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
Library of Virginia Digital Library Program
Photograph, A cigarette machine is indeed intricate, 1939, Library of Va:SC.

Houses more than 1.2 million items on Virginia and life in the South.

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WPA Life Histories, Virginia Interviews

Explore Depression-era, ex-slave, and urban youth life stories.

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Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures

See how early film was used to capture and communicate the Spanish-American [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Presidents Day: Growing Up to Be President

Even American presidents were babies once!

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Riding the Rails

How many cows could a cowcatcher catch, if a cowcatcher could catch cows? [...] »

Memorial Day: The Poppy Puzzle

Do you know the history of this symbol?

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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 [...] »

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? [...] »

20th-century Jewish Immigration
Dry plate negative, approx. 1920-1930, Jewish colonies and settlements, LOC

Divided into two waves of immigration by textbooks, the continuity of [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
U.S. Postal Service
Photo, City Carrier, 1975, United States Postal Service

Come rain or shine, the mail must go through, bringing information and [...] »

National Institutes of Health
Photo, Dr. Thomas Starzl, 1960-1980, Office of History, NIH

Repository for the history of the federal agency, medical profession, and [...] »

Federal Highway Administration
Lithograph, Chas. H. Kabrich, c. 1896, Donaldson Litho. Co., LoC

Do you fit today's transportation norms? Do you reside in a suburb or a city [...] »

Ask a Historian

Selling a Slave
Receipt for sale of a slave boy named George, November 6, 1833.  National Archiv

The obstacles and restraints on disposing of one's human "property."

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