U.S History In Context

The “What Ifs” of History and Martin Luther King Jr.

| By Traci Cothran | What I love about history is there’s always something to learn from it. We learn about what occurred and consider what else could have happened that may have changed the course of history. This Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, I’m reminded of how King’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement …Read more

Judging Detroit’s National History Day Competition

| By Traci Cothran | The National History Day competition is right up our alley here at Gale—it encourages students to use factual resources (especially primary resources) to create a documentary, performance, paper, website, or exhibit on a historical topic that fits with the overall competition theme. This year’s theme is Conflict and Compromise. I’ve …Read more

Confederate Remembrance In Context: A History of Heritage or Hate?

| By Beth Manar | Though the US Civil War officially ended with the surrender of Confederate general Robert E. Lee in 1865, the rift that began when eleven slave-holding Southern states seceded from 1860 to 1861 had repercussions that are still felt more than 150 years later. It is estimated that more than 620,000 …Read more

Exploring Central Park by Foot and by Mouse

| By Debra Kirby |

After spending five days in New York City, much of it in and around Central Park, I decided to give my tired feet a rest and engage in some online exploration in honor of National Parks and Recreation Month, which has been celebrated in the United States during the month of July since 1985.

我已经知道Central Park was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Detroit’s Belle Isle Park—where I spent many childhood weekends, picnicking with my family and wading through the mucky sand of the beaches of the Detroit River. But there was so much more to discover, so I jumped intoU.S. History In Contextand learned:

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Headlines In Context:Comparing the Watergate Scandal to Russia’s Election Meddling Investigation

| By Debra Kirby |

Keeping up with current events can be a full-time job—never mind understanding the history behind what’s in the headlines. Take the ongoing coverage of the investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. Presidential elections for example. This story seems to change daily—sometimes hourly. Even if you’re checking in multiple times per day and managing to keep up with the basics, references to historical events and underlying facts relayed by experts and political pundits can leave you wanting to learn more.

For instance, a number of commentators, when discussing the recent firing of FBI director James Comey by President Trump, have referenced similarities to Nixon’s firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Is that a valid reference?

To get the background details needed to better understand what’s behind these and other references, start your research withU.S. History In Context, where you will discover in-depth coverage of such topics as:

Read moreHeadlines In Context:Comparing the Watergate Scandal to Russia’s Election Meddling Investigation

Marching into History

By Debra Kirby

I have always admired the brave men and women who, throughout history, have taken a stand for their rights and the rights of others, often at significant inconvenience and sometimes risking their lives. Saturday, January 21, I had a chance to be part of history by participating in the Woman’s March on Washington. Fortunately, the inconvenience for me was not significant, nor was there any risk to my life. It was an exhilarating experience to be among so many people who took the time and traveled from sometimes great distances – including other countries – to stand up for the rights of women, minorities, and the environment. Here are a few of my observations on the experience:

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Hidden No Longer

By Debra Kirby

Sometimes it takes a critically acclaimed movie to shine a light on extraordinary achievements. This has proved to be especially true when the subjects of those achievements are women or members of minorities. The movieHidden Figures基于同名书,最近generated interest in three African American women who played important roles in the U.S. Apollo Space Program. As is often the case, once you start digging into the details around historic events or people, you discover many related interesting facts and stories. When your sources include Gale databases you can spend hours exploring and learning.

以下是一些事实我发现当我开始journey to learn more about Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson—the fascinating women whose stories are told inHidden Figures.

  • Katherine Johnson began her career as a “human computer” at the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA), NASA’s predecessor. Before the age of electronic computers, NACA employed hundreds of women mathematicians as human computers. Men with similar qualifications were classified as professionals; women were sub-professionals. Black mathematicians were segregated in their own office and loaned out to various divisions as needed. (Read more about Johnson inBiography In Context.)

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How Well Do You Know Your Presidents?

By Traci Cothran

Who served as both Vice President and President of the United States, without having earned a single vote in the election?

Gerald Ford, that’s who!

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Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum

Last week I traveled to Grand Rapids, MI, and visited The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. During this 2016 election season, it was a breath of fresh air to wander amidst all the exhibition reminders of Ford’s “character,” “integrity,” “teamwork,” and how he “led by example” – detailing his life from his days as a Boy Scout, to college football player, to Navy man, and into his long career in government.

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Why We Choose Gale

By Jenny Wirtz, Teacher Librarian, Ankeny High School

In Iowa, we are fortunate to have the support ofArea Education Agencies(AEA) that assist the local K-12 school districts. One of the services that our AEA provides to us is access to many high-quality resources at no cost to our district, including several Gale products. However, I still choose to spend a portion of my shrinking budget on three specific Gale Databases because I believe they offer the best experiences for our high school students. What puts Gale above the competition? I believe it is their quality content, appealing layout and design, and above all the seamless integration between the Gale products and other tools we use such as Google Drive, Google Classroom, and EasyBib.

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A Quick Quiz for Mind and Body Health

Posted on May 5, 2016

By Debra Kirby

There are only so many variations a fitness instructor can use to keep things fresh in an indoor cycling class (aka spinning class). This editorial manager by day, spinning instructor by very early morning, has found the perfect way to keep her students interested and alert — the daily quiz! Fortunately for me, through the wealth of information available in the Gale databases our team produces, I am never at a loss for material! Here are a few questions and answers I’ve used to keep my students on their toes in recent 6:00 am classes:

Q: What organization was the precursor to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)?

A: The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), established in 1942 (U.S. History In Context)

Q: What country is the native home to lemurs?

A: Madagascar, an island off the southeast coast of Africa (Science In Context)

Q: Who standardized level measurement in cooking?

A: Fannie Farmer (Biography In Context)

Q: What famous poet was known as the Belle of Amherst and what actress portrayed her in the play of the same title?

A: Emily Dickinson & Julie Harris (Artemis Literary Sources)

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