Drawing on Japanese medical reports, Red Cross records, and eyewitness accounts, this article explores how doctors and survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki confronted radiation sickness—an invisible killer that officials tried to hide.
In 1945, Londoners emerged from the rubble of the Blitz to face a city of broken landmarks and vast ruins. Using contemporary reports and official records, this article explores how the capital’s residents lived, feared, and hoped in the final months of the war and the first days of peace.
On November 9, 1989, a confused announcement from East Germany triggered a spontaneous rush to the Berlin Wall. Through the eyes of BBC reporters, a border guard, and ordinary citizens, this article reconstructs the night the Wall fell, capturing the euphoria, fear, and uncertainty of a world on the brink of change.
Drawing on diaries, letters, and eyewitness reports, this article reconstructs the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire through the words of those who lived through it, revealing their fears, confusion, and resilience.
Drawing on front pages from American, British, and international newspapers, this article reconstructs how the Apollo 11 moon landing was reported and experienced on July 20–21, 1969, revealing the awe, excitement, and national pride that defined the moment.
Maps are far more than geographical representations—they are primary sources that reveal the knowledge, biases, and ambitions of their creators. This article draws on historical guides and archival practice to show how to analyze maps as evidence of past worldviews.
On May 7, 1915, the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed off the Irish coast, killing over 1,200 people. This article reconstructs the disaster as it was experienced and reported at the time, drawing on survivor interviews, official cables, and contemporary newspaper coverage.
Drawing on letters, dispatches, and archival records, this article reconstructs how female journalists—the ‘D-Day Dames’—fought for the right to cover World War II, what they witnessed, and the barriers they overcame to report from the front lines and the home front.
A practical guide to using government documents—census records, congressional reports, hearings, and more—as primary sources. Learn how to interpret these records, avoid common pitfalls, and find them in depository libraries and digital archives.
Explore how the telegraph-driven, partisan newspapers of the 1860s shaped public understanding of the Civil War, from the first shots at Fort Sumter to the final surrender, and how they both informed and misled a nation hungry for news.