Process Paper

We spent some days in class contemplating topics for our project. Initially, we thought of doing our project on an aspect of the technological revolution. However, neither of us had any previous knowledge of this topic, nor did it interest us after researching for a few days. Then, we came across a list of multiple different revolutions. The Industrial Revolution was our new option because we have both learned about it prior to this project, and there are many opportunities under that general topic. Next, we developed our subtopic which became child labor because it is a very compelling topic with two sides and it is neat to see how it was viewed/reacted to from different perspectives. We have conducted our research by using the Internet, books, and online videos. We found an excellent video on the History Channel website so we sent them an e-mail asking for permission to use it in our project, and they confirmed our use of it. We will use interviews from excellent websites containing perspectives of supporters of and advocates against child labor during the Industrial Revolution as primary sources. Other primary sources are original photographs with their original captions. Additional secondary sources found on the Internet include the United Kingdoms National Archives, online encyclopedias, and Spartacus Educational. For our presentation category we chose the website competition. We have had previous experience in the junior website competition and felt it would be a great way to convey our research, information, primary sources, etc. in an organized way that is also visually appealing. It made since to us since there are subtopics such as the Industrial Revolution in America and in Britain; the two opposing viewpoints of supporters and activists; and the reforms from each of the two countries. We created our project by using the program Weebly which made the process

of creating a website simpler. We got together a few days and worked on our website from home. We organized the website with sidebars containing separate categories from the theme (Revolution, reaction, reform) and some general background information. We created a picture slideshow to add visual affect to our website. We edited our information so we would not exceed the 1200 word limit requirement for NHD. Our project relates to the theme Revolution, Reaction, Reform in many instances. Our project focuses on child labor during the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and in the United States. Due to that revolution, child labor was in high demand. Some people reacted positively, others adversely. Our project goes into a large extent of detail on the opposing viewpoints using accurate primary sources to show the true reactions from people during the Industrial Revolution. Finally, we provide multiple examples of the reforms that were put into action to try and take a stand against child labor. Therefore our project relates to the NHD theme of Revolution, Reaction, Reform.