History Day 2018
Conflict & Compromise in History
Page down for loads of ideas for your History Day project. We’ve broad categories, including social issues, war, politics, religion, and infrastructure and historic preservation.
Social Conflict and Compromise
Social issues have brought conflict and often little compromise and are fertile territory for exploring this year’s History Day theme. What kind of conflicts and compromises, for example, resulted when women and minorities asserted their civil rights? How did Connecticut handle these transitions? What kind of role did individuals play in bringing conflicts to light and compromise or resolution to fruition? Did mass movements exert pressure for compromise?
| “Audacious Alliance: Mary Townsend Seymour,” Summer 2003 | Mary Townsend Seymour worked for civil rights for African Americans and labor rights for workers in early 20th century Connecticut | https://www.ctexplored.org/audacious-alliance-mary-townsend-seymour/ |
| “Maria Sanchez: Godmother of Puerto Rican Community,” Summer 2003 | Maria Sanchez moved to Connecticut from Puerto Rico as a young woman. She became an important leader in her community, ran for office and became the first Latina to service in the state legislature. | https://www.ctexplored.org/maria-sanchez-godmother-of-hartfords-puerto-rican-community/
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| “Faith Congregational Church: 185 Years, Same People, Same Purpose,” Summer 2005 | What role has the church in the African American community played in ameliorating conflict and seeking compromise? | https://www.ctexplored.org/faith-congregational-church-185-years-same-people-same-purpose/
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| “Cast Down on Every Side: The Ill-Fated Campaign to Found an “African-American College” in New Haven,” Summer 2007 | Could a compromise be reached in establishing the first college for African Americans in Connecticut? | https://www.ctexplored.org/cast-down-on-every-side-the-ill-fated-campaign-to-found-an-african-college-in-new-haven/ |
| “A Family of Reformers: The Middletown Bemans,” Winter 2008/2009 | Were the Bemans willing to compromise in their efforts to gain civil rights for African Americans in 19th century Connecticut? | |
| “Girls Can Play Too!,” Fall 2009 | The beginning of women’s basketball is a story of conflict and compromise. | https://www.ctexplored.org/girls-can-play-too-womens-basketball-in-connecticut/ |
| “Breaking the Legal Barrier,” Spring 2010
“The Trailblazing Bessye Bennett,” Spring 2014 |
Mary Hall, the first woman to practice law in Connecticut, and Bessye Bennet, the first African American woman to practice law in Connecticut, faced conflict, did they have to compromise, too? | https://www.ctexplored.org/mary-hall-breaking-the-legal-barrier/
https://www.ctexplored.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BENNETT.pdf |
| “Black Abolitionists Speak,” Spring 2011
“Rev. James Pennington: A Voice for Freedom,” Winter 2012/2013 |
Was there any compromising on slavery? Was colonization a good compromise? Explore where Black Abolitionists stood in 19th century Connecticut | https://www.ctexplored.org/site-lines-black-abolitionists-speak/
https://www.ctexplored.org/a-voice-for-freedom/
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| “Bridgeport Votes for a Change,” Fall 2012 | Politics in Bridgeport under a Socialist mayor. | https://www.ctexplored.org/bridgeport-votes-for-a-change/ |
| “Just Like Georgia Except for the Climate,” Fall 2014 | The best-selling novels of Ann Petry explored conflict and compromise in 20th century African American Connecticut and beyond. | https://www.ctexplored.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/JUST-LIKE-GEORGIA.pdf |
