Special Collections seeks to connect educators with local history. State history begins in 4th grade and various classes in Social Studies and History are taught through 12th grade. The following resources try to match archival resources with Alabama's specified curriculum standards, with the hope that educators can supplement their curriculum with examples from local Huntsville/Madison County History.
A full list of curriculum standards can be found through the Alabama Department of Education:
2010 Approved Standards
2024 Draft Standards
Alvin Graham was the creator of the Spectator Newspaper, one of the earlier newspapers in North Alabama, as well as an employee of Redstone Arsenal in its early years. This collection features much of his correspondence and effects that deal with his service during the Great War. Of note are several medals he received, as well as documents relating to the ROTC of which he was apart, as well as a trail of correspondence that documented his trying time in enlisting in the ROTC. This collection can be used to show the mindset behind a young American man as he enlists in the war, as well as the requirements of military service at the time.
This manuscript features a meeting of the Madison County Legion, a group of veterans of the Great War. In this retelling of the meeting, Judge J. Johnson has a pseudo call to arms for his fellow veterans to follow and support President Franklin Roosevelt in his mission to prevent further economic decay during the Great Depression, a struggle that’s importance, Johnson says, is as important as the struggle in Europe in the late 1910s. This manuscript is a good look at how hopeful people were with the FDR presidency and supportive of its aims in tackling the economic problems of his early presidential tenure.
The Timberwolves comic is a short pamphlet that depicts the journey of the “Timberwolves” 104 Infantry Division’s journey through Europe during the final years of the Second World War. This comic is a good way to show depictions of propaganda during this war, and features humorous depictions of several battles.
Hometown History Video - Alabama & the New Deal
Run time: 13 minutes
Hometown History Video - Nurse Dent
Run time: 7 minutes
Hometown History Video - Huntsville in WWII
Run time: 11 minutes
Hometown History Video - Redstone Arsenal
Run time: 10 minutes
The content on the Teacher Resources pages originated from a Special Collections intern who conducted a survey of Madison City School history and social studies teachers in Fall 2024. Survey findings can be found here:
