A new map of America from the latest discoveries (1763)
This hand-colored map depicts North America in 1763. British-occupied land is in red, French-occupied land is in green, and Spanish-occupied land is in yellow. Towns, settlements, native villages, and forts are all indicated.
This source could be used to teach about The French and Indian War (1754-1763). Fought between the colonies of British America and New France, both sides were supported by Native American allies. Fighting took place primarily from Virginia to Newfoundland.
After the war, France ceded its territory east of the Mississippi to Great Britain and French Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain, making Great Britain the dominant colonial power in North America.
This source is relevant to Tennessee State Social Studies Standards 4.03 and 8.09.
| |
Save the Date! September 27, 2025
Calling all National History Day students! Join Tennessee History Day and the Tennessee State Library & Archives for a Research Roundup!
Research Roundup: Tennessee History Day at the Tennessee State Library & Archives is an open house event that gives students the opportunity to:
- Get research & project help from Library & Archives and History Day staff during 1:1 consultations
- Attend mini-lessons on how to conduct research at the Library & Archives
- Attend mini-lessons on various parts of the History Day process, like process papers & annotated bibliographies
- Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Library & Archives at 11:00 and 2:00
- View sample projects from past History Day contests
- Find additional research through online databases, books, and help from librarians and archivists
All events are first-come, first-served and open to current and prospective History Day students and educators. History Day is open to students in grades 6-12.
Pre-registration is encouraged to ensure our staff is better prepared for your visit. To register for the event, visit our website!
| |
2025-2026 Educator Workshop Series
We are excited to announce our 2025-2026 teacher workshop series, Trials, Tunes, and Turbulent Times: The 1920s in Tennessee. This workshop series will feature activities and primary sources that correspond to the Tennessee Social Studies Standards and English Language Arts Standards.
Workshops will be held in eight locations across Tennessee, including Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville, and many points in between. Workshop dates run from October 2025 to April 2026.
Registration is now open at our website!
| |
NEW American Revolution DocsBoxTeachers, last spring, we asked for your help in testing our brand-new American Revolution DocsBox. Many of you answered the call, and the new DocsBox has been launched! The American Revolution DocsBox (funded by the Tennessee250 Commission) is geared toward 8th grade, but includes adaptations for 4th grade and high school.
If you are not familiar with our DocsBoxes, they are educational resources that provide hands-on original and reproduction materials and historical primary sources to supplement the Tennessee social studies curriculum standards. They are engaging, uniquely designed, and free to use for all educators in Tennessee.
To reserve a DocsBox, including our new American Revolution DocsBox, please follow these steps:
- Select the DocsBox you would like to reserve
- View the appropriate DocsBox calendar for availability
- Fill out the contact form for the specific DocsBox with open availability
- Wait for confirmation from Library & Archives education staff
| |
|
New Digital Breakouts!We are excited to offer even more digital breakouts for the 2025-2026 school year. Digital Breakouts are tools for educators that use primary and secondary sources to help students learn the concepts of specific Tennessee Social Studies curriculum standards.
We are introducing three new digital breakouts: Civil Rights Movement (5th & High School), Country and Blues (5th & High School), and Rock & Roll (5th & High School). Students will use their background knowledge and clues in the primary sources to answer the questions and attempt to break out!
Visit our Digital Breakouts page to find these three new digital breakouts and many more.
| |
Tennessee Council for History Education Conference 2025Join the Tennessee Council for History Education (TNCHE) for their annual conference, which takes place on September 30 - October 1, 2025, at the Martin Professional Development Center in Nashville.
This year’s theme is Doing History and will feature a podcast on the evening of September 30. The October 1 session will be an all-day event with a keynote speaker, engaging breakout sessions, and an educator poster session.
The podcast host will be Dr. Benjamin Sawyer, professor of history at Middle Tennessee State University. The October 1 keynote speaker will be Dr. Lorri Glover, Bannon Endowed Chair in the history department at Saint Louis University. Her presentation is titled, 1776 to 2026: Doing Justice To History.
There will be a special presentation of the Gilder Lehrman Teacher of the Year Award.
Click here for registration information and more details.
| |
The Scopes Trial: Looking Back 100 Years
The Scopes Trial was a legal case that occurred in Dayton, Tennessee, in July 1925. John Scopes, a high school general science teacher, was accused of violating the Butler Act, which prohibited teaching evolution in public schools. Scopes was filling in for the regular biology teacher during an illness. John Scopes was found guilty of violating the Butler Act and fined $100.
Visit our Activity Bank (High School tab) to find primary sources, mini activity guides, digital breakouts, and more on The Scopes Trial.
| |
|
