National History Day in Ohio Mary Bezbatchenko, State Coordinator
What is History Day? •Students learn History by doing History! •Grades 4- 12 •(4-5 exhibits & performances only- compete only at State Level)
•Research Project based on an annual theme •Create projects and attend local, state, and national competitions!
The History Day Process Research
Analyze
Present
What is History Day? • Papers • Exhibits
• Performances • Documentaries • Web Sites
Ohio’s Program •11 Districts with local events •March and early April •District 3:
•Ohio History Day, April 28, 2012 •OSU, Ohio Union
•National History Day, June 2012 •College Park, MD
2012 National History Day theme
Choosing a Topic • What interests you? – Time period, place, event… – Brainstorm a list with multiple ideas • Do preliminary research- secondary sources – 20 year suggestion • Narrow your topic – Let’s read 2 examples
Example 1
The Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 began a 70 year struggle for women’s suffrage. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony created the National American Women’s Suffrage Association in 1869. Three years later Susan B. Anthony was arrested for attempting to cast a ballot. During the early 20th century, the women’s suffrage movement grew and some states began allowing women to vote. Alice Paul and Lucy Burns created the National Women’s Party in 1913. NWP members picketed the White House to win suffrage. The 19th amendment passed in 1920 securing voting rights for women.
Example 2 At the beginning of the 20th century, NAWSA developed a strategy of securing suffrage in local elections and state constitutions. Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, influenced by British suffragists, believed in a more aggressive approach and wanted a constitutional amendment. They held parades and rallies and spoke out against the Democratic Party’s inaction. NAWSA leaders, fearing the radical actions would harm the movement, forced Paul and Burns out of the organization. The women then created what became the National Women’s Party. The two organizations continued to debate tactics for securing suffrage until the passage of the 19th amendment in 1920.
Narrowing Your Topic Start with the broad theme, choose something you are interested in, and then narrow it down to a more specific issue. Theme: Debate & Diplomacy in History (2011 theme) Interest: Women’s Rights Topic: Women’s Suffrage Issue: • Split between NAWSA & NWP • Arguments in 1920 for and against suffrage • White House protests- freedom of speech • Woodrow Wilson v. Alice Paul
YOU are the topic! • It is 2110 and a historian is gathering information to write a biography about your life. • What sources did you leave behind to help the historian with the job? – What sort of evidence the historian find to understand who you were?
A Primary Source is . . . • An artifact of its time • A first-hand account of a historic event
A Secondary Source is . . . • A commentary or analysis of a historical event based on primary sources
Primary v. Secondary Secondary Source
Primary Source
Historian finds this letter in the Ohio Historical Society collections Letter from Andrew Altman on March 25, 1862
Historian uses information to write book Blood, Tears, & Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War
Don’t forget context! • Why did my topic happen at this particular time and in this particular place? • What were the events or the influences that came before my topic? • How was my topic influenced by and how did it influence the economic, social, political, and cultural climate of the time period?
What would I need to know? Examine the picture and think about what historical context someone would need to know to fully understand the image
What would I need to know? Here are just a few things I might want to look at for historical context • • • • • • • •
End of Slavery Jim Crow laws- segregation WWII Southern Christian Leadership Conference Rosa Parks/Montgomery Bus Boycott Brown v. Board of Education (schools) Nashville sit ins (lunch counters) Freedom Rides (buses)
Questions? Contact Information: Mary Bezbatchenko- State Coordinator 614.297.2528
[email protected] www.ohiohistoryday.org Blog: historydayexpert.blogspot.com
@marybezNHDOH
