Key Principles

These are the principles that guided the creation of the States of Independence website. 

Teaching Focus

States of Independence is designed to support teachers and students as they do the crucial work, year in and year out, of engaging the history and memory of the American Revolution.

State-Level Focus

Local history offers an especially compelling avenue for students and teachers to engage this perennially important subject.

Range of Perspectives

To gain the fullest and most illuminating sense of the history and memory of the American Revolution, it is greatly beneficial to consult a variety of historical perspectives and to recognize that no single story, or set of stories, can capture everything.

Compare and Contrast

The website has been designed to encourage teachers and students to analyze of points of similarity and difference among states. The guiding questions for each of the eight types of videos are the same across all states, and the website’s architecture facilitates easy juxtaposition.

Non-Partisan

States of Independence does not align with any particular political party or cause. Such alignment would fundamentally contradict its teaching focus.

Extensibility

States of Independence will function as a platform for the ongoing creation and dissemination of teaching resources by New American History and the teachers and students that it serves.