| “An Early Advocate for Gay Rights in Connecticut,” Summer 2014 | https://www.ctexplored.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/EARLY-ADVOCATE-FOR-CT-GAY-COMMUNITY.pdf | |
| “Aid and Comfort, Connecticut Style,” Spring 2010 | During the Great Depression, there was no safety net provided by the government. People were hurting–what was the solution? | |
| Children in Society “Off the Streets and Into the Parks,” Spring 2003” “To Work or to School?,” Summer 2009 “Child Labor,” |
Childhood could be rough with nowhere to play and no laws against exploiting children for labor. A compromise was a long time coming. | https://www.ctexplored.org/to-work-or-to-school-educating-children-in-19th-century-connecticut/ |
- Winter 2012/2013, Promise of Freedom
Politics
Explore conflict and compromise in state government, including voting rights, issues of taxation with these stories from Connecticut Explored
| “Reflections on the 1965 Constitutional Convention,” Spring 2014 | Why did it take so long for Connecticut to move to one person-one vote? | https://www.ctexplored.org/reflections-on-the-1965-constitutional-convention/ |
| “No Taxation Without Representation,” Spring 20016 | African Americans used the language of the American Revolution to fight for voting rights. | https://www.ctexplored.org/no-taxation-without-representation-voting-petitions-in-connecticut/ |
| “The Anti-Income Tax Rally of 1991,” Spring 2016 | The question was how to adequately and appropriately fund state government. Citizens protested the imposition of an income tax in 1991 | https://www.ctexplored.org/sample-article-the-anti-income-tax-rally-of-1991/ |
| “Senator Brandegee Stonewalls Women’s Suffrage” and “The Long & Bumpy Road to Women’s Suffrage in Connecticut, Spring 2016 | Connecticut’s politicians resisted giving women the vote. Over 70 years of agitation, women accepted small gains and finally, the right to vote in all elections with the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitutions. Meanwhile, women elsewhere had been voting since the 1860s. | https://www.ctexplored.org/senator-brandegee-stonewalls-womens-suffrage/
https://www.ctexplored.org/the-long-road-to-womens-suffrage-in-connecticut/ |
Religious Conflict and Compromise
Religious conflict brought about the establishment of Connecticut—but it did not provide religious freedom for all. Throughout history, compromises were made between political entities and religious organizations. How did the Puritans handle differing faiths? Were all religions treated equally by Connecticut’s citizens, and, if not, why? How did and do Connecticans handle differing world views based on their faith?
| “Making Their Presence Known,” Summer 2005
“Gaining Religious Equality,” Spring 2016 |
Jews work for the same rights as Christians in Connecticut | https://www.ctexplored.org/making-their-presence-known/
https://www.ctexplored.org/site-lines-gaining-religious-equality/ |
| “Yale’s Chaplain Takes on the Vietnam War,” Winter 2014/2015 | Rev. William Sloane Coffin, Jr. tests the limits of Yale’s—and the nation’s—tolerance of his right to speak out for his convictions for Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War | https://www.ctexplored.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/YALE-CHAPLAIN.pdf |
Wartime Conflict and Compromise
Battles are the ultimate outward expression of conflict between countries, and sometimes within a single nation. Hostilities are often the result of political, religious, social, or economic conflicts. Wartime strategies often cause separate conflicts and compromises at home and abroad. Who is affected by war? How do different groups on the same side respond in wartime? What happens when those responses conflict? Did compromises made during wartime last after the treaties were signed?
