There are very few topics in American history on which historians have not explored, researched and written about at great length. When strolling through the History section of a local bookstore or library, one can find publication after publication proffering one opinion or another on the same topics (often it seems in perpetuity). The Revolutionary Period, Jacksonian Democracy, The Civil War, The Gilded Age, The Great Depression, World War II…, the list goes on and on. As a result of the prolific research and writing on these varied (yet I would argue predictable subjects), I have often heard graduate students and historians alike groan about the lack of a compelling original research ideas that have not already been explored in great detail. University History Departments are littered with monographs focused on the most obscure and innocuous events in local histories that are destined to be read only by Graduate committees, then unceremoniously tossed away. To what end? Of course, degrees are conferred and the elusive search for tenure begins, but what contributions to the historiography of the United States have truly been made?

There is a pivotal subject in American History that has heretofore been largely ignored by historians and academe alike, The Mexican-American War. It is possible to find an occasional book or two, however a recent JSTOR Database search discovered no scholarly articles on the subject. Evidently the “publish or perish” mentality in academia has yet to motivate researchers towards this intriguing topic. I would argue that The Mexican-American War is a treasure trove of original research ideas, not only for graduate students, but also for historians, Civil War buffs, military history researchers, presidential historians, as well as those inclined towards American diplomatic history. In very broad strokes, I will highlight a couple of topics or events that I would argue require further investigation that can contribute greatly to the understanding and development of the American identity in the 19th century.

The scope and complexity of the Mexican-American war, and the events surrounding it, make for compelling research. For presidential historians, James K. Polk’s almost religious zeal for manifest destiny should be explored at great length in an effort to understand the execution of American policy during the time. For Military Historians, the amphibious landing of General Winfield Scott in Tampico is legendary. So too should Stephen Kearney’s Army of the West and their actions from New Mexico to California inspire the military minded. John C. Fremont was a character worthy of more attention. How many junior officers in the United States military have ever led an insurrection on foreign land and then summarily declared themselves the military governor of a conquered province? Fremont would later be removed and court-martialed by no other than Brigadier General Stephen Kearney after a protracted feud! Diplomatic historians would be well advised to study the doomed mission of Polk’s agent to Mexico, John Slidell. Slidell’s misunderstanding (as well as Polk’s) of the Mexican Government’s grievances and motivations moved America from a diplomatic rift over Texas, to an all out war encompassing the entire Southwestern United States. The potential influence of Great Britain in the conflict is worthy of further study as well. Some argue that Mexican debt to Great Britain established the potential for the Mexican provinces in question to be ceded to Britain in an effort to settle the debt. The Mexican-American war saw the introduction of numerous American characters that are interesting to all Civil War historians. A young Robert E. Lee makes his first appearance as part of Winfield Scott’s Army of Occupation as well as several other Civil War military leaders. An unknown congressman from Illinois is introduced to American history in his famous “Spot Speech” on the floor of the House of Representatives, that congressman was Abraham Lincoln.

The research possibilities are almost limitless on the many varied aspects of the Mexican-American war. Up until today, historians have mostly neglected this fascinating and pivotal event in American history. We would all be well advised to rectify this short-coming and begin serious scholarly research on these events so that we may have an even clearer picture not only of how The United States developed into the nation it has become, but also to honor the sacrifices of the young men who gave the ultimate sacrifice for that development.

I also received from Bloomsbury Press an Advanced Reading Copy of Victor Davis Hanson’s upcoming new release, The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern. Hanson is one of our leading cultural warriors and military historian and I look forward to reading this title very soon and review it.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

From their website:

Have you ever handled a document over 150 years old? The American Civil War left behind a vast paper trail of soldiers’ letters and diaries, as well as newspapers and periodicals; all of these documents provide accounts of crucial events of the era, enabling historians to piece together the events that shaped America’s past during this defining time.

Today, these documents are widely and easily accessible online, thanks to historic preservation, the advent of online research portals such as Best of History Web Sites, and educational institutions such as American Public University. APU educates people on the importance of preserving these documents by providing quality higher education including History and Military History degrees. In many cases, these online documents are the next best thing to handling the originals.

Dr. Steven E. Woodworth, Professor of History at American Public University, and Tom Daccord, Educational Technology Specialist at Best of History Web Sites, will discuss researching and handling original Civil War documents through the Internet and how they apply it to their own projects.

