Welcome to History Fair 2013

1. Welcome to History Fair 2013

2. Do you have a strong History Fair Topic? Check it out! It’s historically significant. It can be argued -- interpreted. It’s History – happened in the past, and shows change over time. It’s connected to Chicago. History Fair Topic &Question It’s Got Soul! YOU CARE ABOUT IT! It’s got sources. It uses the NHD theme for analysis.

3. Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events The 2013 NHD Theme The theme provides a central idea around which you can explore your topics and figure out your thesis. • What is a Turning Point? • Major shift, a watershed event • A decisive change in direction • Something new happens after the turning point • Keywords and phrases that point to a turning point • Watershed • Pivotal change • Decisive change • Sharp turn • Turn a corner • Transformed • Led to • As a result of • Resulted in

4. Is it a Turning Point? Consider the following: • Did your topic cause a major shift in historical direction? • What was happening before that led to the pivotal change and what was the significance of that change? • Does your topic represent a time that history turned a corner? Special thanks to the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota, Department of History, sponsors of National History Day in Minnesota

5. INVEST RESEARCH TIME IN FINDING THE TOPIC What changed? How and why? What was the impact? What was its significance? Always the “big questions” of history. A specific aspect of history to analyze. Migration and immigration really interests me. I want to find out more about how certain groups arrived and impacted Chicago. What impact did the migration of thousands of African Americans have on Chicago? The Great Migration led to a rise in poor housing conditions and residential discrimination against black Chicagoans. As a result, neighborhood segregation was carried out by law as well as practice, and Chicago became one of the most segregated cities in the nation. 2013 Theme is “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events” BROAD TOPIC Research!! Narrowed Topic Historical Question Working Thesis MAIN RESEARCH!

6. An Example of a Turning Point Thesis • Before the Race Riot of 1919, Chicago’s black community was pressed into separate areas of the city by informal and extralegal means. After the Race Riot of 1919 the means of enforcing segregation became more accepted, more formal, often more violent, and completely legal. In this way the 1919 riot was a turning point for the city Martin Luther King, Jr. called, in 1966, the “most segregated in the nation.” • Take a Minute: • How was the Race Riot of 1919 a turning point in Chicago’s history? What dramatic change or shift in direction did the race riot bring? • What was the significance of the change?

7. Great Migration Activity • Let’s read the first paragraph of the Great Migration story together • What are some of the research questions that might come from the article? • Name one additional resource that you might use to answer your research question. • Did the Great Migration represent a turning point? How or how not?

8. Visit our website for more information, ideas, and samples www.chicagohistoryfair.org