For Veterans Day - "Why to Teach about Military History" (and how)

While I was interested in doing something for Veterans' Day, this post was prompted by an article I saw a few days ago from the National Association of Scholars on "Why Are Our Colleges Deserting Military History"? I normally focus on K-12 content, but have connected with NAS for years around their work on standards and particularly how academic programs created by colleges eventually "trickle down" to influence K-12 standards and policy.

So here are a couple of interesting quotes from the article, written by Kali Jerrard . . .

"While the majority of the nation has off today from school or work to commemorate this holiday, this question was rattling around in my head, how many Americans truly understand what that means? Academia has long failed to teach civics, history, and military history effectively, eroding patriotism at every level of education."

Or this quote within the article from Dr. John A. Lynn II, now professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, "... in the long run what should concern us all is promoting and preserving historical studies in their full range. A limited selection of fashionable approaches to history studied in isolation is by its very nature a distortion. We gain by broad inclusion, not by narrow exclusion. Should the study of the conduct of war and military institutions be lost as a serious historical subdiscipline, it is not simply military historians who lose; it is all of us."

So while I don't agree with everything they argue, I think military history has a role to play in any secondary social studies class. I know I tried to incorporate accurate resources (primary and secondary sources, along with my textbook) when my middle school students studied all of America's conflicts up through Vietnam. Accordingly, here are some of the "go-to" organizations I tended to utilize, as well as a few more articles on the topic . . .

Articles on the Role of Military History

The original article quoted above - "Disappearing Discipline: Why Are Our Colleges Deserting Military History?", National Association of Scholars, Nov 2025, https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/disappearing-discipline

The issue of the quarterly academic journal also quoted in the original article (all articles may not be accessible) - "Academic Questions, Volume 21, Issue 1", National Association of Scholars, Spring 2008, https://www.nas.org/academic-questions/21/1

Dr. John A. Lynn II's article from above (within the previous journal) - "Breaching the Walls of Academe: The Purposes, Problems, and Prospects of Military History", National Association of Scholars, Nov 2025, https://www.nas.org/blogs/article/disappearing-discipline

This was one of the first "professional" academic articles I seriously read (not just required reading for a grad class) after starting my teaching career decades ago. I also heard Walter McDougall speak in-person several times as part of FPRI programs (listed below in resources) - "The Three Reasons We Teach History", Footnotes - from the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Feb 1998, https://www.fpri.org/article/1998/02/the-three-reasons-we-teach-history/

"The Role of Military History in the Contemporary Academy", The National World War II Museum with the Society for Military History, Sep 2018, https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/role-military-history-contemporary-academy

"The Current Status of Military History", in Issue 100 of Strategika (Conflicts of the Past as Lessons for the Present), Aug 2025, https://www.hoover.org/strategika100 NOTE specifically the article on "Military History in Academia" within the bigger journal

"Teaching Military History: Why and How?" (a video lecture featuring historian Jeremy Black), Foreign Policy Research Institute, Apr 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HTAsLmQKK0

"Recommended" Resources for the Teaching of Military History:

Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI)

I have to start with the Foreign Policy Research Institute - some of the best weekend PD I ever did (for myself and for my classroom) was a result of applying and being accepted to participate in several of their programs (and at one point I was the only Colorado teacher ever invited).

I wish the Butcher History Institute was still offering weekend sessions (so I could recommend a new generation of teachers from the Western US apply). From their website, the goal from 1996 through 2018 was to "sponsor programs designed to bring high school teachers from around the country together with the nation’s top scholars in history, political science, and other fields for an intensive weekend of lectures and discussion on topics in American and world history and international relations". Luckily many of their resources are still available, so here are links to some of those:

Madeleine and W.W. Keen Butcher History Institute (the original page for the series - NOTE that the events listed on that page all link to the articles and/or videos of each set of speakers, so you have 100s of links available from this page) - National Association of Scholars, https://www.fpri.org/education/history-institute/

