Themed Collections: Primary Source Sets in Historical Context

Teachers! Use Calisphere Themed Collections to quickly find primary sources for classroom use. Explore California’s role in national and world history:

• Themes align with K-12 California Content Standards in History-Social Science, English-Language Arts, and Visual Arts.
• Each topic is a primary source set of 20-30 selected images (photographs, documents, newspaper clippings, political cartoons, art, and other cultural artifacts).
• Brief overviews of each topic provide historical context for images.

1848-1865: Gold Rush Era

Murder and Mayhem
Disasters
Everyday Life and People
Environmental Impact
Growth of Cities
Diversity in the Changing State

1870-1900: Closing of the Frontier

Chinese Exclusion Act
The Transcontinental Railroad
Native Americans and Contact
Preservation of the West

1900–1940s: Emerging Industrial Order

The Changing Workplace
The Rise of Technology
Growing Ethnic Diversity
Early Advertising
Popular Culture

1929-1939: The Great Depression

Dust Bowl Migration
Hard Times
Help and a New Deal
San Francisco General Strike
Building Bridges, Dams, Power Plants

1939–1945: World War II

Women in the Workforce
Life on the Home Front
The Bracero Program
Richmond Shipyards
Japanese American Internment
The 442nd Regimental Combat Team

1950s-1970s: Social Reform

The Civil Rights Movement
The Free Speech Movement
Watts
Struggles for Social Justice