Category Archives: Final Project

Final Project for HIST 390

Exhibit

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In my exhibit I am going to explore the idea that the reason that prostitutes are known as hookers is due to general Joseph Hooker, a union general who was stationed in D.C. One area where he guarded was known as murder bay due to the sheer number of brothels and gambling dens it contained. It became known as Hookers Division due to the number of soldiers who visited on a regular basis.

I will include a brief history and a picture of general hooker.

hooker

This is important to the exhibit because the people who look into it are going to want a brief history of the man. It is also always nice to be able to put a face to a name.

The next Item I will include into my exhibit is an Ngram from google books covering the years 1860-1920 showing the use between hooker, whore, prostitute, and harlot. The reason I choose this time frame is that is the time frame that hookers division existed and the name would have come into play.

graphic

 

This is a useful and interesting graphic because while they are never the majority, the term hooker has a spike around 1884-1885. This could be used as interpretive support for the use of hookers being named after general hooker.

One other piece of information I will include in my exhibit as a piece of contradicting evidence is the idea that hookers are named after Corlears Hook. A neighborhood in New York famous for having brothels that sailors on shore leave would visit.

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this is a picture of Corlears Hook from 1876, the area reputed for its brothels. This fits into the exhibit because it gives people a look into a different view point on the origins of the word and allows them to draw their own conclusions.

These three items, while they will be included into my exhibit, are not the only items I plan on having in it. I hope to obtain more evidence and pictures as I continue to do research into my topic on prostitution in D.C. during the civil war and reconstruction eras.

 

Map

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map

 

The map Featured above shows the general vicinity of murder bay, as well as some of the locations of the brothels before the neighborhood was cleaned up. Overall this map was fairly easy to make. I was able to find the information necessary to make it through the library of congress and had to transfer it onto a Google map. Creating my own historic narrative though a map I feel gave additional insight into the history of prostitution within D.C. because It illustrates that a large concentration of brothels were focus just outside of the White House in what is now one of the nicer sections of the city. Maps are an excellent way to help people visualize the history of a locations and I think that this map definitely helps in that regard.

Final Topic

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For my final project I would like to research the rise and fall of brothels within the red-light district of D.C., and what has become of that district since then.  The first steps I will take to look into this topic is to look for primary sources that can help me trace the origins of the red-light district.  Once I have found these sources and have established it’s roots they will hopefully lead me in the right direction for continued research. The first place I will look for information will be in the mason databases, as well as digging through Google sources to find reliable sites. If done correctly this project to lead to an interesting insight into a portion of D.C.’s history that is not addressed in the textbooks.

Research Topics

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Research Topics

washington

When it comes to the development of Washington D.C. there are many interesting topics to choose from, I have chosen three to focus on for my research paper. I believe that they will help understand the rich history of Washington D.C.

The first I would like to examine the rise and fall of the Red Light District within Washington D.C.  I believe that this is an important in understanding the history of D.C. because red light districts existed within virtually all major cities until being deemed illegal and they lead to an interesting insight into the thought process of an era, as well as providing an insight into the lives of a people who are generally ignored in the history texts.  One of the first steps to researching this topic would be to go and look up a general history of Red Light Districts across the country since they all served the same purpose and see what has become of them now.  Another initial research step I could take would be to look up the location of the former red light district within D.C. and then go to the national archives to look for photographs, or newspapers detailing their closing. A search through the GMU Library databases could also yield important results.

The next topic I would like to look into would be the architectural style of the buildings within D.C. and why their certain styles were chosen. This is an important topic because the buildings within a city, especially their architecture, are what give a city it’s feel and define it’s character. It would also be interesting to see a change in the design style in buildings that were built at different times in the history of the city.  A good place to start with this research would be by looking at photographs, or illustrations of the buildings when they are recently completed to see how they fit into the city at the time. Another research topic that would be good to look for would be to look at architectural styles that were popular at the time the building was constructed, and to find cities with similar architecture and see what they are trying to represent.

Finally, I would like to research why architects and city planners chose the locations for the monuments of D.C. This will show insight into D.C. because the monuments, especially the Lincoln, Washington are land marks of the city that people from around the globe recognize. I also think that this would be a worthwhile topic because the national mall was not always the monumental center of the city, and it will be interesting to learn the motivation behind it.  To start researching this topic I should look up articles in newspapers, and reports on the development and building of the monument. One more useful way to begin research would be to look up who created the monuments and then look to see if they made any statements on their placement.

All of these topics could lead to an interesting and insightful history of the Washington D.C. area and will lead to a side of the city not often explored.