Historian

NPS UNIT: Independence National Historic Park

LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

This project will be the second in our ‘Freedom Seeking in Philadelphia” series. Following last year’s research, the intern will research the impact Black artisans and enslaved Blacks had on the production of consumer goods in Philadelphia. The intern will create a spreadsheet identifying free Black artisans and enslaved Blacks working in Philadelphia’s artisan shops through an analysis of the 1790 and 1800 Federal Censuses and the 1790s City Directories. Because these primary sources can be mapped to locations, the intern will re-create federal Philadelphia's streetscape referencing Black artisans and the trades in which they participated. The intern will prepare a short essay and present their findings to National Park Service staff, and the intern will prepare one social media post using their research. The intern's research will inform future NPS programming by demonstrating how Black artisans helped produce the goods that served early American consumers. This information will support the park's goal to bring more stories of the underrepresented to the public.

Qualifications

Undergraduate degree in public history or an undergraduate entering their senior year of a degree program. Ability and experience completing research required to complete a research paper, with citations. Ability and experience writing a research paper. Ability to use excel and mapping soft wear. Ability to write for social media. Interest in NPS, history, museum collections and material culture.

Learning Goals

The intern will learn about cultural resources as defined by NPS and cultural resource management as practiced by NPS. The intern will be working with our curator developing a critical eye for collections and professional writing skills and writing for social media; the intern will learn how material cultural, our museum artifacts, are used to interpret history. The intern will also be working with our PHD historian developing professional level research and writing skills. To complete the tasks as outlined the intern will develop time management and communication skills. Communication with staff at varying levels in the organization will be needed.