Browse Projects
Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser No. 2745
The National Museum of African American History and Culture's Slavery and Freedom collection explores the founding of the nation through the lens of the African American experience from the development of the Atlantic world in the 15th century up through the Reconstruction Acts following the Civil War. Newspapers in this collection include notifications of sales of enslaved persons, newspapers asking for rewards of fugitive slaves, and the current events that impacted enslaved individuals. These documents help explore how Africans and African Americans made (and continue to re-make) American freedom through three fundamental components of nation building: the accumulation and control of capital (told through the slave trade, the plantation system, and empire building); the political turn towards democracy (from the Revolution through the reconstruction of the nation following the Civil War); and concepts of national belonging and exclusion (centered on the development of race-making). Within each, African Americans have innovated and pushed the nation forward to deepen its understanding of liberty, as Americans who lived through the fullest challenge to their freedom in almost every area of life from the most personal to the most public. Please join us in transcribing these documents to help uncover the stories of enslaved persons and their resilience, resistance, courage and faith.
Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture
Pennsylvania Packet, and Daily Advertiser No. 2822
The National Museum of African American History and Culture's Slavery and Freedom collection explores the founding of the nation through the lens of the African American experience from the development of the Atlantic world in the 15th century up through the Reconstruction Acts following the Civil War. Newspapers in this collection include notifications of sales of enslaved persons, newspapers asking for rewards of fugitive slaves, and the current events that impacted enslaved individuals. These documents help explore how Africans and African Americans made (and continue to re-make) American freedom through three fundamental components of nation building: the accumulation and control of capital (told through the slave trade, the plantation system, and empire building); the political turn towards democracy (from the Revolution through the reconstruction of the nation following the Civil War); and concepts of national belonging and exclusion (centered on the development of race-making). Within each, African Americans have innovated and pushed the nation forward to deepen its understanding of liberty, as Americans who lived through the fullest challenge to their freedom in almost every area of life from the most personal to the most public. Please join us in transcribing these documents to help uncover the stories of enslaved persons and their resilience, resistance, courage and faith.
Browse projects by National Museum of African American History and Culture
Project PHaEDRA - Annie Jump Cannon - Annie Cannon Notebooks #95
At Harvard College Observatory (now the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), Women Astronomical Computers studied glass plate photographs of the night sky. Here they cataloged stars, identifying variables, interpreting stellar spectra, counting galaxies, and measuring the vast distances in space. Several of them made game-changing discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics. In these books, follow the work of Annie Jump Cannon, who in 1901 devised a robust and elegant stellar classification scheme that astronomers still use today. Interested in historical women? Love astronomy? Help us transcribe the work of the Harvard Observatory's women computers and see which stars shine the brightest. PLEASE NOTE: The Project PHaEDRA Instructions for Women Computers Notebooks were heavily revised and republished on August 18, 2023. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these instructions.
Browse projects by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Project PHaEDRA - Cecilia H. Payne - RH Plates PTM #66 (phaedra1266)
At Harvard College Observatory (now the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), women computers studied glass plate photographs of the night sky. Here they catalogued stars, identifying variables, interpreting stellar spectra, counting galaxies, and measuring the vast distances in space. Several of them made game-changing discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics. In these books, follow the early work of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who discovered that stars, and the whole universe, were made abundantly of hydrogen -- a discovery that earned her the first PhD in Astronomy from Harvard. Interested in historical women? Love astronomy? Help us transcribe the work of the Harvard Observatory's women computers and see which stars shine the brightest. PLEASE NOTE: Project PHaEDRA notebooks are quite unique, and we have a special set of instructions for them. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these guidelines.
Browse projects by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Project PHaEDRA - Muriel & Sylvia Mussells - Magnitudes of Nebulae, H. #G54
At Harvard College Observatory (now the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), Women Astronomical Computers studied glass plate photographs of the night sky. Here they cataloged stars, identified variables, interpreted stellar spectra, counted galaxies, and measured the vast distances in space. Several of them made game-changing discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics. In these books, you can follow the work of Sylvia and Muriel Mussells, two sisters who worked at the Harvard College Observatory in the 1920s and 1930s. Muriel Mussells discovered three new ring nebulae in the Milky Way and Sylvia Mussells discovered the first dwarf galaxy. You can help us find out what else we can learn about them and their work! PLEASE NOTE: The Project PHaEDRA Instructions for Women Computers Notebooks were heavily revised and republished on August 18, 2023. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these instructions.
