On Tuesday, November 8, 1864, voters in 25 states--including Kansas, West Virginia, and Nevada for the first time--cast their ballots for president of the United States; voters in the 11 states that had seceded did not participate. Incumbent Abraham Lincoln ran as the Republican nominee (called the National Union Party in the 1864 election), and…

If there is one thing that teenagers like to talk about when it comes to the law, it's who does and does not have the right to search their "stuff." And in the world of "stuff," there is nothing more important to average American teenagers than their cell phones. So when, in the waning days of its 2013-2014 term, the U.S.…

Civic learning for all students seems like a reasonable and important aim for all schools to achieve. If we believe that the future of our American democracy depends on a citizenry that is informed, engaged, and responsible, what better place to create future citizens than in schools? The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools…

In 1971, the newly established Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created DOCUMERICA, a federal government photography project born out of the nation's environmental crisis. The photographers hired by the EPA took thousands of photographs depicting pollution, waste, and blight, but they were given the freedom to capture the era's…

In this article, Erika Cook and Aaron Becker suggest teachers travel to "unfamiliar" lands to not only breathe life into global lessons but also to gain new perspectives and experiences as educators. For teachers who dread teaching about an unfamiliar place or culture, Cook and Becker recommend considering the very real opportunities to…

One joy of studying history is discovering people living meaningful lives and behaving in unusual ways that are startling to the modern reader--young or old. Why did pre-modern people living hundreds or even thousands of years ago do things so differently than we do? Robert Whaples states that Economic historians conclude that the key difference…

This NCSS position statement is intended for all audiences who are committed to preparing students for active and engaged citizenship in the 21st century. This includes the general public, the elementary, middle, and high school communities, social studies supervisors and directors, higher education, and all educators, pre-Kindergarten through…

Most world history books feature the successes of the Roman Empire during the first and second centuries. During the third and fourth centuries, they turn to the events leading up to the empire's collapse. Explanations of the Roman Empire's decline and fall often cite external military threats, governmental failure and instability,…

Fifty years ago, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." In exploring the story of the events behind the essay, and the Supreme Court case that resulted, "Walker v. Birmingham", 399 U.S. 307 (1967), educators will find a pedagogically powerful lens through which to review the seminal…

Barbara Cruz describes how what began as a challenge (i.e., finding or justifying the time to spend on history instruction in an environment of high-stakes testing) turned into a rich learning experience for students using historical fiction. By designing experiences that were literacy centered but based in historical content, this group of…

Many national anthem lyrics focus on struggle and war between nations. Some, such as "The Star Spangled Banner," focus on a single battle or incident, like the War of 1812. Others stress the bravery, strength, and courage of the soldiers and sometimes the entire nation. Other anthems, such as Brazil's, focus on the beauty and…

Guilds are defined as associations of craftsmen and merchants formed to promote the economic interests of their members as well as to provide protection and mutual aid. As both business and social organizations, guilds were prolific throughout Europe between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries. Guilds were organized so that workers would learn…

An NCSS Technology Position Statement and Guidelines, published in 2006 (an updated version is published in this issue of "Social Education"), affirms that social studies students should critically examine relations between technology and society. This article describes how teachers can use science fiction to introduce critical questions…

In 1940 Atlanta, the color line between black and white citizens was clearly drawn. This color line not only kept blacks and whites apart physically, but it also prevented blacks from attaining educational opportunities, economic equality, healthcare services, and many other public amenities readily available to white citizens. Most people, black…

In this article, the author presents a truer picture than economic historians have previously had of the economies of Tokugawa Japan, and Britain during the Industrial Revolution. Though substantially different, both societies were prosperous compared to most of the rest of the world. Japan's economic success began in the Tokugawa period…