botkin embraced the ever-evolving state of folklore. according to him, folklore was not static but ever changing and being created by people in their daily lives. he developed his novel approach to american folklore while teaching in oklahoma and later working in the federal government, as part of the federal writers' project, during the late 1930s and early '40s. he became folklore editor of the writers' project in 1938. his efforts working with the library of congress led to the preservation and publication of the ex-slave narratives, part of the federal writers' project. his book "lay my burden down: a folk history of slavery" was the first book to use oral narratives of formerly enslaved african americans as legitimate historical sources.