Browse Exhibits (2 total)
"Cartoons Are For All": Visual Representations of the Disfranchisement Movement
During the 1900 political campaign the Raleigh News and Observer, which was owned and edited by prominent Democrat Josephus Daniels, ran a number of political cartoons that were designed to promote the interests of the Democratic Party, including the passage of a amendment to disfranchise African American voters. This activity encourages students to analyze several of these political cartoons (and other relevant primary source documents) in order to support historical arguments concerning the movement to disfranchise African Americans. Warning: This activity includes newspaper articles from the late nineteenth century that contain racially insenstive images and ideas.
Using Legal Documents as Primary Sources
Legal documents, such as statutory laws and court cases, provide historians with a rich primary source base upon which they can draw well documented information for the purposes of reconstructing the past. But legal decisions do not take place in a vacuum; placing legal documents in their historical context can shed light on the political mood of a particular time and place. After reviewing the tutorial, "How to Use Legal Documents as Primary Sources," practice placing the 1900 North Carolina Voter Registration Laws in their broader historical context by engaging in the activities in this exhibit. Because the activites build upon one another, proceed through them in the order listed.
Featured Exhibit
Sherman's March in Blue and Grey, March-April, 1865
This exhibit traces General William Sherman of the Union Army and over 60,000 of his men as they marched through...