About Us

Archiving Early America is one of the Internet’s leading Web sites offering a unique body of primary source material on the life and times of 18th century America. The site focuses on the Colonial era, the Revolutionary War and the Early Republic. The site is supported solely by advertising. It is not funded by public money, grants, or private or corporate sponsorships. All of the features at the site are free to users. Don Vitale is editor and publisher of Archiving Early America. A former journalist, he served as senior lecturer at the University of Southern California’s Department of Journalism. He is presently archivist for the Keigwin and Mathews Collection of 18th century historical documents of early America. The site is renewed on an ongoing basis as new content is added online. Articles in The Early America Review—the site’s biannual historical journal—are bylined and written by authors with a special interest in the history of early America. Vitale writes all of the preambles to the site’s many features. Much of the website highlights a vast array of primary source content written by the country's Founders. Archiving Early America first went online in 1995. The project allowed Americans to view their nation's founding documents as they appeared in the media of that day. Our mission statement spells out our objectives at the time. Many students and teachers of early America use Archiving Early America as a resource for their research papers and projects. We hope that by accessing the information appearing on our site you, as millions of others, will gain valuable insights into this important era of America's history.