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
Say it Plain: A Century of Great African American Speeches

Hear 12 renowned speeches by African Americans, including Marcus Garvey's [...] »

Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War

Take a closer look at the Civil War with this extensive database that offers [...] »

Kate and Sue McBeth, Missionary Teachers to the Nez Perce
Drawing, The Scalp Dance, 1855, Gustav Sohon, WA State Historical Society.

Presents the letters and diaries of Kate and Sue McBeth, late 19th-century [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Dance, But Not That Way . . .

Do you know how to dance the Sleigh Bell Polka? Learn the proper way to [...] »

Mapping the Past

A map can tell you more than east, west, north, and south.

[...] »
Plays You Won't See in the Superbowl

Football has always been a great American sport, but how much do you know [...] »

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. [...] »

The Tet Offensive
Eddie Adams, Vietcong shooting prisoner cropped

American historians have depicted the Tet Offensive as the turning point for [...] »

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
Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery

American art makes the interpretive nature of historical knowledge clear. [...] »

Architect of the Capitol

What do our buildings tell us about ourselves? Take a spin around this [...] »

U.S. Navy

Who defends our seas, and how do they do it? Explore primary sources and [...] »

Ask a Historian

Civil War Peace Offers
women and children evacuated from Fort Sumter

Olive branches from the North? Did the United States ever negotiate possible [...] »