American Music for Social Change


The following are potential resources that will assist you in your exploration of the events that shaped the decades.

 

 Print Resources
 

The Story Behind the Song: 150 Songs that Chronicle the 20th Century (782.42164 BAR)
Provides a discussion of 15 influential songs from each decade provides the songs' histories, what inspired the writers to create them, and why they have resonated over time.
 
20th Century Pop Culture (973.9 ESP)
A series organized by decade, 20th Century Pop Culture examines the trends, people and events that shaped popular American culture year by year.		  
 


 
 		 Our American Century Series:  (973.924 TIM)
Organized by decades, Our American Century offers a look at the people, events and films that had an impact on American culture in the past century. 
Decades of the 20th Century (973.92 FEI)
Traces the events, trends, and important people of the 1980s, including science, technology, environmental disasters, politics, fashion, the arts, sports, and entertainment.
 

A Cultural History of the United States Through the Decades  (973.924 STE)
Theme-based chapters place events in a context, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of each decade and its importance. Enlivened with numerous photographs and sidebars, the books cover technology, significant political and social events, trends, and music.


 Online Image Databases

 


Note: If you access this database from a computer outside of school, you will have to enter the barcode number located on the back of your public library card.

For help searching, and citing, click User Guide

 AP Images
The Associated Press has won more Pulitzer Prizes than any other news agency, and is the most credible source for non-biased reporting. Now you can search the AP's  over one million photographs dating back to 1826 and as current as a few moments ago.

 

   Live Photo Archive

 
Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google.

 

   Picture History


Licensed digital images illustrating more than 200 years of American history.

 


 Internet Resources
 

Events
by the
Decades

 The 20th Century - Decade by Decade: www.wtps.org/wths/imc/Pathfinders/twentieth_century.htm

American Cultural History - The Twentieth Century (arranged by decade): http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decades.html

American History Timeline: http://www.animatedatlas.com/timeline.html

America's Story - The Modern Era:
www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/jb/modern

Cinema History (films arranged by decade): http://www.tc.umn.edu/~ryahnke/film/cinema.htm

Media History Timeline - 20th Century:  http://www.mediahistory.umn.edu/timeline/19thcent.html

National Museum of American History: http://americanhistory.si.edu/explorer/index.cfm

Pomperaug High School Social Studies Department - Decades Project: www.pomperaug.com/departments/social_studies/ushistory/ush-dp.htm

Post WWII American Literature and Pop Culture Database: http://english.berkeley.edu/Postwar/pop.html

Stories of the Century: http://www.newseum.org/century/#

Web Generation: http://www.wgeneration.com/
 

Songs

20 Protest Songs That Matter: www.spinner.com/2007/07/13/20-protest-songs-that-mattered-no-20/

Best Social & Political R&B Songs: http://randb.about.com/od/top5lists/tp/Protest_Songs.htm

Independent Lens - Strange Fruit: Protest Music: www.pbs.org/independentlens/strangefruit/protest.html

Librarian's Internet Index - Protest Songs: http://lii.org/pub/subtopic/4093

Lift Every Voice: Protest Songs - Solidarity Forever: http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/music/protest.html

Music Playlist - 25 War and Government Protest Songs: www.associatedcontent.com/article/1169626/music_playlist_25_war_and_government.html?cat=33

Music with a Message: A Brief History of Protest Music in North America: http://matt-gibson.org/portfolio/2008/08/music-with-a-message-a-brief-history-of-protest-music-in-north-america/

PopMatters Picks: Say It Out Loud! 65 Great Protest Songs: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/special/section/say-it-loud-65-great-protest-songs/

Protest Music for a New Generation: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1212060

Protest Songs: http://www.sfheart.com/protest/index1.html

Vietnam Era - Anti-War Music: http://www.jwsrockgarden.com/jw02vvaw.htm
 

1950's

 1950-1959 Decade of the 20th Century: http://melvil.chicousd.org/decs5.html

American Cultural History - 1950 - 1959: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade50.html

Fifties Web: http://www.fiftiesweb.com/

Formation of Modern American Culture - 1950: https://webspace.yale.edu/amst191/1950.htm

