National History Day Banner 2023
National History Day 2023 – Pioneers in History: People, Places, Ideas

What is National History Day?

National History Day (NHD) is a nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for teachers and students to engage in historical research. NHD is not a predetermined, by-the-book program but rather an innovative curriculum framework in which students learn history by selecting topics of interest and launching into year-long research projects. The mission of NHD is to improve the teaching and learning of history in middle and high school. The most visible vehicle is the NHD Contest.

Beginning in the fall, students choose a topic related to the annual theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, exhibits, performances, websites, or documentaries. These projects are entered into competitions in the spring at local, affiliate, and national levels, where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates at the national competition held each June at the University of Maryland at College Park.

National History Day 2023 – Pioneers in History: People, Places, Ideas

The 2023 NHD theme is a broad one. Topics should be carefully selected and developed in ways that best use students’ talents and abilities. Whether a topic is a well-known event in world history or focuses on a little-known individual from a small community, students should be careful to place their topics into historical perspective, examine the signifcance of their topics in history, and show development and change over time. Students should investigate available primary and secondary sources, analyze the evidence, and clearly explain the relationship of their topics to the theme, Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas.

National History Day 2023 Resources for students:


National History Day New Hampshire logo

National History Day New Hampshire

The National History Day New Hampshire (NHDNH) program has been hosted by Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH since 2003.

To read more about NHDNH, visit the NHDNH website.

National History Day New Hampshire Resources for students:

NHDNH has some great tips for students on its page entitled “The Student Process”.


SHAKERS, their mode of Worship

About the Shakers

Why should we be interested in the Shakers today? Well, consider that from the beginning, the Shakers have been practical idealists. They did not dream vaguely of conditions they would like to see realized; they went to work to make those conditions an actuality. The Shakers have always preached tolerance for all faiths and for all individuals. They could not abolish poverty from the world, but they could and did abolish it from their communities. The Shakers did not bluster or use violence; their courage was quiet, calm, and unyielding. They could not end wars, but they could and did keep out of them. In their business dealings with the “world’s people”, the Shakers are known for their upright dealing and strict honesty, individually and collectively.

It is a paradox that Shaker furniture and oval boxes are now being collected, and Shaker buildings and villages are admired, as contributions to American art, while the principles that the Shakers have valued so highly are not better known and more appreciated.

Shaker Resources for National History Day:

MENU