Search New York State History Day:
|
| |
 |
|
|
Home News Contest Teachers Students Parents Staff Contact Us Store
|
|
|
The following list provides examples of New York State history topics related to this year's theme, Innovation in History: Impact and Change. These aren't topics you have to use, just some to start you thinking. The list provides a starting point for teachers and students to brainstorm ideas for New York State History Day projects. Students should keep in mind that many excellent topics can be found in their home towns and cities. Contact your local historical society, archive, library, or museum to uncover a great topic right in your hometown!
New York State History Day Topic Ideas
- Flushing Remonstrance: In 1657, several citizens in Flushing (now in Queens, NY) sent a petition to Peter Stuyvesant, Director-General of New Netherland, in which they protested his ban on Quaker worship. The document is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.
- Robert Fulton and the steamboat Clermont: Although he wasn't the first to experiment with steam as a method of propulsion, Robert Fulton is credited with developing the first successful steamboat. In 1800 he was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to design the Nautilus, which was the first practical submarine in history.
- The Erie Canal: Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal linked the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. It successfully linked New York City with resources in the western states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois, making transportation more affordable. It was also an engineering marvel of its time.
- John Peter Zenger trial and freedom of the press: The trial of John Peter Zenger, a German-born printer and journalist in New York City, helped set the legal precedent for freedom of speech. When Zenger printed a criticism of governor William Cosby (writen by someone else, no less), he was arrested on a charge of seditious libel. Zenger's lawyer, Andrew Hamilton, argued succesfully that printed words could not be considered seditious libel if they were based on the truth.
- Isaac Singer's sewing machine: Although he did not invent the sewing machine, Singer made inprovements to existing designs in 1851 that made them much easier to use. Mainly, after observing a machine work, he realize it would be more reliable if the shuttle moved in a straight line rather than a circle and with a straight rather than a curved needle.
- Washington Irving invents Diedrich Knickbocker and a new form of advertising: In 1809, Washington Irving, author of Rip Van Winkle and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, wrote A History of New-York from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty, for which he used a psuedonom: Diedrich Knickerbocker. Prior to publishing the book, Irving started a publicity campaign by placing missing person ads in New York newspapers. In the ads, he said he was looking for information on Diedrich Knickerbocker, who he described as a crusty Dutch historian who had gone missing from his hotel. Later, he submitted a fake notice from the hotel's proprietor. It informed readers that if Mr. Knickerbocker failed to pay his bill, he would publish a manuscript the old man left behind. Several weeks later, Irving released his History of New York and it was an instant best-seller.
- Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 kicks off the women's movement: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, angered that they were refused admittance at the 1840 World Anri-Slavery convention in London because they were women, decided to form their own women's convention. Eight years later, in 1848, the organized the Seneca Falls Convention where they submitted a declaration of rights that asserted women's equality to men. The convention is often credited with jump starting the women's movement.
- George Eastman and photography: Eastman became fascinated with photography in the 1870s when he purchased a large set-up for a trip to the Dominican Republic. Although he didn't make the trip, he became obsessed with discovering a way to make photography easier. He developed a new form of negative - the dry plate method - in the 1880s, and then revolutionized the industry by inventing roll film and smaller cameras.
- The Harlem Renaissance: A cultural, literary, artistic and intellectual movement that began in Harlem, New York in the early 1920s. Participants used literature, art, music, drama, painting, sculpture, movies, and protests to raise awareness of significant issues faced by black Americans. The influence of the Harlem Renaissance spread throughout the nation.
- Willis Carrier and the first air conditioner: On July 17, 1902, in response to a quality problem experienced at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing & Publishing Company of Brooklyn, Willis Carrier submitted drawings for the world's first modern air conditioning system. After several more years of refinement and field testing, Carrier was granted U.S. patent No. 808897 on his invention, which he called an "Apparatus for Treating Air."
- Elisha Graves Otis and his elevator brake: While living in Yonkers in 1852, Otis invented a safety device that prevented elevators from falling if the hoisting cable broke. By 1854, his product was complete and enabled the construction of the world's first skyscrapers.
- Buffalo's Pan American Exposition of 1901: It was at this event that Nikola Tesla used power generated by Niagara Falls to light the fair.
- Development of labor unions in NYC in the late 19th century
- Levittown and the creation of American suburbs in the 20th century: At the end of the Second World War, there was a housing shortage. In 1947, the building firm Levitt and Sons aimed to solve this problem by building a planned community on Long Island which they called "Levittown." Considered one of the first mass-produced suburbs, Levittown quickly became a symbol of postwar suburbia, for good and for bad. Although Levittown provided affordable houses in what many residents felt to be a congenial community, critics felt it was bland and racially exclusive.
|
|
|
|
|
