History Day Theme Presentation

September 25, 2012

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Turning Point:

•a point at which a significant change occurs

• decisive change of direction

•departure from long held tradition or rule

•a point where history effectively turns a corner

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Turning Point:

•a point at which a significant change occurs

• decisive change of direction

•departure from long held tradition or rule

•a point where history effectively turns a corner

ClimaxLandmarkMilestoneWatershed

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Turning Point:

An event or set of events that, had it not happened as it did, would have prompted a different course in history.

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Turning Point:

An event or set of events that, had it not happened as it did, would have prompted a different course in history.

* Be careful of “What If” History!

Watch out for “What If” history

Be wary of “if not for this, thenthat” analysis

Watch out for “What If” history

“Without Winston Churchill, the whole world would be controlled by the Nazi’s”

Have the students supported their claims with evidence?

“Through his leadership duringWWII, he saved not only the British people, but the free world”

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Challenge to students will be to argue that an historical person, idea, or event is actually a turning point

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Ghandi and his implementation of peaceful protest to achieve Indian Independence

People

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Ghandi and his implementation of peaceful protest to achieve Indian Independence

People

Ideas

James “Crash” Ryan’s idea of seatbeltsto improve car safety

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Ghandi and his implementation of peaceful protest to achieve Indian Independence

People

Ideas

James “Crash” Ryan’s idea of seatbeltsto improve car safety

Events1960 televised Presidential debate changes the role of media in the election process

*Should use at least 1tag word

Turning Points should be historically significant

Topics should be at least 20 years old

September 11, 2001

Hurricane Katrina

ConsequencesA turning point may not be positive for all

ConsequencesA turning point may not be positive for all

Ex. Executive Order 9066

ConsequencesA turning point may have unintended consequences

ConsequencesA turning point may have unintended consequences

Ex. Borlaug and Green Revolution

When does an event become a turning point?

Historical perspective

When does an event become a turning point?

Historical perspective

Immediately Ex. Pearl Harbor, dropping of the Atomic Bomb

When does an event become a turning point?

Historical perspective

Immediately Ex. Pearl Harbor, dropping of the Atomic Bomb

RetrospectEx. Stock market crash,

oil embargo

Not all turning points will have a dramatic event!

Ex. Shift from conformist 1950s to radical 1960s and 1970s

Turning Points can be controversialEx. U.S. involvement in Vietnam War

A Turning Point can occur in response to crisis or perceived threat!

Ex. 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre

Cause & Effect

Bombing of Pearl Harbor

U.S. enters WWII

Submarine Warfare

Iwo Jima

Atomic Bomb

Second Sino-Japanese War

Tension between JapanAnd Western powers

World War II begins betweenAxis and Allied powers

People, Ideas, Events

Use the subtext to narrow within a topic

People, Ideas, Events

Use the subtext to narrow within a topic Ex. Women’s Suffrage Movement

People – Women’s Suffrage Movement

Alice Stone Blackwell Belva Ann Lockwood Carrie Chapman Catt

Ideas – Women’s Suffrage Movement

• Th

National Woman Suffrage Associationand the 15th Amendment

National Women’s Party and political protest

Events – Women’s Suffrage Movement

1848 Seneca Falls Convention1890 Wyoming admitted to the Union

as the first state allowing women to vote

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Historical Context & Impact are crucial!

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Historical Context & Impact are crucial!

What was happening before that led to pivotal change?

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Historical Context & Impact are crucial!

What was happening before that led to pivotal change?

What was the significance of the change?

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Historical Context & Impact are crucial!

What was happening before that led to pivotal change?

What was the significance of the change?

How will the change alter various aspects of society?• Business• Government• Transportation• Religion• Education• Technology• Communication

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

Historical Context & Impact are crucial!

What was happening before that led to pivotal change?

What was the significance of the change?

How will the change alter various aspects of society?

Why did this change occur at this time and place?

