Author Archive

I purchased my iPad in June and spent the summer playing with it and have come to the conclusion that it can revolutionize the classroom and at the very least, the student experience within the educational system. I did not anticipate such a revelation. I wanted it for simple functions such as internet ... Full story

I thought we were in a "Great Recession"? Well somebody please tell California that. The state that is cash poor and literally broke has unveiled a $578 million K-12 super complex that will handle 4,200. This is a shocking example of a recent trend in what are being called "Taj Mahal" ... Full story

As some of you know I finished last year my first stint as an A.P.U.S. teacher. Though I know I was far from perfect, I felt I did ok and really focused on the essay sections of the exam. Well, my kid's scores came back and I was very pleased. Of the 12 ... Full story

I took an unannounced leave of absence to go on vacation and get away as yesterday was the first day back to school for in-services and meetings. School with kids starts next week. I finished a semester of 12 hours of graduate work the last week of July, so I had a window ... Full story

Henry Adams was a descendant of the iconic Adams family of presidents and statesmen, and while making his journey into the historical profession was more natural than most, he desperately wanted to be a politician but failed. Adams greatly influenced future noted historian Carl Becker. Though the scientific method was radically changing ... Full story

FBI "File No. 100-360217 was begun in March 1949 in response to an order from FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to Edward Scheidt, special agent in charge of the Bureau's New York office. Zinn's name had previously surfaced in connection with other FBI investigations of Communist Party activities, but a new report ... Full story

Edmund Fisk Green (better known as John Fiske) was educated at Harvard and is a key “transitional” historian as he is sometimes compared with Bancroft as well as the scientific historians we will look at shortly. Though a believer in American progress (that he coined as “progressiveness”) Fiske rejected the Calvinism of Bancroft and instead was a ... Full story

Angelica Chavez did not care for American history when she was in high school as, "You knew America was going to win," she said. "We could do no wrong, ever," she was quoted as saying in this article. Chavez, 29, is today a history teacher and was one of 20 instructors to ... Full story

The idea of progress in American society and history is as old, perhaps, as the founding of this great country. In the study of American history the idea of progress has played a key role in the evolution of historical scholarship. This paper will seek to ... Full story

Nincompoop Hollywood writer/director Oliver Stone told the Sunday Times of London (would link to it but you have to pay, a simple internet search finds commentary on this topic) -- while promoting his documentary South of the Border about South American politics -- that "Hitler was a Frankenstein but there was ... Full story

The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War Donald Stoker (Hardback, 512 pages) I'm going to go out on what should be a well occupied limb ready to break under the weight and say that Donald Stoker's The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War will win award(s) next year. Stoker's book is ... Full story

Kenneth C. Davis, A Nation Rising: Untold Tales of Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America’s Hidden History. HarperCollins, 2010. ISBN: 978-0-06-111820-3. Mr. Davis attempted to cover the first 50 years of the 19th century by following the narratives of 6 events: Burr's trial, Weatherford's War, the Madison Mutiny, Dade's promise, Morse's ... Full story

A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War, By Daniel E. Sutherland From the News-wire: Newswise — Daniel E. Sutherland, professor of history at the University of Arkansas, has been awarded the Distinguished Book Prize by the Society of Military Historians for his work A Savage Conflict: The Decisive ... Full story

George Washington was a brewer, well, a distiller. Not just that, he was the largest distiller of his time producing more than 10k gallons of whiskey in 1799 alone. As early as 1789 Washington wanted Americans drinking only home grown spirits, so he presented his “buy American” policy indicating he will only drink ... Full story

I have been extremely busy and have had to neglect the blog. I have three graduate classes ending in a week and three massive papers. Here is something I will be writing on soon and thought I would share it ahead of time. My Social Justice research will led back to the ... Full story

I found this article today in the Chicago Tribune written a week or so ago by Cory Franklin who was motivated to write a piece on teachers when he received word that one of his favorite history teachers had passed away. The opinion piece at first led me in a completely incorrect ... Full story

Since 2002 Franklin Delano Roosevelt has ranked number one in New York’s Siena College Research Institute Survey of U.S. Presidents, which ranks the best Commander-in-Chiefs of all time in a number of different categories, and has done so five times. I'll let the list speak for itself: 1. Franklin D. Roosevelt 2. Theodore Roosevelt 3. ... Full story

Please take a moment this weekend to think about (or talk with your children who are old enough to understand) what this country means and how it was established by the Founders as an Empire of Liberty; as they understood it. The Freedoms that they fought for established a Republican tradition that stands ... Full story

After the American Revolution and the finalization of the American Constitution there was to be an established code of naturalization. AS per the Constitution, Congress had to establish a uniform rule of naturalization and did so on April 14, 1802 by an Act of Congress. This Act contained certain provisions in favor of ... Full story

(I gave this a few days since his death out of respect for the man, but the question deserves asking.) Will he be remember as a Racist? KKK Member? Esteemed Senator that brought home the bacon for his state? Democrat (remember, the Democrats were the traditional and historic "Slave Party") Senator Robert Byrd joined the ... Full story