how to write a thesis for national history day

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Research Rendezvous

Missed the live Mastering your Thesis event?  Watch the recording here, as Kayla Gabehart shows you how to form and revise your thesis. FAQs at the end answer students' questions about NHD in Colorado.

More information from  National History Day in Colorado

Thesis Statement

From NHD website:

Develop a Thesis Statement NHD projects should do more than just tell a story. Every exhibit, performance, documentary, paper and website should make a point about its topic. To do this, you must develop your own argument of the historical impact of the person, event, pattern or idea you are studying. The point you make is called a thesis statement. A thesis statement is not the same as a topic. Your thesis statement explains what you believe to be the impact and significance of your topic in history. Example:

Topic: Battle of Gettysburg Thesis Statement: The battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point of the Civil War. It turned the tide of the war from the South to the North, pushing back Lee’s army that would never fight again on Northern soil and bringing confidence to the Union army.

• Tackling the Thesis [PDF]
• Handout from Minnesota Historical Society [PDF]
• Thesis Creator Helpful template to guide you through your working thesis
• Thesis Organizer & Checklist [PDF]

Videos from NHD Affiliates

Process Paper

Form NHD website Rule 15 | Process Pape r

All categories, except historical paper, must include a process paper with the entry. It must describe in 500 or fewer words how you conducted your research and created your entry. The process paper must include four sections that explain: 1. how you chose your topic; 2. how you conducted your research; 3. how you selected your presentation category and created your project; and 4. how your project relates to the NHD theme.

You can view sample process papers at http://www.nhd.org/CreatingEntry.htm .

• Process paper rules [PDF]
• What is a Process Paper? [PDF]

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Here you will learn what a thesis statement is and what it is not. Use our tips and trick below to help you develop a solid thesis statement for your NHDI project!

Your project will consist of an argument that reflects your main idea – the message you want to get across to your audience that links the topic to the theme. The sentence(s) that capture(s) this argument in called your thesis.

Think of your thesis as an equation:

Thesis = Topic + Theme + Impact

A good thesis is short and sweet – no more than one or two sentences. You will explain and support your argument throughout the rest of your project.

A good thesis statement:

• Addresses a narrow topic.
• Is an informed opinion.
• Explains what you believe to be the historical significance of your topic.
• Connects the topic the the NHD theme.

A thesis statement is:

• Not a question.
• Not a list.

A thesis statement is not the same thing as a research question. Your research questions guide your research. Your thesis statement makes an argument about your topic using your research.

Writing a good thesis statement is a process. It will take time. This is the most important and sometimes most stressful part. Here are some key things to remember:

• It will continue to evolve as you research. You may even go back to change it…and that’s OK.
• It’s only set in stone once you have completed your project for the contest, and even then you will have an opportunity to improve it if you advance on to another contest.
• Make sure you’re getting feedback on your thesis from parents, teachers, friends or an NHDI team member.

Let’s look at an example below: We’ll use a previous NHD theme to give an example of how you might develop your thesis.

Theme: Conflict and Compromise Interest Area: Prisoners of war in World War I Your narrowed subject: Camp Atterbury POWs in WWII

Working thesis statement: During WWII, approximately 3,000 Italian POWs were held at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. They compromised with U.S. soldiers to build a chapel, making life there better for themselves.

• Take a look at the underlined section. Since it is stating a fact and introducing your topic, this information should be part of the your introduction.
• Remember, your thesis is an argument about your main idea.

Final thesis statement: The respectful treatment of Italian POWs at Camp Atterbury, along with the chaplain’s permission to buy their own chapel, created a long -lasting, positive relationship between the camp and the Italian soldiers once imprisoned there.

• Notice how the underlined section was added – this is the basis of your argument.
• You’re showing the impact of your topic and why it is important.

S.O.S. Method Worksheet

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Building a Project

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National History Day: Creating a Thesis Statement

• Theme for the Year
• NHD Libguides
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• Creating a Thesis Statement
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• Creating a Paper
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Thesis Generator Links

• Thesis Generator Link from Univ Arizona
• Empire State University Thesis Generator
• Thesis Statement Creator: - John McGarvey

What's Your Theme and Thesis Statement

How to Write a Thesis Statement

Thanks also to RiLink at  https://guides.rilinkschools.org/c.php?g=1279504&p=9392184

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National History Day / Research: The Process

• Contest Rules
• The Process
• Annotations and Citations
• Website NEW
• Noodletools

Before you begin

To better understand what you, as a researcher, should focus on, it would be wise to read these pages from the National History Day rulebook. Even if you are not creating a project with the aim to compete, you will have a clearer understanding of what makes a successful historical research project.

IF YOUR TOPIC DOES NOT MEET ANY ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS, YOU MIGHT NEED TO REFINE YOUR TOPIC!

• Preparing your entry Read this section from the NHD rule book to understand more about the essential elements of your project and the research process. These expectations form the basis for how judges will evaluate your entry.

NHD Research Guide

NHD Research Guide for Students

National History Day, in collaboration with the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Consortium, created this open-access student guide filled with hints, tips, and activities to encourage student inquiry and historical research.  Finding, Analyzing, and Constructing History: A Research Guide for Students  was developed through a Teaching with Primary Sources grant from the Library of Congress.

Step 1.Topic Selection

Begin your exploration by reading the  

ANNUAL THEME BOOK: TURNING POINTS IN HISTORY  As you read,  think about something that topics that appeal to your personal interests and also relate to the theme. Then begin exploring a variety of secondary sources to determine whether there are enough sources to create a strong, in-depth project.  

COMPASS: Graphic Organizer: Identifying a Topic

Use this editable graphic organizer to analyze and confirm that your topic is viable for in-depth historical research

• Turning Points in History: Theme Narrative

1A Developing Questions

Questions determine the direction your research may take. You are not just looking for a list of facts, but rather, reading to understand ideas and motivations, to understand the CONTEXT of why things happened. In order to do that, you want to think of your search in terms of answering questions. Use the worksheet below to develop your own questions, both simple and complex, as you select your sources. Questions and sources dovetail together to create the foundation for strong research. Think about the questions you have, then ask yourself where or who is the most likely place to investigate the answer?

Organization

When you are searching for sources, it is helpful to identify what you are looking for. Repeatedly searching for the same information is fruitless. By organizing your inquiry, you will be able to develop searches that yield answers to the many pieces of the research puzzle. Use this graphic organizer to help you organize and identify what it is you are looking for. Adapted from Minnesota History Day.

• History Day Graphic Organizer Use this organizer to identify the elements of your research. Start with the main ideas, then research the historical context, both immediate and previous. Then identify the short term impacts, then the long term impacts.

Your research is only as good as your sources. Begin with secondary sources to give you a solid understanding of the scope of your subject. While you are learning and reading, make note of important dates, ideas, people and places as these will become part of the keywords you will use when looking for primary sources. Books and databases should be foundational to your research . You will want to access information that is accurate ( has been fact-checked), has breadth and depth, and is organized; books and databases lend themselves as the best bet to sink your teeth into a subject.  Web sources require the reader to fact check as well as draw together multiple websites to create a deep understanding of the topic. Use the Sources checklist to make sure you are using a variety of sources.

Each new source you find should be entered into Noodletools. Leaving citations to the end of the project will be overwhelming. In addition, students often cannot remember where that one terrific bit of information came from, but if the sources you use are cited, you will never have to wonder where it is!

• Source Checklist

Note Making

After you have gathered a solid base of sources it is time to begin taking notes. First, read through your material to understand the most important elements of the source. Then, read it again, highlighting what you want to extract for later use in your research. Finally, transcribe those highlighted sections onto your notecards in Noodletools. If you are using a book as your source, make sure to note the page #, as you will need it for later citation.

• When copying down a quote, make sure it is exact, and make note of the speaker
• Transcribe the information into your own words. This will reinforce your understanding of the material
• Write down any questions you still might want or need to explore

An outline helps you to organize your notes and identify and gaps in your research. If you create your outline in Noodletools, ( which is highly suggested) you can drag your notecards into the outline, directly to the section to which they pertain. The outline attached here is an EXTENDED OUTLINE- you may be looking at your topic through only one or two lenses, so the outline would be modified.

• Extended Outline Modify this outline to reflect the lenses that you are viewing your topic. You may be researching using only one lens or up to three, that is entirely up to you.

A thesis is an argument that you are making, which you will support with evidence. It should be 2 to 3 sentences.

