Populism is a relevant issue in the teaching of American history. Historically, the standard interpretation of Populism perceived the movement as favorable. How educators handle conflicting views of Populism is important in engaging students in critical thinking. This article describes the history of American Populism, explains how Populism can be…

Scholars often define historical reasoning as constructing defensible interpretations of past events. Drawing on critical theory, this article suggests that it also entails consciously framing one's topic of inquiry. The article examines an instructional unit that aimed to foster this expanded view of historiography. Forty students, ages 14-15,…

Historiography is often overlooked as a fascinating subject by most contemporary students, whether in the secondary history classroom or undergraduate course. Some sense of the changing historical interpretation of a topic such as Reconstruction may be provided through contrasting passages from a modern history text with earlier editions of books…

Many history professors have been reluctant to authorize students to use Wikipedia in their classwork because they do not fully trust the open source encyclopedia. But as increasing numbers of scholars and teachers work with Wikipedia, its influence becomes undeniable. In this article, the author describes how Wikipedia works and how she made…

The 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland, which was located between New England in the north and Maryland and Virginia in the south, has received little attention from most historians of colonial America. The New Netherland Project was formed in 1974 under the sponsorship of the New York State Library and the Holland Society of New York…

Each fall semester, on the first day of class of his upper-level American Military History course, the author informs his students that a major part of the class consists of a wargame in which they will participate. In this article, the author describes briefly how the class will be divided into two teams, and that on a specific evening during the…

This book focuses on the history of the Statue of Liberty National Monument from 1952 through 1982. It describes how the monument has come to symbolize an expanding set of ideals, how the symbolism has produced responses in various groups of people ranging from celebrations to physical attacks upon the Statue, and the manner in which the monument…

Historical researchers quickly learn that the evidence they seek is often scarce, partial, misleading; and that it is always inconclusive. Investigates how to mute personal reactions to historical evidence in order to let the evidence speak for itself. Attempts to research the life of Betsey Stockton, a black woman born into slavery who rose to…

Examines the conclusions of two historians, Frederick Jackson Turner and Ellwood P. Cubberley, in light of one of the chief sources of data that was available to them--the published accounts of travelers to the Northwest frontier. (Author/RK)

Secondary students interpret a primary source document from the National Archives--the Tonkin Gulf Resolution--and are involved in activities which will help them understand the Tonkin Gulf incident in the context of the Vietnam War. Background information is provided. (RM)

Discusses the value of journals for understanding a historical period. Suggests that social studies students be encouraged to keep journals to understand better the difference between something written at the time and a later description of the same event. Lists examples of journals from historical periods that may interest students in journal…

This selected annotated bibliography of United States history is an introduction to sources that can be found in the reference section of the library at the University of Rhode Island. Included are basic sources and more advanced research tools to acquaint students with different types of research tools available and to encourage students to…

This guidebook examines the kinds of oral history materials available to local researchers and presents ways to evaluate and interpret those materials. There are six chapters. Chapter one describes the relevance and scope of local history, the role of the interviewer within the community, the contributions that oral sources can make to local…

Discusses the role of sports in U.S. history. Describes primary sources and scholarly articles available for use in integrating sports history into history courses. Addresses questions about sport and society in the United States from the Puritans through the present day. Suggests that sports have been used to limit upward mobility and maintain…

Surveys literature to provide a bibliography for U.S. history teachers to use in integrating sport history into their classes. Emphasizes major topical areas focusing on 1850 to the present. Includes primary sources, general histories, and works focusing on the relationships among sport and the media, individual cities, women, and minority groups.…