Did the Social Studies Really Replace History in the Local Curriculum? The Case of Elyria, Ohio and the North Central States

Numerous critics of the social studies have argued that the four-year pattern of chronological history courses in place in most U.S. schools was suddenly and pervasively replaced by interdisciplinary courses recommended by the NEA Committee on Social Studies report in 1916. In this historical study, the author challenges this view. By drawing upon educational discourse and practice—as represented by a local survey of Elyria, Ohio, supplemented by regional data—the author demonstrates that social studies advocates were not antagonistic towards history, that most students were not taking the four-year history sequence, and that most schools did not quickly adopt the new social studies classes recommended by the NEA Committee.