Spotlight on Elementary Education

History has been shaped and influenced by the out come of ancient trials—such as the Trial of Socrates in 399B.C.—to Rosenberg Trial in the 1950s. This site offers a comprehensive look at 50 prominent court trials throughout history and its resources can be used to give young learners an introduction to the history of the modern judicial system.

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Website Reviews

Find quality websites & primary sources
Bland County History Archives
Photo, Local History and Technology, 2006-2007, Bland County History Archives

Looking for proof that students can handle extensive local history projects [...] »

Freedom's Story: Teaching African American Literature and History
Print, Heroes of the colored race, J. Hoover, c.1881-1183, Library of Congress

Slavery, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement—you have to teach these [...] »

Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920
Lithograph, Moosehead Lake, 1840-1880, Currier & Ives.

Documents the birth of the conservation movement through published works, [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Probing Probate

How do we know what people in the past owned and valued?

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Europe Encounters the Western Hemisphere

Can you answer these questions about the "exploration race" that brought [...] »

The California Gold Rush

"Seeing the elephant" in California.

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Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
Women's Reform Movement
Print, A downright gabbler, or a goose that deserves to be hissed, 1829

The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments in 1848 reflected the voices of [...] »

Causes of the American Revolution
Broadside, A card, New York, 1774, LoC, rbpe 10700100

What were the causes of the American Revolution? They were more complicated [...] »

Rise of the Automobile
Photo, Model A Ford in front of antique gas pumps, August 4, 2007, Flickr

Americans today take cars for granted. How did they change American life? [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Photo, Barking Frog, Mark A. Musselman, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The government acts for fauna as well as society. When did this start? Why [...] »

Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery

American art makes the interpretive nature of historical knowledge clear. [...] »

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
Negative, Victory Corps. . . , Alfred T. Palmer, September-October 1942, LoC

Did you know that there is a specific law enforcement agency for firearm [...] »

Ask a Historian

Tippecanoe and Walking Canes Too
Battle of Tippecanoe, 1811

A family’s oral history intersects with larger events in U.S. history.

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