Since the invention of the wheel, mechanical innovation has critically influenced the development of civilization and industry as well as public welfare, safety and comfort. Through its History and Heritage program, ASME encourages public understanding of mechanical engineering, fosters the preservation of this heritage, and helps engineers become more involved in all aspects of history.
The United States Coast Guard, one of the country's five armed services, is also one of the most unique agencies of the federal government. We trace our history back to 4 August 1790, when the first Congress authorized the construction of ten vessels to enforce tariff and trade laws, prevent smuggling, and protect the collection of the federal revenue. Known variously as the Revenue Marine and the Revenue Cutter Service, we expanded in size and responsibilities as the nation grew.
These added responsibilities included humanitarian duties such as aiding mariners in distress. Our law enforcement functions also continued to expand. Congress tasked us with enforcing laws against slavery, piracy, and enlarged our responsibilities to prevent smuggling. We were also given the responsibility to protect the marine environment, explore and police Alaska, and chart the growing nation's coastlines, all well before the turn of the twentieth century.
This site contains a huge amount of information related to the United States Coast Guard. The Coast Guard Fact File offers information regarding the organization today on a wide range of topics. The site also offers photographic images, art, sketches, and insignias. Vessel and aircraft data sheets give stats and specifications for all Coast Guard equipment. A browser should follow the link to the office of the USCG historian to find the largest amount of historical information. This page links to more than 30 sections on topics from lighthouses, to search and rescue, to Coast Guard mascots. This part of the site offers transcriptions of oral histories, more images, several bibliographies, and an expansive number of articles, facts, and trivia. The site is an incredible resource for anyone researching histories of the military, maritime industries, coastal communities, or an almost unlimited number of other topics.
This archive combines a series of New York Times archival articles outlining the evolution of manufacturing with an overview of Peoplesoft's role in continuing progress in the manufacturing field.
As part of our effort to preserve our national heritage, we are seeking stories, memories or anecdotes about the wartime home front embodied by "Rosie."
The Ford Motor Company has partnered with the Natioinal Park Service and the National Park Foundation to collect stories and memoirs from women who worked on the homefront during World War II. Visitors are able to submit their story online, and there is one sample submission for viewing. The narratives and materials collected through this online venture will be maintained by the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Site and used by the Park and others studying this period of American history.
The TMI partial meltdown, which was the worst accident at an American commercial nuclear power plant, both altered nuclear regulation policies in the United States and shook the public's confidence in nuclear technology.
Echo has developed an online survey, which invites people to share their thoughts about the TMI crisis. We aim to collect entries from a broad spectrum of people, ranging from residents who lived near the plant to people who lived in a different part of the country (or in another country) and followed the events through the media. Our aim is to build a free and public archive that serves as a resource for activists and scholars alike.
Echo has developed an online survey to allow people to share their thoughts about the partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in 1979. There is an introduction to the event, a bibliography and resource list, and a collection of more than 80 personal narratives that is still accepting contributions.
In 1999 the Vietnam Center initiated the Oral History Project. An element of the Vietnam Archive, the mission of the Oral History Project is to create and preserve a more complete record of the wars in Southeast Asia by preserving, through recorded interviews, the recollections and experiences of the men and women who participated in these wars, as well as those military and civilian personnel involved in activities surrounding the wars on the homefront. The Archive believes that the history of the wars in Southeast Asia is not complete without the inclusion of the voices of the men and women who were involved in the wars.
The Vietnam Project at Texas Tech University includes an Oral History Project to preserve the experiences of people involved with the wars in Southeast Asia on the homefront and abroad. Those who served and wish to be interviewed should fill out and return a questionnaire available on the site. There are also guides and resources for people conducting their own oral history projects on the topic, and answers to frequently asked questions about the Vietnam War and the Vietnam Center.
For more than a decade we've been collecting books, films and interviews on the histories of industries, companies, executives, products/services, economics, scandals and business fiction. And we've gathered essential books on management's investing, financing and operating decisions. The result: the largest multimedia collection of business histories and management titles available anywhere. Entries are organized by subject, company, year and author.
This site tells the story of the Washington Metro, a 103-mile rapid transit system serving Washington, D.C., and the surrounding areas of Maryland and Virginia. Planning for Metro began in the 1950s, construction began in 1969, and the first segment opened for operation in 1976. Metro is one of the largest public-works projects ever built, and it is the second-busiest rail transit system in the United States.
Metro is the creation of thousands of planners, engineers, architects, and builders, and hundreds of thousands of neighbors and riders. Whatever your role, we hope you will share your own experiences as part of the Echo: Collecting History Online project.
This site tells the story of the Washington Metro, a 103-mile rapid transit system serving the nation’s capital. Metro – one of the largest public-works projects ever built and the second-busiest rail transit system in the United States – is the creation of thousands of planners, engineers, architects, and builders. It remains a daily fixture for hundreds of thousands of residents of DC, northern Virginia, and southern Maryland, and visitors from around the world have toured DC on Metro’s underground trains. Users of Metro are invited to share their experiences on the site.
The Atomic Veterans History Project contains over 600 personal narratives about the military duties and memories of US Servicemen who witnessed these atomic and hydrogen weapons tests. Many veterans have sent photos, certificates and newspaper articles which we have added. There are over 500 photos from the recently declassified DOE atomic test films. Over 2500 files (stories, pictures and documents) are posted.
Atomic Veterans are invited to email their personal recollections. Information on researching your atomic military history is provided.
The Atomic Veterans History Project collects and presents the personal narratives of US Servicemen who witnessed atomic and hydrogen weapons tests. The site includes photographs, newspaper articles, official documents in addition to more than 600 personal narratives submitted via e-mail.
In October 2003, the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Oral History Project launched Phase One of its three-part study of the evolution of CIP in the United States. The first phase will document the history of critical infrastructure protection policy from its roots up to the unveiling of Presidential Decision Directive 63 (PDD 63) in 1998. The two subsequent phases will look at later CIP developments, including the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002. At the heart of all three phases of the project will be a series of face-to-face and telephone sessions with key CIP policymakers and those responsible for implementing and assessing critical infrastructure initiatives and programs. At the same time, we're eager to collect information and insights from visitors to our web site. We hope you'll take time to contribute to the historical record yourself by completing our online survey. The form is easy to fill out and will require only a few minutes of your time.
This multi-faceted project documents the history of the nation's efforts to protect what has come to be called critical infrastructure -- the systems and structures that are vital to the smooth and safe functioning of our economy, society, and way of life. Examples of critical infrastructure include the country’s electrical grid, banking network, distribution pipelines, transportation corridors, and emergency response systems, among other things. Many of these systems are interdependent and rely on computer technology to operate.
A major focus of the CIP Oral History and Digital Archive Project is an ongoing interview program centered on the evolution of critical infrastructure protection -- or CIP -- during the 1980s and 1990s, up to the formation of the Department of Homeland Security in November 2002. Many of our interviewees are federal policymakers who have helped to shape and guide the CIP debate at the highest levels of government. You’ll find summaries of their interview transcripts in the Archive section.
In addition to gathering first-hand insights into recent CIP history, the project also looks at the broad historical context of CIP in the United States during the last three centuries. The Overview section sketches out some of the major issues in CIP, supplemented by a Timeline offering a detailed overview of key events and developments in CIP history. The Archive section provides easy access to a collection of materials selected for their relevance to the "big picture" of CIP. The Bibliography section gives suggestions for additional background reading available from other sources.
