See America First: Travel Histories in the United States

Originally coined around 1906 the phrase "See America First" was meant to inspire Americans to travel the nation before boating and later jetting off to Europe. Seeing America first became a slogan for some rail lines that intentionally located stops outside of the emerging National Parks at the end of the 19th century. Moving into the 20th century with the advent of the car, the classic American road trip was born; though not all Americans are able to fully enjoy this new form of recreation as the realities of a segregated nation. This list collects titles that highlight some of that evolution in American recreational life and other tales from the American road. Also included are links to historic national parks brochures and New York Public Library's digitzed collection of Green Books

Updated June 4, 2025
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Fond du Lac Public Library
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Driving while black : African American travel and the road to civil rights
Sorin, Gretchen Sullivan
Paper Book
The ultimate symbol of independence and possibility, the automobile has shaped this country from the moment the first Model T rolled off Henry Ford's assembly line. Yet cars have always held distinct importance for African Americans, allowing black families to evade the many dangers presented by...
The national parks : America's best idea : an illustrated history
Duncan, Dayton.
Paper Book
The companion volume to the twelve-hour PBS series from the acclaimed filmmaker behind The Civil War, Baseball, and The War. America's national parks spring from an idea as radical as the Declaration of Independence: that the nation's most magnificent and sacred...
The national parks America's best idea
Duncan, Dayton.
DVD
On the road
Kerouac, Jack
Ebook
Jack Kerouac's classic American novel of freedom and the search for originality that defined a generation "An authentic work of art."--The New York Times   Inspired by Jack Kerouac's adventures with Neal Cassady, On the Road tells the story...
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/collections/9ea5d5b0-1117-0132-7932-58d385a7b928

New York Public Library\'s collection of the Motorists Greenbook. The Green Book was a travel guide that aimed to provide African Americans information about reliable businesses around the country between 1936 and 1967.

NYPL\'s Digital Collections is a living database featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, video, and more unique research materials.

https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/brochures/index.htm

A digital collection of brochures from the National Parks Service with travel information going back to 1912 for the National Parks in the United States. Collection not fully online. More complete digital coverage for guides dating to the 1920s and 1940s.


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