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
American Women's Dime Novel Project
Book Cover, "Weaker than a Woman by Bertha M. Clay,"

What was the turn-of-the-century woman's "beach read"?

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Papers of Justice Tom C. Clark
Photograph, Melba Theater, 1955, R.C. Hickman, Center for American History.

Tom C. Clark served as Supreme Court Justice from 1949 to 1967, a time of [...] »

Documenting the American South
Drawing, A Negro Wedding, 1897, Maude Cowles, Charles Scribner's Sons.

Nearly 1,400 documents covering Southern life from the 18th to early 20th [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
American Myths: Popular Music

Each song has a story. What inspired it? When was it made? By whom?

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The Ice Cream Wars

Was there conflict in the past over one of our favorite summer treats?

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Back to the Future . . .

In the year 1900, what did Americans think the next century would bring?

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Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
Slavery
Photo, "An ex-slave," 1897, New York Public Library Digital Gallery

What was it like to be a slave in 19th-century America? Accounts contrast. [...] »

The Early Conservation Movement
photographic print, Quentin Roosevelt Planting a Tree, c1904, Edward S. Curtis,

The "go-green" movement is rampant in modern America. However, support for [...] »

Jim Crow Segregation: The Difficult and Anti-Democratic Work of White Supremacy
Print, For the Sunny South. An Airship. . . , 1913, Library of Congress

The fight against segregation and its discriminatory practices does not [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Photo, Russ Hopcroft, from the University . . . , 2002, Ian MacDonald, NOAA

Explore the history of science and technology, maritime history, and the [...] »

U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk

A comprehensive current and historical look at this legislative body and its [...] »

National Park Service
Screencapture, FDR Memorial, National Park Service homepage

Lesson plans, essays, multimedia, activities, and artifacts of U.S. heritage [...] »

Ask a Historian

Defining Dred Scott
lithograph, The political quadrille--Music by Dred Scott, 1860, LOC

Who was Dred Scott, and what was the significance of his case?

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