National History Day Info Roundup: History Day Starter Kit

Mary Louise McBee

Charlayne Hunter Gault

Mary Frances Early

If you are just at the beginning of the process of developing a history day project, or if you need some suggestions for topics that fit the the 2016 NHD theme, Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange in History," this page is for you. 

Archivists and librarians at UGA have come up with three topics that feature some of the neat collections and resources available through the libraries and special collections at UGA and which are suitable for any of the NHD project category types (performance, paper, exhibit, Web site, documentary).

Everything in the starter kits is available online, is cleared for the educational uses associated with a National History Day project, and offers rich content and/or visual interest.   

"Hammerin' Hank" Aaron, a player for the Atlanta Braves, hit 755 home runs, a record that stood unchallenged until 2007, during his twenty-three-year career in major league baseball.Aaron's other records include career runs batted in (RBIs) and number of All-Star game appearances. His contributions to baseball on and off the field continued the struggle against segregation begun by Jackie Robinson in 1947. (Minter, A. B. "Hank Aaron (b. 1934)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 24 April 2013. Web. 24 September 2014.) Learn more

Secondary Sources about Hank Aaron

• Joe Garner, And the Crowd Goes Wild (Napersville, Ill.: Sourcebooks, 1999). Available at most public libraries, call number: NONFIC 796 GARNER
• Tom Stanton, Hank Aaron and the Home Run That Changed America (New York: William Morrow, 2004). Available at most public libraries, call number: BIO AARON

Primary Sources Available in Libraries

• Hank Aaron with Lonnie Wheeler, I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story (HarperCollins Publishers, 1991) Available at most public libraries, call number: BIO AARON

Primary Sources Available Online

• Walter J. Brown Media Archives WSB newsfilm clips:
• "A Tribute to the Career of All Star Baseball Great Henry 'Hank' Aaron." Available for online viewing from Brown Media  Archives at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/news/id:wsbn39239. Digital copy available for project use; request through online research account.
• "Atlanta Brave, Henry Aaron, Speaks about his Career, Family and Publicity." Available for online viewing from Brown Media Archives at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/news/id:wsbn38532. Digital copy available for project use; request through online research account.
• Richard B. Russell Library for Politcal Research and Studies, Clifford Baldowksi Editorial Cartoons
• Digital Public Library of America
• Digital Library of Georgia

Jimmy Carter, the only Georgian elected president of the United States, held the office for one term, 1977-81. His previous public service included a stint in the U.S. Navy, two senate terms in the Georgia General Assembly, and one term as governor of Georgia (1971-75). After being defeated in the presidential election of 1980, he founded the Carter Center, a nonpartisan public policy center in Atlanta. (Fink, Gary M. "Jimmy Carter (b. 1924)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 15 September 2014. Web. 25 September 2014.) Learn more

Secondary Sources about Jimmy Carter

• Peter G. Bourne, Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography from Plains to Post-Presidency (New York: Scribner, 1997).
• Douglas Brinkley, The Unfinished Presidency: Jimmy Carter's Journey beyond the White House (New York: Viking, 1998).
• Gary M. Fink, Prelude to the Presidency: The Political Character and Legislative Leadership Style of Governor Jimmy Carter (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1980).
• Frye Gaillard, Prophet from Plains: Jimmy Carter and His Legacy (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2007).
• Erwin C. Hargrove, Jimmy Carter as President: Leadership and the Politics of the Public Good (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1988).

Primary Sources Available Online 

• Walter J. Brown Media Archives WSB Newsfilm Collection:
• "Series of WSB-TV newsfilm clips related to Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, 1973 and 1979." Martin Luther King, Jr. Day did not become a national holiday until 1983. In 1973, Carter reads a proclamation establishing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as an official state holiday. This clip shows Carter reading that proclamation, an interview with King’s father, and some of the first MLK stamps.  Available for online viewing from Brown Media Archives at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/news/id:wsbn38297. Digital copy available for project use; request through online research account.
• "Carter Speaks to Student National Medical Association about Health Policy Changes Needed in the U.S." Not so different from the health care rhetoric today, this clip shows a more lively delivery from Carter. He presses the point that we have built a “non-system” that has left us “unhealthy and unwealthy,” and emphasizes the sparseness of health care providers in rural areas and ghettos.   Available for online viewing from Brown Media Archives at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/news/id:wsbn37912. Digital copy available for project use; request through online research account.
• "Governor Carter Discusses River Conservation (1972)" Governor Carter talks about the importance of caring for the environment.   Available for online viewing from Brown Media Archives at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/news/id:wsbn41881. Digital copy available for project use; request through online research account.
• Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, Clifford Baldowski Editorial Cartoons
• Digital Library of Georgia
  
