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
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series
Image, Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Minnesota Population Center.

View 22 census data samples and 65 million records from 13 federal censuses [...] »

Freedom's Story: Teaching African American Literature and History
Print, Heroes of the colored race, J. Hoover, c.1881-1183, Library of Congress

Slavery, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement—you have to teach these [...] »

The Primeline Midi Library

Browse more than 630 ragtime Midi files.

[...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Carriages and Wagons

Trade in your old Cabriolet for a new 1876 Landau? Test your knowledge of [...] »

The California Gold Rush

"Seeing the elephant" in California.

[...] »
The Garden of Infants

Kindergarten came to America in the 19th century on a wave of German [...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
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?

[...] »
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? [...] »

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
Federal Judicial Center
Photo, Harry Anstead. . . , 2000, Newhall Photography, Flickr Commons

The Federal Judicial Center is the education and research agency for federal [...] »

Federal Trade Commission
Woodcut, Igirisujin Yokohama. . . , 1861, Sadahide Utagawa, LoC

Keeping businesses on the straight and narrow. Discover more about the [...] »

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

Great Expectations for the Civil War
Gelatin silver print, Hine, Lewis Wickes,Hitching Up the Team, NY Public Library

Many believed the Civil War would be a short, bloodless battle. The reality [...] »