The 2013 theme for National History Day is Turning Points in History: People, Ideas Events. Students are asked to pick a time when momentous change occurred and discuss the change and its consequences.
At the Historical Society of Pennsylvania we have many local, national, and even a few international topics that work with this theme. Here for a list of these topics; click to learn about the topic, its relationship to the theme, and some of our sources.
These topics guides were created by Beneficial National History Day Fellow Claire Frosch.
Early America
William Penn & the Founding of Pennsylvania
Quakers & Abolition
Declaration of Independence
Yellow Fever
U.S. Constitution
Benjamin Franklin & the American Philosophical Society
Philadelphia Fire Department
History of Medicine
Benjamin Rush
Yellow Fever
Vaccines
Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919
Nineteenth Century
Urban Sanitation
Eastern State Penitentiary
Westward Expansion
Negro Baseball Leagues
Centennial
Pendleton Civil Service Reform
Civil War
Women Spies
Mathew Brady & Photography
Emancipation Proclamation
African Americans Join the Union
World War II
Entry into the War
Japanese American Interment
Civil Rights
Woman Suffrage Movement
Negro Baseball Leagues
Race & Politics in Philadelphia Schools
Politics & Government
Declaration of Independence
U.S. Constitution
Pendleton Civil Service Act
Woman Suffrage Movement
Election of Mayor Richardson Dilworth
Funders/Sponsors
Beneficial Bank generously supports the Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s involvement in National History Day, including support for a summer Beneficial NHD Teacher Fellow and the 2013 NHD Philly Kick-Off.
