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
By Popular Demand: Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies, 1789-Present
Photo, President Harding with pet dog Laddie, 1922, Library of Congress

A collection of over 150 portraits of past US Presidents and their First [...] »

WPA Life Histories, Virginia Interviews

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

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The Texas Constitutions Digitization Project

When was Texas part of Mexico? The U.S.? Separate?

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History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Baseball in Black and White

Baseball might be America's favorite past time, but it has not always been [...] »

Turning Turtle: Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea

The ship's on her beam-ends and all's lost! Test your knowledge of maritime [...] »

In Our Own Time: Native American Timekeeping

Pre-Columbian calendars were very different from the ones we use today. Are [...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
The Atomic Bomb: Hiroshima and Nagasaki
photographic print, Second atomic bombing of Nagasaki, 1945 August, LOC

Controversial issues are often simplified in textbooks. Discover the facts [...] »

Panic of 1873
Panic as a Health Officer Cleaning the Streets

Beginning in Europe, the Panic of 1873 quickly spread to the United States [...] »

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
National Museum of the American Indian

Make sure that your students know not all Native Americans lived in tipis or [...] »

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Commemorate the lives of the millions of people murdered during the [...] »

U.S. Coast Guard
Art, Auxliarist, Lew Jackson, U.S. Coast Guard

Who protects U.S. interests in international and domestic waters?

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Ask a Historian

Animating the Home Front
war worker from 1945 Philco advertisement

What happens when cartoon characters go to war?

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