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
Historical Map and Chart Collection

Teaching exploration? Why not introduce your students to nautical charts? [...] »

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 [...] »

Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project
Home Made Candy Recipes By Mrs. Janet McKenzie Hill 1909

75 full-text cookbooks let you or your students prepare the foods from the [...] »

History Quiz

Test your history knowledge
Stamping Out Free Speech?

The Stamp Act of 1765 had colonists crying foul. Answer these questions [...] »

Voices in the Whirlwind

To each prophet, a certain way of speaking. Match civil rights leaders with [...] »

Turning Turtle: Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea

The ship's on her beam-ends and all's lost! Test your knowledge of maritime [...] »

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. [...] »

Rise of the Automobile
Photo, Model A Ford in front of antique gas pumps, August 4, 2007, Flickr

Americans today take cars for granted. How did they change American life? [...] »

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?

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National Resources

Federal teaching resources
National Museum of American History

See our history come to life within the expansive exhibits and educational [...] »

Federal Reserve Board

The economy's on everyone's mind. Take advantage of that fact to teach a bit [...] »

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Silkscreen, Disaster Broadcast. . . , 1941-1943, Edward T. Grigware, LoC

When the weather's not on our side, FEMA's there to lend a hand.

[...] »

Ask a Historian

New England Puritans
Puritans going to church, Samuel Appleton, 1884, Library of Congress

Trying to build a New Jerusalem on the coast of Massachusetts.

[...] »