~ Iowa State University Library ~
S p e c i a l  C o l l e c t i o n s  D e p a r t m e n t

 

 
Home
Suggested Topics
Using Special Collections
About Primary Sources
Other Resources
 

Sample Topics for Previous Years' Themes

"Taking a Stand in History: People, Ideas, Events" (2005-2006)

  • Edward Allen, founder of the Iowa Civil Liberties Union and the free speech zone at ISU (RS 13/14/51)
  • Jack Trice, first African-American athlete (football and track) at Iowa State University (RS 21/7/23)
  • Carrie Chapman Catt, woman suffrage leader and political activist (RS 21/7/3.  Note: the ISU Library also holds microfilm of the Carrie Chapman Catt Papers at the Library of Congress.)
  • The September 29th Movement and the controversy over the naming of Iowa State University's Catt Hall (named for Carrie Chapman Catt) (RS 21/3/0/1 and RS 22/1/8; also review committee report, ISU catalog call no. Archives LD2543 I172x 1998)
  • George Washington Carver, first African-American student and first African-American faculty member at Iowa State University; educator and inventor  (RS 21/7/2.  Note: the ISU Library also holds microfilm of the George Washington Carver papers at Tuskegee Institute.)
  • Farmers Organizations and Protest Groups including: National Farmers Organization (MS 481), may focus on a particular event such as the milk and meat withholding actions of 1967 and 1968
  • Henry A. Wallace, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1933-1941) and Vice President (1941-45), Progressive Party leader and presidential candidate (1948)  (RS 21/7/5. Note: ISU holds a small collection related to Wallace; however, the bulk of his papers are at the University of Iowa.  The ISU Library also holds microfilm of the Henry A. Wallace collection at the Library of Congress.)

"Triumph and Tragedy in History" (2006-2007)

  • Jack Trice.  The first African-American athlete (football and track) at Iowa State University, he died from injuries received during his first football game for Iowa State. (RS 21/7/23)
  • George Washington Carver.  Born into slavery, he became the first African-American student and first African-American faculty member at Iowa State University, and was a renowned educator and inventor  (RS 21/7/2.  Note: the ISU Library also holds microfilm of the George Washington Carver papers at Tuskegee Institute.)
  • Carrie Chapman Catt.  A leader in the campaign for woman suffrage. (RS 21/7/3.  Note: the ISU Library also holds microfilm of the Carrie Chapman Catt Papers at the Library of Congress.)
  • William Van Zandt.  The Van Zandt family had members in both the North and the South during the Civil War.  William Van Zandt was a sergeant in an Iowa regiment, but did not survive the war.
  • Roswell Garst and Nikita Khrushchev visit.  The Garst family hosted Soviet Premier Khrushchev at their Iowa farm in 1959; the visit helped to open doors for trade between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.
 
 
~ ~ ~ ~
 

Special Collections Home

e-Library

Iowa State University