History

1. HISTORICAL CONTEXT

1.1. Historical context is the larger setting in which your topic took place. Consider the relevant economic, social, intellectual, religious, cultural, and political conditions of the place and time. Pay attention to how your topic developed over time. Example: The modern Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s developed in response to the context of segregation legalized by Jim Crow laws that marginalized blacks and enforced racial separation. Over time, the movement expanded to include the rights of others.

2. MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES

2.1. A perspective is one point of view, one person’s experience, or one side of the story. Think of perspective as what one person saw, thought, or wrote about the events or issues you are studying. An individual’s perspective on a historical event can be afected by many factors and can change over time. Like a detective solving a crime, you must look for multiple perspectives as you piece together what happened in the past. You must examine and show more than one side of the story. To do that, look for primary and secondary sources created by people with diferent viewpoints. Example: When studying a law, look at people who supported the law as well as those who opposed it. Try to understand why both sides believed the way they did.

3. HISTORICAL ACCURACY

3.1. Historians must be accurate when presenting information about the past. Facts matter. You must present accurate historical facts before you can make your historical argument and interpret historical signifcance. If you fnd sources that are contradictory about a fact, dig deeper to determine the correct information.

4. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

4.1. Signifcance refers to the impact or consequences of your topic. What occurred as a result of your topic, both in the short term and the long term? What changed or stayed the same? What impact did your topic have on society or on the course of human events? Think of historical signifcance as answering the question, “So what, why does this matter?”

5. HISTORICAL ARGUMENT

5.1. Your historical argument states the central point or focus of your project in two or three sentences. It is sometimes called a thesis or claim. Historians create historical arguments after carefully analyzing evidence from the past. The evidence that supports your argument will come from the primary and secondary sources that you discover during your research. Your argument should refect your analysis of the historical evidence that you gathered. Your historical argument must make a meaningful connection to the theme and show why your topic is signifcant in history. It must be incorporated into your project and be clear to those who read or view it. However, labeling your historical argument in or on your project is not required. Example for the theme, Breaking Barriers in History: The 1919 Treaty of Versailles subjected Germany to signifcant economic penalties. The treaty created an economic barrier between Germany and the rest of Europe, which led to hyperinfation and, when coupled with the Great Depression, the rise of the Nazi Party

6. Research

6.1. Secondary Sources

6.1.1. Secondary sources are created after and about a historical event. Begin building your knowledge of historical context by starting your research with secondary sources written by credible authors such as professional historians, whose work refects thorough research and analysis. Reading secondary materials prepares you to understand and analyze primary sources from the historical event you are researching. Read as many high-quality secondary sources as you can before you look at primary sources. The knowledge you gain from secondary sources forms the foundation of your research and helps you to analyze the primary sources you fnd. Types of secondary source materials include the following: X History textbooks X Articles in professional journals and books written by historians X Biographies X Articles found on credible internet sites

6.2. Primary Sources

6.2.1. Primary sources are created during the time period that you are investigating. Types of primary source materials include the following: X Eyewitness accounts X Written materials, such as letters, speeches, diaries, newspaper articles, and other documents from the time X Verbal testimony, such as oral history interviews with people from the time, and oral traditions (i.e., histories that are preserved and shared through word of mouth rather than in writing) X Images and artifacts such as photographs, paintings, drawings, maps, and objects from the time X Unedited copies of primary materials found on credible internet sites, such as the websites of the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress X Anything else that provides a frst-hand account about your topic Examples of Primary and Secondary Source Materials: X A letter written by President Lincoln in 1862 about the Civil War, found on the National Archives and Records Administration website, is a primary document. X An oral history with a Japanese American who was interned during World War II is a primary source for a project about Japanese internment. X An article about the Vietnam War published in 2015, written by a historian who was not involved in the war, is secondary. By contrast, an interview about the Vietnam War with a Vietnam War veteran is primary.

6.2.1.1. NOTE: Historians and others who write secondary materials often include excerpts or images from primary material. If you want to use primary material that you fnd in a secondary source, try to locate and examine the original primary material. If that is not possible, you may use the material and cite it in your bibliography in one of the two ways below. Consult your chosen style guide for the correct way to format the citation. 1. If the primary material is included in its entirety and is unedited, you may cite it as a primary source in your bibliography. 2. If only a portion of the primary material, such as an excerpt or a quote, is included, you must cite it as a source within a source and place it in the secondary source section of your bibliography. In both cases, use your annotation to explain how you used the material. Figure 1 (p. 11) provides a comparison of primary material found in a textbook (secondary source) and the complete original document (primary source).