• Wesleyan University: Writing a Thesis This brief article will help you define and identify a strong thesis statement
• Minnesota History Day:Thesis Statement worksheet Use this worksheet to organize and develop a thesis for your project

A Word on "AI"

• NHD Guide to AI

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• Our Mission

A Beginner’s Guide to National History Day

National History Day—which, despite the name, runs through the school year—is powerful project-based learning for middle and high school students.

Think of National History Day as a science fair for history classes. It allows students the opportunity to engage in historical inquiry on a topic of their choice and—if they’re interested—enter their project in regional, state, and national competitions.

In our experience, National History Day (NHD) is one of the best forms of project-based learning ; it prompts students to engage in sustained inquiry as well as in critique and revision, all the while making a public product for an authentic audience—hallmarks of effective PBL. This rigor is particularly relevant as state and national social studies standards, like the C3 Framework , encourage students to analyze, explain, evaluate, justify, and interpret content. Real history goes beyond the memorization and recall of names, dates, and places, and NHD can be key to supporting students in making that leap.

Running an NHD competition for the first time can be quite complicated, but here are some steps to simplify it.

Step 1: A Quick but Deep Dive Into NHD

Get your feet wet by exploring the NHD website, which includes inspiring examples of yearly winners and advice on how to create competitive historical arguments. Two shining examples of winners include the documentary  By Chance: The Story of the First Code Talkers and the website The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill: The Tragedy That Struck Alaska .

The site also shares details on the five NHD project options for participating students:

• Website (with interactive multimedia)
• Documentary (including recording interviews)
• Paper (good for students who like to work alone)
• Exhibit (three-dimensional and placed on a physical structure)
• Performance (presented live by individuals or groups of students)

Each category requires access to specific materials in order to be successful. For example, exhibits require access to trifold boards, documentaries require editing and recording software, and performances demand simple props and backdrops. (Take an inventory of your school’s technology so that you know what’s available to students; at a minimum, students need access to word processing software, consistent internet access, and video recording and editing equipment.)

Once you are familiar with the NHD basics, contact your state National History Day affiliate to help you better understand the process. (Every state and territory in the United States has an affiliate.) Typically, students begin researching their topic in late fall in preparation for a school competition in January or February, with upper levels of competition lasting until June.

Step 2: Assess Local Expertise and Student Capacity

If you’re the lead facilitator for NHD at your school, make preliminary contact with area experts who have knowledge of performance arts or documentary making; ideally they’ll be interested in assisting students with their projects.

Also recruit individuals and organizations that can assist students with different stages of the history projects. For example, local librarians can help students find resources, historical societies and museums can help search for unique (local) historical topic ideas, and businesses and booster clubs can support students with travel stipends and scholarships.

Finally, take stock of the strengths and abilities of your students:

• Are they familiar with argumentative writing versus a standard report?
• Do they have familiarity with thesis statements?
• Have they had experience with making citations?
• Are they sufficiently versed in PBL success skills such as collaboration and communication to work in groups?

Once you have answered these, ask yourself how you might help the students build on these skills as they prepare for the rigor of NHD.

Step 3: Facilitate Project Ramp-Up

NHD demands that students be supported by significant structure, scaffolding, and feedback when drafting their projects, particularly given that many are developing their skills with research, thesis statements, and argumentative writing. (Note that this breadth gives you an opportunity to partner with your ELA department on an integrated project.) Students often benefit from having NHD broken into smaller chunks with frequent teacher check-ins for feedback. Suggested opportunities for check-ins include thesis statements, citations, drafting, and rule compliance on the final product.

Keep in mind that NHD isn’t just challenging for students—it’s an immense undertaking for a teacher to organize student projects across the five categories throughout an entire year. To keep yourself organized, try recording weekly video summaries that capture how students are progressing with their NHD projects. These videos can help keep parents informed and engaged with preparations for the big day.

Step 4: Run the School Competition

School competitions require significant planning, which can be difficult when you’re providing feedback on potentially dozens of projects, so start early. NHD competitions require all projects to be judged; recruit judges six to eight weeks ahead of the event. Students often value being judged by members of the community outside the school setting, so work with your local community organizations to recruit judges, although this is not required.

A background in history is not required to be a judge at the school competition, just a willingness to engage with students. Judges, typically assigned in pairs, are provided five or six projects to evaluate on the night of the school competition. We’ve found that the local Chamber of Commerce can be a great resource for recruiting.

Reserve school facilities for the event (plan it for the evening to accommodate judges’ work schedules). Finally, communicate with the community via email and social media to promote the event and competition. On the night of the competition, your main responsibility is to have fun; talk to excited students; and, when judging is over, tabulate results to determine which projects can move forward to the regional competition (your local NHD affiliate will let you know how many top-scoring projects from your school can advance to compete several weeks later).

Step 5: Take Time to Reflect

Both students and teachers learn a great deal when running an NHD program. Ask yourself and your students what could be done differently or better next time. For example, ask yourself the following questions:

• How can I introduce necessary reading, writing, and research skills earlier in the year to make the NHD process easier?
• What other resources might be needed in our school to take students’ NHD projects from good to great?
• How might we better connect students with primary source interviews to further the depth of their research?

Questions to ask students include the following:

• If you were to relive your NHD journey, what would you do differently?
• What were some of the extraordinary things you did to learn or to overcome obstacles?
• How do you think you might use information or skills learned during the course of this project in the future?

• Lesson Plans
• Teacher's Guides
• Media Resources

Preparing for National History Day

National History Day and National Endowment for the Humanities Scholar Medals.

"In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction, drawing the materials of future wisdom from the past errors and infirmities of mankind."  — Edmund Burke  

National History Day makes history come alive for students by engaging them in the discovery of the historic, cultural, and social experiences of the past. Our collection of resources is designed to assist students and teachers as they prepare their NHD projects and highlights the long partnership that has existed between the National Endowment for the Humanities  and National History Day . This Teacher's Guide provides resources for the current theme, tips and advice on conducting research to complete any NHD project type, and access to materials from previous themes and NEH/NHD programming. 

Building A More Perfect Union Lesson Book

The National Endowment for the Humanities and National History Day created the  Building a More Perfect Union lesson book   as part of the NEH’s special initiative to advance civic education and the study of U.S. history and culture in preparation for the 250 th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The two essays and fifteen lessons include primary sources, compelling and guiding questions, inquiry-based activities, opportunities to consider multiple and competing perspectives, and supplementary materials available at EDSITEment. The complete Building a More Perfect Union  lesson plan book is available for free download here  and at NHD’s site for the 250th . EDSITEment's Building A More Perfect Union media resource page includes the essays and lessons, as well as supplemental materials, lessons, and resources for including themes related to "a more perfect union" across civics and U.S. history curricula. 

Guiding Questions

How has technology transformed how we communicate and what has this meant for history?

What have debate and diplomacy produced in history?

What qualifies an event as a turning point in history?

How have conflicts been transformed into compromises across history?

To what extent have those who have taken a stand inspired change?

What factors contributed to the event or action you are investigating?

National History Day began at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1974 and the National Endowment for the Humanities has funded and partnered with National History Day since 1976. Each year, the NEH awards special prizes, and top projects are recognized with a NEH/NHD Scholar medal. 

T he Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers Prize   is awarded in both the Junior and Senior divisions to an outstanding entry in any category that utilizes the newspaper resources that are available through  Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers . EDSITEment offers research ideas and a feature on special collections included in Chronicling America at our Chronicling America Teacher's Guide .

The National Endowment for the Humanities produced  "In the Field" series included an episode on National History Day  to tell the story of how NHD began, and give students space to share why they enjoy the NHD competition and what they take away from participating. 

EDSITEment has also partnered with the Smithsonian Learning Lab to create collections of resources and questions to assist students with the relevant NHD themes and development of research skills. You will find collections from the past few years through the drop down menus below and at the Learning Lab Collections created for NHD .

For its outstanding work over the years and across the country, the National History Day organization received the National Humanities Medal in 2011 .

Each year at the National History Day competition the National Endowment for the Humanities awards the Chronicling America : Historic American Newspapers Prize   in both the Junior and Senior divisions to an outstanding entry in any category that utilizes the newspaper resources that are available through the Chronicling America  database .

