Photo Essay: Commentary

The photo essay assignment concerned me at first, as I wasn’t sure what topic I should choose. I was worried that I would struggle to find sufficient pictures for any given topic. However, once I decided to focus on the five organizers of the First Women’s Convention in Seneca Falls, it turned out to be easier than I expected.

I initially began my search in the Library of Congress prints and photographs archive, but wasn’t able to find much except for a few pictures of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. I next went to the National Parks Service website as I knew that the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls is a national park. This website turned out to be my greatest resource as it had information on the event, the five women and a few pictures of some of the women. For the lesser known of the five women, I had to go a bit further to find photographs. I started by doing a google image search and was able to find good pictures right away. I was able to use photos from the Cayuga Museum, and a professor’s webpage at Pierce College. I also used Wikipedia for a few of the pictures. I was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which I was able to quickly locate photos of all of the women. I had never heard of Martha Wright, Mary Ann M’Clintock or Jane Hunt so I initially thought that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to find photos of them, particularly after I had had no luck with the Library of Congress.

My biggest concern with the assignment was the issue of copyright. While the National Parks Service seems to be clear that all information on the site is considered in the public domain, it was less clear on the other sites. On both the Cayuga website and the Pierce College website, I could not find any information on copyright. I used them under the assumption that because they were government and education websites that what was posted was most likely in the public domain and acceptable to use for educational purposes. The issue of copyright, however, is daunting for me as I struggle to even understand the copyright or “public domain” explanations on the websites. The legal terminology is lost on me and I feel as though it would be easy for me to misread or misinterpret the availability of the photos.

While it is amazing how much information and how many photos are available on the web, the issue of copyright is one that becomes very hard to navigate. It has become so easy to copy and reuse photos that it seems that the use of copyrighted photographs becomes so easy that one can easily forget that what they are using is, in fact, “illegal.” This assignment has opened me up to the issue of using photos from the Internet and the issues, both legal and ethical, which arise from that use.

The First National Women's Convention: Photo Essay

The following five women were the organizing force behind the First Women's Rights Convention, held on July 19th and 20th, 1848 in Seneca Falls, NY. As it was the first of such meetings, it is considered the impetus for the feminist movement in the United States. Drafting a Declaration of Sentiments, which articulated the rights women should be granted based on the Declaration of Independence, these five women brought together women and men to discuss and debate how to begin to fight for the equal rights of women. Each of these women--Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Martha Wright, Mary Ann M'Clintock and Jane Hunt--led a life dedicated to the cause.


Photo Credit: Wikipedia, Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Born in 1815, and seen as the "driving force" behind the Women's Rights Convention in 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an important leader of the women's rights movement in the United States. She drafted and read the Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention. Of the five women who organized the Convention, she was the only non-Quaker. Following the event at Seneca Falls, Stanton continued her work for the remainder of her life. She met Susan B. Anthony in 1851 and the two became fast friends and worked closely together. Stanton co-authored the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States in 1876.


Photo Credit: Wikipedia, Lucretia Mott

Lucretia Mott was born in 1793 and from a young age was inspired to end the inequalities of both women and African Americans. Living in Philadelphia, she, along with Mary Ann M'Clintock, was a founder of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, in 1833. Mott is considered, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, as leading the organization of women for the Women's Rights Convention in 1848 and drafting the Declaration of Sentiments. Mott had become acquainted with Elizabeth Cady Stanton in London in 1840 at the World Anti-Slavery Convention. She made equal rights her life's work, and in 1866 became the first president of the American Equal Rights Association.


Photo Credit: Cayuga Museum and Historian’s Office

Lesser known than her sister, Lucretia Mott, Martha Wright lived just ten miles outside of Seneca Falls in Auburn, NY. She attended the meetings in Seneca Falls with her sister and continued to participate in numerous Women’s Conventions throughout the late 1800’s. Also an ardent abolitionist, Wright’s home was a used as a stop on the Underground Railroad.



Photo Credit: Pierce College, website of Professor Kathy Holland

Also a Quaker, Mary Ann M'Clintock moved to Waterloo, NY, from Philadelphia, PA, in 1836. M'Clintock had met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Philadelphia, as they were both members of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society. In July of 1848, the M'Clintock house was the site for a second meeting of women (7/16/1848) held prior to the convention. It was at this meeting that the Declaration of Sentiments was drafted.


