Archival Research Catalog (ARC)

National History Day Topics in ARC

2010 Theme: Innovation in History: Impact and Change

Contents:

"Fan Moved by Mechanism." (ARC ID 594907)

  1. Sample NHD 2010 Topics and ARC Search Links
  2. Next Steps

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) contains a wealth of primary source materials for National History Day research projects. For resources for past years' themes, see National History Day Topics in ARC.

This page provides search hints for NARA's online catalog, the Archival Research Catalog (ARC), to help students and teachers locate descriptions of archival materials:

  • available in NARA facilities across the country
    • in the Washington, DC area
    • at Regional Archives nationwide
    • at Presidential Libraries nationwide
  • available online as digitized copies -- over 153,000 images including
    • historical documents (handwritten and typescript)
    • photographs
    • maps
    • other graphic materials
    • digitized historical films (clips in ARC and longer films on GoogleVideo)

Sample NHD 2010 Topics and ARC Search Links

"Canning Produce: 1939" (ARC ID 285746)

The following list provides a few examples of topics related to this year's theme that have materials described in ARC. For more information on this year's theme, see Innovation in History: Impact and Change Sample Topics on the NHD site PDF.

Click on the ARC Search Links to see a pop-up window with ARC search results on that topic. For more help, see:

ARC Search Links See more in ARC about ...
Apollo Program and the Mission to the Moon
Bill of Rights
Canning: Preserving Food
Chartering the United Nations
Constitutional Convention, 1787
Cotton Gin
Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal
Gatling gun
Housework
Hubble Telescope
Martha Graham and Modern Dance
Mathew Brady, "Father of Photojournalism"
Patent Drawings
Railroads
Refrigeration
Telegraph
Telephone
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Thomas Edison, Inventor of the Lightbulb and Phonograph
Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations

Next Steps

"Your REFRIGERATOR...Protects Health, Saves Food...Make Your Equipment Last." World War II Poster. (ARC ID 514667)

The ARC Guide for Educators and Students contains more ARC search tips and explanations of how to understand an ARC description.

Contact and Visit a NARA Location. If you find archival series, file units, and/or items and you would like to see them in person, contact the NARA unit responsible for those materials. You could arrange to visit the unit in person and conduct research at a NARA facility, or order photocopies.

Do you live outside of the D.C. area? NARA facilities are located nationwide. ARC's Location of Archival Materials filter is helpful in finding ARC items at the closest NARA facility.

Questions? Find contact information for general questions about NARA. Contact the ARC staff with questions about how to search in ARC at arc@nara.gov.

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