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National History Day 2024-2025

An overview of resources to support National History Day

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What is National History Day?

ABOUT NATIONAL HISTORY DAY

National History Day is a non-profit organization that encourages students to engage in their own studies of history through a year-long academic program focused on historical research, interpretation and creative expression for students in the 6th through 12th grades. Students create projects that can be entered in a national contest.

2024-2025 THEME- RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES IN HISTORY

What is a historical primary source?

Primary sources are original, firsthand or "eyewitness" accounts of historical events, people or places. Primary sources serve as the raw materials historians use to interpret and analyze the past. 

Some examples include:

  • Letters, diaries or memoirs
  • Newspapers
  • Speeches, interviews, manuscripts
  • Photographs, art, artifacts
  • Maps, government documents
  • Audio and video recordings
  • Research data

Hilda Jara postcard

Hilda Jara Postcard, Pleasants Family Papers. Orange Country Regional History Collection. The UC Irvine Libraries. Accessible via Calisphere