You may already know about  Chronicling America ,  the long-standing partnership between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which provides free access to millions of digitalized pages of America’s historic newspapers. Users can search and view newspaper pages from 1770–1963 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690–present using the National Digital Newspaper Program.  EDSITEment offers research ideas and a feature on using special collections included within Chronicling America at our Chronicling America Teacher's Guide .

Curating Content for the Classroom: The Problem of Bias

Reading old newspapers opens a window into a world with a multiplicity of values, many of which are sharply different from ours. The unfiltered news and commentary of yesterday holds wonders but also requires a teacher’s sharp editorial guidance to be most effective. The existence of racial or gender bias in articles or advertisements that would have raised no concern back in the day, may make modern students or their parents uncomfortable. Be prepared to encounter such moments and to use them to help students understand their own beliefs and values, as well as to learn how complex an encounter with real history is. To assist you in this process, we have linked to  a short guide to teaching sensitive material .

Moreover, most historic papers were affiliated with a particular political party and consequently have a strongly partisan editorial policy, in the literal sense. Happily through the tools available, students can easily learn about—and from—the distinctive perspectives of these newspapers.  Chronicling America  makes it relatively easy to discover the history and political profile of the paper under examination by way of the “about” section that accompanies almost every newspaper title.

For example,  the “about” section of  The Toiler  gives a fascinating “biography” of the “Official Organ of the Communist Labor Party of Ohio.” Though short lived, it was merged with another title to form what became known as the  Daily Worker , the Communist Party of America’s national paper. For an introduction to the partisanship of 19th- and early 20th-century newspapers and an interesting argument about the positive side of this partisanship, see the article " The Fall and Rise of Partisan Journalism ."

Teaching Diverse Perspectives with Historic Newspapers

Special collections of newspapers serving particular identities and interests are an especially exciting and revelatory part of  Chronicling America.   Irish ,  Latin American , and  Jewish  newspapers have now been joined by a significant number of  German language  newspapers and newspapers serving Indigenous communities . 

Most impressively, there are now more that one hundred  African American newspapers  from thirty states and the District of Columbia. South Carolina alone is represented by eleven papers! These papers allow us to trace the daily lives and opinions of Black people from the days of Emancipation and Reconstruction through the establishment of Jim Crow, World War I, and the Great Migration.

A feature essay on using these newspaper collections and what the perspectives they bring to U.S. history provide is available at our Chronicling America Teacher's Guide . Or, you can go directly to Chronicling America and use the “All Digitalized Newspapers” tab in the search menu.

The “Golden Age” of Newspapers

The greatest concentration of  Chronicling America  material currently available online runs from 1900–1922, offering an unrivaled view of the heyday of what historian Doris Kearns Goodwin has called the “golden age of journalism.” Here one can immerse oneself in the Populist and Progressive Eras, the leadership of Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and the return to “normalcy” under President Warren Harding. On the world stage, this is the period of the Great War, the Russian Revolution, and the worldwide influenza pandemic—all of which are covered in great and fascinating detail in these pages.

The date range and states included in  Chronicling America ’s  newspapers collection  are constantly expanding. You can begin to explore the riches of this database by simply  searching   Chronicling America  by keyword or by using the  suggested list of topics  arranged by subject, decade or large theme.

Teaching and Researching with Chronicling America

EDSITEment provides a robust collection of resources and lessons that incorporate  Chronicling America . Teachers and students will find these materials helpful in navigating the database, creating research questions on a given NHD theme or project topic, and incorporating historic newspapers into classroom discussions and projects. 

Chronicling and Mapping the Women's Suffrage Movement —This lesson brings together digital mapping and the  Chronicling America  newspaper   database as part of an inquiry into how and where the women’s suffrage movement took place in the United States.

Thomas Edison's Inventions in the 1900s and Today: From "New" to You! —Students can trace the history of Thomas Edison's inventions through EDSITEment's lesson plan and this fascinating article on the  history of the incandescent bulb  from  Chronicling America .

The Industrial Age in America: Sweatshops, Steel Mills, and Factories —Technological innovation isn't always entirely beneficial. Read  Upton Sinclair's first hand account  of the abuse that accompanied the industrial revolution while engaging in this lesson on the era of industrialization in the U.S.

Chronicling America : Uncovering a World at War —This lesson gives students the opportunity to interact with historical newspapers from the WWI era available through  Chronicling America  and engage in dialogue as they decide: Should the United States remain neutral or join the fight?

The National Endowment for the Humanities and National History Day collaborated to produce videos featuring NEH grant recipients for the benefit of students and teachers as they prepare their projects. The "Ask an NEH Expert" videos below offer advice from scholars and educators that can be applied to work on any NHD project topic and type.

NEH Project Skills and Resources

Each institution represented in this section was awarded a  CARES Act grant  by the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2020 to develop digital resources and expand access to their materials for schools and the public. 

Ask an NEH Expert: Wide Research —Jeffrey Ludwig, Director of Education at the Seward House Museum  (Auburn, New York), discusses the benefits of wide research when developing any project. The video includes examples of primary sources and other resources available at the Seward House that illustrate how wide research works. 

Ask an NEH Expert: Historical Significance —Shatavia Elder, Vice President of Education at the Atlanta History Center  (Atlanta, Georgia), offers advice on the importance of historical significance when writing about a topic, event, person, or era. The video includes materials available at the Atlanta History Center that show how researchers can evaluate historical significance across time. 

Ask an NEH Expert: Multiple Perspectives —Anne Petersen, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (Santa Barbara, California), addresses why multiple perspectives are important to developing a rich understanding of historical events and topics. The video includes how maps and primary documents available at the Santa Barbara Trust can be used to analyze multiple and competing perspectives in history.

NEH Project Skills

This set of "Ask an NEH Expert" videos focuses on the skills related to writing, researching, and editing that are applicable to all National History Day project categories and topics. 

Ask an NEH Expert: Building an Argument —Margaret Hughes,  Historic Hudson Valley 's Associate Director for Education, provides guidance on crafting an argument, and strategies for how to successfully incorporate that argument into a National History Day project. Margaret has also served as a judge for the Lower Hudson National History Day regional competition.

Ask an NEH Expert: Validating Sources —Leslie Hayes, the  New-York Historical Society 's Director of Education, offers valuable advice and questions students should ask in the process of validating primary and secondary sources for use in National History Day projects. Leslie is an NEH grant recipient and has led NEH summer institutes for K-12 educators, including  American Women, American Citizens: 1920-1948 .

Ask an NEH Expert: Writing and Editing —Dana Williams,  Howard University 's English Department Chair and professor of African American literature, shares her experiential insight and guidance for success in the writing and editing process for National History Day projects. Dr. Williams has received five NEH grants, and is currently completing a book-length study on Toni Morrison's editorship, which will be published by Amistad, a division of Harper Collins.

NEH Project Categories

These five videos—one for each project category—feature experts in the fields of documentaries, exhibits, papers, performances, and websites. 

Ask an NEH Expert: Documentaries —Eric Stange, a documentary filmmaker, and Kevin Shirley, a NHD coordinator in Georgia, discuss successful practices for developing documentaries for the NHD competition. 

Ask an NEH Expert: Exhibits —Marci Raven of the New-York Historical Society and Whitney Olsen, a NHD coordinator in California, provide strategies and advice for designing and presenting successful NHD exhibits.

Ask an NEH Expert: Papers — Author and editor Christina Thompson provides expert tips on developing one’s voice as a writer, along with advice for organizing and revising your paper.  

Ask an NEH Expert: Performances — Jenny Inge is a performer and playwright and, in this video, she discusses how students can integrate their personal perspective into their performance as they portray the perspectives and events of history they have researched.

Ask an NEH Expert: Websites — Betsy Newman is an award-winning documentary and web-content producer and in this video, she provides a behind-the-scenes perspective on how to produce digital NHD projects.

The 2024 National History Day theme Turning Points in History invites students to explore how ideas, events, or actions cause change in direct and indirect ways. Through researching this theme, students will find that a turning point can be one individual’s personal decision, a mass movement, or anything in between. Students are asked to consider various consequences, from the tangible to the symbolic, the local to the global, and the immediate to the long-term. Many examples can be found within military history, political history, and legal history, but students are also encouraged to consider topics related to innovation and business, health and medicine, natural events and the environment, and science and technology.

This year’s theme narrative shares how the Chronicling America newspaper database can be used to explore debates around turning points in history. Using the examples of Hawaiian annexation and 1919's Red Summer, this essay encourages students to discover multiple perspectives through digitized newspapers. It prompts them to identify the goals and viewpoints of newspaper staff and to consider whose perspectives are highlighted, whose perspectives are missing or obscured, and how other current events shaped opinions. More resources can be found on the NHD Website as well as in this year’s theme book .