The Literature and Culture of the American 1950s: http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/home.html

WWW - VL: History: USA: 1950-1959: http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1950s.html

Yahoo Links to the 1950s: http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/20th_Century/1950s/
 

1960's

 1960-1969 Decade of the 20th Century: http://melvil.chicousd.org/decs6.html

American Cultural History - 1960 - 1969: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade60.html

Formation of Modern American Culture - 1960: https://webspace.yale.edu/amst191/1960.htm

The Psychedelic 60s: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/exhibits/sixties/

The Sixties Project Archive of Online Resources: http://lists.village.virginia.edu/sixties/HTML_docs/resources.html

WWW - VL: History: USA: 1960-1969: http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1960s.html

Yahoo Links to the 1960s: http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/20th_Century/1960s/
 

1970's

 1970-1979 Decade of the 20th Century: http://melvil.chicousd.org/decs7.html

American Cultural History - 1970 - 1979: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade70.html

Formation of Modern American Culture - 1970: https://webspace.yale.edu/amst191/1970.htm

Hit TV Shows of the 70s: http://www.tvparty.com/70hit.html

Problems Facing America in the 1970s: http://www.colorado.edu/AmStudies/lewis/2010/anxiety.htm

WWW - VL: History: USA: 1970-1979: http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1970s.html

Yahoo Links to the 1970s: http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/20th_Century/1970s/
 

1980's

 The 80s Nostalgia Site: http://www.inthe80s.com/index.shtml

1980-1989 Decade of the 20th Century: http://melvil.chicousd.org/decs8.html

American Cultural History - 1980 - 1989: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade80.html

Formation of Modern American Culture - 1980: https://webspace.yale.edu/amst191/1980.htm#1980

CNN - The Reagan Years: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/reagan.years/

WWW - VL: History: USA: 1980-1989: http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1980s.html

Yahoo Links to the 1980s: http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/20th_Century/1980s/
 

1990's

 1990-1999 Decade of the 20th Century: http://melvil.chicousd.org/decs9.html

American Cultural History - 1950 - 1999: http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade90.html

Formation of Modern American Culture - 1990: https://webspace.yale.edu/amst191/1990.htm#1990

A Reminiscence of the 90s: http://library.thinkquest.org/18220/

WWW - VL: History: USA: 1990-1999: http://vlib.iue.it/history/USA/ERAS/20TH/1990s.html

Yahoo Links to the 1990s: http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Humanities/History/By_Time_Period/20th_Century/1990s/
 


If you don't find what you're looking for in any of the sites above, try your 
own keyword search using the following tips...


Internet Search Tips


  1. Type the URL (web site address) of a search directory/engine in the address box: ex:     www.yahoo.com, or www.google.com, etc.
     
  2. (Be sure to type the address exactly the way you see it, including any uppercase letters and punctuation).
     
  3. Type in keyword(s). (If your keyword has two parts such as: "American history", be sure to put quotes around it so that the search engine only finds the Internet sites about American history as opposed to all of the sites containing the word American  plus all of the sites containing the word history.
     

  4. If you would like to search for something specific about American history, try a combined keyword search by adding a comma followed by a space and your other search term. For instance; if I wanted to find a timeline of events in American History, I would enter the following:
     

    "American History", timeline, events
     

  5. Hit Enter on your keyboard, or click on Search, then scan the description of the "hits" (entries) and click on the links that sound best.
     
  6. Be sure to evaluate each Internet site for the following:
    • Authority: Can you tell if the author is credible (believable)?
    • Objectivity: Is the information objective (honest and free of bias)?
    • Currency: Is the information recent and up-to-date?
    • Design: Is the site designed in a clear and user friendly way?
    • Navigation: Is the site easy to navigate through, and are all links current and usable?

     

Remember:  YOU MUST CITE EVERY RESOURCE YOU USED to gather information on your 
Works Cited (Bibliography) page.  Use the Works Cited Guide to access MLA format.

 

Created by Liza Zandonella, Library Media Specialist.