The Martha Plassman Prize
Sponsored by the Montana Historical Society, the Martha Plassman Prize is a
$500 cash award and a certificate from the Montana Historical Society. The
prize will be awarded to one, well-researched National History Day entry
utilizing the digitized newspapers available on the web site
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Published by the
Library of Congress, Chronicling America currently has more than six million
pages from U.S. newspapers published during the period 1836 through 1922.
This extraordinary resource provides historians with keyword-searchable
reports, advertisements, literature, comics, and much more.
How to Apply
Ask your teacher or National History Day coach to submit your entry for the
Martha Plassman Prize.
Rules
[Updated May 6, 2013] The Martha Plassman Prize will be awarded to one
entry, whether created by an individual or a team, that best demonstrates a
clear understanding and use of newspapers as a primary source. Entries from
any grade level and in any category will be considered. Judging is
independent of any other prizes that may be awarded at the statewide
National History Day competition.
Judging will evaluate the entry's process paper, annotated bibliography, and
presentation at the statewide National History Day competition. How well the
digitized Montana newspapers were used as well as the overall quality of the
project will be considered. Possible criteria include:
- range of newspaper items cited
- thoughtful interpretation of newspaper items cited
- overall contribution of the newspaper items to the project
Each Chronicling America newspaper item used must be noted in the Primary
Sources section of the Annotated Bibliography and follow proper NHD citation
guidelines for Web content. Acceptable items are not limited to newspaper
reportage. They include advertisements, editorials, images, literary prose,
poetry, cartoons, comic strips, letters to the editor, government
announcements, or any other content that appears in the newspapers.
If no entry meets the minimum requirements, the prize will not be awarded.
About Martha Plassman
Martha Edgerton Rolfe Plassman arrived in Montana Territory in
1863, at the age of thirteen. Although her family remained in the territory
for only two years before returning to their native Ohio, Martha forged a
lifelong connection with Montana. As an adult, she lived in Great Falls for
two decades, raising seven children and serving briefly as editor of the
Great Falls Leader. After being widowed for the second time, Martha
supported herself and her children as a working journalist, authoring
hundreds of articles about Montana. She died in 1936 at the age
of 86. Learn more by perusing the
Guide to the Martha Edgerton Plassman Papers 1863-1939, held at the
Montana Historical Society.
