The Wadsworth Museum

On Friday the 9th of December we went to visit the Wadsworth museum in Hartford, CT. I was surprised at how big the Museum was. I originally looked at the museum online and I thought there would be only two rooms filled with paintings. However, when I got to the museum it was a couple of floors high and filled with different forms of paintings, posters, and ceramics. My favourite piece of artwork was the print “My bondage and My Freedom,” by Frederick Douglass. I liked this piece of art because I was able to relate it to what we have been studying in class.I liked this piece of art because I was able to relate it to what we have been studying in class. From visiting the museum I learnt that there are so many pieces of art and other items that can tell us a lot about a specific time period. For example the print of the slave ship really emphasized the harsh brutalities that slaves had to face in order to make it to the new world. The printing of “My bondage and my Freedom,” shows that modern day America values the efforts of revolutionists, showing that the Identity of Americans had improved to a more accepting and favourable identity. A question I left the museum with was “Is slavery discussed in all parts of the United States, and do any states have a biased mindset towards slavery?”. I am interested in hearing how slavery is taught in the South as opposed to slavery taught in northern America in the modern day.

Trip to USS Constitution

Michelle Fickett

1/2/18

US History B1

USS Constitution Blog

Predictions:

-I want to learn about the USS Constitution and a little about why it was important to US History

-I also want to learn about what life was like for sailors

The USS Constitution was a warship during the War of 1812. The museum sits in Charlestown, Massachusetts in the Navy shipyard. The USS Constitution, nicknamed “Old Ironsides,” was one of the many naval warships in the war of 1812. The purpose of the museum is to teach about the ship and what life was like on the ship. Walking through the museum, there were exhibits about the structure of the ship, the materials inside the ship, the crew, and many more aspects of life of a seaman.

Walking around the museum, pictures and reconstructions of the USS Constitution help to bring a good understanding of the famous warship. The museum shows the history of the ship as successful and fearless. Accounts from actual crew members through speakers in front of each exhibit bring an authentic feel, and really give the audience an idea about the rough and uncertain life of a sailor. The museum shows American ideals of life and military heroism by honoring the crew and the bravery of the sailors. The museum also portrays a positive narrative for these seamen by letting the visitors get a glimpse of how hard life on the ship actually was. One section of the museum showed a wheel with different classes and jobs of men related to the ship. It showed how different people would turn out to be in the future, after their time on the ship. But how to get people excited to learn about the ships past? One interactive piece of the museum was designing a personal ship and fighting other  warships of the people next to you in the exhibit. It gets people of all ages to learn through experience and get excited about history and how the ships worked. The USS Constitution museum effectively combines history and fun, and also past and present technology in order to teach anyone who walks through the doors about “Old Ironsides”.