[Free Registration/Login Required] Students use primary source documents to investigate central historical questions. In this investigation students use nineteenth-century maps and art, and consider the roots of American exceptionalism.

The Oakland Museum presents an exhibit of art that show the miners, mining towns, new cities, and people of the Gold Rush. Be sure to read the overview of the exhibit to get the historical background.

Experience the Gold Rush through this multimedia presentation. See the art that reflects the environment, characters, and the role of women in the gold rush. Listen to an overview of the gold rush and its impact.

Thomas Hart Benton (3/14/1784 - 4/10/1858) was a U.S. Senator from Missouri and a staunch advocate of westward expansion of the United States. He served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve...

Richard Caton Woodville's "War News From Mexico" is an example of an American genre painting. It depicts a group of people reacting to news about the Mexican-American War. View pictures of this painting and read the backstory in this essay.

Thomas Cole was best known for his landscape paintings which embodied the beauty and grandeur of the American wilderness during the first half of the nineteenth century. When viewed through the lens of nineteenth-century political...