Last spring ContextU launched as a site to provide students with the greater context for significant events in U.S. history. In the September the site expanded to include more content on the American Revolution. Last month it expanded again to provide content on the period between George Washington’s and Andrew Jackson’s presidencies.

Just like the other sections of ContextU, the “New Nation” section of ContextU features a table of contents that students can open to select an event, person, or theme to see it in the context of other events and themes. Through timelines, Google Maps, diagrams, flow charts, and text ContextU provides context for each chosen event, piece of legislation, or theme. Students can jump from event to event or from theme to theme by following the hyperlinks within each diagram.

Applications for Education
The advantage of ContextU over a textbook as well as many other websites is the ease with which students can see how an event fits into the larger context of the causes of events in U.S. History.