History on the Web

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History site, The Valley of the Shadows site, the Do History site, and The History Channel site have different approaches to history on the web because of the different types of projects that they come from, the differing types of sources that they built their presentations of history around, and the different scales of whose history they are trying to present.

The NMAH, because it is a museum presents the objects of history and tells how they are significant because of who they belonged to and/or how they were used. The site has online exhibits similar to how the museum exhibits are constructed and presented. It also has a timeline where an object is shown individually and then is connected to an exhibit or collection. The collections can also be searched by item or subject and then an explanation of it is given which grants the viewer more access to the objects than the traditional museum exhibits ever could. The national scope of the NMAH influences how it approaches history and history on the web because the audience is large and it exhibits iconic objects and weaves them into the American experience. This site is for people who are interested in the icons of America and objects that were used in creating American history. The site also has teacher and children sections again using objects as the basis for learning. The website is image based because it focuses on objects.http://americanhistory.si.edu/

The Valley site is documents based and unlike the NMAH which exhibits objects and themes that many Americans have some knowledge of, its mission is to tell the stories of individuals that are not usually told. Unlike the NMAH site, the Valley site does not get people’s attention or exhibit its collection through images because they present documents not objects. The site does not make exhibits and tell a history in the same way that NMAH site does. The way this site does try to tell a story is through the arrangement of the documents. The categories are set up so the comparisons are more easily seen and are not necessarily how an archivist would set up the collection, for example by keeping the papers of a family together, somewhat in the way it came to them. These documents are arranged for researchers to use them. The scope of the material of this site is smaller than that of the NMAH. Whereas the NMAH is presenting the objects in the context of American history and experience, the Valley site is focusing on the story of the people of two towns during the Civil War era. The audience for the site is more focused and most likely includes professional historians, amateur historians, and people interested in researching about these places during this time. http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow2/

The Do History site is also based on documents. By comparing the official documents and the account of one woman, the site points out the importance of knowing the background and the perspectives behind the sources used to do historical research, how they may affect the conclusions one may come to, and how historians use these documents. This site is geared toward a different audience than the first two sites were geared toward. It is for people who have an interest in historical research, are looking for a place to start understanding what historians do, and may want to try some historical research. The NMAH site was not geared toward people who were trying to do historical research and it was not going to tell them how to do it. The Valley site is for people who are doing historical research, but again its purpose is not to instruct someone how to use the documents and do historical research. The Do History site’s approach to history, since it is based on the sources used for a book and film, focuses on the historical research that has to be done to produce these works and emphasizes this process in presenting the story of Martha Ballard. The focus of the site is small because it is about one person’s story but its purpose of helping beginners understand how historians do research and to help them do research can appeal to a broader audience. http://dohistory.org

Possibly because of its affiliation with a television station, many of The History Channel site’s presentations of history are through television clips of events, interviews, and its television shows made about a person, place, or time. If a topic is searched, biographies and other text articles appear. Unlike the other sites this site is not based solely on objects or documents. The History Channel site has a similar presentation to that of a news site, with features such as the advertisements of its television shows, This Day in History, polls, and forums on history and current events. The audience for this site are people who watch the History Channel and may want to use it for a search of many topics in history. This site also has resources for teachers and it could be used for people who want to know more about a topic, but it is not a database of primary documents and how to use them. This site does not have as much of a scholarly presentation as the other sites do. By presenting history in this way the topics seem to feel less old and distant.http://www.historychannel.com

There are many history websites geared toward people with many different backgrounds and interests in history. By sharing content on the web, an advantage is the increase of access to historical information, including primary sources, interpretation, literature, and discussion, to all levels of historical enthusiasts from children to history academics.