US History: Living History Project (2025)
Reference, primary sources, news coverage, and web resources to help you contextualize the period of U.S. history you are researching.
Resource Icon Key
For instructions on accessing GBS Library Resources on this page marked with a key 
click on the right side of this image and scroll down:
GBS Historical News Databases
All historical news resources require your GBS username (ID number) and GBS password for home access
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers (Dates Vary) This link opens in a new window
Includes historical coverage of New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Christian Science Monitor, and more.
Civil Rights Movement
Background/Overviews
Civil Rights Turning Points (8:47) |
Continuity & Change (10:17) |
Go Deeper:
History in Context portals are well-organized collections of primary and secondary sources. Highly recommended.
- The Rise & Fall of Jim Crow (PBS)
Excellent overview of the history with supporting primary sources. - Civil Rights Digital Library
Discover primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, and more.
Key Legislation
Key Events & People
- How the Greensboro Four Sit-In Sparked a Movement
When four Black students refused to move from a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter in 1960, nation-wide student activism gained momentum. - Reflections on the Greensboro Lunch Counter (6:42)
Civil Rights activists Joseph McNeil, Diane Nash, and John Lewis reflect on the history and legacy of the lunch counter from the F. W. Woolworth department store in North Carolina and the sit-in campaign that began on February 1, 1960. - Civil Rights Activist John Lewis: Looking Back (4:28)
Student activist Jonathan Butler and Congressman John Lewis sit down to discuss the Eyes on the Prize series and the Civil Rights Movement
4000 West Lake Avenue Glenview, Illinois 60026 | Email:GBS LibGuides Administrator | Reference Desk: 847 486 4574