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Teaching American History provides a variety of resources, courses, and programs to help classroom teachers improve their knowledge of American history, government, and civics. Everything Teaching American History does revolves around discussion of primary documents. Our goal is to help teachers acquire the content knowledge, resources and confidence they need to make each American history, government or civics class in America its best.
We help teachers bring the documents and debates of America’s past into the present through primary source-focused seminars, scholar-curated document collections, and other innovative resources. We believe that teachers of American history, government, and civics do the most important work in America. We exist to support them in this vital work.
Primary sources present America’s story in the words of those who lived it. When students read these documents they have direct access to the minds of those, both great and humble, who shaped our nation’s history. They can see the challenges earlier generations faced, examine their intentions, and join the great debates that guided their choices. As a teacher in one of our programs put it, “reading primary documents allows students to ask questions of themselves, ask questions of each other, and ultimately ask questions of history.”
Our seminars aim to be serious conversations about the enduring issues of American history and government because conversation is the best way to deepen learning. A good conversation fosters certain skills and dispositions in participants that correspond with the virtues required of citizens in the American democratic republic. Each of our seminars, then, is in a sense a small republic, an example of self-government, and a vindication of the principles of liberty and equality upon which our way of life rests.
TAH teachers come from more than 40 states and represent every kind of school. No matter where you live or what type of school you teach in, the TAH community of practice and learning is for you. Whether you’re interested in occasionally using our online resources, regularly attending our one day and weekend seminars, or enrolling in our Masters in American History and Government degree program, TAH is the teacher community you’ve been looking for.
TAH seminars are led by a network of college and university professors from dozens of institutions including the University of Florida, Boston College, the United States Military Academy at West Point, Arizona State University, Wake Forest University, Claremont McKenna College, and many others. Our faculty include award-winning teachers and renowned scholars who are united in their dedication to teaching with primary sources and learning through discussions, not lectures.
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