Archive for the ‘Memory’ Category

I don't know when or if I will get a chance to read and review Colin Grant's Negro with a Hat: The Rise and Fall of Marcus Garvey from Oxford University Press due to come out in March. 544 pp. $17.95. But I appreciate the folks at Oxford for sending me ... Full story

Brigham Young University sent me the following results of a study that analyzed pension and medical records from a random sample of the 179,000 black soldiers enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War and found some interesting, though not surprising results. The study was performed by Sven E. Wilson ... Full story

There were a slew of news stories last week that specifically mentioned that Stone worked with two unnamed historians for his up-coming documentary on Hitler and other mass murders in an attempt to give us "empathy" for them and "provide" us with historical context to their rise to power. According to hundreds ... Full story

My A.P. United States history class is fast approaching the 1930s; well now that we have switched from a 90 minute block to a 45 "skinny" we are creeping along since the year started. We will hit the 1980s/90s just in time for the early May exam. Also, during this semester we will ... Full story

I was called out in an email by a reader (this is not an attack as I respect this reader and hence why I am not revealing their identity) who asked me about my belief in American Exceptionalism and my respect for Gordon S. Wood. The reason being, Dr. Wood's in his most recent - ... Full story

I got a chance tonight to catch a re-airing of the History Channel's Aftershock: Beyond The Civil War. Though I enjoyed the documentary and as far as I can tell it did an excellent job establishing the general mood and conditions of the South and the state of continued violence that ravaged blacks, whites, and ... Full story

“I always wanted to become a citizen of the United States and when I became a citizen it was one of the happiest days in my life. I think about the United States and I am a lucky person to live here. When I came to America, it was the first time I was free. It ... Full story

I took the week off to get some things accomplished that I needed to, so my apologies for a lack of posting, but I have been taking daily assessments of the blogosphere and noted a few things which I will comment on now. There has been some controversy over the History Channel’s upcoming Sunday evening program, ... Full story

It looks like Mr. Dreyfuss had a nice day recently at Gettysburg as he continued his crusade championing American civics and history instruction. Last Friday thousands showed up for the keynote Dedication Day speaker and Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss. After giving what appears to have been a well received speech on American ideals and virtue, ... Full story

Some historians and wanna be historians love to do the "I told you so" in regards to American history. They love to point out how Lincoln was not the Great Emancipator, Washington did tell lies, and that Jefferson not only owned a bunch of slaves, he fathered children by one of those slaves. Indeed, all of ... Full story

As noted in my last post, my A.P. United States history class is in the final phase of our Reconstruction Unit. Yesterday we opened class discussion with a reading they were assigned the night before from Elizabeth R. Bethel's excellent book, Promiseland: A Century of Life in a Negro Community. Afterwards students organized into groups ... Full story

Since the mid-1960s young historians tabbed "New Left Historians" entered the scene with an eye toward reshaping history. They saw all around them serious issues within the teaching of history. They favored an interpretation of the past that placed its emphasis in such a way as to, in the words of Warren Susman, "remake the present and the future." What is also clear, is that ... Full story

Levin writes : I don’t mind admitting that I am an enemy of the notion of ‘American Exceptionalism.’ It’s not simply that I fail to see how it applies to American history, but that it has nothing to do with my role as an instructor of history. I’ve said before that I do not consider it my responsibility to influence students in how they ... Full story

A reader posted that he believed every society to be "exceptional" and I have to say that this is the issue with declaring something exceptional. This entire issue is about cultural relativism. Which is fine if we do not "judge" any culture, but that's not the case. Do we simply shrug off the continual treatment of women in most Muslim countries and say well, that's ... Full story

Found this fascinating data on one of my favorite blogs Vast Public Indifference and I am simply going to post this and you can visit the post and make comments if you wish; I'm not sure what to think. Full story

The "Cyclorama" was a very popular late 1800s attraction that gave visitors a kind of "three dimensional" view of landscapes usually in the form of famous battles. Made of large oil-painted canvases people could view the large paintings and sometimes see very detailed areas of a battlefield. The "Battle of Gettysburg" Cyclorama at Gettysburg National Military Park is one that has survived, ... Full story

Slavery, Resistance, Freedom (Gettysburg Civil War Institute Books) edited by Gabor Boritt and Scott Hancock contains six excellent essays that cover slavery and American history, with an emphasis on memory, and how the idea of freedom as represented here impacts our understanding of American democracy. From the publisher: This extraordinary collection of essays by ... Full story

Center design of the 6th U.S. Colored Troops regimental flag. The top motto reads, "Freedom for all". From the Library of Congress Collection. Full story

...when New Hampshire became the 9th state to ratified it. The 55 writers of the U.S. Constitution consisted of: 26 Episcopalians, 11 Presbyterians, 7 Congregationalists, 2 Lutherans, 2 Dutch Reformed, 2 Methodists, 2 Roman Catholics, 2 Quakers and 1 Deist - Dr. Franklin, who called for prayer during the Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787: "I therefore beg leave to move - that henceforth prayers imploring ... Full story

Over at Kevin's blog, as he has many times, there is some interesting discussion going on concerning the Confederate Flag and how it is displayed in public.  The issue centers around memory, how it is being celebrated, the flag's meaning, and why it is displayed. I am overtly simplifying here the discussion there. Anyway, just for kicks I did some google searching for "Confederate Flag" and ... Full story