:History 390

Copyright laws were first created so that artists, inventors, and musicians after publishing a work of art could have a way to claim it as their own. Copyright protected these creators from having their work claimed by someone else as their own. It was made a law in the United States so that all citizens referring to or using another person’s work must state where and when they accessed the material. The cartoon of Calvin and Hobbes pictured on the “assignments” page on the homepage of “the notebook,” violates the copyright regulations and laws as described by the United State’s government. On this site the cartoon is posted with no is clear source for the material included anywhere. The photo does not have a citation that reveals a site where you can find this cartoon’s history, or the history of it’s creator. This citation should also include a source giving the creator credit for the image that he has posted to the public. For this reason it violates copyright laws and regulations. In order to use this cartoon on a website its source must be stated and the author must be credited for his work. Unless this is done the work is in violation of this law.

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Each primary source that I evaluated reveals a little about the past of Washington DC. By analyzing these two documents I hoped not only to gain insight about the capital’s past, but also practice on how to analyze a primary source. The first source I analyzed was a newspaper from 1914. This newspaper was entitled the Washington Herald. I then sourced the paper by researching its history. I discovered that theWashington Herald was a daily newspaper that existed throughout the 1900’s. Also later this paper would become the Washington Post. After glancing over the document I realized in order to understand the paper fully I needed to research what was going on in the nation at the time. This paper specifically talks about problems between the United States and the bordering nation Mexico. Right in the center of the paper there is a large political cartoon depicting America’s current relations with Mexico. Also the main article of the day  discusses the terrible conditions that existed in Mexico at this time. I contextualized the information with current events in 1914 and discovered that at this time Victoriano Huerta had become the President of Mexico during an internal Civil War.  I also learned that Woodrow Wilson wanted Huerta to resign from the presidency, which added to the tense relations between the United States and Mexico. After learning this background information it was easier to make a closer reading of this document. Analyzing the cartoon again, I realized it depicts Uncle Sam (representing America) handing a child (depicting Mexico) soap and a basin for water each labeled ammunition and fire arms respectively.  Uncle Sam is telling the boy  to “clean himself up.” The main article then goes on to explain how terrible the conditions were in Mexico. There is fighting for the presidency and Huerta is just barely holding on to power. The story discusses how Huerta barricaded himself in his palace with machine guns all around. After analyzing this source I learned a lot about the conditions between Mexico  and the United States at the time and what was the US was willing to do to stop the fighting in Mexico, thus securing America’s safety.

The second source that I focused on was a photograph taken of several suffragettes each holding a sign with different states’ names written on them. Also a banner is shown being held by a women that states that  the women marched from New York to Washington DC in 1913. I began once again by sourcing this document; however for the photograph there was less research to do. Although it is unclear which original newspaper this photograph was taken from I was able to discover it is part of the Bain Collection. I researched the Bain Collection and discovered it was a series of photos dating from  the 1800’s and 1900’s. Each was collected by the photographer George Grantham Bain from newspapers across the nation, and eventually donated to the Library of Congress. I next contextualized the information by researching the history of this particular march made in the capital. I learned this march was down Pennsylvania Avenue and was scheduled for the same day as Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration. Its goal was to bring awareness to the nation about the needed amendment which would give women the right to vote. The march was organized by Alice Paul and the National American Women Suffrage Association. After learning this information and then looking closer at the document I made the discovery  that each state written on a sign was a state in which women already posses the right to vote. This one document shed light on the state of the country at the time. It was a struggle for women to gain their right to vote. It required an act of courage such as protesting  during a president’s inauguration.

From these sources I learned about the rich past the District of Colombia possess. As our nation’s capital it has been witness to many protests and marches over the years. As the center of our government it has been the focus of much political turmoil and interest since its creation.

After analyzing both documents I realized that it was harder to work with a photograph than a newspaper. Exact sources for the document were unavailable. This meant you only have the image in front of you to decipher the exact time, date and context of the photo. This would be an even harder task if the picture was unclear or had no source information at all.  The newspaper is a better primary source to use because it tells you all of the national and local events that were occurring at this particular time. It also provides the exact time and place of its publication. Providing the exact publication date makes it easy to discover all of the background information about the events documented in the paper’s articles.

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I first evaluated the website The Black Past. This website is topical, it deals specifically with African American history. This website is interesting because it serves several purposes. For example, it offers tabs with links to other similar websites, it offers information specifically on the history of the African American race, and finally it offers tools that allows a person to donate to continue supporting this site.  It offers many entries on people, places, and events from the past. Entries span over thousands of years, as well as countless of places across the globe. The purpose of providing this information is to highlight the past of a race of people, as well as offer support to those seeking information about their own past, through tools such as genealogy tracers.There is a board of directors listed on this website who work in many fields across the country and support the upkeep of this website and its information.   Each is a credible professional in a history, or some other related field. The creators of the site hope that by teaching people about African American’s past they will learn to be accepting of more races in the future. They also show their support of all minorities by including inspirational stories and recording individuals accomplishments. This site is easy to use and is helpful for both students and just a person curious about their own past. At the end of each post there is accurately cited material for each informative entry. The website is objective because it does not endorse that any minority is better than another. .I really enjoyed looking through this website. All of the information was accurate and detailed. Also it was easy to use.

Taken from the website, Voices from the Dust Bowl. This picture shows a typical migrant work camp.

Secondly I evaluated the website named Voices from the Dust Bowl. This website offers several sources that document the everyday lives of the people living in Migrant Work camps in California from 1940-1941. This website is an archive of  songs, conversations, stories, and camp court proceedings from this time period. The Library of Congress keeps this site up and running so that Congressman and everyday Americans can use this website. Although not visually appealing this website is easy to use. It contains a lot of well kept information that is documented well. For example if viewing a photograph, you can easily read where this photo took place, when this photo took place, and where to find this photo in the National Archives. I believe this website could be used in a classroom setting, or for a research paper.  This is due to the fact that it offers many primary sources from this particular time period all in easily accessible in one place. This website is objective, and has no real opinions within it. The material was collected over a long period of time and is documented well. My only problem with this site is that it is specific to a time and place. All information could be used in a paper, but it may not be as helpful as other sites that give you an overall view of all Americans impacted by the dust bowl.

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My name is Taylor Morhiser, I am a freshman at George Mason University currently majoring in English. I hope to graduate in the next five years with my masters specializing in teaching English as a second language. I am excited to be taking History 390 this semester. I hope this class will teach me different tools for conducting research online; furthermore, I hope this class teaches me how to utilize online tools to express what I have learned. I believe these are essential skills to possess in a modern world.

Everyday I utilize online resources for my entertainment, as well as for school purposes. For example, like most people today I communicate with those around me through social media. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Another simple tool I use for communication daily is texting.  This is a quick and easy way to communicate with friends and family. In regards to school, if I have a question about an assignment the fastest way to find the answer is to email the professor. Also professors will often send there instructions through email, or post them on a website that is accessible to the whole class. Assignments  are mostly submitted online as well, through email or some other online tool. All research that I must do for school is done online. I utilize the many websites that search engines have to offer, as well as the online library tools that George Mason offers. Finally I have just recently begun reading textbooks online. It is easier than ever to access books online in a matter of seconds and read them in any place. As technology advances new ways to complete tasks are created that make the process faster than ever.

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