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
Still Going On: Celebrating The Life and Times of William Grant Still
Gelatin Silver, Portrait of William Grant Still, 1949, Carl Van Vechten, LoC

Learn about famous composer William Grant Still through this online exhibit [...] »

California Heritage Collection

View the early history of California through this collection of over 30,000 [...] »

Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America

An assemblage of more than 80 photographs and postcards of lynchings, from [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Potent Quotables: Every Vote Counts

After more than two centuries of citizenship, much has been said about [...] »

First Impressions: The U.S. and Japan

In 1854, Japan signed a treaty with the U.S. How did the U.S. and Japan see [...] »

Pre-Modern Pop Music

Before "pop" music reigned supreme, jazz and ragtime amassed great public [...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
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 [...] »

Coal and the Industrial Revolution
Photo, At the close of the day, January 1911, Lewis Hine, Library of Congress

How can the story of coal help students understand the nature of today's [...] »

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. Patent and Trademark Office
Lithograph, [Patent medicine label for unnamed. . . ], 1830-1870, LoC

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has images of patents online [...] »

U.S. Air Force

From pilots to shuttle central command, how does the Air Force fulfill its [...] »

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

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

Ask a Historian

The 4th Estate as the 4th Branch

The peculiar power of the press in America . . . what is the role of the [...] »