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
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

A variety of primary sources and background essays explore the 1911 fire, a [...] »

American Historical Association
American Historical Association screenshot

Research the history professional field, communicate with other historians, [...] »

Magic, Illusion, and Detection in Turn of the Century America
Photo, New York City Police Dept. activities, c.1908, Library of Congress

Learn about American culture at the turn of the 20th century.

[...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Fly Away Jim Crow

Equality requires more than a Proclamation. Try to answer these questions on [...] »

Theatre of the People

Through performing art, U.S. minorities assert their identities. Answer [...] »

Reading Photographs: MacArthur and Hirohito

How would you have planned this photograph if you were General MacArthur? [...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
John Brown's Raid
Painting, John Brown, 1867, Thomas S. Noble, NYPL Digital Gallery

Did Northerners all respond the same way to Brown's infamous raid? [...] »

Labor and Trade in Colonial America
Photo, Weavers at Colonial Williamsburg, May 29, 2010, animalvegetable, Flickr

Was colonial trade really triangular? What kinds of work did colonists do, [...] »

The Modern Civil Rights Movement: A River of Purposeful Anger
Dynamics of Idealism- Volunteers for Civil Rights, 1965-1982 432x240

Textbooks are silent about defining race and racism, even though the modern [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
Federal Judicial Center
Photo, Harry Anstead. . . , 2000, Newhall Photography, Flickr Commons

The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency for federal [...] »

Social Security Administration

Explore both the history of the SSA itself and that of the Social Security [...] »

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Charts, "Educational Attainment," Bureau of Labor Statistics

Is your grandfather more likely to be working now than he would have been in [...] »

Ask a Historian

Court Packing Controversies
U. S. Supreme Court, ca. 1860-65, Mathew Brady

What do Presidents Ulysses Grant and Franklin Roosevelt have in common? Both [...] »