Photo Credit: National Parks Service, biographies

Jane Hunt's house was where Lucretia Mott came when she arrived in town on July 9, 1848. It was in Jane's house that the women decided to plan a meeting and drafted the notice to call women to the "convention." The Hunt House is located just outside of Waterloo, NY. A Quaker, Jane was born in 1812 in Philadelphia. She married Richard Hunt, the wealthiest man in Seneca County.

Website Review: The National Museum of the American Indian

The website for the National Museum of the American Indian is first and foremost an advertisement for the museum itself. Its primary mission and purpose is to attract visitors to the museum, located on the National Mall, as well as its sister museum, located in New York City, and the research center, located in Maryland. When you first enter the site, the eye is immediately drawn to a moving image of the back of a beautiful beaded dress against a sharp black background. It most be noted, however, then when viewing this website on a computer other than my own, this image was not available because the computer was not equipped to view flash. This is a major detriment to anyone who cannot view this image as it is not only striking and inviting, but also showcases the museum's newest exhibit called Identity by Design.

When able to see this image, however, the main page of the site is extremely pleasing to the eye. The main background is yellow, and the inset box where all the information is, is black. The main page has multiple navigation bars. The main navigation bar—red with white writing—is located across the center of the page. There are also navigation bars at the top right and bottom right. The main page also highlights four upcoming events and the newest addition to the site—podcasts.

The site offers a search function that is easily located on the first page and all subsequent pages as you navigate throughout the site. There is also a site map. The site map is excellent as it lays out all of the sections and subsections of the site. Each section title is in a different color and it is against a simple white background keeping it clear and easy to read.

The main red navigation bar leads visitors to sections titled Visitor Information, Exhibitions, Events, Outreach, Education, Collections and Membership and Giving. When you click on any of these links the main navigation bar moves to the top of the page and a second navigation bar, listing subsections, appears to the left. Each page has a similar layout and color scheme, maintaining a continuity and cohesion for the site. In the upper left hand corner there is a box where the name of the museum is always located. The background image in this area changes as you navigate to different pages. This is also a way to return to the homepage, but this function is not explicitly noted. The only way you’d know that it allows you to easily return to the homepage is if you run the mouse over it and see that the cursor changes.

The exhibitions section of the website enables visitors to get information on current exhibits at all of the museums locations, information on past exhibits and links to all available online exhibits. The site offers 25 online exhibits, and each connects you to a new page and essentially a new website. Many of these online exhibits were available to view in both Spanish and English, which helps maintain the integrity of the museum as collection of Native groups of all of North America. Many of the online exhibits have virtual tours, pictures of the collection and an abundance of information on a number of varying topics.

Another highlight of the website was the Education section. One of the best subsections was a link for teachers to obtain education publications. Teachers could view a picture of the publication, a brief summary of its content and a link to download the .pdf file. It also provided the link to the Smithsonian Education website.

The website in general is very clear, concise and extremely user friendly. The navigation bars are easy to locate, and it is not difficult to find a variety of information on the museum and its collections. The layout is logical as are the navigation headings. The color scheme throughout the website stays within a family of rich colors, reminiscent of both nature and Native American culture. The colors primarily used are yellow, gold, purple, red and green. Black is often used as background for images making them "pop." It is a truly “pretty” website. For all of its beauty, however, it is still relatively simple in design and does not try to "over do" it. Images are used to support each section, but they are not overused or distracting. Rather, they complement each section and represent the museum's collection well. The pages are clean and clear. The sections of prose are well written and concise. Anytime there is information of more than two or three lines, the text is black on a white background. Clearly the designers of this website have taken into consideration the importance of easy readability when dealing with larger amounts of text.

Aside from the disappointing discovery that not all computers can see the image on the home page, there are a few other elements that the website lacks. They are, however, more having to do with the site's mission and purpose rather than a fault of design. One of these is that the site does not offer much in the way of scholarship. The mission of the site is not to be a place for research, but rather a resource for visitors to the museum, which accounts for this absence. While the online exhibits may offer some information that could be used for research purposes, there are no areas where visitors can find more detailed information on the collection itself.

Another element noticeably lacking from the site are “kid friendly” features. There are no sections for games or obvious links to information about what in the museum would be best for children. There is information in the education section for family programs and offers a family guide to the museum, however, if a younger person were to come to the website, there is nothing to immediately engage his or her interest.