6.3. Wide Resources

6.3.1. Wide research refers to the variety of types of sources that you use in your research. As you research secondary source materials that will help you gain an understanding of your topic and the context in which it happened, consider books, articles, credible websites, and other materials. Then, use different types of primary source materials, such as diaries, photographs, art, letters, or newspaper articles from the time. Using a wide variety of both primary and secondary sources in your research will make your entry stronger. The number of sources is not as important as their quality.

6.4. Interview

6.4.1. Interviewing a person who was involved in an event is called “oral history.” It is a type of primary source research. Interviewing an expert who was not involved in the event is a form of secondary source research. Interviews with experts are not required for NHD projects. You may be tempted to interview a professional historian about your topic. Do not. Your job as a researcher is to read that historian’s work. Historians generally do not interview other historians. Instead, consider using or conducting an oral history, if possible. Learn more at nhd.org/guidelines-conducting-interviews.

6.4.1.1. Textbook

6.4.1.1.1. SECONDARY SOURCE – TEXTBOOK: Adams, Abigail. Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31-April 5, 1776. In The American Pageant: A History of the American People, by David M. Kennedy, Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Bailey (Boston: Wadsworth, 2010), 153.

6.4.1.2. Primary Source

6.4.1.2.1. PRIMARY SOURCE – WEBSITE (AS SHOWN HERE): Adams, Abigail. Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March – 5 April 1776. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA. Accessed January 18, 2020. Adams Family Papers : An Electronic Archive doc?id=L17760331aa. PRIMARY SOURCE – ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT: Adams, Abigail. Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March – 5 April 1776. Adams Family Papers. Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, MA. Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Bibliographic citation format: Chicago Manual of Style, 17th

6.5. Student Voice, Academic Integrity, and Rules Compliance

6.5.1. STUDENT VOICE Student voice refers to your ideas and analysis. Your argument and your supporting analysis must be clear in your project. Do not let supporting evidence, such as quoted material from primary or secondary sources, overwhelm your voice. Make your case (or argument) using your own words based on your research. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY Academic integrity refers to the honesty and originality of your project. This is your project. It must refect your research, your analysis, and your design. You must give credit to all of your sources. RULE INFRACTIONS Rule infractions occur if you violate any of the rules stated in this Contest Rule Book. Failure to comply with the rules will count against your entry. Judges will consider rule infractions in their fnal ranking

6.5.2. Evaluation

6.5.2.1. These forms can be found at nhd.org/categories. The evaluation form has two sections: X Historical Quality (80%) X Clarity of Presentation (20%) The evaluation of Historical Quality is the same for all categories. This section focuses on the strengths of your historical argument, research, and relationship to the theme. Clarity of Presentation is diferent for each entry category. It evaluates how well your project communicates your argument using the tools of your category.

6.5.2.2. nhd.org/annotated-bibliography

6.5.2.3. Plagiarism

6.5.2.3.1. Plagiarizing all or part of your NHD project will result in disqualifcation. You must give credit to the primary and secondary sources you use and provide a complete citation and annotation for all of your sources in your annotated bibliography. See nhd.org/annotated-bibliography for more information about crediting and citing sources. The online Merriam-Webster Dictionary defnes “to plagiarize” as follows: X To steal and pass of (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own X To use (another’s production) without crediting the source X To commit literary theft X To present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source1 Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the following examples: X Turning in someone else’s project as your own X Failing to put quotation marks around direct quotes and include both a source credit and a proper citation of the source X Failing to provide proper citations for all quoted and paraphrased material X Failing to provide the sources for audio, video, or images used in your project X Giving incorrect information about the source of a quote

7. Lesson Plan.--

8. Theme

8.1. NHD 2021 Theme Graphic Organizer

8.1.1. Information you need. www.nhd.org/themebook

8.1.1.1. Decode

8.2. National History Day 2021 Theme Webinar

8.3. 2021 Theme Video - Communication in History

9. RESOURCES - Created at the time

9.1. Search results from Digital Collections, Available Online

9.2. Chronicling America « Library of Congress

9.3. National Archives |

10. Library Resources written by historians. - databases

10.1. Destiny.pgcps.org

10.1.1. Gofollett.com

10.1.1.1. www.pgcmls.info