Comparing Historical Websites

Historical websites present different ways of examining the past. Whether the site is for an academic writing a thesis or a sixth-grader trying to learn how to parse through a primary source, there are myriad sites that serve any of your research needs. The most effective way to understand these different approaches is to look at the sites themselves.

The first website I examined was The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War. The site tells the story of the Civil War through the eyes of people from a county in the North and from one in the South. The events are told almost completely through primary sources such as town records and newspapers. I found this to be a phenomenal site for studying history. The breadth of information is simply astounding, as the site contains a massive archive of primary sources; and the obscurity of some of those sources is amazing.

Also, the site's aesthetics are alternately efficient and pleasing. The home page, for example, is looks great as it has a large, nice-looking graphic that is clickable, coupled with a well-written introduction outlining the purpose of the site. Then, when the graphic is clicked, it takes you to the site’s main page. The main page is not very attractive to the eye, but it is very efficient as the construction of the clickable graphic is almost an interactive sitemap whose links are clearly defined. This graphic made the navigation of the site very easy, as you can jump to specific pages on the site very quickly. Overall, this site is a very good one for academics and novices alike, as it gives the experienced scholar a myriad of primary sources and gives the amateur a nice immersion into historical research.

The second site I reviewed was Do History. This site was all about teaching and instruction under the guise of studying the life of Martha Ballard, a woman who lived primarily in the 18^th century. The purpose of the site is to teach inexperienced scholars how to research history with a heavy focus on how to utilize primary sources. The site uses Martha Ballard’s diary as its primary source, and it shows the visitor how to navigate through the diary to find specific dates or specific information or events. The site even goes so far as to have a page just for teachers, telling them how to incorporate the site into their lesson plans, so it is clear that this site is meant for educational purposes. Though it is not as easy to navigate as the Valley of the Shadow, it excels at its true goal, which is to teach young students.

The third website I looked at was the National Museum of American History. This website serves its purpose exceptionally well. Obviously, the flashy layout of the home page shows that the purpose of this site is to get people to come to the museum or to donate money. The site lacks any in depth information about historical events, only detailing them when explaining an exhibit. Once it is understood that the site is not for any academic research and has no scholarly intent, it can be a very useful tool to attract people who are not well versed in history into a museum.

The fourth website reviewed was the History Channel’s. This website, for all intents and purposes, is one big commercial advertisement. Upon opening the homepage, the first things you see are ads for upcoming shows and for products to buy (namely shows on DVD). It is clear from just the homepage that that the site is simply promoting the channel itself, just like any smart business that is trying to promote a product will do. In addition, the fact that there is an entire section for games, which include Human Weapon and Shootout!, proves that fact that the site exists solely to make money for the company.