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
Historic USGS Maps of New England
Map. Wyoming, DE Quadrangle. USGS

Explore New England's topography with more than 1,100 topographical maps, [...] »

Hiroshima Peace Site
Photo, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park 10, cmbjn843, Flickr

Learn about Hiroshima and the history of nuclear warfare and non- [...] »

Joe Hill
Sheet music,  The Rebel Girl, 1915, Written by Joe Hill, NYPL

Union strikes. Murder. Itinerant songwriting. The life of martyr Joe Hill [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Pre-Modern Pop Music

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

Women at War

Women have fought in every U.S. war, but only recently have they gained [...] »

Vaccinations: Rites of Passage

Have you had your shots? Which childhood diseases do these public [...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
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. [...] »

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? [...] »

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
National Museum of the American Indian

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

Supreme Court of the United States

From John Jay to Sonia Sotomayor, the Supreme Court is the final word in law [...] »

Presidents of the United States

The White House offers historic photos and biographies of its past and [...] »

Ask a Historian

Keep Your Top Eye Open
Poster, "Caution, Colored People of Boston!," 1851, Boston Public Library.

Boston abolitionists on the lookout for slave-catchers in 1851.

[...] »