| “Exploring and Uncovering the Pequot War,” Fall 2013 | Could peaceful co-habitation and compromise exist between the English settlers and the Native peoples of Connecticut? | https://www.ctexplored.org/exploring-and-uncovering-the-pequot-war/
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| “Greenwich Women Face the Great War,” Winter 2014/2015
“Civil War: Heroes on the Homefront,” Spring 2011
World War I: “Ruth Hovey, Hartford Hero” |
Women find a valued role during wartime. | https://www.ctexplored.org/greenwich-women-face-the-great-war/
https://www.ctexplored.org/civil-war-heroes-of-the-home-front/
https://www.ctexplored.org/ruth-hovey-hartford-hero/
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| “The Conference State,” Fall 2005 | During the Revolutionary War, Connecticut was the location for strategic discussions between Genearl Washington and the comte de Rochambeau | https://www.ctexplored.org/the-conference-state/ |
| “I Wanted to Fly,” Fall 2011 | African Americans seek parity in flying for the U.S. during World War II | https://www.ctexplored.org/tuskegee-airman-i-wanted-to-fly/ |
| Connecticut in the War of 1812 (all from Summer 2012):
“Attack on Stonington” “Stonington’s Star-Spangled Banner” “The Notorious Hartford Convention” “The British Raid on Essex” |
Some say the War of 1812 is not Connecticut’s finest hour. We were attacked and valiantly fought off the British in Stonington but suffered defeat in Essex. And we participated in discussions about seceding from the young nation. Was there compromise? | https://www.ctexplored.org/war-of-1812-stonington/
https://www.ctexplored.org/re-collections-stoningtons-star-spangled-banner/ https://www.ctexplored.org/the-notorious-hartford-convention/ https://www.ctexplored.org/war-of-1812-the-british-raid-on-essex/ |
| World War II
“Wartime Relocation Brings Japanese Americans East,” Fall 2013 |
Japanese-American citizens from the West Coast were interred in camps as they were deemed a security risk. Some were resettled in Connecticut | https://www.ctexplored.org/wartime-relocation-brings-japanese-americans-east/
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| WWI: “The Bonus Marchers,” Spring 2017 | WWI Veterans fight to make a livelihood and for pensions after WWI | https://www.ctexplored.org/wwi-vets-the-bonus-marchers/
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| WWII: “Caroline Ferriday: Godmother to Ravensbruk Survivors,” Winter 2011/2012 | At the end of World War II, Polish women subjected to medical experiments by the Nazis were all but abandoned. How could they get the medical help they needed and the reparations they were due? | https://www.ctexplored.org/a-godmother-to-ravensbruck-survivors/ |
- Spring 2011, Peace Movement in Litchfield
Infrastructure and Historic Preservation
The conflicts and compromises between public and private interests are at the heart of city and town planning and how to best care for our built environment. How do roads, highways, parks, and waterways affect business, residents, and the environment? Which gets priority? Can multiple interests compromise on project that will be mutually beneficial if it means relinquishing total control? Should historic structures be saved or torn down for new ones? How do citizens react when local, state, or federal regulations conflict with their plans?
| “The Ill-Fated Farmington Canal,” Spring 2008 | Building a waterway from New Haven to Massachusetts to compete with the Connecticut River | https://www.ctexplored.org/the-ill-fated-farmington-canal/ |
| “Traveling Hartford-area Turnpikes, Then, Now, or Never,” Spring 2008 | The location of roadways has been a story of conflict and compromise from the beginning | https://www.ctexplored.org/traveling-hartford-area-turnpikes-then-now-or-never-plans-for-a-beltway-around-hartford-hit-a-dead-end/ |
| Historic Preservation Stories
“Better the Second Time Around,” Spring 2013 “Glamour and Purpose in New Haven’s Union Station,” Spring 2013 “Saving Mark Twain’s House, “ Spring 2013 “Cheney Company Housing Auction of 1937,” Spring 2013 “Saving Hartford’s Amos Bull House,” Summer 2015 |
Historic preservation invariably involves conflict—whether to save a building or raze it—and compromise–how to balance historic accuracy vs. contemporary needs | http://connecticutexplored.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/SAVING-TWAINS-HOUSE.pdf
https://www.ctexplored.org/the-cheney-company-housing-auction-of-1937/ https://www.ctexplored.org/saving-hartfords-amos-bull-house/
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| “The Forlorn Soldier,” Summer 2015
“The Genius of Connecticut,” Summer 2015 |
Preserving sculpture and monuments involve conflict and compromise, too—two sculptures that have found refuge inside the State Capitol | https://www.ctexplored.org/the-forlorn-soldier/
https://www.ctexplored.org/the-genius-of-connecticut-give-her-wings/ |