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.
Your historical argument (thesis statement) explains what you believe to be the impact and significance of your topic in history.
Example:
Topic: Battle of Gettysburg
Historical Argument: 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.
National History Day Project Directions, 2020
In April 1970, Earth Day activists led teach-ins and demonstrations across the U.S. to communicate the need for environmental policies to protect natural resources. Over 20 million people participated in the event, which raised awareness and pressured the U.S. government to create the Environmental Protection Agency, a government group dedicated to address environmental issues.
Led by the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Local P-9, employees of the Hormel Factory in Austin, Minnesota went on strike for thirteen months in 1985, demanding better working conditions and wages. While the strike was not successful, it led to parent labor unions showing greater support to locals when they were negotiating contracts with companies.
From 1933 to 1944, Franklin Delano Roosevelt periodically held “fireside chats” – radio broadcasts in which he presented his political ideas, programs, and responses to current events – that reached over 60 million Americans across the country. These broadcasts helped Roosevelt gain public trust and support for his programs, helped Americans understand the political decisions of the President, and ultimately changed the way the President communicates with the public.