2015 NATIONAL HISTORY DAY THEME:
Leadership and Legacy in History
Dear Student,
What does leadership mean? Leadership is a leader of a group, organization;
the time when a person holds the position of leader; the power or ability to
lead other people. Can someone “lead the way” without displaying leadership?
Can an organization provide leadership? Because someone does something
extraordinary, do they display leadership?
Legacy
Leadership
Every year, National History Day comes out with a new theme. The judges for your project will be
looking to see that your chosen topic relates to the theme: Leadership and Legacy in History. You
could do your project on leadership and the legacy that comes with it. Just because something
happened and someone did something, however, it does not necessarily mean a legacy was
created.
The dictionary defines legacy as something that has happened in
the past or that comes from the past. Can someone be a leader
without providing a legacy? What happens when a leader is bad?
Can legacies be controversial? Sometimes legacies cannot be
understood until long after a leader has passed away. Sometimes a
legacy depends on perspective.
Sample Topics
George Washington: Leading the US to Independence
Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prize
Ronald Reagan and the Cold War
The Marshall Plan: The Legacy of WWII
Otto von Bismarck and the Unification of Germany
The Economic Legacy of Henry Ford
Eleanor Roosevelt and the UN Declaration of Human Rights
Rosa Parks and Civil Rights
Pancho Villa: Leading Northern Mexico
Bacon’s Rebellion and Slavery in Colonial Virginia