Competition drives human beings to persevere and excel even in the face of significant adversity. History is the story of the past, defined by people and events who have shaped our world into what it is today. The combination of competition and history is at the heart of the National History Day contest.

Founded in 1974 by David Van Tassel, a history professor at Case Western Reserve University, this nonprofit organization has grown to include students from across the United States. The National Contest and the headquarters of the organization is based in our nation’s capital, Washington, DC. 

Students, ranging from 6-12th grade, are able to enter their local contests by creating a project based on historic evidence. The national organization devotes a theme to the contest each year and the student is expected to align their historic topic of choice to that year’s theme. Students are expected to create projects that not only tell what happened but establish a thesis, or argument about their findings.

The contest allows for creativity to flourish by giving students to create a project in the form of a documentary, website, paper, performance, or the traditional exhibit. Students may work independently or work in a group, based on their preference.

For this area of Eastern North Carolina, our students compete on the campus of East Carolina University each March. The projects that place in the top three of each category (individual & group) are invited to move on to the state-level competition of the contest.

This contest allows for students’ academic achievements, particularly in the field of history to be showcased.

For any questions and/or feedback, please contact me by email at cls1128@alumni.ecu.edu.