• Digital Public Library of America
  

Primary Sources Available  onsite at the UGA Special Collections:

• Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library Collection 
  
• Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
  

Mary Frances Early
On August 16, 1962, Mary Frances Early became the first African American to graduate from the University of Georgia (UGA). Her accomplishment has been overshadowed by that of Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, who enrolled at UGA in January 1961, becoming the first African Americans to attend the previously segregated institution. Early remembers, "I sent in my application just after Char and Hamilton were evicted from campus for their own safety after a riot.... And I thought, 'Well, they have been brave enough to open up the undergraduate school, so somebody needs to step forward to open up the graduate school—why not me?'" She transferred her graduate work from the University of Michigan to UGA and graduated with a master's degree in music education in 1962, a year before Hunter and Holmes finished their undergraduate studies. (Griffin, Joy. "Mary Frances Early (b. 1936)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 10 January 2014. Web. 30 September 2014.) Learn more

Secondary Sources

• Thomas G. Dyer, The University of Georgia: A Bicentennial History 1785-1985 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1985).
• Robert A. Pratt, We Shall Not Be Moved: The Desegregation of the University of Georgia (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002).

Primary Sources Available Online

• Digital Public Library of America
• Goin’ Back Remembering UGA: An Oral History Project, The University of Georgia

Primary Sources Available Onsite at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia 

• Mary Frances Early Papers 

“Charlayne Hunter-Gault holds a place in Georgia civil rights history as one of the first two African American students admitted to the University of Georgia. Also known for her career as an award-winning journalist, Hunter-Gault is respected for her work on television and in print.” (Nash, Amanda. "Charlayne Hunter-Gault (b. 1942)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 06 August 2014. Web. 30 September 2014.) Learn more

Secondary Sources

• Robert A. Pratt, We Shall Not Be Moved: The Desegregation of the University of Georgia (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002).
• Calvin Trillin, An Education in Georgia: Charlayne Hunter, Hamilton Holmes, and the Integration of the University of Georgia (1964; reprint, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1991).

Primary Sources Available in Libraries

• Charlayne Hunter-Gault, In My Place (New York: Farrar, Straus Giroux, 1992).

Primary Sources Available Online

• Digital Public Library of America

Primary Sources Available Onsite at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia  

• Charlayne Hunter-Gault Papers
• Mary Frances Early Papers
• Stovall and McKay Family Papers 
• Walter Stovall Papers 

M. Louise McBee
M. Louise McBee served as a democratic legislator in the House of Representatives from 1991 until 2004. Prior to serving as a legislator for Athens-Clarke County, McBee was an educator and held administrative positions at the University of Georgia from 1963 until 1988. At UGA, Dr. McBee held positions as: the Dean of Women, the Dean of Students, the Assistant Vice President for Instruction, and the Vice President of Academic Affairs. (Biographical Statement, Mary Louise McBee Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies)Learn more http://russelldoc.galib.uga.edu/russell/view?docId=ead/RBRL146LM-ead.xml#ref7.1

Secondary Sources
Thomas G. Dyer, The University of Georgia: A Bicentennial History 1785-1985 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1985).

Primary Sources

Reflections on Georgia Politics Oral History
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Goin’ Back Remembering UGA: An Oral History Project, The University of Georgia
http://uga.edu/livinghistory/feature/mcbee/

Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies
M. Louise McBee Papers

Alice W. Stancil one of the first women admitted in 1919 as a full-time academic student at the University of Georgia

Secondary Sources
Thomas Dyer, The University of Georgia:  A Bicentennial History, 1785-1985 (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1985).

Primary Sources Available Online
WSB newsfilm clip "Ray Moore interviewing Alice W. Stancil, one of the first women admitted to the academic side of the University of Georgia in 1919, about her experiences at the university, Athens, Georgia, 1961 January." Alice W. Stancil, one of the first women admitted in 1919 as a full-time academic student at the University of Georgia, describes her experiences at the university.  Available for online viewing from Brown Media Archives at http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/news/id:wsbn69562. Digital copy available for project use; request through online research account.