President Nixon speaking with astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin on the Moon

On July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission brought the first humans to the Moon. On that day President Nixon spoke with crewmembers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin via telephone-radio transmission. Source: This edited presentation features film footage from the White House Staff Super 8 Film Collection and audio from the White House Communications Agency Sound Recording Collection.

Material Type: Primary Source

December 18, 1903: Flying Machine Soars Three Miles in Teeth of High Wind Over Sand Hills and Waves On Carolina Coast

Newspaper article published on December 18, 1903 about the successful flight of the Wright Brother's flying machine. The article was published without permission, however, and is full of mistakes. Read the article and the background story here.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

West Wing Week 07/12/13 “Bring it On Brussels Sprout Wrap!”

Watch this video summarizing the activities at the White House during the week of July 12, 2013. Events included the second annual kid's state dinner with young chefs from each state and territory.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

"How Henry Ford Made a Man of Me"

Article in the 1925 magazine "Your car; a magazine of romance, fact and fiction" by a former criminal about his experience working for Henry Ford. The article is on pages 44, 45, and 82.

Material Type: Reading

The Moon

June 1841, from Robert Merry’s Museum Robert Merry’s Museum children’s magazine (1841-1872) featured works by nearly every 19th century children’s writer. It also excerpted works for adults. Pat Pflieger has indexed several works from the magazine online, and notes that “The Moon”, as a piece, “wanders from lyricism to science to speculation as it explores the effects of the moon on earth, and, evidently, on the human imagination”.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

Human Rights Watch: Our Research Methodology

This article describes the research methodology used by Human Rights Watch

Material Type: Reading

Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789)

The "Declaration of the Rights of Man" was approved by the National Assembly of France on August 26, 1789. It is a fundamental document of the French Revolution and in the history of human rights. It is included in the preamble of the constitutions of both the Fourth French Republic (1946) and Fifth Republic (1958) and is still current. Read the text of the document here.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

MR DE KLERK: OPENING OF PARLIAMENT 1990

F.W. de Klerk's speech delivered at the opening of the 1990 session of the Parliament of South Africa in which he announced sweeping reforms that marked the beginning of the negotiated transition from apartheid to constitutional democracy.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

American Civil Liberties Union. Jessica Gonzales v. U.S.A.

In the first case brought by a survivor of domestic violence against the U.S. before an international human rights tribunal, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that the United States violated the human rights of Jessica Lenahan (formerly Gonzales) and her children. Case Summary and downloadable court documents

Material Type: Case Study, Primary Source, Reading

Magna Carta Translation

Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter) is an Angevin charter originally issued in Latin in June 1215. The Magna Carta was the first document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their rights. The charter is widely known throughout the English speaking world as an important part of the protracted historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in England and beyond. Read a translation into English here.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

Executive Order 9981: Desegregation of the Armed Forces (1948)

On July 26, 1948, President Harry S. Truman signed this executive order establishing the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, committing the U.S. government to integrating the segregated military. Read and see the document here.

Material Type: Primary Source, Reading

Author: Harry S. Truman

Primary Source Documents: Wright Brothers

Examine a collection of primary source documents about the Wright Brothers.

Material Type: Diagram/Illustration, Primary Source