Browse projects by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Project PHaEDRA - Muriel & Sylvia Mussells - Positions of nebulae, 4. #G36
At Harvard College Observatory (now the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), Women Astronomical Computers studied glass plate photographs of the night sky. Here they cataloged stars, identified variables, interpreted stellar spectra, counted galaxies, and measured the vast distances in space. Several of them made game-changing discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics. In these books, you can follow the work of Sylvia and Muriel Mussells, two sisters who worked at the Harvard College Observatory in the 1920s and 1930s. Muriel Mussells discovered three new ring nebulae in the Milky Way and Sylvia Mussells discovered the first dwarf galaxy. You can help us find out what else we can learn about them and their work! PLEASE NOTE: The Project PHaEDRA Instructions for Women Computers Notebooks were heavily revised and republished on August 18, 2023. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these instructions.
Browse projects by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Project PHaEDRA - Rebecca B. Jones - MC Magnitudes, VIII #G139 (phaedra2422)
At Harvard College Observatory (now the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), Women Astronomical Computers studied glass plate photographs of the night sky. Here they cataloged stars; identifying variables, interpreting stellar spectra, counting galaxies, and measuring the vast distances in space. Several of them made game-changing discoveries in astronomy and astrophysics. In these books, follow the work of Rebecca B. Jones who surveyed the brightness of stars. Interested in the history of science? Love astronomy? Help us transcribe the work of the Harvard Observatory's women computers and early astronomers and see which stars shine the brightest. PLEASE NOTE: Project PHaEDRA notebooks are quite unique, and we have a special set of instructions for them. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these guidelines.
Browse projects by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Virginia Assistant Commissioner, Endorsements Sent, Volume 5 (26), Apr. 7–Oct. 4, 1866
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established on March 3, 1865. The duties of the Freedmen’s Bureau included supervision of all affairs relating to refugees, freedmen, and the custody of abandoned lands and property. These documents come from the Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, Series 2: Endorsements Sent.
Additional resources are available on the Freedmen's Bureau Instructions Page. Please help us transcribe these records to learn more about the lives of formerly enslaved men and women during the Reconstruction Era.
Virginia Assistant Commissioner, Records Relating to Bureau Functions, Monthly Ration Reports, Aug. 1865–Aug. 1867, Part 1
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established on March 3, 1865. The duties of the Freedmen’s Bureau included supervision of all affairs relating to refugees, freedmen, and the custody of abandoned lands and property. These documents come from the Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, Series 7: Records Relating to Specific Bureau Functions.
Additional resources are available on the Freedmen's Bureau Instructions Page. Please help us transcribe these records to learn more about the lives of formerly enslaved men and women during the Reconstruction Era.
Virginia Assistant Commissioner, Records Relating to Bureau Functions, Monthly Reports on Confiscated and Abandoned Lands, Aug. 1865–Jan. 1867, Part 1
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established on March 3, 1865. The duties of the Freedmen’s Bureau included supervision of all affairs relating to refugees, freedmen, and the custody of abandoned lands and property. These documents come from the Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, Series 7: Records Relating to Specific Bureau Functions.
Additional resources are available on the Freedmen's Bureau Instructions Page. Please help us transcribe these records to learn more about the lives of formerly enslaved men and women during the Reconstruction Era.
Virginia Assistant Commissioner, Records Relating to Destitute Freedmen and Refugees, Lists of Destitute Freedmen, Part 1
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established on March 3, 1865. The duties of the Freedmen’s Bureau included supervision of all affairs relating to refugees, freedmen, and the custody of abandoned lands and property. These documents come from the Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, Series 8: Records Relating to Destitute Freedmen and Refugees.
Additional resources are available on the Freedmen's Bureau Instructions Page. Please help us transcribe these records to learn more about the lives of formerly enslaved men and women during the Reconstruction Era.
Virginia Assistant Commissioner, Records Relating to Destitute Freedmen and Refugees, Monthly Lists of Destitute Whites
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established on March 3, 1865. The duties of the Freedmen’s Bureau included supervision of all affairs relating to refugees, freedmen, and the custody of abandoned lands and property. These documents come from the Records of the Assistant Commissioner for the State of Virginia, Series 8: Records Relating to Destitute Freedmen and Refugees.
Additional resources are available on the Freedmen's Bureau Instructions Page. Please help us transcribe these records to learn more about the lives of formerly enslaved men and women during the Reconstruction Era.
