For additional information: Mrs. KC Smith
FHF Coordinator
Museum of Florida History
500 S. Bronough Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 245-6326
(850) 245-6353, fax
PDF documents require the free Adobe Acrobat reader software.
(new window)
Florida History Fair - Contest Theme
Suggested Topics
The following examples offer a starting point for students and teachers to brainstorm about topics relating to this year's National History Day theme. Choosing one of the topics below will not increase or decrease a student's chances of doing well at a National History Day contest.
Although students may select a topic that addresses any time or place in history, excellent research subjects often can be found by investigating one's local history. Staff at the Florida State Archives have identified resources in their online collection that relate to many of the suggested Florida topics. Go to the Florida Memory Project Online Classroom to investigate these resources.
Interpreting the Theme
Before choosing a topic, students should read NHD's discussion about ways in which "conflict and compromise" can be interpreted. NHD states, ". . . students may choose to focus on a conflict or a compromise, but if the topic includes one as well as the other, the student needs to address both sides of the theme."
How Old is Old?
Students may wish to select as a topic an event that has been momentous in their lifetime; for example, the World Trade Center attack, the fall of Saddam Hussein, or Hurricane Katrina. However, the long-term impact of such recent events is not yet fully known. NHD states, "The general rule of thumb is, don’t choose a topic less than twenty-five years [old] or until one generation has passed. Time gives historical perspective." [1]
A Lonely Life: Survival Strategies for Florida's Lighthouse Keepers and Their Families
Anti-Catholic Sentiment of Governor Sidney J. Catts
Battling the Cold: The Impact of the 1899 and 1989 Freezes on the Citrus Industry
Bernrdo de Gálevz and the Spanish Victory at the 1781 Battle of Pensacola
Black Men in Blue Coats: African American Soldiers in the Civil War in Florida
Black Seminoles during the Seminole Wars
Conflict, Compromise—and Betrayal: General Jessup's False Use of the White Flag of Truce
Conflict and Compromise on the Florida Frontier: The 1763 Treaty of Paris
Conflict on the Border: Andrew Jackson and Spanish Florida
Convict Labor Leasing in Florida
Developing Florida: Land, Weather, and Developers
Developing Florida: Agriculture and Urban Sprawl
An End to Reconstruction: The Disupted Presidential Election of 1876
Enemy Offshore: The German U-Boat Threat to Florida in World War II
Environmental Compromise: From Draining the Everglades to Protecting Them
Environmental Compromise: Stopping Construction of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal
Fire and Sword: Governor James Moore's Destruction of the Spanish Missions in Florida
Florida Lighthouses: Conflicts with Wreckers, Slaves, and Natives
Florida Teacher's Strike of 1968
Florida's Wars of Indian Removal
Fort Mose: Sapnish Florida's African American Outpost
Freedom or Return: The Evolution of Florida's Cuban Immigration Policies
From Collective to Indial Ownership: The Dawes Act of 1887
Governor LeRoy Collins: A Moderate Figure for Civial Rights in a Southern State
Governor Lawton Chiles Takes on Big Tobacco
Interpretation of History as Conflict and Compromise: The Dade Massacre
Kennedy and Khrushchev: The Cuban Missle Crisis of 1962
"Kill the Indian and Save the Man": Richard H. Pratt and the Carlisle Indian School
Kingsley Plantation: Freedom and Slavery in Plantation-Era Florida
Lieutenant Adam Slemmer: Holding Fort Pickens for the Union in 1861
Patriots Revolt: Amelia Island in 1812
Point of Embarkation: Florida as a Staging Base during the Spanish American War
Private Proerty: Holatta-Micco (Billy Bowlegs) and Governor Thomas Brown and Claims against Native Lands
Reapportionment in Florida: Rural versus Urban, North versus South
Reconstruction in Florida, 1865-1877
Secretary of State Bruce Smathers and Efforts to Save Florida's Old Capitol
Spanish Mission and Conflict between Spain and England
Struggle for Sovereignty: Florida Under Five Flags
Uneasy Neighbors: Florida and Cuba in the 20th and 21st Centuries
Union or Secession? Conflicting Stands of Governors Call and Milton on the Eve of the Civil War
The Battle of Olustee: Florida's Largest Civil War Engagement
The Capital Compromise: Tallahassee as Florida's Capital City
The Conch Republic: Key West Attempts to Challenge the Government
The French in Florida: A Conflict for Spain
The Impact of Disney World on Orlando: From Tranquil Town to Bustling City
The Know Nothing Party
The Longest War: The U.S. Government versus the Seminole Indians
The Narváez Expedition: Conflicting Relations between Native Americans and Spaniards
The Reverend C.K. Steele and the 1956 Tallahassee Bus Boycott
The U.S. Acquires Florida: The Adam-Onís Treaty
The Wheeler-Howard Act of 1934 and the Impact on Florida's Native Populations
Meade and Lee: The Civil War General Build Lighthouses in Florida
Vietnam at Home: Campus Protest caused by the War
Who Owns History? The State of Florida versus Mel Fisher
The list of Florida topics was developed by staff of the Museum of Florida History and the Division of Historical Resources, Florida Department of State.
.
