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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Railroaded : the transcontinentals and the making of modern America
White, Richard
Paper Book
A new, incisive history of the transcontinental railroads and how theytransformed America in the decades after the Civil War. The transcontinental railroads of the late nineteenth century were the first corporate behemoths. Their attempts to generate profits from proliferating...
Ansel Adams in the national parks : photographs from America's wild places
Adams, Ansel
Paper Book
The most comprehensive collection of Ansel Adams's photographs of America's national parks and wilderness areas, with more than 200 photographs -- many rarely seen and some never before published.  For many people, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier...
Overground Railroad The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America
Taylor, Candacy A.
Ebook
A young reader's edition of award-winning author Candacy Taylor's acclaimed book about the history of the Green Book, the guide for Black travelers.   Overground Railroad chronicles the history of the Green Book, which was published from 1936 to 1966 and...
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
Paper Book
"Few novels have had as profound an impact as On the Road, and Kerouac's vision continues to inspire: three generations of writers, musicians, artists, and poets cite their discovery of On the Road as the event that "set them free." This hardcover edition commemorates the fortieth anniversary of the...
Rival rails : the race to build America's greatest transcontinental railroad
Borneman, Walter R.
Paper Book
From acclaimed historian Walter R. Borneman comes a dazzling account of the battle to build America's transcontinental rail lines. Rival Rails is an action-packed epic of how an empire was born--and the remarkable men who made it happen.   After the completion of the first...
Ghosts of Gold Mountain : the epic story of the Chinese who built the transcontinental railroad
Chang, Gordon H.
Paper Book
"Gripping... Chang has accomplished the seemingly impossible... he has written a remarkably rich, human and compelling story of the railroad Chinese."--Peter Cozzens, Wall Street Journal WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN LIBRARIANS AWARD FOR LITERATURE 
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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