Map Collections
Arts & Humanities

[Detail] Mediolanensis dvcatvs from the atlas [1570].

3) Descriptive Writing

Ask students to select a person from the "American Colonization Society" section of the Special Presentation found in America's First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotypes, 1839-1864. This person will become their research subject. Next, have students review the Special Presentation "History Of Liberia: A Time Line," and compare the dates of their subject to the time line. Finally, have students search on Liberia in the Map Collections to find a relevant map that matches the dates of their subject.

Using the materials they have selected, have students write a postcard from their subject's point of view. The postcard might answer questions such as:

• What was it like to settle in Liberia?
• How was life in Liberia different from life in the United States?
• What were daily life and duty like for their subject?

Students can also search on colonization or Liberia in African American Perspectives, 1818-1907, for viewpoints on the colonization movement.

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