Memorial Day Resources

cc licensed photo from Julia Folsom

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. The holiday was first celebrated in 1868 when Union General John Logan called for a day on which to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers. Originally known as Decoration Day, it was gradually expanded to honor the fallen soldiers of all wars and became official in 1971 when the Uniform Holidays Act set its official date as the last Monday in May.

To learn more about Memorial Day, try the following:

• 10 Things to Remember (Mental Floss)
• The Great Unknowns (New York Times)
• History of Memorial Day (History Channel)
• Honoring America's Fallen Heroes (MSNBC)
• Honoring the Fallen (CNN)
• Honoring Those Who Served Us (MSNBC)
• Memorial Day Heroes (60 Minutes)
• Memorial Day in DC (Washington Post)
• Memorial Day Messages (ABC News)
• Memorial Day Observations (New York Times)
• Women in Uniform (MSNBC)

Tour the World...For Free! (Updated)

View Virtual Tours & Webcams in a larger map

Thanks to Richard Byrne's list of 11 Social Studies Resources to Try in 2011, this continues to be the most popular post on The History Lab. And since it is now halfway through 2012, I thought it might be time to give it an update. All 60+ place marks above have been tested and now direct to live sites. Take a few minutes (or an afternoon) to explore your favorites, then check out the resources below for even more virtual tours and webcams.

To explore more virtual tours and webcams, try the following resources:

• Arounder
• EarthCam
• FullScreen360
• Google Earth 3D Buildings Gallery
• Google Street View Gallery
• Tours from Above

Congratulations Class of 2012!

Mount St. Helens Anniversary

Today marks the anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington state's Cascade Mountains. The eruption, which deposited ash in eleven states, caused more than $1 billion in damages and killed 57 people.

To learn more about Mt. St. Helens, try the following resources:

• Devastation and Recovery at Mt. St Helens (NASA)
• Mountain Transformed (National Geographic)
• Mt. St. Helens (CBS News)
• Mt. St. Helens, 30 Years Ago (The Big Picture)
• Mt. St. Helens, 30 Years Later (Wall Street Journal)
• Mt. St. Helens: Back from the Dead (NOVA)
• Mt. St. Helens: New Life, 30 Years Later (NPR)
• Mt. St. Helens' Powerful Eruption (How Stuff Works)
• Mt. St. Helens Precursor Activity (USGS)
• Mt. St. Helens: Then and Now (MSNBC)
• Volcano Cams (USDA Forest Service)

To learn more about volcanoes in general, refer to this post.

Learn More about Volcanic Eruptions

cc licensed photo by Roberto Zingales

• Animated Guide: Volcanoes (BBC)
• Comparing Volcanoes (GOOD Infographic)
• Earth's Fiery Power (National Geographic)
• Fire in the Sky (Newsweek)
• How Volcanoes Work (San Diego State University)
• Interactives: Volcanoes Annenberg Media)
• Volcano (CBSNews)
• Volcano Explorer (Discovery Channel)
• Volcanoes Modules Page
• Volcano Photos (National Geographic)
• Volcanoes Webcams
• Volcanoes: Why They Erupt (The Guardian)
• Volcano World (Oregon State University)
• What Causes Volcanoes (CBBC)
• When Volcanoes Erupt (CNN)

Brown v. Board of Education

On this day in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered the unanimous ruling in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education. In it, the Court declared that state-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. This historic decision marked the end of the "separate but equal" precedent established nearly sixty years earlier in Plessy v. Ferguson and served as a catalyst for the expanding civil rights movement.

To learn more about Brown v. Board of Education, try the following resources:

• Brown v. Board of Education (Glencoe)
• Brown v. Board of Education (National Park Service)
• Brown v. Board of Education (PBS - The Supreme Court)
• Brown v. Board of Education: Commemoration (University of Michigan)
• Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka (BrainPOP)
• Looking Back: Brown v. Board of Education (NPR)
• Separate Is Not Equal (Smithsonian)
• With an Even Hand (Library of Congress)

Teacher Appreciation Week

Brought to you by USC Rossier Online
Master's in Teaching