Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Exploring Perception and Reality in the Story of the Hawaiian Islands"

Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution Homepage

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:52:26 GMT

In this online exhibition, students will explore the experiences of Japanese Americans who were placed in internment camps during World War II, a period of history when racial prejudice and fear upset the delicate balance between the rights of citizens and the power of the state. The story is told through interactive galleries that combine photographs, objects, oral histories, and first-person accounts. Students will be able to share their responses to what they have learned on a comment board that is included in the exhibition as well as search more than 800 artifacts from the Smithsonian Collection. Also included are links to related activities, Web sites, a bibliography and more resources about this topic. A non-flash version of the site is available at http://americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion/non-flash/overview.html.

Bracero History Archive

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:22:11 GMT

This website provides online access to a collection of oral histories, photos, documents, and objects related to bracero history. Students can browse the archive, use social bookmarking tools to share resources, add their own notes and make a poster using items from the archive, and contribute to the archive by adding their own stories about the bracero program.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is part of a consortium of museums, universities, and cultural institutions documenting and preserving the history of the bracero program, a little-known chapter of American history in which an estimated two million Mexican men came to the United States between 1942-1964 on short-term labor contracts. The Bracero History Project has recorded more than 600 oral histories and has collected many objects.