About the Project

American Voices is a collection of late 19th and 20th century recordings, images and text that span the vista of American politics and culture. This collection is derived from the collections of libraries, archives, and [commercial] other sources across the country and will continue to grow as new, highly relevant sources of historical materials are added. The voice recordings on this site remind us that these famous individuals were also living and breathing human beings who often expressed their thoughts with an emotional weight and dignity that is impossible to render on the written page. The images serve to add context of person, time and place. The galleries present a collection of general themes, mini themes through the thoughts and actions of a key individual, temporal periods, and focused biographies concentrated on 100 key people.

Contributors

A project of this scope required government support and collaborating with academic and commercial sources. American Voices is funded through JISC - The Joint Information Systems Committee (www.jisc.ac.uk/) and available through the efforts of MATRIX, ABC-CLIO, MSU Library's Vincent Voice Library, American Voices is housed at Michigan State University's MATRIX: the Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences online matrix.msu.edu. MATRIX is devoted to the application of new technologies in humanities and social science teaching and research. The Center engages in fundamental research in the development of digital libraries, creates and maintains online resources, provides training in computing and new teaching technologies, and creates forums for the exchange of ideas and expertise in new teaching technologies. For more information contact Matrix matrix.msu.edu.