Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Name	Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Founded	1994
Founders	Richard Gilder; Lewis Lehrman
Headquarters	New York City

Contents

Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the study and teaching of American history. The Institute sponsors programs for teachers, students, scholars, and the public linked to collections, archives, museums, and universities such as the Library of Congress, National Archives, New-York Historical Society, Columbia University, and Yale University. Its activities intersect with primary source projects involving figures and events including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, American Revolution, and Civil War.

History

Founded in 1994 by philanthropists Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman, the Institute emerged amid initiatives connected to the National Endowment for the Humanities, Smithsonian Institution, American Historical Association, Mount Vernon, and Pew Charitable Trusts. Early collaborations involved curatorial work at the New-York Historical Society, manuscript access at the Library of Congress, and exhibitions referencing documents from the Adams Papers, Hamilton Papers, and Jefferson Papers. Over time the Institute developed teacher seminars modeled on programs at Princeton University, Harvard University, Stanford University, and the Guggenheim Museum, and established archival digitization projects comparable to efforts at the National Archives and the Civil War Trust.

The Institute runs summer seminars for K–12 teachers in partnership with institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Mount Vernon, and Ford’s Theatre, and offers student contests modeled on competitions like the National History Day and the National Spelling Bee. Its online lesson plans and primary source sets draw on holdings from the Library of Congress, National Archives, New-York Historical Society, Peabody Museum, and the Museum of the City of New York, and connect topics including the Constitution of the United States, Bill of Rights, Emancipation Proclamation, Women's suffrage, and World War II. Professional development initiatives echo curricula at the Carnegie Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, and American Association of Museums, while digital projects reference standards used by the Digital Public Library of America and the Smithsonian Institution.

The Institute publishes the quarterly journal History Now, teacher guides, and annotated primary source collections featuring documents related to Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Dolley Madison, Ulysses S. Grant, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks. It produces digital exhibits and podcasts that utilize items from the Library of Congress, National Archives, New-York Historical Society, and university presses such as Oxford University Press and Harvard University Press. Curriculum materials align with standards promoted by the National Council for the Social Studies, Common Core State Standards Initiative, and archival practices advocated by the Society of American Archivists.

The Institute administers awards and fellowships including scholarships for graduate research and prizes that recognize work on topics such as the American Revolution, Civil War, Reconstruction Era, and Progressive Era. Fellowships provide access to archives like the Adams Papers, Hamilton Papers, Jefferson Papers, and collections at the Library of Congress and New-York Historical Society, and are comparable to grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright Program, MacArthur Foundation, and Guggenheim Fellowship. Prize recipients have included scholars publishing with Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Columbia University Press.

The Institute is governed by a board of trustees and advisory committees composed of historians and educators affiliated with institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, and the American Historical Association. Funding sources have included private philanthropists, charitable foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Pew Charitable Trusts, and partnerships resembling those with the National Endowment for the Humanities and corporate supporters tied to museum and archival projects at the New-York Historical Society and the Library of Congress.

The Institute partners with museums, archives, libraries, and universities including the Library of Congress, National Archives, New-York Historical Society, Mount Vernon, Ford’s Theatre, Harvard University, Yale University, and Columbia University to offer exhibitions, public lectures, and educational resources. Outreach programs collaborate with competitions and organizations such as National History Day, the National Council for the Social Studies, the Smithsonian Institution, and state historical societies, and engage audiences through exhibits referencing events like the Boston Tea Party, Battle of Gettysburg, Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the Civil Rights Movement.

Category:Historical societies of the United States