Browse Examples of Historical Thinking
What connections do documents related to the Jackie Robinson Testimonial Dinner in 1962 make between these two men? [...] »
Letters from U.S. soldiers during the Philippine-American War reveal perspectives very different from the official language of liberation. [...] »
Can you trust a biography? What questions can you ask about a book's writer, subject, and audience? Historian Tiya Miles analyzes an 1869 biography of abolitionist Harriet Tubman. [...] »
Diaries give a personal view of historical events. Historian Peter Hahn interprets the diary of Robert Ode, kept as he was held hostage in Iran. [...] »
How did the World War II internment of Japanese Americans happen? Historian Frank Wu examines Executive Order 9066, the document that delegated power to the military and made internment possible. [...] »
If the U.S. interned you and your family, how would you respond? Historian Frank Wu uses Ansel Adams's photos of the Manzanar internment camp to jump-start conversations on responsibility and identity. [...] »
Is reading a piece of historic literature once enough? Not if you want to get the most out of literary sources. [...] »
What does an 1853 daguerreotype have to say? Plenty, says Frank Goodyear, particularly about tourist culture and the rise of railroads and photography. [...] »
Written primary sources only tell you so much, says historian Lawrence Levine. To learn about history that was never written down, listen to sources like these two songs. [...] »
Today, we accept paper—and electronic—money as a fact of life in the U.S. Historian Michael O'Malley analyzes an 1876 cartoon from the days when "greenbacks" were new. [...] »
