the Book of Days, Emmitsburg Historical Society, Maryland Index of Biographies:
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From the University of Alabama's Astronomy Program 4000 Years of Women in Science Biography Listing
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Biography: Selected Internet Resources (Science Reference Services): From the Library of Congress.
Why teach history through biography?
"History is people, after all, and even great social, economic, intellectual, and political forces take shape in our minds and in our historical records through the actions of people."
--from the American Historical Association: Teach History the Old-Fashioned Way--Through Biography, by Ken Wolf.
"Nothing gives more insight to students than to discern both the connections and the dissimilarities between their lives and the lives of others in places and/or times that seem remote and somehow unreal."
--from the American Historical Association: Biography and Autobiography in the teaching of History and the Social Sciences, by Ann K. Warren.
"Biographies enhance the ability of teachers to stimulate critical thinking across developmental levels."
--from teachinghistory.org: Teaching American History through Biography: Lessons from Maine Educators.
"One method I use to strike a balance between the "big picture" and the specific evidence that makes up history is to use biography as a teaching tool."
--from AP Central: Using Biography to Teach AP History.
"Biography brings into focus not only positive attitudes and attributes, but also human foibles and flaws."
--from Education Weekly: Why Teach Biography? by Bernice Lerner (first published online: March 15, 2005)