Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" -- Benjamin Franklin This short essay will show how the principles of the American Revolution spawned a new era in American society as seen through the prism of the manufacturing and consumption of alcohol in North America. Additionally, how those Enlighten ... Full story

Just following up on my last post concerning Social Justice and its impact (and potential impact) in public schools. On what is one of the more important T4SJ (teaching 4 social justice) websites (here OH AND THERE IS ONE -- AND MORE --IN CALIFORNIA HERE) is a ... Full story

I receive from various Social Justice sites alerts about conferences and literature, and today I got an invitation as an education to the US Social Forum which is taking place later this month in Detroit, Michigan. The event at first sounds like a great opportunity. From the home page of the site: The ... Full story

If you do a simple Google search for "founding fathers not christian" you will find a slew of blogs, publications, and whatnot that offer their take on the issue of Christianity and the Founding. These opinion pieces, such as the one I am writing here, offer quotes from Founders such as: Thomas ... Full story

Now that I’ve got your attention let me explain what I mean by my title. I currently finished reading The End of Reform by Alan Brinkley for one of my APU courses. Brinkley argues that the time period from 1937-1945, the “second half” of the New Deal, was the “end of reform.” ... Full story

“We have it in our power to begin the world over again,” wrote Thomas Paine. These and other words by Paine were powerful and inspiring, but also alluring and engaging ideas that easily swayed thousands of colonists in 1776 and 1777 to join the Revolution. Thomas Paine’s popularity today among historians and readers of ... Full story

To be sure, there is an impending economic crisis that will be world wide in its impact. I have little doubt that the worst is yet to come. With this in mind... Republican Conservative pundits like Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck, are sometimes found of reflecting back to the Founding Fathers to ... Full story

Hello everyone! My name is Alex, and I am honored to be here to share my thoughts as a historian with you. I wanted to talk about something today that we sometimes oversee. Many historians like to point out that the military has been one of the great American systems that led to desegregation and ... Full story

I received my latest newsletter from my Social Justice friends and in it they are promoting their latest teacher planning book, "Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers 2010-2011." There is a sample you can download which shows on a day-to-day planner for teachers highlighting all of the ... Full story

What was the Founder’s true understanding of “Natural Law” and how did it influence the creation of the American Constitution? Was it even a significant factor? Still today the influence of Natural Law on the Founders is downplayed or even ignored. Some even deny its importance in the development and creation of our ... Full story

By the outbreak of the Civil War the importance of cavalry as a “decisive” element of modern warfare was debated both in Europe and the United States. With the development of rifled artillery and better small arms, most predicted that future cavalry units would become “mounted infantry,” or perhaps even marginalized to a ... Full story

Tucked away nicely inside the bill that will bring the eventual nationalization of our heath care system are provisions to dramatically alter something totally unrelated: college student lending. The add-on sends billions of dollars into Pell Grants for students by closing the long-standing and highly used Federal Family Education Loan Program, which allowed ... Full story

Healthcare reform has been a major political issue for the last two decades. The Clinton Administration discussed and attempted to reform the healthcare system in 1993 to no avail. This week the House of Representatives passed sweeping legislation that could change the face ... Full story