The underground railroad project
I arrived at my first day on the job around 11:30, and I was immediately presented with a list of tasks to complete before the end of the day. I set up at a desk near my supervisor's office and spent the day writing. The project I assisted on today concerned the Underground Railroad -- I helped edit and improve a lesson plan for students studying indentured servitude and its presence in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War. I transcribed four articles from a newspaper from 1775 about runaway slaves, using the online archives at the MHS, before 1:00PM. After enjoying lunch at the Boston Burger company with the two people who run the Public Programs and Education division of the MHS (as well as a fellow intern), I continued my work.
For the rest of the day, I focused on drafting three brief descriptions to provide a historical context and background information for the important concepts of the lesson plan. These topics included indentured servitude in colonial America and the shift toward slavery, slavery in Massachusetts and the end of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783, and Dunmore's proclamation and its implications for slave owners such as Thomas Jefferson. To read my summaries of these subjects or to view the article transcriptions, click on the documents below.
For the rest of the day, I focused on drafting three brief descriptions to provide a historical context and background information for the important concepts of the lesson plan. These topics included indentured servitude in colonial America and the shift toward slavery, slavery in Massachusetts and the end of slavery in Massachusetts in 1783, and Dunmore's proclamation and its implications for slave owners such as Thomas Jefferson. To read my summaries of these subjects or to view the article transcriptions, click on the documents below.