US History is a fascinating subject for many reasons. The US is a big country and, hence, very rich and diverse. Unfortunately, though, there are many problematic areas that are barely covered by the school curriculum. But if you want to go deeper than your professor’s teaching, self-education is a must.

For many students, interactive learning is key. With a smartphone in every pocket, easily accessible education is no longer a luxury. But it’s made ‘normal’ learning, like reading books and taking notes, so much harder for students. Luckily, with services that write my essays, some assignments can be outsourced.

If you’re interested in learning US History, it’s important to find sources that make learning easy, especially if you’re doing it in your own free time. So, in this article, we’ll give you some websites, apps and methods to study US History in a fun and interactive way.

For the ease of navigating, we will divide this article into two sections – history-specific and general resources. In the first one, we will present some useful media, journals, and courses to help you learn history the way you want to.

In the second section, we will provide more general means of self-education that can be tailored to all your needs, whether it be history or other subjects. So, make sure you check out these resources to deepen your knowledge of history.

History-Specific Resources

Most school curricula, especially in high school, tend to avoid uneasy topics. Some say it’s not to traumatize children; others propose conspiracy theories preventing a nationwide riot. Whatever the reason is, school curricula sometimes lack depth and transparency. Fortunately, you can have a lot of other sources to get accurate and true information.

Teaching History

TeachingHistory.org is one of those resources you can use to read up on interesting topics in your free time. The History Content section of the website presents incredible, in-depth articles on any topic concerning US History that you can think of.

The website is focused on giving learners accurate information on the events of the past. You can read primary sources without any adaptation or analysis to do the thinking yourself. They also offer thoughtful articles on those hard topics that are often glanced over in textbooks:

• Slavery
• The atomic bombs
• Segregation
• The civil rights movement
• Women’s rights
• And many others.

To test yourself, you can take quizzes right on the website. First, explore the topic you are curious about, and then take a relevant quiz! You can even download those quizzes as a PDF.

The most notable section of the website is, perhaps, ‘Ask a Historian.’ There, you can choose a topic or a time period to see popular questions with answers from actual history professors. Most of them are short articles that are quite easy to digest. So, take out your notebook or even a textbook to cross-reference the information and dive in!

Smithsonian Learning Lab

Smithsonian Learning Lab is an interactive collection of resources from archive audio and video recordings to recently published journal articles. It contains a vast database of over 700,000 sources on any topic related to US History. It can be used by both students and teachers.

They have a useful ‘Get started’ tab, that can help you navigate through the extensive database. The main page features recently published articles, as well as the most liked publications.

To use the learning lab, you can either browse through their resources to find something that catches your eye, or use the search to find a particular topic. The lab is completely free and can be accessed by any person without any limitations.

The search tool is extremely precise and straightforward to use. Apart from searching by keywords, you can narrow down your results by setting parameters like subject, age, type of item and others. From there, you can navigate through the endless stream of audio, video, photo, and text content.

This database can be handy for your research projects or self-education. The content is also divided by age, so whether you are in high school or graduated a long time ago, there’s something for you.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

NMAAHC is also curated by the Smithsonian; hence, it offers an extensive knowledge base for self-education. This website focuses on African-American history, which is so often disregarded in the school curricula.

The featured tab on the main page shows the most popular and current topics displayed in the museum. On the website, you can access extended versions of the exhibitions completely free of charge.

Apart from the vast collections available on the museum’s site, you can visit the webinar section. There, you can subscribe to the forthcoming webinars if you want to participate in real time. Also, you can view archives and access past webinar recordings to learn at your own pace. The videos are available in the form of YouTube playlists, which makes it even more convenient. Collections of short, 30-minute lectures can tell you everything about various topics, starting from how to use digital museum resources to civic activism.

The digital lab also offers in-depth biographies of major figures of African American history. You can learn about Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and Madam C.J. Walker. Educators may also use these files as ready-made presentations to show their class. The learning lab is extremely versatile and fit for all. Although its sheer size makes it a bit hard to navigate, you can use the FAQ section or create an account for your favorite resources.

Self-Education Resources

Now, let’s move on to a few more websites and apps you can use for your self-education. These are not history-related per se, but you can customize and use them to study US History at your own pace.

Histography

Histography is a Wikipedia-based, interactive website. It is essentially a timeline on which every dot represents a Wikipedia article related to a certain event. In the sidebar, a filter allows you to choose the category of events you are interested in. By zooming out or in, you can focus on a specific period.

It is not exclusive to the history of the USA, but the site is very interesting to browse. Of note is the ‘related events’ button. Once you pick a dot, you can click on it and either go to the corresponding Wiki page or show other connected events. This can help you discover how closely historical events are intertwined.

Unfortunately, though, the site only shows events up until 2015 and does not support a mobile version. Most likely, the developers abandoned the project. But we encourage you to play with it while it’s available!

Quizlet

Quizlet is a rather popular resource among students. It uses a simple flashcard mechanism to help you revise material, learn new topics and prepare for tests. Apart from flashcards, you can take tests, explore study guides, and learn any topic you need to.

The site is divided into subjects, which is very handy. Once you choose History, you can browse through the sets of cards created by other users. What’s even more practical is that you can filter them by school and grade. And if you don’t find anything for your particular topic, you can create your own flashcards.

With all these features, Quizlet does come at a price. A yearly subscription will cost you $35.99 per year or $7.99 per month, with a week-long free trial.

Conclusion

History is an important subject that is often overlooked by students. The younger generation specifically often regards it as boring and unexciting. Yet, once you dive deeper into the history of the US, you may find that there are many gaps in the school curricula. Or, you could simply realize that your school teacher was boring, while the history itself has always been fascinating. Sure, it’s hard to find time for self-education, but if you get interested in the topic, you will find time for it!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need to learn US History?

Learning the history of the country you live in is extremely important. The past events can tell us a lot about the mentality of the people. Learning about important political events will help you become a more conscious citizen, make more informed decisions in life, become economically savvy and vote for diligent politicians rather than populists.

What is the best way to study US History?

If you are truly interested in US History, you should go to a college that has a strong history program. They will more likely have esteemed professors with richer academic backgrounds. If you are more interested in history on an amateur level, taking an online course or exploring the resources in this article is a great alternative. In your spare time, you can visit museums, galleries and cultural events in your city. This can give you inspiration and raise questions that further research will help you answer.