Related Resources

This page includes additional resources on the state of Idaho from the Library of Congress website.

American Folklife Center State Resources

American Folklife Center Collections: Idaho
The American Folklife Center contains rich and varied materials from Idaho that document the diversity of the state's folk traditions. Among its unique recordings are music and folklore from a wide range of ethnic traditions, including Finnish, Basque, Hispanic, Japanese, and American Indian. The American Indian holdings include recordings of Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, collected by Alice Fletcher, on the occasions of Chief Joseph's visits to Washington, D.C., in 1897 and 1900.

Exhibitions Featuring Idaho

Books that Shaped America

We all bring a different set of experiences to a book, and those experiences shape how we react to what we read. The Books That Shaped America exhibition marks a starting point to spark a national conversation on books and their importance in Americans' lives.

View Books that Shaped America

Selected Highlight:

Federal Writers Project, Idaho: A Guide in Word and Pictures (1937)
Idaho was the first in the popular American Guide Series of the Federal Writers’ Project, which ended in 1943.

Mapping a Growing Nation: From Independence to Statehood

Abel Buell (1742-1822), an engraver from Connecticut, produced his New and Correct Map of the United States of North America, which, among other things, has been recognized as the very first map of the newly independent United States to be compiled, printed, and published in America by an American. Accompanying Buell’s landmark work in this exhibition are early maps of each state—often the very first map—printed in the United States after each state achieved statehood.

View Mapping a Growing Nation: From Independence to Statehood

Selected Highlight:

Idaho Enters the Union in 1890

Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America

The exhibition draws on the Library's rich collections of exploration material to feature the trek of the Corps of Discovery as a culmination in the quest to connect the East and the West by means of a waterway passage. The exhibition's epilogue focuses on the transcontinental railroad, which replaced the search for a direct water route with a "river of steel." Idaho is mentioned in the Lewis and Clark section of this exhibition.

View Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America

Historic Newspapers

Chronicling America: Idaho
This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1789-1963 from more than 20 states and the District of Columbia. Search this collection to find selected newspaper articles that mention events in Idaho.

Law Library

The Guide to Law Online: Idaho
The Guide to Law Online, prepared by the Law Library of Congress Public Services Division, is an annotated guide to sources of information on government and law available online. It includes selected links to useful and reliable sites for legal information on U.S states and territories, including Idaho.

Bibliographies and Guides

U.S. State Poets Laureate: Idaho
This site provides the names of all current state poets laureate of the United States. It also includes a history of the laureateship in each state, as well the District of Columbia, and attempts to provide a comprehensive listing of all prior state poets laureate. Included is information on the position of State Poet Laureate in Idaho.

Resources for Teachers

The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching. Find Library of Congress lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards, and the standards of national organizations.

Features & Activities

Primary Sources by State: Idaho
The Library of Congress has rich documents and artifacts from every state, the U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia

Lesson Plans

Exploring Community Through Local History: Oral Stories, Landmarks and Traditions
Students explore the local history of the community in which they live through written and spoken stories; through landmarks such as buildings, parks, restaurants, or businesses; and through traditions such as food, festivals and other events of the community or of individual families.
Local History: Mapping My Spot
Students create their town’s history for coming generations and place themselves on the map in a literal as well as figurative sense, by producing portions of an updated version of an early twentieth century panoramic map from the Digital Collections.

Today in History

The following dates in history feature significant events in Idaho's history as highlighted in the Library of Congress' collections.

March 4
On March 4, 1863, President Lincoln signed an act creating Idaho Territory.
August 14
On August 14, 1848, Congress created the Oregon Territory, an area encompassing present-day Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and parts of western Montana and Wyoming.
October 5
In 1873, Chief Joseph negotiated with the federal government to ensure that his people could stay on their land in the Wallowa Valley as stipulated in 1855 and 1863 land treaties with the U.S. government. But, in a reversal of policy in 1877, General Oliver Otis Howard threatened to attack if the Indians did not relocate to an Idaho reservation. Chief Joseph reluctantly agreed.

Veterans History Project

The Veterans History Project (VHP) collects and preserves the remembrances of American war veterans and civilian workers who supported them. Click on the link below to locate veterans from Idaho.

Veterans History Project: Idaho

Idaho: State Resource Guide

Digital Collections: Ask a Librarian

Related Resources

American Folklife Center State Resources

Exhibitions Featuring Idaho

Books that Shaped America

Selected Highlight:

Mapping a Growing Nation: From Independence to Statehood

Selected Highlight:

Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis & Clark and the Revealing of America

Historic Newspapers

Law Library

Bibliographies and Guides

Resources for Teachers

Features & Activities

Lesson Plans

Today in History

Veterans History Project