Historic places have powerful and provocative stories to tell.
As witnesses to the past, they recall the events that shaped history and the people who faced those situations and issues. Places make connections across time that give them a special ability to create an empathetic understanding of what happened and why. It's a way to find them as fellow human beings, as necessary as the digging you do in libraries. It is not necessary, though, to visit a place to feel its connections to history. By examining and questioning readings, documents, maps, photographs, and by engaging in activities, students connect these locations to the broad themes of American history.