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 Ratings
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| Reviewed: |
Jun 16, 2004 by History Editorial Board |
| Overview: |
The Haymarket rally, bombing, and subsequent trials, executions, and pardons are
presented at this site as a five-act drama. Each entry page contains an image
or a group of images accompanied by a scrollable text that decribes and
discusses the entry with interviews, memoir excerpts,contemporary news reports,
and other primary documents. The site has a good introduction and site
overview, a guide to navigating resources, a guide to futher readings, and PDF
files. An important link is provided to the Chicago Historical Society's digital archive of Haymarket materials. |
| Learning Goals: |
To examine historical materials from the Chicago Historical Society's collection
on the Haymarket strike.
To interpret the Haymarket materials and place them in proper historical
context.
To place the events of Haymarket into the broader picture of labor history in
19th century United States.
None are identified by the site authors. |
| Target Student Population: |
High School, College. |
| Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: |
A knowledge of United States Labor history in the 19th century.
Basic computer skills. Good reading skills. |
| Type of Material: |
Tutorial/Archival of primary materials. |
| Recommended Uses: |
To supplement the study of labor history in 19th century United States in a
United States History survey course or in a semester course of United States
Labor history. The site is good for research and learning. |
| Technical Requirements: |
Netscape or Internet Explorer browser (4.0) with 800 X 600 pixels.
Apple Quicktime Plug In (version is available on line)to access interviews.
Adobe Acrobate Reader. The ability to read PDF files. |
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| Strengths: |
Each part of the site has an interpretative essay and topical sections which
include visual materials, artifacts, documents, manuscripts, and printed texts.
Each entry is described and analyzed. The entire Haymarket Affair Digital
Collection is accessible. Personal recollections from Studs Terkel, Illiois
Labor History Society President Les Orear, and descendants of a police officer
wounded at Haymarket and anarchist participants offer unique historical
perspectives. There are virtual tours of the Haymarket area, Forest Home
cemetery, and the opportunity to listen to popular labor songs of the 19th
century.
The prologue and act one provide background that covers, among other topics, the Chicago Fire of 1871, the railroad strike of 1877, widening class divisions in the 1880s, and the development of radical thought. The epilogue deals with the aftermath of the events from the pardon to the present day. Additional coverage is given to the Haymarket rally and bombing, the trial, the reactions to the convictions, the executions, and the pardon. The coverage of these topics is thorough, accurate, interesting, and suported with primary documents. |
| Concerns: |
None. |
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Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool |
Rating:   |
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| Strengths: |
The vast array of materials available at this site enables the instructor to
create an educational package that will best suit their classroom instruction
needs. The site is adaptable to high school, college survey courses, and upper
level college courses. (See assignment created for college level survey course
as one example. The site offers a guide to navigating the site which is useful
to both faculty and students, a list or resources and a guide to further
reading. PDF files are available for printing and/or downloading. This is an
excellent site to distinguish between primary and secondary sources and to teach
students how to interpret original documents.
The
web site is a companion to the Chicago Historical Society's Digital Archive on the Haymarket bombing. The site is essentially a series of essays about the bombing. The essays are supported by selected primary materials. The site effectively demonstrates how historians go about their craft using priimary documents as evidence, placing events in historical context, giving attention to detail, and finding contemporary relevance for long ago events. There is not a lot of room for students to do their own analytical work. Instructors should direct students to the digital archive if they want them to be more challenged to think like historians. |
| Concerns: |
This site does not contain lesson plans, suggestions for research papers, or other instructions for use in the classroom. This is too bad. |
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Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty |
| Rating: |
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| Strengths: |
The site is easy to navigate and a guide is provided. Technical support is
offered. Apple QuickTime Plug In is available to enable users to access
interviews. Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed for use of PDF Files and is
available on site. Additional resources, archive, and bibliography are
available. The site uses images as stepping off points to talk about Chicago in the late 19th century. This is an effective way to get site visitors to read the alarge amount of text. The site is well organized and includes clear instructions about how to move among the pages. Download times are acceptable for the audio and video files. |
| Concerns: |
None. |
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| Other Issues and Comments: |
This site offers great potential to place more emphasis on an important
watershed event in United States History that does not always get the attention
is deserves in survey courses on United States History. |
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