On April 28, a distinguished crowd of history supporters, writers, and historians gathered at the Bethesda, Maryland residence of author Nancy Greenspan to celebrate the 75th anniversary of American Heritage Magazine, and its tradition of publishing important writing on our nation's history.
One of the great successes in the struggle to educate young people about our nation's past has been the National History Day competition. For anyone who cares about history, it's heartening to see hundreds of earnest young scholars show off that they learned in exhibits, essays, websites, documentaries and plays.
Each year over half a million students in all 50 states, with the help of tens of thousands of teachers, show off the research they've done. They learn about people and events that made our country great, from military heroes to inventors and scientists. Competition can be fierce among schools in a county. Then the winners compete at state competitions, and finally the national level.