The New-York Historical Society Education Division provides dynamic programming and curriculum resources for students in New York and beyond. The Teen Historian blog features research and writing from high school students in our after-school programs who’ve used these resources to deepen their understanding of American history. Marines Call It That 2,000 Yard Stare was on…
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The Nation’s First Marketable Celebrity
October 28, 2016
Written by Lee Shapiro, 12th Grade Student Historian As I sit down and scroll through my phone and television, I am usually bombarded by advertisements. Kylie Jenner is promoting her new lip care line; Peyton Manning is singing the State Farm theme song; and Sarah Palin is promoting Donald Trump. While I sit, I think…
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Symbolism: The Fuel of American Patriotism
October 20, 2016
Written by Hanna Bregman, 10th grade Teen Historian Lady Liberty stands in the center of this painting; behind her is a backdrop of a cool colored sky. At her bottom right there is a bust of George Washington engraved with a quote by Henry Lee III at Washington’s funeral, “First in War, First in Peace, First…
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The Stories Maps Tell
Written by Tristan Genetta, Teen Leader This summer the Teen Leaders at the New-York Historical Society were responsible for creating an activity for the pop-up exhibition, Audubon: Birdman for a Fledgling Nation, on Governors Island. This map represents one boundary of human contact with the western side of North America in the 19th century. For…
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Making an Exhibit More Like a Classroom
October 14, 2016
Written by Liana Chow, Teen Leader I was appalled to see two kids slumping on a bench in Paris’s Louvre Museum last month and sullenly tapping on their phones. When I returned to New York for my Teen Leader internship with the New-York Historical Society, my goal was to prevent the same thing from happening in…
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Love or Submission? Realizing Societal Perceptions of Women through a Box
October 12, 2016
Written by Rachel Kim, 12th Grade, Teen Historian Hollywood is known for immortalizing that climactic moment when a movie character suddenly drops to one knee, presents a classic diamond ring, and dramatically declares devotion to the unsuspecting lover. Granted, one automatically associates the action of proposing marriage with the male gender. This concept of men governing women…
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Audubon, Birds, and Me
October 7, 2016
Written by Teen Leader Elena Butuzova Recently, I bought this papier-mâché bird from the thrift store. Why? It reminded me of John James Audubon and my time in the Teen Leader internship at the New-York Historical Society. Throughout the summer internship, I asked myself what Audubon will mean to me once I am no longer…
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One Man’s Jug is Another Man’s Freedom
October 6, 2016
Written by Julie Anne Lim, Rising College Freshman Teen Historian “Jug” from the Folk Art Collection of Elie and Viola Nadelman is a stoneware piece that measures 12 inches x 7.75 inches. It has been decorated with leaves and crescents using cobalt oxide, giving these details a blue hue. It is marked with an inscription…
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To Have Your Cake and Read It, Too
September 30, 2016
Wrriten by Ephraim Kozodoy, 12th Grade Teen Historian Unidentified American maker. Cake print depicting an allegory of Greek independence, 1823–32. Mahogany. New-York Historical Society. INV. 1937.591 Viewed from a distance, one’s gaze might pass right by this unprepossessing slab of carved mahogany. As one moves closer, however, the carvings resolve themselves into a detailed scene of…
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