The site does offer new technology, however, as Podcasts are now being offered. The podcasting page offers links to where you can subscribe for the podcast and also gives a brief overview of what each of the different podcasts offers. There are three podcasts; one has commentaries from Native peoples, one offers musical performances and the third contains video reports. This is the one area where visitors would be able to get more detailed understanding and history of Native American culture without having to leave their homes.

Overall, this is an excellent website, and there is little negative that can be said about it. It is not, however, a website I would recommend for those seeking research sources for Native American culture. It provides information on how to contact the research arm of the museum, which is located in Maryland, but beyond that there is little information to be found online. For anyone who wants to view a well constructed, clear and effective website it would be a model example. I also believe that the color, clarity and content of the web page serves as an effective advertisement to draw visitors to the museum. The website conveys the museum as a beautiful and dynamic place to learn about the history of Native Americans in North America and evokes a simple and “earthy” feel, consistent with the theme of the museum itself.

Searching for Valentine's Day on the Web: Reaction

Finding information on the origin of Valentine’s Day using only internet sources did not prove to be a challenge. After looking at a number of sites, most seemed to support the same theories, with only minor variations. Because of the ambiguous nature of the origin of Valentine’s Day in the first place, it is harder to assess the validity of the sources and thus my comfort level in using them. My biggest concern with using sources from the internet is the uncertainty in knowing who was directly responsible for writing the text and where he and/or she obtained his or her information—what sources did they use? How much research was conducted? While it is equally true that you cannot trust printed sources for many of the same reasons, at least there is generally an author and documented list sources that can be traced. However, it could be argued that if in looking at a number of sources they all support, generally, the same theories, there must be some truth to what is being written. Because of this, I was more comfortable using a combination of three of the sources to create an essay. For this essay I pulled the information from Wikipedia—searching for St. Valentine and Valentine’s Day, The History Channel, and americancatholic.org. I felt by using sources from three very different perspectives (collective history, commercialized history and religious history) I would cover the broadest possible range of theories. Though I would not feel comfortable citing any of these sources in a more serious research paper, because they do reconfirm one another, I feel relatively comfortable with their accuracy for the purposes of the assignment.

The Origins of Valentine's Day: An Online Investigation

While there are few people in the United States, and many other countries around the world, who don’t know that February 14^th is Valentine’s Day, perhaps there are less that actually can claim to know the true origins of this day of love and affection. It seems that no one has been able to pin down exactly who St. Valentine was and how this Saint’s day became known as a day to display and pledge one’s affection to loved ones. Regardless of its mysterious origins, however, Valentine’s Day has become a holiday celebrated by many and thrives despite the uncertainty.

Saint Valentine is thought to be one of a possible three men named Valentinus martyred during the third century A.D. Legend has it that he is either a Roman priest, a bishop of Interamna or martyr in Roman Africa. The most conferred upon opinion seems to be that St. Valentine was Roman priest in the Roman Empire during the rule of Claudius II. Claudius, of the opinion that married men did not make valiant soldiers, wanted to maintain a strong army. Thus, he made the decision to ban young men from marriage. The priest Valentine, disturbed by this law, began to perform marriage ceremonies in secret for the young men and women of Rome. Once he found out about Valentine’s actions, Claudius II had him jailed. It is believed that Claudius II worshipped a pagan religion and when Valentine attempted to convert Claudius to Christianity, Claudius had him killed. The date of his execution is thought to be February 14, 270 AD.

The tradition of sending Valentine’s cards to loved ones is also thought to be traced back to this priest. It is believed that while in jail, Valentine fell in love with a girl—possibly the jailer’s daughter—and wrote her a love note signed “From your Valentine.” The tradition of sending cards or small notes continued throughout the centuries, and, with time, the advent of mass produced printing made giving printed cards, instead of home made notes, increasingly popular. Due to the ambiguous nature of the true identity of St. Valentine, the Catholic Church removed St. Valentine’s Day from the church calendar as an official holiday in 1969.

Another Valentine’s Day legend is that it was a day created to pre-empt the Roman pagan fertility festival called Lupercalia, celebrated for over 800 years on February 15. The tradition of Lupercalia held that young women placed their names in an urn and the young men would take turns choosing a name in a type of lottery. Whatever female he chose would then be his sexual companion for the year. Pope Gelasius, disapproving of this ritual, changed the tradition to a lottery system where both men and women would pick the name of a Saint to emulate throughout the coming year. Roman men, however, clung onto the day as one to chase the affections of young women and did so by giving small tokens of affection and hand-written notes to the women of their desire. The Pope declared that Saint Valentine would be the patron saint of this new feast and declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day in 498 A.D.

