Pennsylvania Germans near the Conestoga River first made Conestoga wagons around 1750 to haul freight. By the 1810s, improved roads to Pittsburgh and Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) stimulated trade between Philadelphia, Baltimore, and settlers near the Ohio River. Wagoners with horse-drawn C

This ambrotype portrait of Mea-to-sa-bi-tchi-a, or Smutty Bear, a Yankton Dakota, is among the first photographic images of Native Americans. Smutty Bear was part of a large Native American delegation that came to Washington, D.C., during the winter of 1857–58. Under duress, members of the dele

This segment of Preparing for the Oath: U.S. History and Civics for Citizenship teaches about the geography of the United States through short videos, mini-activities, and practice questions. The eight questions in this segment cover topics such as, the longest rivers in the country, the oceans t

USS Carondolet was a 512-ton ironclad gunboat in the style of the Cairo. It was built in Saint Louis and commissioned in January 1862. Within a month it had contributed to the capture of both Fort Henry and Fort Donelson.

This gun derives its nickname of the "Mississippi rifle" from the Mississippi Riflemen led by Jefferson Davis. The Mexican-American War began in 1846. Davis looked favorably upon the war as the United States stood to acquire considerable land south of the Missouri Compromise line. It was an

This Sharps rifle was made especially for John Brown, though it bears no maker’s mark or number. Brown carried this weapon on his Kansas campaign in 1856 and later presented it to Charles Blair of Collinsville, Connecticut. In 1857, Brown contracted Blair to forge pikes for the clandestine slav

According to legend, this coat was made from the skin of a buffalo killed by Buffalo Bill, and presented by him to Captain J. B. Irvine, Twenty-second U.S. Infantry. Irvine then presented it to Second Lieutenant Albert C. Dalton, Company A, U.S. Infantry. In a life that was part le

This online exhibition focuses on the natural history specimens that were collected by Lewis and Clark on their historic expedition. The site contains images of museum specimens, scientific drawings, and field photos of the plant and animal species observed and described by Lewis and Clark, along

This website, produced by the Missouri Historical Society, was produced to coincide with a traveling exhibition celebrating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark exhibition.  Students can explore the entire journey of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery through the use of an interac

Students will learn how commerce on the Great Lakes, canals and rivers played an important role in the development of the country in this section of On the Water: Stories from Maritime America, an online exhibition. The country's vast system of rivers and lakes has helped