Exploring Washington History

"In the 19 years I’ve been teaching DC history to high school students, my scholars have used Washington History to investigate their neighborhoods, compete in National History Day, write and produce plays based on real-life historical characters. They’ve grappled with concepts such as compensated emancipation, the 1919 riots, school integration, and the evolution of the built environment of Washington, DC. I could not teach courses on Washington, DC history without Washington History."
—Bill Stevens, a DC public charter school teacher

Washington History includes Teachable Moments, which are short articles are designed for classroom use. They take a single local primary source and explore its historical context with DCPS curricular needs in mind. These Teachable Moments address issues such as compensation emancipation, racial covenants, and the civil rights era.

See how specific Washington History articles can support exploration of a wide variety of topics covered in the DCPS curriculum. This selection of articles are great for high school and college students who are doing research on local topics, and provide helpful context for the adults guiding them.

COMPENSATED EMANCIPATION

Mitchell, Mary. “‘I Held George Washington’s Horse’: Compensated Emancipation in the District of Columbia.” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 63/65 (1963): 221-29.

CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL ACTIVISTS

Caplan, Marvin. “Eat Anywhere!” Washington History 1, no. 1 (1989): 24-39.

Pacifico, Michele F. “’Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work’: The New Negro Alliance of Washington.” Washington History 6, no. 1 (1994): 66-88.

Carey, Miya. “Becoming “a Force for Desegregation”: The Girl Scouts and Civil Rights in the Nation’s Capital.” Washington History 29, no. 2 (2017): 52-60.

Crooms, Lisa A. “Race, Education and the District of Columbia: The Meaning and Legacy of Bolling v. Sharpe.” Washington History 16, no. 2 (2004): 14-22.

Pearlman, Lauren. “More than a March: The Poor People’s Campaign in the District.” Washington History 26, no. 2 (2014): 24-41.

Gray, Derek. “’Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution’: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Legacy of Activism in Washington, D.C.” Washington History 30, no. 2 (2018): 10-19.

Schaffer, Dana Lanier. “The 1968 Washington Riots in History and Memory.” Washington History 15, no. 2 (2003): 4-33.

THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION

Murray, Martin G. “Traveling with the Wounded: Walt Whitman and Washington’s Civil War Hospitals.” Washington History 8, no. 2 (1996): 58-73.

DC GOVERNMENT – STRUCTURE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Haskins, Faye P. “The Art of D.C. Politics: Broadsides, Banners, and Bumper Stickers.” Washington History 12, no. 2 (2000): 46-63.

Hartman, Curtis J. “Talking Trash: Solid Waste Policy in the District of Columbia, 1877-1922.” Washington History 24, no. 2 (2012): 85-99.

Mergen, Bernard. “Slush Funds: A History of D.C. Snow Management.” Washington History 8, no. 1 (1996): 4-15.

Van Zandt Cox, William. “Matthew Gault Emery, the Last Mayor of Washington, 1870-1871.” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 20 (1917): 19-59.

Wells, Donna M. “Walter Edward Washington (1915-2003): A Photo Tribute.” Washington History 16, no. 1 (2004): 4-15.

DC VOTING RIGHTS

Diner, Steven J. “The City under the Hill.” Washington History 8, no. 1 (1996): 54-61.

IMMIGRATION AND NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT

Rodriguez, Ana Patricia. “‘Becoming `Wachintonians’: Salvadorans in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area.” Washington History 28, no. 2 (2016): 3-12.

Aviles, Quique. “A Third Citizenship.” Washington History 31, no. 1/2 (2019): 29-34.

LOCAL LIFE DURING THE WORLD WARS

Gordon, Martin K., Barry R. Sude, and Ruth Ann Overbeck. “Chemical Testing in the Great War: The American University Experiment Station.” Washington History 6, no. 1 (1994): 28-45

Pryde, Marion Jackson, Markus Ring, Damon Cordom, and Loretta Carter Hanes. “Growing up in Washington II: Great Depression and World War II.” Washington History 12, no. 2 (2000): 17-21.

NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION INNOVATIONS

Schrag, Zachary M. “Mapping Metro, 1955-1968: Urban, Suburban, and Metropolitan Alternatives.” Washington History 13, no. 1 (2001): 4-23.

Amsler, Sarah S. “Washington in Mid-Century: Wymer’s Photo Survey, 1948-1952.” Washington History 9, no. 1 (1997): 42-51.

Williams, Kim Prothro. “The Surviving Cultural Landscape of Washington’s Alleys.” Washington History 27, no. 2 (2015): 40-52.

Shepherd, William John, and Mary Beth Corrigan. “Becoming a Capital City: The Photographs of Terence Vincent Powderly.” Washington History 24, no. 2 (2012): 116-35.

DeFerrari, John. “Picturing Metro: A Look Back at the Photographs of Phil Portlock.” Washington History 28, no. 2 (2016): 16-31.

ON-GOING STRUGGLE FOR SELF-DETERMINATION

Musgrove, George Derek. “‘Statehood Is Far More Difficult’: The Struggle for D.C. Self-Determination, 1980–2017.” Washington History 29, no. 2 (2017): 3-17.

THE PEARL AFFAIR

Harrold, Stanley C. “The Pearl Affair: The Washington Riot of 1848.” Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C. 50 (1980): 140-60.

RETROCESSION

Richards, Mark David. “The Debates over the Retrocession of the District of Columbia, 1801-2004.” Washington History 16, no. 1 (2004): 54-82.

The following guides provide additional relevant resources for educators.