Understanding the rich history of life in America

"Newspapers can help us understand life in America, the country’s history and democratic process. For decades, newspapers have been the primary resource for sharing information in local communities and to learn about both regional and national events. In addition, historic newspapers provide a populist perspective of events, which can be key to understanding the cultural context of the time. To enhance access to this material, Library of Congress and the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities decided to create The National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) in 2004, with repositories around the country to develop the resource of historic American newspapers. NDNP provides both funding and guidance for representative and state institutions to select and digitise historic newspapers from their own collections, which can be distributed through Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov), an online digital resource at Library of Congress."