Eyewitness Accounts
All of the large primary source document databases include eyewitness accounts as one component of historical research...
Links
Railroad
http://footsteps.ties.k12.mn.us/projectsummary.htmlAll of the large primary source document databases include eyewitness accounts as one component of historical research. Some sites have capitalized on this new technology to synergize eyewitness accounts with contemporary views. For instance, the WallofHonor, a reference to immigrant activities at Ellis Islands, offers an opportunity for students to search for their OWN immigrant roots. Ellis Island Records is offering 20 artifacts for each family, identifiable in their huge database. Moreover, from Ellis Island both historical and current urban tenement communities can be compared via the eyes of the beholders. To learn about where the immigrants lived after they were cleared at Ellis Island, take a look at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. If nothing else, the lack of space will help your understanding about why families worked 16 hours a day. When they had amassed enough to leave these tenements, they left immediately and never once looked back!Moving to America covers this same era, late 1800's-mid 20th century. The authors have collected a comprehensive list of eyewitness accounts of migration from Europe to Ellis Island in NYC. It seeks to convey the huge change from the old country to the new which immigrants bore. For Jewish American history look at 350th Organization, mapping the entire span of years during which Jews lived in the United States.
For the shift from the farm lands to the fields of California look at Weedpatch Camp, one of the migrant labor camps (actually Arvin)for the folks from the mid-west, fleeing the dust bowl for the promise of paradise.
The National Historical Society recommends HistoryNet as a more traditional source than the WallofHonor.
Your class can follow in the footsteps of the conductors of the Underground Railroad as they make their way to freedom. The journey lasts six weeks (not full-time as it did for the actual slaves). Students can correspond with experts and historical figures on this trip. TIES, the sponsor of this site, has specialized in telecommunications for three decades. The high quality of this journey will be time well-spent.
The Navajo Nation is very comprehensive and developed by the members themselves.
9/11 archival resources can center current events.
For a documentary about the impact of war upon teens look at Beyond The Fire. Its general bias is anti-war.
For a view of the future in past predictions look at Davids Zondy site and thenn change your own forecasts.
Telling Stories describes the construction of an oral history. This method can be especially interesting for students learning from the elderly about their families, because some older people find writing too hard to accomplish.
Most studies focus on migration from south to north, but In Motion looks at migration in all geographic directions. In other words, this site tells a multi-century rather than a moment in time.
Remembering Pearl Harbor Attack Map begins with the take-off of the Japanese planes from their aircraft carriers until the ships' return to Japan.The map and timeline pinpoints 21 significan moments throughout the day. IEach contains background, video footage, and first hand accounts.
