Back in January when I was first beginning my History Day project, my mom suggested I study communication in the Underground Railroad. I was inspired by the connection between the Underground Railroad and this year’s theme, Communication in History. I then began some preliminary research. I learned about many ways slaves escaped from their masters and found freedom in the north. Soon, I had firmly chosen my topic.
Being at home due to the pandemic certainly made it more difficult to research my topic. Without the immediate help of my teachers, I had no way to know if I was on the right path. I read articles off of the internet and gathered images, recording my sources as I went. In fact, I had so many different directions I could go in, that I had to condense and focus my work. After I had found helpful sources, I began to type up paragraphs about the various themes of my research into a document. This way I had one home for all of my images, quotes, and writing. This also allowed me to calculate my word count accurately.
Last year when I competed in National History Day, I chose to create a board. Later when school was canceled and History Day was moved virtually, this became more difficult. Having this past experience is what made me choose to create a website instead this year. A website allowed me to challenge myself technologically and take my project in a direction that I hadn’t imagined before.
After I had finished writing my paragraphs and finding images, I began creating my site. I used the NHDWebCentral site builder per the requirements. I looked at some other websites from previous years so I could learn what makes a winning site. At the beginning the software was a bit difficult to use, but after watching the videos on the NHDWebCentral Youtube page, it was much easier to understand. I created pages on the builder and inserted the writing I had already done and began the process of formatting, adding titles, etc.
Communication was an integral part of the Underground Railaroad. This year’s theme “Communication in History” is all about the importance of successfully communicating. Without the inginuitive forms of communication such as songs and codes used in the Underground Railroad, thousands of people would never have been able to escape the horrors of slavery and live full lives as free citizens.