Web Site Comparison on Harriet Tubman and Trail of Tears
The History Matters web site, http://www.historymatters.gmu.edu, is a rich source of information on the two topics I investigatedùHarriet Tubman/Underground Railroad and the Trail of Tears. Each of these topics boasted several links to Internet sources that provided some type of information on them. Of the two topics, the topic of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad was covered in better detail and with more interesting information than the Trail of Tears. One of the Harriet Tubman links, for example, took me to the National Geographic web site, where I took ôThe Journeyöùan interactive multimedia presentation depicting escape from slavery via Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad from a slaveÆs point of view.
The Journey was set up similar to a video game, in that it gave me a choice at each juncture to either go on with Harriet Tubman or turn back (although if I chose to turn back, I was prompted to go forward or explore other links via the menu). Some of the screens had sound as well as pictures. The Journey was a very well developed online experience similar to a walking tour at a museum, and it included peripheral information in addition to the multimedia presentation, such as ôRoutes to Freedom,ö a map showing the routes of the Underground Railroad, and ôFaces of Freedom,ö an interactive display of portraits of the most prominent individuals in the abolition movement; clicking on a portrait brought up information about that individualÆs contribution to freeing the slaves. There was also a time line showing the beginning of slavery in America in 1501, when slaves first arrived from Africa, all the way through to 1865, when slavery was abolished.
The audience this web site appeared to be geared for was grade school children, although I found it interesting as well. Links to ôFor Kidsöùwhich contained some interesting, little known ...