The National History Day theme video is a useful starting point for any topic and project.

EDSITEment Resources for Turning Points in History

• Nelson Mandela & South Africa  
• "Sí, se puede!": Chávez, Huerta, and the UFW  
• Places and People of the Civil Rights Movement 
• Latino Americans: War and Peace  
• I Remember: Japanese Incarceration During WWII
• Holocaust and Resistance
• Music of the Harlem Renaissance  
• The Mexican Revolution  
• Chronicling and Mapping the Women's Suffrage Movement  
• Hawai'i's Annexation and Statehood: How the Island Nation Became an American Frontier  
• Who Belongs on the Frontier: Cherokee Removal
• Arts of the Afro Atlantic Diaspora
• The Aztecs: Mighty Warriors of Mexico
• Galileo and the Inevitability of Ideas
• The Path of the Black Death
• The Cuneiform Writing System in Ancient Mesopotamia: Emergence and Evolution

The 2023 National History Day theme Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas  encourages students to investigate what it means to be a pioneer and where pioneers throughout history can be found. Students researching this theme will find that frontiers and pioneers can be found throughout history in some surprising places. Topics from military history abound, but students are encouraged to explore economic, social, scientific, and political frontiers as well.  

The theme narrative for this year explores Citizenship, Race, and Place through the study of Chinese labor on the transcontinental railroad and the Japanese American Internment during World War II. By examining the different ways Asian Americans have experienced frontiers, this essay asks students to think about how people have traversed and transcended frontiers throughout history. More resources can be found on the NHD Website as well as in this year’s theme book.    

The NHD theme video also provides students a useful place to start their research.  

EDSITEment Resources for Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas 

Trailblazers .

• Leonardo da Vinci: Creative Genius  

Adiós Amor: The Search for Maria Moreno  

Thurgood Marshall Before the Court  

Introducing Jane Eyre: An Unlikely Victorian Heroine  

BackStory: Hidden Figures - The People Behind the Story You Know  

Movements and Ideas 

The LGBTQ Community in American History  

Was There an Industrial Revolution? New Workplace, New Technology, New Consumers  

Afro Atlantic: Paths from Enslavement  

Women's Equality: Changing Attitudes and Beliefs  

The Freedom Riders and the Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement  

The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad  

Images of the New World  

Dust Bowl Days  

“The Great Migration” by Minnie Bruce Pratt  

Places and People of the Civil Rights Movement

The 2022 National History Day theme  “Debates and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences”  invites students to explore how various disputes and attempts at resolution have had significant impact throughout history. Researching topics on this theme may take students into areas of political or cultural differences, moments of international crisis, or cooperative economic policies. Students will find ready examples of diplomacy—both successes and failures—in relationships among state actors, but they should be encouraged to consider the diplomatic actions of individuals or organizations as well.  

The theme narrative explores  Debate and Diplomacy in the Early Republic  through the papers of the  U.S. War Department . This essay offers examples for research and prompts students to weigh the rights of individuals against the security of the nation, a debate at least as old as the nation’s founding that continues today. More resources can be found on the NHD website and in  this year’s theme book .   

Students will also find the NHD theme video a useful place to start their research.  

EDSITEment Resources for Debates and Diplomacy in History 

The Papers of the War Department

The Crisis of American Diplomacy: 1793–1808  

Voting Rights for Women: Pro- and Anti-Suffrage  

The Battle Over Reconstruction  

Civil Rights and the Cold War  

Bring Your Classroom to Life Through Diplomatic Oral Histories  

The Monroe Doctrine: Origin and Early American Foreign Policy  

Women Aviators in WWII  

Voices of Democracy: Women Leaders of the Civil Rights Struggle  

The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: The Missiles of October  

The Origins of the Cold War, 1945-1949  

The Jazz Ambassadors  

The Debate in the United States over the League of Nations  

From Neutrality to War: The United States and Europe 1921–1941  

American Diplomacy in World War II  

The 2021 theme " Communication in History " offers students opportunities to explore how individuals and groups have shared information and the technological changes that have expanded how we communicate throughout history. The 2021 NHD theme narrative provides questions and examples for students to consider as they design their research projects. For instance, how do elected officials communicate with the public and why? How has technology shaped how we communicate? 

The National History Day theme video for " Communication in History " is a great starting point for any topic and project.

EDSITEment resources for "Communication in History"

"From Time to Time": Presidents and Communicating with the Public

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address: We Must Not Be Enemies

Media and Communication Technology in the Making of America

Chronicling America: History's First Draft

FDR: Fireside Chats, the New Deal, and Eleanor

FDR’s “Four Freedoms” Speech

The President's Roles and Responsibilities: Communicating with the President

President Madison's 1812 War Message

Celebrating Studs Terkel – Interviewer of America

BackStory: Behind the Bylines - Advocacy Journalism in America

Teaching Women’s History through Great Speeches

Winston Churchill on the Origins of the Cold War: The Fulton Speech

"I Have a Dream": The Vision of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

The 2020 theme  "Breaking Barriers in History"  offers students opportunities to explore how individuals and groups have overcome obstacles on their way to changing history. The NHD theme narrative provides questions and examples for students to consider as they design their research projects. For instance, who was responsible for constructing a barrier? How and why did barriers form? Are the barriers natural or human made? Were the barriers reduced, restructured, or removed? Are all barriers negative?

The National History Day theme webinar for "Breaking Barriers in History" is a great starting point for any topic and project.

You can also view acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ken Burns curate a Breaking Barriers playlist for ideas and inspiration.

EDSITEment Learning Lab Collections:

Breaking Barriers: Innovation and Industry

Breaking Barriers: Women's Suffrage

Breaking Barriers: United Farm Workers

Breaking Barriers: Race, Gender, and the U.S. Military

Breaking Barriers: The Reconstruction Era

EDSITEment resources for "Breaking Barriers"

Chronicling and Mapping the Women's Suffrage Movement

• Competing Voices in the Civil Rights Movement
• JFK, Freedom Riders, and the Civil Rights Movement
• Nelson Mandela and South Africa
• Was there an Industrial Revolution?
• The Transcontinental Railroad
• Asian American and Pacific Islander Perspectives
• Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-paper" and the "New Woman"

The 2019 theme of "Triumph and Tragedy in History" offers students opportunities to explore multiple sides of an event or issue to consider the short and long term ramifications in history. Was triumph a positive development for few, some, or many? Did people or places recover from the tragedy? Did a tragedy inspire triumphant actions and/or results in another time and place? 

EDSITEment resources for "Triumph and Tragedy"

• Triumph and Tragedy: American Immigrant Experiences
• Triumph and Tragedy: World War I
• Triumph and Tragedy: American Industry
• Triumph and Tragedy: Smithsonian Learning Lab Collections
• Triumph and Tragedy: Lincoln's Enduring Legacy

For National History Day students, the 2017/2018 academic year will be filled with research related to the theme of "Conflict and Compromise in History." This expansive theme allows students to choose from a generous range of topics, whether from the ancient world or the history of their own city. Students need to begin research with some reliable secondary sources in order to gain a broader context before progressing to the appropriate primary sources.  They will need to ask a series of questions about their chosen topic: What happened? How did it happen? Why did it happen? What were the consequences?

EDSITEment resources "Conflict and Compromise"

Learning lab collections.

Conflict and Compromise: Origins of the U.S. Constitution

Conflict and Compromise: The War of 1812

• Conflict and Compromise: Chinese Exclusion Act
• Conflict and Compromise: The Mexican Revolution
• Conflict and Compromise: Art and World War I
• Conflict and Compromise: The Vietnam War

EDSITEment Lesson Plans

• Understanding the Salem Witch Trials
• "The Stamp Act" The Coming of the American Revolution
• The Question of Representation at the 1787 Convention
• Washington and the Whiskey Rebellion
• The United States, France, and the Problem of Neutrality, 1796–1801
• The First American Party System: Events, Issues, and Positions  (3 Lessons)
• President Madison's 1812 War Message 
• Evangelicalism, Revivalism, and the Second Great Awakening
• The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular Sovereignty and the Political Polarization over Slavery
• What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
• Battle Over Reconstruction
• Chronicling America: Chinese Exclusion Act
• Chinese American: Exclusion/Inclusion
• Chronicling America: Pullman Porters
• Topics in Chronicling America: Panama Canal
• Turning the Tide in the Pacific, 1941–1943
• Sources of Discord, 1945–1946

For National History Day students, the 2016/2017 academic year will be filled with research related to the theme "Taking a Stand in History." This expansive theme allows participants to choose from a generous range of topics, whether from the ancient world or the history of their own city. Students will all need to begin research with secondary sources, however, in order to gain a broader context before progressing to the appropriate primary sources. Their final argument will be constructed on this foundation and should address the effects that their research has uncovered on their chosen topic.

