As we celebrate veterans this week, it's obvious that fighting wars certainly is different from the days of standing behind trees with muskets, especially if you watched the latest Iraq conflict in real time via CNN. In celebration of Veteran's Day, I thought it would be good to provide some interesting Web sites that relate to the topic of war. These sites can be very useful for teachers who need to find primary sources to teach about human conflict, particularly American based conflicts.
Native American Issues
http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/naind/html/ na_000107_entries.htm
An online version of Encyclopedia of North American Indians, edited by Frederick E. Hoxie, a book published by the Houghton Mifflin Company in 1996 and now on the Internet. Each article is written by one of the leading experts in the field. Contains a tremendous amount of Native material including wars.
Colonial America 1600-1775-K12 Resources
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/colonial.htm
A number of web sites that deal with King William's War (1690-1697), Queen Anne's War: War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713), and King George's War (1744-1748), along with other colonial America related sites.
Web index of the French & Indian War (1754-60)
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1500/fiw.html
This site contains many links to other Web sites relating to the French and Indian War.
Liberty! The American Revolution
http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/
Wells Fargo and PBS provided this series of six one-hour documentaries originally broadcast on PBS in 1997. This is the official companion Web site that traces the two and a half decades of debate and rebellion, war, and peace.
War of 1812
http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/index.html
Canadian produced four-part documentary of this little discussed American declared war against Great Britain. There are several sections that explain the cause of the war but a great section called Historian's Perspective gives some modern day analysis of the cause and effect of the War of 1812. A CDROM and study guide is also available. Of course this is the war that gave Troy its fame with Sam Wilson and his meat packing company.
The American Civil War Page
http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/
This is what we like to call a metasite on the Web. It actually points you to literally hundreds of other Web sites that relate to the American Civil War, and that includes sites that contain images, videos, maps, as well as text. It covers both sides of the war, blue and grey.
The World War I Document Archive
http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/
Volunteers of the World War I Military History List (WWI-L), an Internet discussion list, have assembled this archive of primary documents from World War I. It contains nine sections that include primary documents, and almost 2000 photos of the war that was suppose to end all wars. It also has a link to many other related Web sites.
WW II Resources
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/
This site contains some 10,000 pages of text and links regarding WW II. Many primary sources are located here and original material from Germany, Japan, as well as the US and allies.
Korean War Project
http://www.koreanwar.org/index1.html
Begun in 1979 by a photojournalist, this site contains KIA-MIA-WIA and PWO lists. Hundreds of related sites are linked in a resources section. A map section of battles and other related geographical topics is a great addition to the site along with a bibliography of war related books.
The Cold War Museum
http://www.coldwar.org/index.html
In 1996, Francis Gary Powers, Jr. and John C. Welch founded the Cold War Museum to preserve Cold War history and honor Cold War Veterans. Currently, a mobile exhibit of historical artifacts associated with the U-2 Incident of May 1960 is traveling around the world promoting interest in the creation of a permanent Cold War Museum facility. Their Web site contains access to a magazine in PDF format called Cold War Times, virtual exhibits, photos, and many links to other related Web sites.
Vietnam Experience
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/
Vietnam Online was developed to accompany Vietnam: A Television History, the award-winning television series produced by WGBH Boston. The site contains biographies, timelines, and includes the full transcripts of the show.
Desert-Storm.com
http://www.desert-storm.com/
Desert-Storm.com is a site created by a student to honor those who participated in Operation Desert-Storm and to provide an informative resource about the war. There are four sections: The War, The Soldiers, The Machines, and Vet Services. A Message board and a Gulf War Illness Awareness Packet round out the site. Be sure to visit the National Security Archive site at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB39/ and download Operation Desert Storm: Ten Years After, A National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book, edited by Jeffrey T. Richelson.
World War III
http://www.angelfire.com/or/truthfinder/index12.html
A disturbing prediction that if comes true will be the end of the United States. After reading this go to http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_III and check out the resources listed on this site.