"Footnotes" (Essays designed in particular for teachers and students, often drawn from the lectures at their History Institutes for Teachers) - Foreign Policy Research Institute, https://www.fpri.org/publications/footnotes/

American Military History: A Resource for Teachers and Students (a PDF collection of lessons, strategies, and student-level material to use in classrooms, distilled from 8 of the Butcher History Institutes) - Foreign Policy Research Institute, Aug 2013, https://www.fpri.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/American-Military-History-A-Resource.pdf

American Battlefield Trust (formerly known as the Civil War Trust)

While I did not have as many experiences with the Trust as I did with FPRI, they do a great job focusing on early American historical conflicts (and have gradually expanded beyond the Civil War to focus on the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 as well). And their classroom and PD programs are still active - I spent 3-4 different summers on battlefields back east learning lessons about those wars to bring back to my classroom (including a great week at Gettysburg for the 150th anniversary of that battle). Here are some of their links:

Battlefields Educator Resources (the home page for their resources) - American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/educators

Collected Resources and Search Engine (direct link to collections of lesson plans and resources, as well as a place to search for specific info) - American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn and https://www.battlefields.org/search?algolia_search_index%5Bquery%5D=

Teacher Institutes (direct link to apply for their summer programs when available) - American Battlefield Trust, https://www.battlefields.org/learn/educators/teacher-institutes

The American Battlefield Trust Teachers Regiment (Facebook group for K-12 teachers on military education topics/resources) - American Battlefield Trust, https://www.facebook.com/ABTTeachersRegiment

National World War I Museum (Kansas City)

I've worked with them a little more than the World War II museum below simply because of location - Kansas City was an easy place to visit for research or materials during trips to visit family. I'm mostly focusing on virtual resources here, but if you are in the area it is a great place to visit or do field trips. Here are some of their links:

Education and Resources (includes field trips and online resources) - https://www.theworldwar.org/education-resources

Collected Resources (Collections available online from the museum) - https://collections.theworldwar.org/

Teacher Institutes (direct link to apply for their summer programs when available) - https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/institute2025 - NOTE that this link is for 2025 so you can read about it

National World War II Museum (New Orleans)

I have only visited this museum twice - once 20+ years ago when it was the D-Day Museum, and once this fall (which I will also talk about in another post later this month). I'm mostly focusing on virtual resources here, but if you are in the area it is a great place to visit or do field trips. I would also recommend getting on their mailing list - they do more educational resource updates than most. Here are some of their links:

Education at the National World War II Museum (the home page for their resources) - https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers

Curriculum Guides and Lesson Plans (direct link to collections of lesson plans and resources) - https://www.ww2classroom.org/introduction

Teacher Institutes (direct link to apply for their summer programs when available) - https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/educator-resources/professional-development/student-teacher-workshops NOTE that this is the link for 2026 (apply by 1/23/26)

K-12 Education at the National World War II Museum (Facebook group for K-12 teachers on World War II education topics/resources) - https://www.facebook.com/groups/wwiiedu

Other General Sites for Military History

Educator Resources for the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War (since it doesn't have a museum yet like the ones listed above) - https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/history_and_legacy/educator_resources/

Military & Wartime History (Teaching with Historic Places) from the National Park Service (lesson plans to go with battle sites and national monuments/historic sites) - https://www.nps.gov/articles/military-wartime-history-teaching-with-historic-places.htm

The Veteran's History Project at the Library of Congress (firsthand recollections of U.S. military veterans who served from World War I through the present) - https://www.loc.gov/programs/veterans-history-project/about-this-program/

Teaching Military History Project (Growing website from Kansas State University's Military History dept) - https://teachingmilitaryhistory.com/

AND FINALLY, if you want/need another perspective . . .

Historiana (Historical teaching from multiple countries in Europe - not always in English) - https://historiana.eu/historical-content