Open Educational Resources and History

United States History: Lectures, Panels, and Documentaries

• C-SPAN Bookshelf: Authors talk Books.
• C-SPAN Lectures in History.
• California Historical Society (YouTube Lectures)
• KCET: Lost LA
• Open Yale Courses

Primary Sources

• American Historical Association
• American Yawp Reader
• UH Digital History

Journals and Books with Secondary Sources

• Boom California
• City-Journal
• Directory of Open Access Journals
• Google Scholar
• Journal of American History
• Journal of the American Revolution
• JSTOR Daily
• NYU Press Open Square (books)
• San Diego History Center (Journal)
• Texas State Historical Association (Journal)
• UC Press E-Books Collection, 1982-2004
• UC Press Luminos (books)

Archives, Libraries, and Databases

• Arizona State University
• Calisphere: UC Libraries
• California Digital Archives
• California Digital Library
• California Digital Newspaper Collection: UCR
• California Historical Society: Digital Library
• C-SPAN: Reel America (movies, speeches, TV)
• Digital Collections at LA County Library
• Digital Public Library of America
• George Washington Papers
• Hagley Digital Archives
• Huntington Library: Digital Photograph Collection
• Internet Archive: Digital Library
• Library of Congress
• National Archives Catalog
• New Mexico History
• New York Public Library Digital
• Online Archives of California
• Sac State Digital Collections
• San Diego Digital Archives
• San Francisco Public Library Digital Collection
• Smithsonian Libraries
• Stanford Library: Digital Collections
• TESSA: Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library
• UCLA Digital Collections
• University of Washington: Digital Archives
• USC Digital Library
• Washington State Archives: Digital Archives

• U.S. History (OpenStax) (CC BY)

  U.S. History (OpenStax) in LibreTexts (CC BY)
  U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that have formed the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender. P. Scott Corbett, who teaches at Ventura College, is among the several senior contributors to this textbook for college-level history courses.

  

• The American Yawp (Locke and Wrights, eds.)(CC BY-SA)

  The American Yawp is a free, evolving, and collaborative American history textbook for college-level history courses. All contributors are experienced college-level instructors who volunteer their expertise to help democratize the American past for twenty-first-century classrooms. The editors are Joseph Locke of the University of Houston-Victoria and Ben Wright of the University of Texas at Dallas.

  

  • Ancillaries for “The American Yawp” (Romo and Romero, Public Domain)
    This course shell features weekly modules designed to accompany the OER textbook The American Yawp, complete with quizzes and other ancillary materials.
    Audio books for “The American Yawp”: Volume 1: To 1877 and Volume 2: Since 1865
• Sage American History: A Survey of America’s Past (CC BY-NC-SA)

  Sage American History is divided into thirty chronological sections, stretching from colonial through modern times. This OER text is designed for use in undergraduate, community college, and high school courses, and it may be used without charge by any academic institution or individual as long as copyrights are respected. Developed by Henry J. Sage of Northern Virginia Community College, the text focuses on the main events and characters of America’s past, recognizing that most students will take only one or two courses in American history.

  

• American Environmental History (Allosso)

  American Environmental History (Allosso) in LibreTexts (CC BY-BC-SA, except where otherwise noted)
  For too long, the environment has been considered little more than a neutral background to history. Author Dan Allosso, who teaches history at Bemidji State University, explores the rich findings of environmental history in this text, examining how the diverse landscapes of the Americas influenced human action, and how populations in turn shaped their physical surroundings from prehistory to the present.

  

• African American History (Collins) – Google Docs (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, unless otherwise indicated)

  Compiled by Christopher Collins for the Skyline College ZTC Early Adopter Program, African American History for HIST 244 is a curated collection of selected readings drawn from African American History via Lumen Learning, The American Yawp, Boundless US History, and U.S. History.

  

• American History I: Colonial Period to Civil War (Williamson and Aiello) (CC BY)

  This text by Dr. Franklin Williamson and Dr. Tom Aiello of Gordon State University contains all the modular content used in the LMS implementation of American History I (HIST 2111), a survey course covering topics that range from the colonial period through the Civil War.

