www.loc.gov This short URL brings you to a rather unremarkable home page, that of the U.S. Library of Congress. Click behind the facade and you're on an elegant bridge to America's past. There's no map, but don't worry. You want to get lost among the millions of pieces on display -- manuscripts, streaming audio, streaming video, photos, propaganda, cartoons, television commercials, baseball cards. They make up a comprehensive text book you will never finish in a lifetime -- and one that won't let you put it down.
lcweb.loc.gov/jefftour/history.html Don't make this your first stop at the library but keep it in mind because after you've been inside for several hours you're gonna start to wonder why a government -- especially one that's always fighting with itself -- would keep and record all this stuff.
memory.loc.gov/ammem/oahtml/oahome.html Japanese anime rules the current century, but 100 years ago American animation set the trends. Here's some historical background as well as links to hundreds of cartoons circa 1900-1921.