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Teaching History Online

Number 24: 6th January, 2001




Introduction

1. Census Online

2. Shot at Dawn

3. Women in American History

4. Women Come to the Front

5. The Austro-Hungarian Army

6. Voices From History

7. Life of the People

8. History on the Web

Introduction

Spartacus Educational publishes Teaching History Online every week. The newsletter includes news, reviews of websites and articles on using ICT in the history classroom. Members of the mailing list are invited to submit information for inclusion in future editions of Teaching History Online. In this way we hope to create a community of people involved in using the Internet to teach history.

John Simkin
spartacus@pavilion.co.uk

 

Census Online: The 1901 British census was posted on the internet on the 1st January 2001. The Public Record Office says it will be invaluable for people all over the world who want to trace their British ancestors. Margaret Brennand, from the Public Record Office, said: "A huge amount of work has gone into taking the original census forms, scanning them, creating digital images and a comprehensive index to enable people to search for more than 32 million individuals living in England and Wales in 1901." The data, which has taken more than two years to digitalise, is expected to be particularly popular with people from overseas seeking to trace English and Welsh ancestors. A basic search of the site will be free of charge but to download a census image will cost 75p per page. The initiative is part of the PRO's wider effort, Census Online, which aims to digitise all the earlier censuses before 1901.

Shot at Dawn: When the British Army went into action in the summer of 1914, a number of offences were punishable with death. This included mutiny, cowardice before the enemy, self-inflicted wounds, disobedience of a lawful order, desertion or attempted desertion, sleeping or being drunk on post, striking a superior officer, casting away arms or ammunition in the presence of the enemy, leaving a post without orders, abandoning a position, and treacherously communicated with or in any way assisting the enemy. This website, Shot at Dawn, provides details of the 346 British soldiers who were executed during the First World War. It also includes information on German, French and Belgian executions.

Women in American History: An impressive website produced by Encyclopedia Britannica. This includes four overview articles: Early America 1600-1820, The Nineteenth Century 1820-1880, At the Crossroads 1880-1920 and Modern America 1920 to the Present. There is also a large collection of biographies, a media gallery, a recommended reading list, a study guide and a useful list of women's history website links.

Women Come to the Front is a website devoted to women who worked as journalists, photographers and broadcasters during the Second World War. This includes articles such as War, Women and Opportunity and Seeds of Change and biographies of Therese Bonney, Toni Frissell, Clare Boothe Luce, Janet Flanner, Esther Bubley, Dorothea Lange and May Craig. There is also a full list of accredited women correspondents employed during the war.

The Austro-Hungarian Army: The aim of this website is to document the organizational history of the land forces of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy from just prior to the outbreak of the Great War until the collapse of the monarchy in 1918. The subject is huge and therefore the site will be a continually evolving project. The authors intend to produce as time goes on not only the organization of the land forces, but also biographies of senior commanders, individual regimental histories and details of particular engagements and battles in the Italian, Galician, Carpathian, Rumanian and Serbian theatres of operations.

Voices From History: The Nation journal has assembled a package of articles and resource material on Black History. The selections, all originally published in the pages of The Nation over the past 135 years, feature articles that illuminate the magazine's steadfast commitment to racial justice. The selected pieces take on many different subjects and come from many different perspectives. This includes articles by Jesse Jackson (1991), Alice Walker (1989), James Baldwin (1980), Martin Luther King (1965), Leroy Jones (1964), I. F. Stone (1956), W. E. B. Du Bois (1956), Langston Hughes (1926) and George Schuyler (1926).

Life of the People: During his life the New York garment manufacturer, Ben Goldstein, collected works that stirred his very personal interest in the city of his birth, the American people, and the human condition during the first half of the twentieth century. Goldstein assembled outstanding holdings of works by creators who shared his social concerns. Among these artists were women, African Americans, and the Mexican muralists who were so influential at the time. Life of the People, created by the Library of Congress, is an online exhibition of Goldstein's collection of prints and drawings.

History on the Web is a site of free resources for Modern History students and teachers. It has over 100 student-friendly articles by first-rate authors on key AS/A2 topics, carefully arranged to be a complete work assignment. There are also topic guides, in-depth outlines of key concepts, comments on exam answers and a 66 page History study guide that has been used by the government to show the uses of the Internet. The site has selected links (under constant development) to other Modern History Internet sites. Simple to use, even for complete novices, the site is fast and free except for two protected sections, the password to which subscribers to new perspective - the leading AS/A Modern History journal, receive the password.


Please email John Simkin at spartacus@pavilion.co.uk if you have information you want included in next month's edition of Teaching History Online.