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
Idea of America
Photo, Head of rural family asking. . ., 1940, Dorothea Lange, Flickr Commons

The U.S. was formed on ideals, but how do these ideals manifest in reality? [...] »

Traders: Voices from the Trading Post

Listen as traders talk about their experiences at Native American trading [...] »

Red Hot Jazz Archive: A History of Jazz before 1930

Discover over 200 jazz bands and musicians active from 1895-1929, captured [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Mapping the Past

A map can tell you more than east, west, north, and south.

[...] »
Go West, Young Woman!

Men and women both settled the West. Answer these questions on women’s [...] »

America's Love for the Automobile

An Exciting Whiff of Danger or La Belle Dame sans Merci?

[...] »

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 [...] »

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. [...] »

Causing the Civil War
Postcard, Train Load of Cotton for Export, South, 1902-1903, NYPL

Did King Cotton cause the Civil War? Or should you look further?

[...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
U.S. Army
Photo, The 101st Airborne troops move out of Bastogne. . . , 1944, U.S. Army

Increase your knowledge of the people, past, and technology of the United [...] »

Tennessee Valley Authority

Read the act that gave way to the Tennessee Valley Authority, a major New [...] »

National Museum of African American History and Culture

What does it mean to be an American? Answer this question through the lens [...] »

Ask a Historian

Spain in the American Revolution
Battle of Pensacola

The enemy of my enemy is my friend—what was Spain's role (and motivation) in [...] »