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
Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920
Lithograph, Moosehead Lake, 1840-1880, Currier & Ives.

Documents the birth of the conservation movement through published works, [...] »

World War I Sheet Music
Cover, Goodbye and. . . , 1917, G. Edwards Music House, World War I Sheet Music

What can the music of World War I tell us about its era?

[...] »
California as I Saw It: First-Person Narratives of California, 1849-1900
Illustration, Emigrants Crossing..., 1869, H.B. Hall, Jr., California History...

40,000 written pages and more than 3,000 illustrations provide accounts of [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Potent Quotables: Every Vote Counts

After more than two centuries of citizenship, much has been said about [...] »

As American as Mom…

You know Mother's Day is all about mom, but do you know the history of the [...] »

Celebrate More Than St. Patrick

The Irish contributed more to the U.S. than shamrocks and folktales.

[...] »

Beyond the Textbook

Question textbook narratives
Panic of 1873
Panic as a Health Officer Cleaning the Streets

Beginning in Europe, the Panic of 1873 quickly spread to the United States [...] »

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 [...] »

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? [...] »

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 [...] »

Tennessee Valley Authority

Read the act that gave way to the Tennessee Valley Authority, a major New [...] »

U.S. Postal Service
Photo, City Carrier, 1975, United States Postal Service

Come rain or shine, the mail must go through, bringing information and [...] »

Ask a Historian

A Clear Shot across the Continent
James Knox Polk

President Polk, the fortunes of war, territory, and the ever-present [...] »