2017 NHD Documentary, 1st Place Senior Individual: Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

EDSITEment resources for "Taking a Stand in History"

Taking a Stand: American Revolution and the Founder s

• Taking a Stand: Suffrage Movement 1848-1919 
• Taking a Stand: NAACP and the Birth of a Nation
• Taking a Stand: Brown v. Board
• Taking a Stand: Freedom Rides
• T aking a Stand: African American Civil Rights Movement
• Taking a Stand: Nelson Mandela and South Africa

The theme of National History Day 2016 "Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History" is broad enough in scope to encourage investigation of topics ranging from local to world history and across any geographic area or time period. Consider this theme an invitation to look across time, space, and geography to find examples in history of when people took a risk and made a change.

EDSITEment resources for "Exploration, Encounter, Exchange" 

Lewis and Clark: Exploring Uncharted Territory

• The Diplomacy Challenge
• The Jungle , Muckrakers, and Teddy Roosevelt
• Life in Babylonia: The Importance of Trade
• Trekking to Timbuktu: A Center of Trade

This year’s theme  “ Leadership and Legacy in History ”  offers a remarkable array of suggested topics for research projects .   Students may consider the following questions when investigating history and designing their projects: How should a leader be remembered? Who writes the history of leadership? How do we evaluate the short and long term influences of people and events? 

EDSITEment resources for "Leadership and Legacy" 

• Simon Bolivar  and Gran Columbia: Leading the Fight for Independence from Spain
• The Congress of Vienna : Legacy of Napoleon’s Downfall
• Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize
• Otto von Bismarck and the Unification of Germany
• The Three Leaders: Mazzini , Garibaldi , Cavour  and the Unification of Italy
• The Hudson River School : Leading an American School of Art
• Tecumseh  and the Western Confederacy: Leading the Battle against Westward Expansion
• Pierre de Coubertin and the Rebirth of the International Olympic Committee
• Linking Europe, Africa, and Asia: “ Ferdinand de Lesseps and the Construction of the Suez Canal
• Invoking the Power of the Federal Government: Grover Cleveland” and the Pullman Strike  of 1894
• The Legacy of King Leopold's Vision in the Congo
• William Howard Taft and Dollar Diplomacy
• Pancho Villa : Leading Northern Mexico
• Emiliano Zepata : Leadership for “Reforma, Libertad Ley y Justicia”
• Emmeline Pankhurst : Leading a Militant Struggle for Suffrage in Great Britain
• Eugene V. Debs ’ Leadership of the American Socialist Movement
• Vladimir Lenin ”: Leading the Russian Revolution
• Realpolitik : A New Form of Leadership
• General Billy Mitchell and the Development of the American Air Force
• George Crile , Harvey Cushing , and the Ambulance Americaine : The Legacy of Wartime Medicine
• The Mercator Projection : Leading How We View the World
• Theodore Roosevelt : Leading the Charge to Build the Panama Canal
• Leading Higher Education in America: Harvard , Yale , and William & Mary

The 2013-2014 National History Day theme is “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” Under this broad topic, students have opportunities to explore a variety of topics as they prepare their respective projects. A few research questions to assist with inquiry include: Are all rights equally protected? Are the rights of all people equally protected? What responsibilities do people have to uphold their rights? When and why have rights been restricted and expanded in history? What role does geography play in the expansion and protection of rights?

EDSITEment resources for "Rights and Responsibilities" 

• Why Spinoza was Excommunicated
• "After the Mayflower" We Shall Remain
• “John Locke”: Natural Law, Natural Rights, and American Constitutionalism
• Religion in 18th-Century America
• Britain, Napoleon, and the American Embargo 1803-1808
• Who Were the Foremothers of American Equality?
• "Mary Church Terrell" Tennessee Encyclopedia
• “ John Muir, Nature’s Witness”  Humanities  Magazine
• The Storm that Swept Mexico
• The Mexican Revolution, November 1910
• Philip Randolph for Jobs and Freedom  (NEH-supported film)
• "W.L Shirer on Nazi Germany" Annotations: the NEH Preservation
• "Desegregation of Central High School" Encyclopedia of Arkansas
• Building Suburbia: Highways and Housing
• "American Originals"  Humanities  Magazine
• Why Treaties Matter
• Making the History of 1989

Related on EDSITEment

Chronicling america: history's first draft, investigating local history, oral history as an educational experience, using historic digital newspapers for national history day, ask an neh expert: multiple perspectives, ask an neh expert: historical significance, ask an neh expert: wide research, race and ethnicity keyword thesaurus for chronicling america.

2021 2022 History Fair - Debate and Diplomacy in History: Writing a Thesis Statement

• What is History Fair?
• History Fair Theme
• Potential Topics
• Logging in, Creating a Project, and Sharing in Noodletools
• Building Context and Understanding Your Topic
• Writing a Thesis Statement
• Primary and Secondary Sources: What's the difference?
• Finding Secondary Sources
• Cite Secondary Sources
• Finding Primary Sources
• Cite Primary Sources
• Creating Your Website

Goals and Guiding Questions

• Understand the purpose of a thesis statement.
• Understand the parts of a thesis statement and how to write one.
• Create a thesis statement for your History Fair project.

Guiding Questions:

• How is a thesis statement different from a research question?
• What do I include in my thesis statement?
• What is my thesis statement for my HF project?

Your Thesis Statement MUST:  

Give specific details ​

Go beyond facts to discuss the importance of a topic on history (impact, significance) ​

Show the topic's connection to the theme – Debate and Diplomacy

Thesis Statement Worksheet and Example

Thesis statement tips, thesis statement tips: .

1.) Don't Use the First Person 

 2.) Don’t ask questions in your thesis. ​Answer them!

3.) Don't use present tense.

4.) Avoid using  “should”  in your thesis.​This is a historical argument, not philosophy.

5.) Avoid 'what if" history. Focus on what actually happened.

Writing Your Thesis Statement

Find the five ws:.

Who is involved in your topic?

What is happening?

Where is your topic taking place?

What time period is your topic in?

Why is this topic important? (significance, impa ct)

Look at these Thesis Statement Examples

• Thesis Statement Comparisons
• << Previous: Building Context and Understanding Your Topic
• Next: Primary and Secondary Sources: What's the difference? >>
• Last Updated: Feb 24, 2022 10:21 AM
• URL: https://mehs.morton201.libguides.com/c.php?g=1202807

National History Day: Thesis

• Theme and Topic Suggestions
• Note Taking
• Creating a Paper
• Creating a Performance
• Creating a Documentary
• Creating an Exhibit
• Creating a Website
• Annotated Bibliography
• Image Sources

Thesis Definition

Thesis Helpful Hints

• Thesis Generator  

NHD: What's Your Point?

How to Write a Thesis Statement Video

Thesis Statement Example 1

Thesis Statement Example 2

Thesis Statement Example 3

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• Next: Research >>
• Last Updated: Dec 18, 2023 2:37 PM
• URL: https://guides.rilinkschools.org/nationalhistoryday

National History Day 2022: Credits & Captions

• Primary Sources
• In-text Citations
• Credits & Captions
• NoodleTools
• Annotated Bibliography
• Process Paper

Credits - What should I put?

• On your exhibit board and within your website, you need to provide a brief credit for any image (photos, artwork, letters, newspaper or magazine clippings, charts, graphs and timelines that you borrowed from a source, etc.)  
• The credit should be placed directly below the image and can be a smaller font.  
• The credit should be the name of the main "container" where you got the image.  Main "containers" are usually website titles, database titles, newspaper or magazine titles or book titles.  
• These brief credits do not count towards your word count.  

