Process Paper
Amy Sumsion
Senior Individual Website Division
NHD 2015
Process Paper
I became interested about Nathan Hale and his legacy because he is Connecticut’s State Hero, which is where I was born and raised. Many know that Nathan Hale was a spy in the American Revolutionary War but not much more than that. As I continued to do more research it intrigued me that such an icon in history had so little definite answers to his story. There was no real way of knowing Hale’s last words, how he was caught, or what he learned while he was behind enemy lines. Despite the lack of information, Hale left behind a great legacy of patriotism and courage which is why I chose to research Nathan Hale.
After I decided on my topic, I began researching by going to my school library, online databases provided by my school and the University of Connecticut, to find credible resources and websites online. I then went to the Nathan Hale Homestead for a live interview and tour with the site administrator, Beverly York, who provided me with several primary sources. From there I reached out to several professors from the History Department at the University of Connecticut and conducted an email interview with Professor Christopher Clark. When all my information and sources were gathered I created an outline for my project. Then I started putting everything together on my website.
I used the website presentation because I was able to edit the website from anywhere and on any device which fit my busy schedule the best. Weebly also made it easy to incorporate so many sources such as videos, pictures, and quotes that I found online. I started by creating a general theme for all my pages and knew that I wanted the same header on all pages and a major quote right below the header. With Weebly it is easy to arrange and format your website to make it however you like which helped me determine which layout I liked the most. After a lot of rearranging and ensuring that I met criteria I published the website.
My project is about Nathan Hale who was the first American Spy who was also caught and hanged after only one week. However, there is little confirmed information about Nathan Hale and how he contributed to the American Revolution. Had Nathan Hale never been a spy the British would have never known the true patriotism of America and what they were truly up against. Nathan Hale’s patriotism, pride, and dignity inspire people to this day and will for years to come
Senior Individual Website Division
NHD 2015
Process Paper
I became interested about Nathan Hale and his legacy because he is Connecticut’s State Hero, which is where I was born and raised. Many know that Nathan Hale was a spy in the American Revolutionary War but not much more than that. As I continued to do more research it intrigued me that such an icon in history had so little definite answers to his story. There was no real way of knowing Hale’s last words, how he was caught, or what he learned while he was behind enemy lines. Despite the lack of information, Hale left behind a great legacy of patriotism and courage which is why I chose to research Nathan Hale.
After I decided on my topic, I began researching by going to my school library, online databases provided by my school and the University of Connecticut, to find credible resources and websites online. I then went to the Nathan Hale Homestead for a live interview and tour with the site administrator, Beverly York, who provided me with several primary sources. From there I reached out to several professors from the History Department at the University of Connecticut and conducted an email interview with Professor Christopher Clark. When all my information and sources were gathered I created an outline for my project. Then I started putting everything together on my website.
I used the website presentation because I was able to edit the website from anywhere and on any device which fit my busy schedule the best. Weebly also made it easy to incorporate so many sources such as videos, pictures, and quotes that I found online. I started by creating a general theme for all my pages and knew that I wanted the same header on all pages and a major quote right below the header. With Weebly it is easy to arrange and format your website to make it however you like which helped me determine which layout I liked the most. After a lot of rearranging and ensuring that I met criteria I published the website.
My project is about Nathan Hale who was the first American Spy who was also caught and hanged after only one week. However, there is little confirmed information about Nathan Hale and how he contributed to the American Revolution. Had Nathan Hale never been a spy the British would have never known the true patriotism of America and what they were truly up against. Nathan Hale’s patriotism, pride, and dignity inspire people to this day and will for years to come