Teaching History in America
By: Elizabeth A. Hays
Some schools cover a general curriculum that covers the fundamentals of subjects like math, science, and social studies. While others focus on a specific subject. Private schools emphasize religious studies, while science academies have more courses and teachers in the discipline. The subjects for debate are ultimately chosen by those who provide the resources. In private institutions, students typically pay to acquire a certain education. In contrast, public schools are run by the government.
The United States federal government takes responsibility for public education one step further by primarily distributing power to the states. The individual municipalities each design their own curriculum of requirements for enrollment and graduation, instead of having a single set of lessons for all institutions throughout the nation. Before establishing the country’s public schools, students could only receive private lessons. They were usually acquired through tuition-required and parental-funded endeavors, religious instruction, or work apprenticeships that required basic knowledge like reading, writing, math, and science.
The Founding Fathers were proud of their knowledge, and wanted to ensure that all citizens could be educated. Despite giving states the authority to educate their populations, these statesmen authorized federal land grants to fund the establishment and operation of schools. As they started to appear, communities began to develop educational leaders and boards. Advocates did not begin to push for public education through “common schools,” also known as public schools, until the 1830s. They wanted these instructions to be taught to children of all backgrounds in the hopes of producing a universal understanding to create productive citizens. America's “common schools” focused mostly on reading, writing, and arithmetic. Depending on the state’s funding, administrators added additional courses to their schedules, like history, geography, and grammar. The more rural areas lacked schools, if they had them, they would be privately run and require tuition.
History started to prove itself as an accredited professional due to the Civil War, strengthening a sense of nationalism. Meanwhile, a group of highly trained and well-established historians created the American Historical Association (AHA) to set the foundation of professional standards and methods for historical training and research. In 1889, the District of Columbia recognized the AHA as a professional association that must regularly report to the Smithsonian Institution, which maintains constant contact with Congress. To offer context, the AHA produced a committee report in 1909 suggesting that elementary schools introduce the topics of Native American life, famous national figures, and key events, with some European information included. As the globe witnessed two world wars, social studies began to emerge in classrooms over time. It combined the subjects of history, geography, and world cultures into one. They are all relevant fields that automatically connect, but their combination results in insufficient time being allotted to students for in-depth examination.
Today, American public schools divide the major historical periods by state and age group. Elementary students, first, second, and third grades study the formation of communities and prominent groupings. Biographies of notable historical personalities, geography, basic civics, and early U.S. history are taught to students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Upper-class students in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades go into more detail about their prior knowledge, with significant emphasis on civics and U.S. history. In addition to focusing on world and U.S. history, high school students often examine contemporary topics. University students begin their history lessons with a greater detailed of discussion, that varies on their chosen field of study.
Since the states control their schools' curricula, there is unfortunately very little research on how history has been taught in American schools. Institutions do not often report on what is being instructed in every school, and even if they tried, there is not enough data to describe what should be taught. State legislatures purposefully make teaching laws vague because there are too many types of schools that serve children of diverse backgrounds. Only 45 of the 50 states have state legislation or education departments that regulate the teaching of American history in primary or secondary schools.
Most accounts of historical events and individuals have undergone decades of various interpretations. It is almost impossible to know the actual motives of people in the past, but that is what makes history fascinating! The different analyses can open doors for further investigation and help uncover records that might advance society. Check out our other articles to discover history you may not have heard of before!
The Founding Fathers were proud of their knowledge, and wanted to ensure that all citizens could be educated. Despite giving states the authority to educate their populations, these statesmen authorized federal land grants to fund the establishment and operation of schools. As they started to appear, communities began to develop educational leaders and boards. Advocates did not begin to push for public education through “common schools,” also known as public schools, until the 1830s. They wanted these instructions to be taught to children of all backgrounds in the hopes of producing a universal understanding to create productive citizens. America's “common schools” focused mostly on reading, writing, and arithmetic. Depending on the state’s funding, administrators added additional courses to their schedules, like history, geography, and grammar. The more rural areas lacked schools, if they had them, they would be privately run and require tuition.
History started to prove itself as an accredited professional due to the Civil War, strengthening a sense of nationalism. Meanwhile, a group of highly trained and well-established historians created the American Historical Association (AHA) to set the foundation of professional standards and methods for historical training and research. In 1889, the District of Columbia recognized the AHA as a professional association that must regularly report to the Smithsonian Institution, which maintains constant contact with Congress. To offer context, the AHA produced a committee report in 1909 suggesting that elementary schools introduce the topics of Native American life, famous national figures, and key events, with some European information included. As the globe witnessed two world wars, social studies began to emerge in classrooms over time. It combined the subjects of history, geography, and world cultures into one. They are all relevant fields that automatically connect, but their combination results in insufficient time being allotted to students for in-depth examination.
Today, American public schools divide the major historical periods by state and age group. Elementary students, first, second, and third grades study the formation of communities and prominent groupings. Biographies of notable historical personalities, geography, basic civics, and early U.S. history are taught to students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. Upper-class students in the seventh, eighth, and ninth grades go into more detail about their prior knowledge, with significant emphasis on civics and U.S. history. In addition to focusing on world and U.S. history, high school students often examine contemporary topics. University students begin their history lessons with a greater detailed of discussion, that varies on their chosen field of study.
Since the states control their schools' curricula, there is unfortunately very little research on how history has been taught in American schools. Institutions do not often report on what is being instructed in every school, and even if they tried, there is not enough data to describe what should be taught. State legislatures purposefully make teaching laws vague because there are too many types of schools that serve children of diverse backgrounds. Only 45 of the 50 states have state legislation or education departments that regulate the teaching of American history in primary or secondary schools.
Most accounts of historical events and individuals have undergone decades of various interpretations. It is almost impossible to know the actual motives of people in the past, but that is what makes history fascinating! The different analyses can open doors for further investigation and help uncover records that might advance society. Check out our other articles to discover history you may not have heard of before!
If you want to learn other historical facts, check out our races! Along the route, historical information and media content relating to the race will be provided. There will be historical facts and media content related to the race presented along the way. Once finished, you will receive a medal for your hard work!
Join the Run On History team today and discover our other races!
Join the Run On History team today and discover our other races!
Trivia Facts
- Even though there are 3 core categories that teachers divide U.S. history into, the topics taught are ultimately decided by state legislatures.
- U.S. History teachers divide their lessons into 3 core categories based on comprehension levels, indigenous family dynamics, simple geography & civics, and more in-depth world and American history.
- The American Historical Association created the Committee on American History in the Schools and Colleges to provide national research and constructive suggestions on teaching U.S. history in schools.