EXHIBIT BOARD - Captioning Rules

Quotes from PRINT  sources should be cited with the author, the title, and a date (when available.) An example would be:

“There is danger…they have still far to go. It is for the Woman’s Party to decide whether there is any way in which it can serve in the struggle which lies ahead to remove the remaining forms of woman’s subordination.” (Alice Paul,  The Suffragist , 1921)

• All VISUAL sources (e.g., photographs, paintings, charts, and graphs, etc.) must be credited on the exhibit and fully cited in the annotated bibliography.    
• Brief, factual credits do not count toward the word total . See below for an example of the difference between a credit and  a caption.   
• Your credit just needs to add the minimal amount of information that would allow the viewer to find the source in your annotated bibliography (Ex. Website Title , Database Name , Book Title , etc.).  
• All sources (PRINT and VISUAL) must be properly cited in the annotated bibliography.

- from  NHD Contest Rule Book

DOCUMENTARY - Credit rules

• At the conclusion of the documentary, you MUST provide a list of acknowledgments and credits for ALL sources.  
• These credits should be brief —not full bibliographic citations and not annotated. See example below.  
• You are NOT required to credit individual images or video clips while the documentary is playing; that is the purpose of the credits at the end.  
• You may add tags to the bottom of the screen to help an image or video clip make sense. For example, you might want to add a name of a speaker, or a relevant historical date during a particular video clip or still image.

WEBSITE - Captioning Rules

• All quotes from PRINT sources must be credited WITHIN the website .  
• All VISUAL sources (photographs, videos, paintings, charts, and graphs) must be credited WITHIN the website .  
• Your credit just needs to add the minimal amount of information that would allow the viewer to find the source in your annotated bibliography (Ex.  Website Title ,  Database Name ,  Book Title , etc.). See below for an example.   
• These brief, factual credits do not count toward the word total . See below for an example.  

- from  NHD Contest Rule Book

PAPERS - In-text Citation rules

• In-text citations are required
• In-text citations are used to credit the sources of specific ideas as well as direct quotations. 
• Use MLA 8 for citation style formatting.  

For in-text citations of PRINT materials (must include page numbers):

"...to the problem of global warming" (Gore 10).

...scientific studies of global warming (Gore 160).

For in-text citations of WEB materials (no page numbers) :

...atmospheric and economic trends ("Greenhouse").

Do I have to cite every sentence of my paper?

No, please don’t. Often you find that a series of sentences (or even an entire paragraph) is based on content from a single source. When that happens, signal to your reader that the following information came from a certain source and then cite it once at the end of the last sentence. Also note that your thesis statement and your arguments should be your original work, and should not be credited to another author.

What if all of the information, quotes and paraphrases, in one paragraph, comes from one source? How do I cite that?

Just cite once, at the end of the paragraph.

For additional in-text citation help, please see Mrs. Hajian or Mrs. Trissler for help.

PERFORMANCES - Crediting Sources

• When you are creating a performance or a documentary, you do not need to actively credit sources during your presentation, because it would disrupt the flow of your performance.  
• There are times when you would want to make a reference to a source, especially when you are referencing primary source material. It would be relevant to mention in a performance, “I wrote a letter to King George demanding that my grievances be addressed….” A judge would then expect to find a letter or a series of letters that you found in your research and cited in your bibliography.  
• There is no need to stop to verbally cite sources—if the judges have any questions, they can address that in the interview at the end of your performance.
• << Previous: In-text Citations
• Next: NoodleTools >>
• Last Updated: Jul 30, 2022 9:38 AM
• URL: https://lasalle-academy.libguides.com/nhd2022

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A jacket, a coin, a letter − relics of Omaha Beach battle tell the story of D-Day 80 years later

Curator of Military History, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

Disclosure statement

Frank A. Blazich Jr. works for the National Museum of American History of the Smithsonian Institution.

Smithsonian Institution provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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Between the villages of Vierville-sur-Mer and Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes in Normandy, France, is a 5-mile stretch of beach that was once called Côte d’Or, or “golden coast.”

Since June 6, 1944, however, this beach has borne a different name: Omaha.

Eighty years ago, on a day now known as D-Day , thousands of Allied soldiers crossed the choppy waters of the English Channel by air and sea to land on beaches and coastal areas of Normandy, France, to destroy the Nazi invaders and defeat Hitler’s regime.

Within the military collections of the National Museum of American History, where I am a curator of modern military history , several artifacts collected over the decades help tell the story of Omaha Beach and the invasion landings on D-Day.

A letter from a general

In the morning hours of D-Day, Pvt. Howard I. Moorefield of North Carolina was handed a piece of paper. As he later wrote in his museum donation, “most fellows read it and discarded,” but he chose to sign, fold and save his copy.

With the signature of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower at the bottom, the Order of the Day declared to all soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.”

Special equipment goes wrong

For soldiers of Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division, the Order of the Day mattered less than what awaited them at Sector Dog Green on Omaha Beach. Awakened aboard their troopship around 2 a.m., the soldiers pulled on their equipment. The regiment had been overseas since October 1942, preparing for this critical day with carefully rehearsed drills and training operations.

Yet just days before the invasion, the men received new U.S. Army assault jackets, made to help the first wave of soldiers as they carried ashore ammunition, TNT, a first-aid kit and other equipment. Once loaded, each jacket added upward of 60 pounds onto each soldier’s load.

As Company A’s six landing craft began to head to Sector Dog Green, one of the craft began to take on water. As men entered the deep water, the assault jackets became anchors, the cotton straps swelling in seawater and making removal of the garment almost impossible. Dozens of men drowned while others staggered ashore, exhausted.

The troops in Company A had expected to find shelter on the beach, which they had been told would be pockmarked with holes from aerial bombing and naval rockets. But when the soldiers in the surviving five landing craft arrived on the beach at 6:36 a.m., they found smooth sand and nowhere to hide from the enemy.

In less than 10 minutes, German machine-gun fire, mortars and artillery all but destroyed Company A.

Other companies of the 116th would land on Omaha Beach at sectors Dog White, Dog Red and Easy Green. Wet, cold, frightened and pinned down by enemy fire, many soldiers shed the awkward assault jackets and did what they could to stay alive and get off the beach.

In the days after D-Day, assault jackets littered the beaches. One veteran of “Bloody Omaha” chose to send a vest back home to Virginia, the fate of its former wearer unknown.

Multiple waves of troops

Farther down Omaha Beach at Sector Easy Red , photographer Robert Capa arrived at the shore around 8:15 a.m. with the command group of Company E, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.

As part of the 13th wave of the landings, he spent 30 minutes on the beach capturing images of the invasion before returning to the attack transport vessel USS Samuel Chase.

On June 19, five of Capa’s images graced the pages of Life magazine, bringing the invasion home to Americans.

A symbol of the fight’s significance

As Capa arrived back aboard the Chase, so did countless wounded men from the initial assault waves. Navy and Coast Guard personnel went right to work, including Walter Melville Weberbauer, a pharmacist’s mate first class from New Jersey.

As he aided the treatment of the wounded, the identification tags around his neck included a small copper coin – a British Palestine 2 mils.

Perhaps during prayer or just for luck, he rubbed the coin until the word “Palestine” all but wore away. As a Jewish man, Weberbauer’s fight with the Nazis understandably carried great significance in the waters off Omaha Beach.

The nation’s highest military decoration

As wounded soldiers kept arriving back aboard the USS Samuel Chase throughout the afternoon, Army leaders decided to land the remaining members of the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, on Omaha Beach.

That evening, the men of Company H of the 26th disembarked from the ship and came ashore, including a machine-gunner, Pfc. Francis X. McGraw of New Jersey. Having already fought in North Africa and Sicily, Normandy would be McGraw’s third fight with the Nazis. Months later, on Nov. 19, 1944, near the German town of Schevenhütte, McGraw’s war would end.

For his one-man stand against a ferocious German assault, he would posthumously receive the Medal of Honor.

A record in the landscape

In the days and weeks after June 6, Omaha Beach was transformed into a highway for Allied men and material entering Europe. This traffic changed even the sand itself.

Today, 4% of the sand at Omaha Beach is composed of tiny grains of iron, mostly microshrapnel produced during intense fighting on the beach and the subsequent buildup of forces.

These different items – a document, garment, photographs, identification tags, a decoration and sand – all remain indelibly marked by a time and a place.

Through the linkage of time, space and memory, these items weave together lives whose paths crossed, in the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in the “ fight to end conquest … to liberate … to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all … people.”