  

• History in the Making: A History of the People of the United States of America to 1877 (Locks et al.) (CC BY-SA)

  Examining U.S. history from the era before European contact through Reconstruction, this textbook places a strong emphasis on critical thinking and the diverse experiences of the people who shaped the nation. Prior to its publication, History in the Making underwent a rigorous double-blind peer review involving over thirty scholars who evaluated the material objectively and candidly to ensure its scholarly integrity. The volume is the result of a collaborative effort led by Catherine Locks of Fort Valley State University, alongside faculty from other Georgia institutions of higher learning.

  

• History 111: U.S. History Since 1865 (Lane) (CC BY 4.0) 

  Lisa Lane, who teaches history at MiraCosta College, remixed U.S. History (OpenStax) for the second half of a U.S. history undergraduate course. Hosted on the Internet Archive site, this version is organized as an online book with page numbers. This text was last updated in 2023 and is easily downloadable in PDF format.

  

• United States History, Volume 2 (Trowbridge) (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

  A History of the United States, Volume II covers the period from the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865 to when President Barack Obama took office in 2009. Robust images and maps that complement the narrative have been included. Dr. David J. Trowbridge, an assistant professor of history and director of African and African American Studies at Marshall University, wrote this text. It was last updated in December 2012.

  

Other Resources

The resources listed below may require supplementation in order to serve as a text for a course comparable to C-ID HIST 130 or 140. If you have used any of these resources as your sole text, please let us know.

• African American History and Culture (Lumen Learning)
  This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.
• Slavery to Liberation: The African American Experience (Farrington et al., 2019) (CC BY)
  Slavery to Liberation: The African American Experience gives instructors, students, and general readers a comprehensive and up-to-date account of African Americans’ cultural and political history, economic development, artistic expressiveness, and religious and philosophical worldviews in a critical framework. It offers sound interdisciplinary analysis of selected historical and contemporary issues surrounding the origins and manifestations of White supremacy in the United States. By placing race at the center of the work, the book offers significant lessons for understanding the institutional marginalization of Blacks in contemporary America and their historical resistance and perseverance.

• World History Project: Origins to the Present (Bob Bain and Trevor Getz, 2024) (CC BY-NC)

  These are courses designed for AP World History students. Teachers and students are required to register on the OER project website to access content, which includes articles, videos, and assignments. Content can be downloaded as PDFs.

  

• Boundless World History (Lumen Learning)

  This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions.” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.

  

• World History, Volume 1: to 1500 (Kordas, Lynch, Nelson, and Tatlock, 2023) (OpenStax) (CC BY 4.0)

  World History, Volume I: to 1500 is designed to meet the scope and sequence of a world history course to 1500 offered at both two-year and four-year institutions. Suitable for both majors and non-majors, World History, Volume I: to 1500 introduces students to a global perspective of history couched in an engaging narrative. Concepts and assessments help students think critically about the issues they encounter so they can broaden their perspective of global history. A special effort has been made to introduce and juxtapose people’s experiences of history for a rich and nuanced discussion. Primary source material represents the cultures being discussed from a firsthand perspective whenever possible. World History, Volume I: to 1500 also includes the work of diverse and underrepresented scholars to ensure a full range of perspectives.

  

• World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 (Berger et al.) (CC BY-SA)

  World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 (Berger et al.) in LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)
  World History: Cultures, States, and Societies to 1500 offers a comprehensive introduction to the history of humankind from prehistory to 1500. Authored by six University System of Georgia faculty members with advanced degrees in History, this textbook offers up-to-date original scholarship. It covers such cultures, states, and societies as Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Israel, Dynastic Egypt, India’s Classical Age, the Dynasties of China, Archaic Greece, the Roman Empire, Islam, Medieval Africa, the Americas, and the Khanates of Central Asia. It includes 350 high-quality images and maps, chronologies, and learning questions to help guide student learning. Its digital nature allows students to follow links to applicable sources and videos, expanding their educational experience beyond the textbook. It provides a new and free alternative to traditional textbooks, making World History an invaluable resource in our modern age of technology and advancement. Audiobook is available on Audileo.

  

• Modern World History: New Perspectives (OERI Project, 2024) (CC BY-NC-SA) – LibreTexts

  This textbook is a collaborative project involving many authors bringing their perspectives and approaches to their chapters, but with a common goal of presenting the modern world through the lens of anti-racism, equity, and social justice.

