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
North American Slave Narratives, Beginnings to 1920
Illustration, THE QUIET, DIM-LIGHTED ROOM..., 1914, Grace E. King, L. Graham Co.

Explore all of the known published slave narratives, to better understand [...] »

Minnesota Maps Online
An illustrated historical atlas of the state. . . , 1874, Minnesota. . . site

Are you interested in cartography or the natural and social environment of [...] »

Famous Trials

Presents balanced treatments of over 50 prominent court trials, including [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Presidential Moments: Inaugural Addresses

Can you match these famous first words with their presidential speakers?

[...] »
Pre-Modern Pop Music

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

Paradise in a Breakfast Bowl

A morning meditation on flakes: Do your morals and values help you decide [...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
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, [...] »

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?

[...] »
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 [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
Military History
Photo, The Five of Hearts - Renault. . . , U.S. Army Center of Military History

The U.S. Armed Forces maintain multiple historical offices within each [...] »

James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation

Looking for a way to fund graduate education related to teaching the U.S. [...] »

U.S. Geological Survey
Photo, Brown Bat, June 20, 2008, Al Hicks, U.S. Geological Survey

How has land use altered over time, and what did the explorers encounter? [...] »

Ask a Historian

Stonewall Jackson and the Battle of Chancellorsville
woods blown apart by artillery fire at Chancellorsville

The Confederate battle plan at Chancellorsville was extraordinarily daring [...] »