• World War II
• Military history
• Historic archives
• Dwight D. Eisenhower

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Money latest: Chocolate is a superfood - if you buy these bars

Read all today's personal finance and consumer news below - and leave a comment on any of the stories we're covering.

Saturday 11 May 2024 07:46, UK

Weekend Money

• 'Loud budgeting': The money-saving trend that has nothing to do with giving up your daily coffee
• What is most in-demand period for a property?
• £12m tea advert, downsizing, £320 tasting menus and job interview mistakes: What readers have said this week
• Free childcare applications about to open for new age band
• Where has huge week for UK economy left us?

Best of the week

• How to avoid a holiday data roaming charge (while still using the internet)
• Mortgage rates up again this week - here are the best deals on the market
• My daughter discovered undeclared £600 management fee after buying her flat - can we complain?
• Best of the Money blog - an archive

Ask a question or make a comment

By Jess Sharp , Money team 

Money saving trends are constantly popping up on social media - but one in particular has been gaining huge amounts of attention.

Created accidentally by a comedian, loud budgeting is breaking down the taboo of speaking about money.

The idea is based on being firmer about your financial boundaries, setting out what you are happy to spend your money on, instead of "Keeping up with the Joneses". 

On TikTok alone, videos published under the #loudbudgeting have garnered more than 30 million views - and that figure is continuing to climb. 

We spoke to Lukas Battle - the 26-year-old who unintentionally created the trend as part of a comedy sketch. 

Based in New York, he came up with the term in a skit about the "quiet luxury" hype, which had spread online in 2023 inspired by shows like Succession. 

The term was used for humble bragging about your wealth with expensive items that were subtle in their design - for example, Gwyneth Paltrow's  £3,900 moss green wool coat from The Row, which she wore during her ski resort trial (see below). 

"I was never a big fan of the quiet luxury trend, so I just kind of switched the words and wrote "loud budgeting is in". I'm tired of spending money and I don't want to pretend to be rich," Lukas said. 

"That's how it started and then the TikTok comments were just obsessed with that original idea." 

This was the first time he mentioned it...

He explained that it wasn't about "being poor" but more about not being afraid of sharing your financial limits and "what's profitable for you personally". 

"It's not 'skip a coffee a day and you'll become a millionaire'. If you like coffee, then spend your money on coffee but cut back in other areas where you are spending like a muscle reflex," he said. 

While talking money has been seen as rude or taboo, he said it's something his generation is more comfortable doing. 

"I've seen more debate around the topic and I think people are really intrigued and attracted by the idea," he said. 

"The idea isn't hurtful in any way, it is only a positive. It's just focusing your spending and time on things you enjoy and cutting out the things you might feel pressured to spend your money on."  

He has incorporated loud budgeting into his own life, telling his friends "it's free to go outside" and opting for cheaper dinner alternatives.

"Having the terminology and knowing it's a trend helps people understand it and there's no awkward conversation around it," he said. 

The trend has been a big hit with so-called American "finfluencers", or "financial influencers", but people in the UK have started practising it as well. 

Mia Westrap has taken up loud budgeting by embarking on a no-buy year and sharing her finances with her 11.3k TikTok followers. 

Earning roughly £2,100 a month, she spends around £1,200 on essentials, like rent, petrol and car insurance, but limits what else she can purchase. 

Clothes, fizzy drinks, beauty treatments, makeup, dinners out and train tickets are just some things on her "red list". 

The 26-year-old PHD student first came across the idea back in 2017, but decided to take up the challenge this year after realising she was living "pay check to pay check". 

She said her "biggest fear" in the beginning was that her friends wouldn't understand what she was doing, but she found loud budgeting helped. 

"I'm still trying my best to just go along with what everyone wants to do but I just won't spend money while we do it and my friends don't mind that, we don't make a big deal out of it," she said. 

So far, she has been able to save £1,700, and she said talking openly about her money has been "really helpful". 

"There's no way I could have got this far if I wasn't baring my soul to the internet about the money I have spent. It has been a really motivating factor."

Financial expert John Webb said loud budgeting has the ability to help many "feel empowered" and create a "more realistic" relationship with money.

"This is helping to normalise having open and honest conversations about finances," the consumer affair manager at Experien said. 

"It can also reduce the anxiety some might have by keeping their financial worries to themselves." 

However, he warned it's important to be cautious and to take the reality of life into consideration. 

"It could cause troubles within friendship groups if they're not on the same page as you or have different financial goals," he said.

"This challenge isn’t meant to stop you from having fun, but it is designed to help people become more conscious and intentional when it comes to money, and reduce the stigma around talking about it." 

Rightmove's keyword tool shows Victorian-era houses are the most commonly searched period properties, with people drawn to their ornate designs and features.

Georgian and Edwardian-style are second and third respectively, followed by Tudor properties. Regency ranked in fifth place.

Rightmove property expert Tim Bannister said: "Home hunters continue to be captivated by the character and charm of properties that we see in period dramas.

"Victorian homes remain particularly popular, characterised by their historic charm, solid construction, and spacious interiors. You'll often find Victorian houses in some of the most desirable locations which include convenient access to schools and transport links."

Throughout the week Money blog readers have shared their thoughts on the stories we've been covering, with the most correspondence coming in on...

• A hotly contested debate on the best brand of tea
• Downsizing homes
• The cost of Michelin-starred food

Job interview mistakes

On Wednesday we reported on a new £12m ad from PG Tips in response to it falling behind rivals such as Twinings, Yorkshire Tea and Tetley....

We had lots of comments like this...

How on earth was the PG Tips advert so expensive? I prefer Tetley tea, PG Tips is never strong enough flavour for me. Shellyleppard

The reason for the sales drop with PG Tips could be because they increased the price and reduced the quantity of bags from 240 to 180 - it's obvious. Royston

And then this question which we've tried to answer below...

Why have PG Tips changed from Pyramid shape tea bags, to a square? Sam

Last year PG Tips said it was changing to a square bag that left more room for leaves to infuse, as the bags wouldn't fold over themselves.

We reported on data showing how downsizing could save you money for retirement - more than £400,000, in some regions, by swapping four beds for two.

Some of our readers shared their experiences...

We are downsizing and moving South so it's costing us £100k extra for a smaller place, all money from retirement fund. AlanNorth

Interesting read about downsizing for retirement. We recently did this to have the means to retire early at 52. However, we bought a house in the south of France for the price of a flat in our town in West Sussex. Now living the dream! OliSarah

How much should we pay for food?

Executive chef at London's two-Michelin-starred Ikoyi, Jeremy Chan, raised eyebrows when he suggested to the Money blog that Britons don't pay enough for restaurant food.

Ikoyi, the 35th best restaurant in the world, charges £320 for its tasting menu. 

"I don't think people pay enough money for food, I think we charge too little, [but] we want to always be accessible to as many people as possible, we're always trying our best to do that," he said, in a piece about his restaurant's tie up with Uber Eats... 

We had this in... 

Are they serious? That is two weeks' worth of food shopping for me, if the rich can afford this "tasting menu" then they need to be taxed even more by the government, it's just crazy! Steve T

If the rate of pay is proportionate to the vastly overpriced costs of the double Michelin star menu, I would gladly peel quail eggs for four-hour stints over continuing to be abused as a UK supply teacher. AndrewWard

Does this two-star Michelin star chef live in the real world? Who gives a toss if he stands and peels his quails eggs for four hours, and he can get the best turbot from the fishmonger fresh on a daily basis? It doesn't justify the outrageous price he is charging for his tasting menu. Topaztraveller

Chefs do make me laugh, a steak is just a steak, they don't make the meat! They just cook it like the rest of us, but we eat out because we can't be bothered cooking! StevieGrah

Finally, many of you reacted to this feature on common mistakes in job interviews...

Those 10 biggest mistakes people make in interviews is the dumbest thing I've ever read. They expect all that and they'll be offering a £25k a year job. Why wouldn't I want to know about benefits and basic sick pay? And also a limp handshake? How's that relevant to how you work? Jre90

Others brought their own tips...

Whenever I go for an interview I stick to three points: 1. Be yourself 2. Own the interview 3. Wear the clothes that match the job you are applying Kevin James Blakey

From Sunday, eligible working parents of children from nine-months-old in England will be able to register for access to up to 15 free hours of government-funded childcare per week.

This will then be granted from September. 

Check if you're eligible  here  - or read on for our explainer on free childcare across the UK.

