24. Other magazine archives online
Not all study of history needs to focus on war, racism, divisiveness, and other often sobering subjects. Sports have a large role in American history, particularly from the second half of the 20th century to the present. The Sports Illustrated Vault contains issues from August 16, 1954, its first issue, through October 7, 2019. It is browsable by decades or searched for specific persons, articles, or subjects. Some issues contain only galleries of art within the magazine, including advertising from which American tastes and passions can be easily detected. Several magazine archives found online support students studying history, as well as other subjects, from home, while also offering fun reading.
Popular Mechanics Magazine, with issues prior and during World War II, offers new insights into the Great Depression, the war effort, and life at home. Issues from the beginning of the 20th century are easily found, most of them on the Internet Archive – another invaluable tool for studying history at home. The first issue of Scientific American, published in 1845, is readable online, as are subsequent issues to 1909, covering emerging technologies of their day, in all aspects of American life. Military developments, including predictions of how airplanes and submarines would change modern warfare, written well before they did, can be read online.
