Slavery and Manumission
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Bridgette Houston, an African American interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, discusses the process of manumission, by which slaves in colonial Virginia might be freed.
Southern Hospitality
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Tom Spear, historical interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg's Governor's Palace describes the history of the building during its years in service, 1716-1780, and the political contributions of its occupants.
Emissaries of Peace
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Linda Randulfe, who produces and directs Colonial Williamsburg's Electronic Field Trips, outlines the North Carolina Cherokee nation's negotiations with colonists, including Chief Ostenaco's visit to England.
In Other Words
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Historian Cathy Hellier explains the differences between modern American English and the English of the colonists during the 1700s; she looks also at new ideas on the dialect of African Americans in the Williamsburg area at the time. Click here to learn more about 18th century speech.
The Bray School
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Headmistress Ann Wager taught at the Bray School in Williamsburg, VA, from 1760 to 1774, educating enslaved children. Interpreter Antoinette Brennan shares details from Wager's life and describes the school and its operations.
Honey Springs Battlefield [OK]
Description
The Engagement at Honey Springs (called the Affair at Elk Creek by the Confederates) was the largest of more than 107 documented hostile encounters in the Indian Territory. The engagement took place on a rainy Friday, July 17, 1863, between the 1st Division, Army of the Frontier, commanded by Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt and the Confederate Indian Brigade led by Brig. Gen. Douglas H. Cooper. Cherokee and Creek regiments fought on both sides. There were approximately 9,000 men involved, including other Native Americans, veteran Texas regiments, and the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteers (the first black regiment in the Union army). The 1,100 acre site has six walking trails with a total of 55 interpretive signs.
The site offers occasional living history events and other educational and recreational programs.
Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar
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During World War II, the U.S. Government forced more than 100,000 Japanese Americans to leave their homes and businesses, relocating them to internment camps from California to Arkansas. Well-known photographer Ansel Adams documented the lives of Japanese Americans at the Manzanar War Relocation Center in California—from portraits to daily life, including agriculture and leisure.
This site presents 242 original negatives and 209 photographic prints, often displayed together to show Adams's developing and cropping techniques. His 1944 book on Manzanar, Born Free and Equal is also reproduced. Adams donated the collection to the Library of Congress in 1965, writing, "The purpose of my work was to show how these people, suffering under a great injustice . . . had overcome the sense of defeat and dispair [sic] by building for themselves a vital community in an arid (but magnificent) environment."
The Indian War of 1812
Description
Professor David Henkin examines the ongoing war between Native American nations and the United States in 1812 and prior to and following 1812. He also considers popular memory of Native American history and failure to integrate it into U.S. history as a whole.
Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
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This well-designed site presents the Nebraska edition of the Lewis and Clark journals, edited by Gary E. Moulton. The site provides the complete text of all the journals from the 18031806 expedition, as well as introductions, prefaces, and sources. The material is searchable by keyword and phrase.
There are 29 scholarly essays about the expedition. An image gallery offers 124 images of pages from the journals, 95 images of people and places, and 50 images of plants and animals encountered on the expedition. The maps section includes 12 explanatory maps and nine images of maps from the journals. Additionally, there are 27 audio excerpts of journal readings and eight video interviews with the editor of the project. The website stands as an outstanding resource for researching the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Scholars in Action: Analyzing Blues Songs
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Scholars in Action presents case studies that demonstrate how scholars interpret different kinds of historical evidence. "Two White Horses Standin' in Line" (sung by Smith Cason) and "Worry Blues" (sung by Jesse Lockett), both recorded in 1939 by folklorist Alan Lomax, are known as "blues" songs.
The blues emerged as a musical form among African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and gained the attention of folklorists and record companies. Historians have studied blues and other African American musical forms to gain insight into the experiences and perspectives of poor and working-class African Americans who left few written records about their lives.