Timelines as Windows Into History

Too many people think of history as "one damn fact after another." It's much more than that. History depends on a knowledge of the facts of the past, but it also involves identifying patterns, explaining causes, and answering questions.

The objective of this eXploration module is to draw upon timelines--about fashion, food, toys, science, sports, and other topics--to see how these subjects intersect with the major themes in American history. Sports, for example, can provide a window into shifting attitudes toward race and gender; toys can allow us to trace changing attitudes toward childhood and in parent-child relations; and fashion can reveal a great deal about changing conceptions of beauty and gender roles.

Resources:

  • Download timelines for this eXploration in one Microsoft Excel file with multiple workbooks (right click on the click and save the file to your computer)

Websites: (links will open in a new window)

Copyright Digital History 2021