Regardless of its true origins, by the middle-ages St. Valentine’s Day was one of the most popular saint’s days in France and England. Men and women would exchange hand written notes—declarations of love. Charles, Duke of Orlean is credited with sending the first true Valentine in 1415. It was sent to his wife while he was imprisoned in the tower of London. It was also believed by the French and English that the middle of February was when mating season for birds began—another reason to associate the day with love. The tradition of Valentine’s Day were most likely brought to the United States by the British in the 19^th century. Over time, the exchanging of cards and notes led to the exchange of gifts by the second half of the 20^th century, increasing the commercialization of the holiday. Today over one billion Valentine’s cards are sent each year, and the holiday is celebrated throughout the world in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, France and Australia. Though the true origins of Valentine’s Day and the mysterious identity of St. Valentine may never be confirmed, Valentine’s Day remains a widely celebrated and highly commercialized manifestation of a series of ambiguous legends, not likely to decrease in popularity anytime soon.

A Web of History: A Review of Four Historical Websites

There is no denying that history has made its way to the world wide web. One can find countless websites, blogs and discussion boards dedicated to the work of presenting history to the wide audience of Internet users. This essay will examine the ways in which four history websites: The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War, The History Channel, Do History and National Museum of American History have approached doing history on the web. Each takes a slightly different approach but in investigating these four examples, it becomes clear that the web can provide an outlet for history that can reach a wide audience and be a solid source for research, instruction and entertainment--sometimes all at once.

The Valley of the Shadow website was put together by Southern historian Edward Ayers. The sight offers an extensive digital archive of two counties—one in Pennsylvania and one in Virginia—containing maps, diaries, letters, photos and records from antebellum years, the war years and postbellum. The website is simple in its presentation, but quite remarkable in its content. While it does offer teaching resources and a bit of interpretation, the site's is as an archive. Though very academic in its approach it is easy to navigate and very accessible to students, scholars and the "general public" interested in the Civil War. The site does not try to do too much beyond providing a vehicle to access primary source documents and set the stage for comparing Northern and Southern experience during the Civil War era. The site heeds the advice Roy Rosenzweig and David Cohen offer in their book, Digital History, in that it does not try to be all things for all people. It is an archive and a valuable resource for amateur and professional historians alike. The site also benefits from being the creation of a well-respected historian, increasing the credibility of the site for those who are aware of Ayers respectability in the profession.

The website for The History Channel is an altogether different web browsing experience than Valley of the Shadows. First and foremost, the site was created as a commercial entity, used to promote the television station and incite web browsers to tune into History Channel programming. However, The History Channel site also gives access to historical information. Different from the Valley of the Shadows, the site is propelled by its multimedia approach to presenting history. The site offers pod casts, clips of video and famous speeches and many images. This site is better suited to amateur history buffs and the general history consuming public. It is not specific to any one topic or even country, while the focus is the US, there are links to historic information of world issues. The History Channel’s approach to history is to inform by entertaining, but behind all of the useful facts and historical insight is the ultimate commercial interests to drive ratings. This commercial interest could be seen as an impediment to the credibility of the information presented.

Offering a completely different approach from both the History Channel and Valley of the Shadows is the website called Do History. Do History takes a very specific and narrowed approach to history on the web. The purpose of Do History is to instruct. The site uses a case study (Martha Ballard’s diaries) to show how to do primary source research. The visitor can view an archive of all available documents that historians have used to create both a film and movie about Martha Ballard. The point of the site is to offer a practical guide for students on how to successfully read and interpret primary source documents and apply that knowledge to reconstruct the past. The sight is interactive and extremely useful. It’s audience are students of history—but is user friendly enough to be of use to a wide range of burgeoning historians—from high school to college level. Do History is using history on the web to inform and instruct using archival resources and truly demonstrates the ways that the Internet can be used to reach and influence many students of history in an effective way.

The fourth site reviewed was website for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. This site’s approach to history on the web, much like that of the History Channel, is primarily to promote the museum and its collection. The Smithsonian's site offers something for everyone. One can access web exhibits, virtual tours, teaching resources, an archive, as well as interactive activities for kids. The site is accessible and useful to a wide range of audience members and is not focused on only one event or issue, but covers a breadth of historical information. As the site must consider its wide range of audience members, it does an admirable job of trying to offer a variety of resources. The downside of the site is that many of the interactive elements require a flash plug-in, limiting full access for some visitors. The site is also a bit confusing to navigate and finding the “history” is sometimes difficult.