Three and four year olds

In England, all parents of children aged three and four in England can claim 15 hours of free childcare per week, for 1,140 hours (38 weeks) a year, at an approved provider.

This is a universal offer open to all.

It can be extended to 30 hours where both parents (or the sole parent) are in work, earn the weekly minimum equivalent of 16 hours at the national minimum or living wage, and have an income of less than £100,000 per year.

Two year olds

Previously, only parents in receipt of certain benefits were eligible for 15 hours of free childcare.

But, as of last month, this was extended to working parents.

This is not a universal offer, however.

A working parent must earn more than £8,670 but less than £100,000 per year. For couples, the rule applies to both parents.

Nine months old

In September, this same 15-hour offer will be extended to working parents of children aged from nine months. From 12 May, those whose children will be at least nine months old on 31 August can apply to received the 15 hours of care from September.

From September 2025

The final change to the childcare offer in England will be rolled out in September 2025, when eligible working parents of all children under the age of five will be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week.

In some areas of Wales, the Flying Start early years programme offers 12.5 hours of free childcare for 39 weeks, for eligible children aged two to three. The scheme is based on your postcode area, though it is currently being expanded.

All three and four-year-olds are entitled to free early education of 10 hours per week in approved settings during term time under the Welsh government's childcare offer.

Some children of this age are entitled to up to 30 hours per week of free early education and childcare over 48 weeks of the year. The hours can be split - but at least 10 need to be used on early education.

To qualify for this, each parent must earn less than £100,000 per year, be employed and earn at least the equivalent of working 16 hours a week at the national minimum wage, or be enrolled on an undergraduate, postgraduate or further education course that is at least 10 weeks in length.

All three and four-year-olds living in Scotland are entitled to at least 1,140 hours per year of free childcare, with no work or earnings requirements for parents. 

This is usually taken as 30 hours per week over term time (38 weeks), though each provider will have their own approach.

Some households can claim free childcare for two-year-olds. To be eligible you have to be claiming certain benefits such as Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit, or have a child that is in the care of their local council or living with you under a guardianship order or kinship care order.

Northern Ireland

There is no scheme for free childcare in Northern Ireland. Some other limited support is available.

Working parents can access support from UK-wide schemes such as tax credits, Universal Credit, childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare.

Aside from this, all parents of children aged three or four can apply for at least 12.5 hours a week of funded pre-school education during term time. But over 90% of three-year-olds have a funded pre-school place - and of course this is different to childcare.

What other help could I be eligible for?

Tax-free childcare  - Working parents in the UK can claim up to £500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of their children to help with childcare costs. 

If the child is disabled, the amount goes up to £1,000 every three months (up to £4,000 a year).

To claim the benefit, parents will need to open a tax-free childcare account online. For every 80p paid into the account, the government will top it up by 20p.

The scheme is available until the September after the child turns 11.

Universal credit  - Working families on universal credit can claim back up to 85% of their monthly childcare costs, as long as the care is paid for upfront. The most you can claim per month is £951 for one child or £1,630 for two or more children.

Tax credits -  People claiming working tax credit can get up to 70% of what they pay for childcare if their costs are no more than £175 per week for one child or £300 per work for multiple children.

Two big economic moments dominated the news agenda in Money this week - interest rates and GDP.

As expected, the Bank of England held the base rate at 5.25% on Wednesday - but a shift in language was instructive about what may happen next.

Bank governor Andrew Bailey opened the door to a summer cut to 5%, telling reporters that an easing of rates at the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting on 20 June was neither ruled out nor a fait accompli.

More surprisingly, he suggested that rate cuts, when they start, could go deeper "than currently priced into market rates".

He refused to be drawn on what that path might look like - but markets had thought rates could bottom out at 4.5% or 4.75% this year, and potentially 3.5% or 4% next.

"To make sure that inflation stays around the 2% target - that inflation will neither be too high nor too low - it's likely that we will need to cut Bank rate over the coming quarters and make monetary policy somewhat less restrictive over the forecast period," Mr Bailey said.

You can read economics editor Ed Conway's analysis of the Bank's decision here ...

On Friday we discovered the UK is no longer in recession.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.6% between January and March, the Office for National Statistics said.

This followed two consecutive quarters of the economy shrinking.

The data was more positive than anticipated.

"Britain is not just out of recession," wrote Conway. "It is out of recession with a bang."

The UK has seen its fastest growth since the tailend of the pandemic - and Conway picked out three other reasons for optimism.

1/ An economic growth rate of 0.6% is near enough to what economists used to call "trend growth". It's the kind of number that signifies the economy growing at more or less "normal" rates.

2/ 0.6% means the UK is, alongside Canada, the fastest-growing economy in the G7 (we've yet to hear from Japan, but economists expect its economy to contract in the first quarter).

3/ Third, it's not just gross domestic product that's up. So too is gross domestic product per head - the number you get when you divide our national income by every person in the country. After seven years without any growth, GDP per head rose by 0.4% in the first quarter.

GDP per head is a more accurate yardstick for the "feelgood factor", said Conway - perhaps meaning people will finally start to feel better off.

For more on where Friday's figures leaves us, listen to an Ian King Business Podcast special...

The Money blog is your place for consumer news, economic analysis and everything you need to know about the cost of living - bookmark news.sky.com/money .

It runs with live updates every weekday - while on Saturdays we scale back and offer you a selection of weekend reads.

Check them out this morning and we'll be back on Monday with rolling news and features.

The Money team is Emily Mee, Bhvishya Patel, Jess Sharp, Katie Williams, Brad Young and Ollie Cooper, with sub-editing by Isobel Souster. The blog is edited by Jimmy Rice.

If you've missed any of the features we've been running in Money this year, or want to check back on something you've previously seen in the blog, this archive of our most popular articles may help...

Loaves of bread have been recalled from shelves in Japan after they were found to contain the remains of a rat.

Production of the bread in Tokyo has been halted after parts of a "small animal" were found by at least two people.

Pasco Shikishima Corp, which produces the bread, said 104,000 packages have been recalled as it apologised and promised compensation.

A company representative told Sky News's US partner network, NBC News, that a "small black rat" was found in the bread. No customers were reported to have fallen ill as a result of ingesting the contaminated bread.

"We deeply apologise for the serious inconvenience and trouble this has caused to our customers, suppliers, and other concerned parties," the spokesman said.

Pasco added in a separate statement that "we will do our utmost to strengthen our quality controls so that this will never happen again. We ask for your understanding and your co-operation."

Japanese media reports said at least two people who bought the bread in the Gunma prefecture, north-west of Tokyo, complained to the company about finding a rodent in the bread.

Record levels of shoplifting appear to be declining as fewer shopkeepers reported thefts last year, new figures show. 

A survey by the Office for National Statistics shows 26% of retailers experienced customer theft in 2023, down from a record high of 28% in 2022.

This comes despite a number of reports suggesting shoplifting is becoming more frequent. 

A  separate ONS finding , which used police crime data, showed reports of shoplifting were at their highest level in 20 years in 2023, with law enforcements logging 430,000 instances of the crime.

Let's get you up to speed on the biggest business news of the past 24 hours. 

A privately owned used-car platform is circling Cazoo Group, its stricken US-listed rival, which is on the brink of administration.

Sky News has learnt that Motors.co.uk is a leading contender to acquire Cazoo's marketplace operation, which would include its brand and intellectual property assets.

The process to auction the used-car platform's constituent parts comes after it spent tens of millions of pounds on sponsorship deals in football, snooker and darts in a rapid attempt to gain market share.

The owner of British Airways has reported a sharp rise in profits amid soaring demand for trips and a fall in the cost of fuel.

International Airlines Group said its operating profit for the first three months of the year was €68m (£58.5m) - above expectations and up from €9m (£7.7m) during the same period in 2023.

The company, which also owns Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling, said earnings had soared thanks to strong demand, particularly over the Easter holidays.

The prospect of a strike across Tata Steel's UK operations has gained further traction after a key union secured support for industrial action.

Community, which has more than 3,000 members, said 85% voted in favour of fighting the India-owned company's plans for up to 2,800 job losses, the majority of them at the country's biggest steelworks in Port Talbot, South Wales.

Tata confirmed last month it was to press ahead with the closure of the blast furnaces at the plant, replacing them with electric arc furnaces to reduce emissions and costs.

In doing so, the company rejected an alternative plan put forward by the Community, GMB and Unite unions that, they said, would raise productivity and protect jobs across the supply chain.

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