Hi again!
I’ve been playing with some DH tools to help me visualize changes in federal grant allocations for Indian education over time. Today, I was looking for a tool that would help me see trends geographically, temporally, and categorically (types of grant recipients). After playing around with StoryMap JS, I decided to use color coding to change years, insert text boxes to designate school categories (tribal school, missionary school, etc.), and attach the gps pin as closely as possible to the site mentioned in the congressional records.
Some pitfalls —
- The sites mentioned in the letters and records of Congress correspond to historical sites that don’t match up with Google Maps and its names for places today. Also, some sites were described through a reference to the tribal nation being served but not to a specific location. Tribal territories were in flux during the period in question (1819 to 1833), so finding an appropriate pin for “Creek nation,” for example, is difficult.
- Some schools filled multiple categories. For example, the Mohegan school at Montville, CT was both a missionary school and, at least partially, a tribally owned property.
Take a look and see what you think!
(if the embedded tool doesn’t work, you can check it out at https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/ef302b45fe690d798810f28b8f474bbd/civilization-act-of-1819-funds-distribution/index.html)
Civilization Act of 1819 Funds Distribution
A visual analysis of the disbursements of the Civilization Act of 1819 between 1819 and 1833
