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
Union or Secession: Virginians Decide

Trace Virginia's route to secession in the Civil War with more than 200 [...] »

Thomas Jefferson Papers

What did Thomas Jefferson read?

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The Wars for Vietnam: 1945-1975
Photo, Christmas in Vietnam, 1967, Richard William Crothers, Flickr Commons

Visit this website for a comprehensive introduction to the Vietnam War.

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History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
We the People . . . Rarely Agree

What does the Constitution mean to you? Match each quote to the historical [...] »

Who Won the War (of 1812)?

How do textbooks from different countries treat the War of 1812?

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First Ladies' Firsts

What about the other occupants of the White House?

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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, [...] »

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 [...] »

Jim Crow Segregation: The Difficult and Anti-Democratic Work of White Supremacy
Print, For the Sunny South. An Airship. . . , 1913, Library of Congress

The fight against segregation and its discriminatory practices does not [...] »

National Resources

Federal teaching resources
National Museum of African Art

Approach African American history and culture through African art.

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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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Supreme Court of the United States

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

Ask a Historian

The Standardization of American English
Scanned image, Poor Richard: An Almanack for the Year of Christ 1739, Benjamin F

Why is colonial written English so different from the version we use today [...] »