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”“Heart of the Story” is the Turning Point

Heart of the Story

Hist

oric

al C

onte

xtShort &

Long Term Im

pact

Thesis Statement

Title

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

U.S. Government & War

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

U.S. Government & War Supreme Court Decisions

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

U.S. Government & War Supreme Court Decisions

Transportation

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

U.S. Government & War Supreme Court Decisions

Transportation

Science & Technology

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

U.S. Government & War Supreme Court Decisions

Transportation

Civil Rights Science & Technology

2013 NHD Theme – “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events”

U.S. Government & War Supreme Court Decisions

Transportation

Civil Rights Science & Technology Sports

Top 25 News Stories of the 20th century1. U.S. drops Atomic Bomb (1945)2. Men first walk on the moon (1969)3. Japan bombs Pearl Harbor (1941)4. Wrights first fly airplane (1903)5. U.S. women win the right to vote (1920)6. JFK assassinated in Dallas (1963)7. Nazi Holocaust exposed (1945)8. World War I begins (1914)9. Court ends “separate but equal” (1954)10. U.S. stock market crashes (1929)11. Antibiotic penicillin discovered (1953)12. DNA’s structure discovered (195313. Soviet Union dissolves (1951)

14. Richard Nixon resigns (1974)15. Germany Invades Poland (1939)16. Communists take over Russia (1917)17. Ford creates assembly line (1913)18. Soviets launch first satellite (1957)19. Einstein conceives relativity (1905)20. Birth control pill approved by FDA (1960)21. New polio vaccine works (1953)22. Hitler named chancellor (1933)23. M.L.King, Jr., assassinated (1968)24. Allies invade France on D-Day (1944)25. Deadly AIDS disease identified (1981)

“Stories of the Century, 1900-2000,” Newseum, http://www.newseum.org/century/finalresults.htm(accessed September 3, 2012)

Advanced Topic Tips

Advanced Topic Tips

Ask a different question of a well studied topic

Advanced Topic Tips

Ask a different question of a well studied topic

Ex. “What did Jackie Robinson do during the Civil Rights Movement”

Advanced Topic Tips

Avoid Biography!

Advanced Topic Tips

Avoid Biography!

Ex. Study a smaller part of someone’s life with more depth

Hubert Humphrey

Advanced Topic Tips

Avoid Biography!

Ex. Study a smaller part of someone’s life with more depth

Hubert Humphrey

Elected Mayor of Minneapolis in 1945

1948 Democratic Convention

Elected Vice President in 1964 – unclearstance on Vietnam War

Advanced Topic Tips

Find a “Sub-Iconic” Topic

Advanced Topic Tips

Find a “Sub-Iconic” Topic

Who were other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement besides MLK?

Advanced Topic Tips

Find a “Sub-Iconic” Topic

Who were other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement besides MLK?

Medgar Evers Harry T. and Harriette Moore Roy Wilkins

Advanced Topic Tips

Get to the Roots of a Current Event

Advanced Topic Tips

Get to the Roots of a Current Event

Middle East and anti-American sentiments

Arab and Ottoman Empire

British Imperialism

Formation of a Republic“Six-Days War”“October War”

Advanced Topic Tips

Analyze a Common Topic from a Different Perspective

Advanced Topic Tips

Analyze a Common Topic from a Different Perspective

What was the perspective of Parliament on the American Revolution?

Advanced Topic Tips

Connect a Local Topic to the National Narrative

Advanced Topic Tips

Connect a Local Topic to the National NarrativeEx. Farm protests during the Great Depression in rural Minnesota

Pitfalls of the Theme

Arguing multiple “turning points” within a topic

Good overview of an historical event, but no evidence before or after the topic to prove it was a turning point

Overuse of the phrase “turning point”. Use synonyms to get your point across

“A turning point is ultimately a construct of historical reflection, and a historical unit of analysis, rather than an event that reveals itself to the people living through it at the time.”

- Roger Launius, curator National Air and Space Museum