Caleb Trotter, Poster Abstract

In the 19th Century, Delegates attending the New York and Pennsylvania conventions in 1843 and 1855 were interested in recording occupational statistics of Colored People within regions of the United States. During these conventions, the Committee Upon the Condition of Colored People compiled information revealing the various trades, apprenticeships, and other occupations. Today, through the use of modern tools, such as Google Fusion, the raw data from convention minutes can be visualized into charts and graphs. This data allows context, comparison, contrasts, and conclusions to be drawn about the lives of Colored tradesmen that were often marginalized. By transcribing the reported values within the convention minutes, insight can be shown into the traditional, professional, and marginalized lives of Colored US inhabitants during the 19th century.