North/Central America
The Indigo Plant Farm
This print depicts and labels the essential components of a plantation producing indigo, a blue dye used for coloring cloth. Slaves are shown here working at different parts of the production process. In 1789, over 3,000 plantations in Saint Domingue produced indigo.
The Sugar Mill
This depiction of a sugar plantation in Saint Domingue emphasizes the grinding mill and refining vats. An overseer with a gun supervises the enslaved labor. By 1789 Saint Domingue excelled at sugar production, outpacing other French colonies and the British alike.
The Barnyard
As shown in this print, numerous activities of plantation life were carried out by enslaved people. This scene includes women and children, who formed a relatively small part of the enslaved population.
Rights of Man
Thomas Paine (1737–1809) played a vital role in mobilizing American support for their own independence, and he leapt to support the French revolutionaries when Edmund Burke attacked.
Thomas Jefferson on the French Revolution
Although deeply sympathetic to the French in general and the revolutionary cause in particular, Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) deplored the excesses of violence that took place even before the implementation of the Reign of Terror.
Alexander Hamilton on the French Revolution
Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804) represented the Federalist Party perspective on events in France.
Puerto Rican Labor Movement and the 1940 Census
This particular census table describes the types of jobs done by men and women. It illustrates how roles are assigned on a gendered basis. After the Great Depression of 1929, the world economy was in crisis.
Little Women, "Amy's Valley of Humiliation"
Little Women is one of the most beloved works of American literature.
Little Women, “The Valley of the Shadow”
Little Women is one of the most beloved works of American literature.
The Phoenix Indian School, 1896
"Phoenix Indian School; Largest in the Southwest and Second Largest in the Country: Need of Military Garrisons in Arizona Grow Less as this School increases Its Influence Among the Nation's Wards -- Over One Hundred and Fifty Boys and Girls," read the headline of the New York Times article writte