While all four sites offer a slightly different approach to history, they all provide a wealth of information and creative ways of presenting history to the wide and varied audiences of the Internet. While some, like Valley of the Shadows and Do History offer a much more specific view of history, geared more toward students. They offer instruction, however, in a way that is effective and useful and provides a way to see the ways in which history can be interpreted and reconstructed. The more commercialized and generalist sites such as The History Channel and the Smithsonian offer a much more media-intense experience as they both need to attract a much broader audience that includes amateur history buffs, curious citizens, professionals, and children of all ages. These website are more appealing to the eye and offer good substance but also approach history as entrainment more than history as learning. Both ways of providing history on the web have a place and offer useful resources and increased accessibility to historical information and documents. These four sites provide beginning models for the way that the Internet can provide a successful medium for consumers to be informed and entertained by the world of history.

Women of the West Musuem

For a regional view of woman suffrage, I would recommend the website for a past exhibit of the Women of the West called "This Shall Be the Land for Women." The exhibit focuses on the woman suffrage movement in the West and includes a brief history, a timeline, links to each Western state for more specific information, a list of biographies and a list of additional resources. The website includes photos and a map of the West. The exhibit is part of the Museum of the American West, which is housed in the Autry National Center in Los Angeles. A very interesting site for information on the unique suffrage situation in the American West.

Alice Paul

The Alice Paul Institute is a good resource for learning about the suffragette, Alice Paul. Paul was the protagonist in the HBO movie, Iron Jawed Angels. The Institute webpage gives biographical information on Paul and the militant suffragettes. The Institute itself was formed to honor Paul and give recognition to other "organizations and historic sites that honor women." This website could use more pictures and would benefit from having links to other resources; however, it is a good place to get information on another important American woman from the suffragist movement.

Woman Suffrage and 19th Amendment

The National Archives offers a site for educators and students that includes documents from the woman suffrage movement. While there is not a great deal of background information, the site gives access to nine documents that pertain to the woman suffrage. These documents include a resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution and a petition from Susan B. Anthony to Congress. This website is a good starting place for primary documents.

Women's Rights National Historic Park

Even if you are unable to visit Seneca Falls, NY,the National Park Service's webpage for the Wesleyan Chapel where the first National Women's Convention was held, serves as a great substitute. The "History and Culture" link gives an outline of the "people, places, and stories" surrounding the historic Women's Rights Convention of 1848. The site also has resources for teachers that include activities and a Teaching With Historic Places lesson plan. A great site to learn more about the first Women's Rights Convention, though it would benefit from more pictures!

History Channel--Women's History Month

The History Channel website includes an online exhibit for Women's History Month. The site offers a brief history and timeline of women's suffrage. The best feature of the site is the "Women's Hall of Fame," an extensive list of important women, many of which are linked to a brief biography. There is also a "Did you know?" section that highlights trivia relating to women's history. While the site lacks depth and could benefit from more pictures, it is a good place to start for an overview of the women's movement and influential women in a multitude of disciplines and time periods.

National American Woman Suffrage Association, 1848-1921

The Library of Congress offers digital access to a subset of its collection of documents from the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). The collection was donated in 1938 by NAWSA and came primarily from former president, Carrie Chapman Catt. The site allows access to 167 documents (about 10,000 pages) that include books, pamphlets, meeting minutes, scrapbooks and photos, produced between 1890 and 1938. The entire collection, available at the Library of Congress, contains between 700-800 titles. Great for quick research, the site offers the ability to search the sub-collection by keyword, author, title or subject. In addition, the site provides a timeline of woman's suffrage from 1776-1923. While not particularly pretty to look at, the site is a great resource for primary documents !

Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony

Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony is PBS's companion website for the film of the same name. The site offers links to historical documents as well as writings and speeches by both women. It also includes a brief biography, scholarly essays and articles, and an extensive list of further resource materials--books and websites alike. The "Where Are We Now?" section discusses the strides made in women's rights since the time of Stanton and Anthony. Unfortunately, Flash 4 is required to view the "media rich" version of the site. Regardless, the information is still valuable.