Jefferson Davis, Lafayette figure in winning history fair entries
By Mary Lynn Johnson
Two Signal Mountain home school students, Grace Hughbanks, a senior, and Caitlyn Sudkamp, a junior, recently competed in the David H. Gray Regional History Fair in Chattanooga and the Tennessee History Day held in Nashville, winning the opportunity to compete at the 2009 National History Fair in Maryland.
This year, the theme for National History Day is “The Individual in History”. Miss Hughbanks, the champion of the state-wide competition, in the exhibit category, has competed for eight years. Her chosen individual project is Marquis de Lafayette’s military and diplomatic work in the American Revolution. “Last year, I had to write an encomium on Lafayette and he stayed in my mind as a possible topic for this year … I was also interested in studying the American Revolution in depth, and doing a project on Lafayette required me to do that,” Hughbanks explained. Sudkamp, who placed second at the state competition, decided to do her project on Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate states during the war to prevent Southern independence.
“I chose the topic because he is a relative of mine and I was curious to know more about him.” This is her ninth year of competition.
Each participant’s project must explain and educate people on their topic and are encouraged to use a wide variety of sources and other visual aids. Although both students worked diligently on their project year-round, they still occasionally modify their presentations through each level of competition. “I try to carefully consider the judges’ comments. If more than one judge says that it would be good to change something, I will probably change it. Unless there is something drastically wrong, or unless the text and photos get rained on (which has happened), I try not to change much at all,” Hughbanks stated. “[The judges] look for things like how much research was done, is there a good mix of primary and secondary sources, is it a wellrounded project in terms of information, is it visually pleasing, is it a good topic, is the project historically accurate, is it easy to read and follow the story, is the student presenting her opinion and 
thesis clearly or is it just a page torn from a history book,” Sudkamp adds.
Through the history competitions, the students have had opportunities to gain valuable skills and encounter memorable experiences, such as Sukkamp’s research. “This year I was able to get into the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and look at some original documents written by Jefferson Davis, which was really, really cool.” Hughbanks also had an experience to remember, when she encountered a veteran of Dunkirk. “In 10th grade, when I did my project on Dunkirk, I wrote to the Dunkirk Veterans’ Association (DVA) in Britain, asking for firsthand accounts from any veterans of Dunkirk. A few weeks later, Mr. G.R. Pendleton, the secretary of the Leeds Founder Branch of the DVA, sent a letter of his own Dunkirk experience, several cards of images of Dunkirk, and a book of firsthand accounts.”
Miss Hughbanks and Miss Sudkamp are eagerly anticipating the National History Day where they will be among approximately 400 other exhibits, authored by students from states all over the country.