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

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First American West: The Ohio River Valley, 1750-1820
Image, First American West: The Ohio River Valley 1750-1820.

Explore sources from the mid-18th-to-early-19th-century European migration [...] »

Jazz: A Film by Ken Burns

Can you tell New Orleans jazz from Bebop? Can you hear the variations in [...] »

American Notes: Travels in America, 1750-1920
Illustration, Marshall Pass, Continental Divide, CO. Burlington Route, 1892, LoC

What impressions did the average citizen or foreigner form of early America [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Historical Improbabilities

Truth is stranger than fiction, they say. Can you tell the difference?

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A-mouldering in the Grave

"John Brown's Body" keeps reappearing. What do you know about the song?

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Columbus Day: Stories of Exploration

Which tales of daring exploration do you believe?

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Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
Denmark Vesey
An official report of the trials of sundry Negroes, 1822

Tried and executed in 1822, along with many other slaves, for a plotted [...] »

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. [...] »

Causes of the American Revolution
Broadside, A card, New York, 1774, LoC, rbpe 10700100

What were the causes of the American Revolution? They were more complicated [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
National Museum of African Art

Approach African American history and culture through African art.

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Preserve America

Preserve America is a White House initiative uniting the work of 11 federal [...] »

U.S. Fire Administration
Photo, Angel Island Fire, Behind Alcatraz, October 12, 2008, LeeLeFever, Flickr

Give historical fires perspective through modern statistics.

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Ask a Historian

Roosevelt's Tree Army

The work of the Civilian Conservation Corps in central New York State.

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