NCS Libraries: AmGov: Who Killed Thomas Jefferson?: Home

Solve This Murder!

As you attempt to solve this murder mystery, you will need to investigate the lives and relationships of the suspects using a variety of sources.

This guide provides some starting points and suggestions for your online research.

Remember: For every website you decide to use, ask yourself some basic questions about its reliability and trustworthiness.

These questions might include:

Who wrote/produced this?
What is the creator and publisher's authority on the subject? Why should you trust their work?
Where did the information come from?
How did the creator get their information?
What are the motives behind this source's production?
Can the information be confirmed or seconded by other dependable sources you've encountered?

Remember: Developing short lists of keywords and a variety of related search terms will make finding relevant information easier!

Web Resources

Founders Online
The National Archives and University of Virginia have digitized archives of correspondence and other writings from several founders including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Abigail Adams, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton.
The Life of Sally Hemings
The online version of Monticello's new exhibit focusing on the life of Sally Hemings.
Thomas Jefferson
Monicello and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation's website featuring a brief biography. timeline, and more background information on Jefferson.
First Ladies: Influence & Image - Abigail Adams
Here is the homepage for a program about Abigail Adams produced by C-SPAN. The page includes a number of videos as well as basic background information on her.
Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America
This is the online version of an exhibit on Hamilton created by the New York Historical Society.
Africans in America: Benjamin Banneker
Here is a short biography of Benjamin Banneker with links to more information about some of his writings and his correspondence with Jefferson.
The Presidential Election of 1800: A Resource Guide
The Library of Congress has collected together links to items in its digital collections and online exhibitions focused on the election of 1800.
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Library of Congress has pulled together the primary documents in its collections related to the Alien and Sedition Acts.
The Louisiana Purchase
The Library of Congress has pulled together primary documents in its collections related to the Louisiana Purchase.

Databases

Biography (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
Simply enter the name of a historical person in the search box and then select the correct person from the results list to find one or a few short biographies.
ProQuest Central Student K-12 This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
A large general database for news and articles for a variety of disciplines. You will have better luck finding helpful articles if you narrow your search using at least two keywords combined with 'and.'

REMEMBER: If you want to use any of the databases off-campus, you will need a special username and password. These are all listed on our MS/US Library Resource Board, accessible when you are logged into the NCS website.

Librarian

Courtney Park

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Contact:

3612 Woodley Road NW Washington, DC 20016

202-537-5540