Web Journal

The Good and the Not So Good: Two History Websites

A Not So Good Website:

Jefferson: Man of the Millenium, by Richard Jensen.

This site is basically a listing of links related to Thomas Jefferson. Among the links are two that respectively weight the evidence of the infamous relationship Jefferson had with one of his slaves, Sally Hemmings. While this site offers ample rich resources, the layout of the site gives visitors little if any navigational help. The cornucopia of links is little more than a grab-bag of outside commentary and source material on Jefferson, with no hints or suggestions from the Jensen about how to use the material. The site has no structure; the links are placed on the page in seemingly random order. The images on the site are place with little regard to their orientation, position on the page, or value to the overall site. Finally, the layout of the site has little aesthetic appeal or structure, which makes the overall experience of browsing the site frustrating.

A Good Website:

A More Perfect Union, Smithsonian Institute.

I chose A More Perfect Union as a good website because it is structured in a sophisticated but relatively straight-forward manner. The site examines the contexts of Japanese relocation and internment during the Second World War. Using Flash (though a non-Flash version is available), the site takes visitors through a variety of topic related to Japanese culture and life in the United States. The sites colors, fonts, and overall style is consistent, which makes a visit to the site more comfortable and more enjoyable. A More Perfect Union does an excellent job of placing the topic of Japanese-American internment in broader social and historical contexts, provides visitors with the resources and background to understand the primary source material, and gives visitors a clean and organized site to browse and have an enjoyable learning experience.

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