University of Colorado
University of Colorado: History of the Automobile
This site is from the University of Colorado explaining the history of the automobile and the impact it had on the American culture. Learn all about the changes that occurred in American culture because of the automobile.
Library of Congress
Loc: Everyday Mysteries: Who Invented the Automobile?
Not an easy answer! Many people contributed to the invention of the automobile as there were many different types of automobiles and many different types of parts that went into them. Here's a good summary of the inventors.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Age of the Automobile
Henry Ford's use of the assembly line to manufacture his automobiles led to many ramifications. Read about the spin-off industries created by the growth of the automobile industry, and see what impact the auto had on culture.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: The History of Automobiles: Comprehension Strategies
[Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson targets the history of the automobile in three major phases of its development.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Smithsonian Automobile Collection
See the wide range of gas-powered vehicles manufactured in America in the late 19th century. Click on each picture to read a detailed description of the vehicle, how it worked, and the history of its manufacture. From the Smithsonian...
Other
City of Littleton Government: History of Transportation: Littleton, Colorado
Incredible history of transportation in Littleton, Colorado that explains the many ways in which transportation impacted the culture.
University of Michigan
National Endowment for the Humanities: Automobile in American Life and Society
An interactive website that looks at all aspects of the automobile in American life. Teacher and student resources are included.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: America in the 1920s: Machine: Automobile
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Making Sense of "Failed" Car Technology
America on the Move explores the role of transportation in American History highlighting its role as a vital part of our business, social, and cultural history. Learn about the auto industry's experiments, dead-ends, and temporary...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: What Is an Emblem?
This tour divides the Smithsonian's collection of 278 radiator emblems into different groupings to demonstrate how similar objects can be interpreted to emphasize certain themes and relationships. The exhibition uses the radiator emblems...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: On the Interstate: I 10: 1956 1990
Explore the ways that the interstates changed commerce, travel, and where we live. The interstates have profoundly changed American landscapes and lives, and the way business is conducted. I-10 sweeps almost 2,500 miles across the...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Americans Adopt the Auto
This exhibition explores the role of transportation in American history focusing on the way the automobile went from being a plaything of the rich to a major factor in the American transportation landscape.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: The People's Highway: Route 66: 1930s 1940s
This section of the America on the Move exhibition explores the substance behind the myth of Route 66, telling the stories of real people who made their living on or beside the road and who traveled on the fabled highway.
The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford Showroom of Automotive History
Learn about automotive history as you browse the collection of The Henry Ford Museum. Enter the showroom to see a complete profile on some of the most important cars ever made, from the 1896 quadricycle to the 1986 Taurus.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Crossing the Country: Somewhere in Wyoming 1903
Come along on the first successful cross-country automobile trip with H. Nelson Jackson, Sewall Crocker, and their dog Bud as they traveled in 1903 from California to New York in 63 days.
Wisconsin Historical Society
Wisconsin Historical Society: Fill 'Er Up: The Evolution of Gas Stations
Take a fascinating trip into the past to experience how gas stations have evolved from livery stables in Wisconsin. In addition to the descriptions of the architectural styles through the decades, history is brought to life with a video...
Digital History
Digital History: Prosperity: Fact or Myth [Pdf]
Find the reasons for the booming economy in the United States in the 1920s. Can the seeds for the Great Depression be seen in the fruit of the economy? [pdf]
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Invention of the Teenager
It's hard to believe that there was not a phase known as adolescence until the 1920s. See how child labor laws and the automobile combined to spawn the teenager.
Smithsonian Institution
Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Information About Tucker Automobiles
Provides information on the Tucker automobile which introduced many features that have since become widely used in modern cars. Production was shut down amidst the scandal of fraud allegations in 1949.
Smithsonian Institution
Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Early Cars: Fact Sheet for Children
Encyclopedia entry presents fun facts about the history of the automobile.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Auto Safety History
America on the Move explores the role of transportation in American History highlighting its role as a vital part of our business, social, and cultural history. This section provides an overview of the history of automobile safety...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Themes: Auto Safety Pioneers
Since the 1970s, Americans have witnessed an amazing number of safety improvements in automobiles and the driving environment. Seat belts, air bags, safer fuel tanks, the Jaws of Life, and driving while intoxicated (DWI) campaigns are...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: American Racing: A Diversity of Innovation
American auto racing has a century long history of grass roots invention. From an American-European rivalry to uniquely American forms of racing, the history of racing includes business interests, enthusiastic fans, and alternative...
Other
Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum
Automobiles that were part of Manitoba transportation history are offered on this website from the Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum in Elkhorn. There are pictures and descriptions, a history of the museum with a virtual tour and plenty...