  

• World History Since 1500: An Open and Free Textbook (Rankin and Weise, 2022) (CC-BY 4.0)

  World History Since 1500: An Open and Free Textbook is designed to cover world history from 1500 to the present in 15 chapters. The OER-supported textbook can be downloaded as a PDF or viewed online. The textbook serves to weave insights from many perspectives into stories and narratives that will help students develop a framework to organize and connect ideas, geographical locations, and timelines, allowing them to think critically and broadly about the world around them. In addition to helping students master the scope and sequence of world history from 1500, the textbook helps develop empathy for people who live and lived in different parts of the world and during different historical times, leading to the creation of empathic and knowledgeable global citizens who are aware of and concerned about the world around them.

  

• World History, Volume 2: from 1400 (Kordas, Lynch, Nelson, and Tatlock, 2022) (OpenStax) (CC BY 4.0)

  World History, Volume II: from 1400 is designed to meet the scope and sequence of a world history course from 1400 offered at both two-year and four-year institutions. Suitable for both majors and non-majors, World History, Volume II: from 1400 introduces students to a global perspective of history couched in an engaging narrative. Concepts and assessments help students think critically about the issues they encounter so they can broaden their perspective of global history. A special effort has been made to introduce and juxtapose people’s experiences of history for a rich and nuanced discussion. Primary source material represents the cultures being discussed from a firsthand perspective whenever possible. World History, Volume II: from 1400 also includes the work of diverse and underrepresented scholars to ensure a full range of perspectives.

  

• Modern World History (Allosso and Williford) – Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)

  Designed for introductory undergraduate survey courses, Modern World History provides an accessible, open-access narrative of human civilization. Authors Dan Allosso and Tom Williford constructed this open educational resource to be easily adapted, remixed, and reused by instructors and students. The text traces the development of human societies with a global focus, emphasizing how the interactions of diverse cultures, states, and environments shaped contemporary global structures.

  

• Professor Anu Mande’s YouTube Channel (CC BY)
  This channel features brief lectures on topics in World History.

• Western Civilization: A Concise History (Brooks)

  Western Civilization: A Concise History Volume 1 (Brooks)
  Western Civilization: A Concise History Volume 2 (Brooks)
  Western Civilization: A Concise History Volume 3 (Brooks)
  Western Civilization: A Concise History (Brooks) in LibreTexts (Note – as of 1-23-21 the version in LibreTexts may be in need of updating.) (CC BY-NC-SA)
  Western Civilization: A Concise History is an Open Educational Resource textbook covering the history of Western Civilization from approximately 8,000 BCE to 2017 CE. It is available in three volumes covering the following time periods and topics:

  • Volume 1: from the origins of civilization in Mesopotamia c. 8,000 BCE through the early Middle Ages in Europe c. 1,000 CE. Volume I covers topics including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece, Rome, the Islamic caliphates, and the early European Middle Ages.
  • Volume 2: from the early Middle Ages to the French Revolution in 1789 CE. Volume 2covers topics including the High Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the European conquest of the Americas, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment.
  • Volume 3: from the Napoleonic era to the recent past. Volume 3 covers topics including the Industrial Revolution, the politics of Europe in the nineteenth century, modern European imperialism, the world wars, fascism, Nazism, and the Holocaust, the postwar era, the Cold War, and recent developments in economics and politics.

  

• Western Civilization I (McKinney and Shapard) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  This hybrid textbook and open course is a comprehensive set of teaching materials for Western Civilization I (until 1648). Files are compressed into a .zip folder format by lesson here. You can also view the original open course through LibGuides at East Georgia State College. Topics covered include prehistory and ancient history by region, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Reformation.

  

• European History (CC BY-SA) – A PDF with a date of 2015

  European History is a comprehensive Open Educational Resource textbook covering major political, social, and cultural developments from the High Middle Ages to the recent past. Available as a downloadable PDF, this collaborative volume provides students with a detailed narrative of key historical milestones, including the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, the rise of the nation-state, and the world wars. The text is openly licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike agreement, allowing instructors to freely adapt, remix, and distribute individual chapters to fit the specific constraints of their course shells.