Counterfactual History Projects in the US
General information
Organisation / School
Public K–12 schools
Duration
Implemented over several lessons. The counterfactual discussion and project were embedded into normal teaching time. One teacher mentions that for a 50 minutes lesson, the formal instruction part was around half of the period and the other half was devoted to working on the alternative narratives.
Target group (age range)
Middle and secondary school students
Group format
In-class discussion, Individual or small group counterfactual exploration
Context of the Practice
Implemented alternative materials in the classroom as an in-class project.
Ideas emerges from teachers’ own time and to develop creative ways to learn history, either through reading books outside of the regular materials in their field or surfing through social media and network with fellow educators.
Description of the Practice
Through the use of alternative history, students in different schools explored the topics of conflicts and peacebuilding. These initiatives were not part of a national reform or official curriculum change, but were introduced by individual teachers who independently chose to experiment with uchrony in their classrooms. Their use of counterfactual history depended largely on their own motivation and the flexibility allowed by their schools. This description will focus on one specific case study as an illustration of this practice: What if Andrew Jackson had not supported the Indian Removal Act?
Before constructing alternative scenarios, students were required to understand the real historical context: the Indian Removal Act, the role of Andrew Jackson, the Trail of Tears, and the political and social climate of the time. The teacher emphasized that students must know the dates, major actors, and historical facts before attempting counterfactual reasoning.
Students then examined how Georgia (politically, socially, and territorially) might have developed differently if Cherokee removal had not taken place. The activity required analyzing chains of events and understanding how one decision could influence broader historical developments.
The goal was not to blame a single historical figure, but to understand historical agency and complexity. Students were encouraged to avoid oversimplifying causation and to recognize that large-scale conflicts involve multiple factors.
This project combined research, analytical reasoning, and structured speculation grounded in historical evidence.
Link with Uchronia or Alternative Narratives
Does the practice involve rewriting history, alternative scenarios, role play, or speculative narratives?
Yes
Explanation:
Yes, it involves counterfactual history (uchrony).
Students:
Modify one key decision (Andrew Jackson’s support for removal).
Explore possible consequences for:
Indigenous communities
State development
Political structures
Social relations
Construct a logically grounded alternative timeline.
However:
Students must first master factual history
Teachers stress that no single actor is solely responsible for complex events
The aim is analytical thinking, not fantasy.
Social and Transversal Skills Developed
What are the skills developped?
- Empathy
- Communication
- Cooperation
- Conflict management
- Critical thinking
- Media literacy
- Creativity
Explanation:
Empathy
Students analyze the perspectives of:
Cherokee communities
U.S. political leaders
Settlers
Government institutions
They learn to understand historical actors within their context, not judge them solely from today’s standards
Critical thinking
Students must:
Understand factual history first
Analyze cause-and-effect chains
Evaluate complexity rather than single causes
This represents higher-order thinking, according to the teacher.
Conflict management
The approach connects to peace education. Students learn that:
Conflicts involve multiple actors.
Blame narratives are oversimplified.
Media literacy
Students gather and evaluate multiple sources before constructing their scenario
Communication & Cooperation
Through discussions and presentations, students articulate and defend their reasoning
Creativity
Students create an alternative but historically grounded narrative based on research
Inclusion and Accessibility
Targeted learners (learning difficulties, diversity, disengagement):
The resources do not identify a specific vulnerable target group.
However, the approach supports:
Students engaging with sensitive topics (colonialism, displacement, injustice)
Students who benefit from active learning rather than lecture-based teaching
Accessibility measures used:
The structure allows:
Flexible formats (discussion, project work)
Guided reflection
Emotional processing
Impact and Outcomes
Observed impact on pupils:
According to teacher reflections:
Students understood better how individual agency plays a role in changing historical events
Students understood better the non-causal relationship between historical actors’ behaviors and the events.
Students were more open to asking questions and welcoming opinions
They were more open to discussing difficult historical topics
Social-emotional awareness increased
Students developed social skills, empathy, and emotional intelligence.
Students learned independency
Students developed communication skills
Feedback from teachers or pupils:
Transferability
Can the practice be reused or adapted?
Yes
Conditions for replication:
It can be adapted to:
Different school systems in different countries
Other topics and subjects than peace and conflict education
But it requires:
Strong grounding in factual history
Teacher guidance to prevent oversimplification
Institutional flexibility to allow creative pedagogy
Time to implement the methodology... which doesn’t always match with exams and imposed curricula.
Humility from the teachers as they often encounter questions cannot answer using this approach
More research and development to be more than just a teacher’s innovation in class
Relevance for Reframe the Story
This practice is relevant to Reframe the Story in many ways.
The first and most obvious point is the similarity of the goals: using uchrony for educational purposes in a school context. The feedback from the teachers allows us to see that this approach can bring very positive results in terms of knowledge development, skills development and interest of the students.
Moreover, it underlines key ideas and elements to keep in mind when implementing Reframe the Story:
To prevent identity-based historical trauma, students should not reduce complex historical events to a single cause or blame one person alone. For example, when discussing alternative scenarios about the German Kaiser and World War I, it is important to remind students that the Kaiser was not the only cause of the war. If this complexity is not emphasized, students may begin to oversimplify history, blame one group entirely, and develop rigid “enemy” images. This can reinforce division and negative stereotypes instead of encouraging critical and balanced understanding.
If textbooks are used to create the alternative narratives, it is important to keep a critical view on them and remember that “who is retelling the history will influence how the story is being delivered”, hence in this case, the alternative narratives too.
In this case, teachers were encouraging students to research independently using primary and secondary sources, libraries, and media. The research process itself becomes an exercise in critical thinking and media literacy.
Some teachers used visual tools, including:
Venn diagrams to help students visualize how events and perspectives overlap. To create a “parallel universe” style of alternative history, students map historical events in diagrams, identifying points of correspondence to make connections. This process allows the fictional story to incorporate historical facts while giving students an opportunity to be creative within a scholarly framework.
Pyramids to trace the progression of actions from a character’s starting point to the story’s conclusion. This helps students understand the significance of each action by highlighting the climax and anticlimax of the narrative. Teachers also noted that creating a pyramid for each character emphasizes how different historical actors perceive and contribute to events.