For more info…

After President Obama signed a law last week authorizing the United States Treasury to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion….

They reveal startling facts, says Jeffrey:

• When calculated by the average annual percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) that he will spend during his presidency, Obama is on track to become the biggest-spending president since 1930, the earliest year reported on the OMB’s historical chart of spending as a percentage of GDP.
• When calculated by the average annual percentage of GDP he will borrow during his presidency, Obama is on track to become the greatest debtor president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• Obama will outspend and out-borrow the admittedly profligate George W. Bush, a man Obama and his lieutenants routinely malign for fiscal recklessness and who, when in office, was often hailed even by his allies as a Big Government Republican.
• Obama will even outspend — but not quite out-borrow-his fellow welfare-state liberal FDR, who had to contend with both the Depression and World War II.

To read more…

However, I believe that without World War II, FDR would have been remembered as, at best, an average president. His New Deal policies are debated to this day. Some would say, ah, a “New Deal Denier” as one reader has already accused me of. (Note the connotation of “denier” and think of other historical conspiracies, denials, ect.”)

To settle the New Deal programs debate, there can be no doubt that some of the reforms to this day have made an impact on America: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Social Security Act (though a good idea in theory, the federal government has constantly stolen from it and it is now in serious trouble… and some of you want more government control over things like Health Care!?)

Most importantly, his immediate action (Emergency Banking Act) in 1933 probably avoided hyper inflation and other catastrophic events.

And finally, the New Deal rebuilt America’s infrastructure with programs such as Civil Works Administration, thus placing the United States in a strong position once the war came.

But still, without World War II we do not get out of the Great Depression, and without the war, the brilliance of FDR as a Commander-in-Chief in war time would never have been known.

FDR struggled with the Isolationists and the limitations of the Neutrality Acts, but even as early as 1938 he sought schemes to evade the serious legal and political obstacles blocking his desire to give aid to the British. Clearly that he even considered such actions indicates how far ahead of the American public FDR was in seeing the evil of the Nazi’s and understanding the serious circumstances facing the British. [Source: David M. Kennedy's "The American People in World War II", Oxford 1999] Roosevelt was also effective in guiding a hesitant American populace towards war with his Fireside Chats, press conferences, and unflinching leadership.

After December 7, 1941, Roosevelt was as steely as his British counterpart, Churchill, and was every bit the American Lion as some described him. Churchill and FDR became kindred friends, dominate politicians, and more than competent commanders of the military. Together (with Stalin the Russians) they led the Western World in defeating Hitler and the National Socialists. And just as importantly, together they realized the threat of communism as the war was drawing to an end.

Taken as a whole, there is little doubt that FDR deserves to be remembered as one of our greatest Presidents.

From the Publisher:

The story of Marcus Garvey, the charismatic and tireless black leader who had a meteoric rise and fall in the late 1910s and early ’20s, makes for enthralling reading, and Garvey has found an engaging and objective biographer in Colin Grant… Grant’s book is not all politics, ideology, money and lawsuits. It is also an engrossing social history… Negro With a Hat is an achievement on a scale Garvey might have appreciated. Dazzling, definitive biography of the controversial activist who led the 1920s ‘Back to Africa’ movement… Grant’s learned passion for his subject shimmers on every page. A riveting and well-wrought volume that places Garvey solidly in the pantheon of important 20th-century black leaders. This splendid book is certain to become the definitive biography. Garvey was a dreamer and a doer; Grant captures the fascination of both.” Grant’s strength lies in his ability to re-create political moods and offer compelling sketches of colorful individuals and their organizations… An engaging and readable introduction to a complicated and contentious historical actor who, in his time, possessed a unique capacity to inspire devotion and hatred, adulation and fear. A monumental, nuanced and broadly sympathetic portrait. A searching, vivid, and (as the title suggests) complex account of Garvey’s short but consequential life.

First off, I wish I had a budget I would order a ton of materials from this resource. But I would be remiss if I did not mention that this publication, which goes out to thousands of teachers, had a one-page dedication to “Howard Zinn” and numerous materials including his book A People’s History of the United States: 1492-Present. Now, they can promote whoever and whatever they want. Not my point. Two things, are they promoting Zinn’s propaganda or are they simply being wise marketers and pitching the right thing to what is probably the right crowd? Why not a page dedicated to William Bennett’s America: The Last Best Hope, or something equivalent? Zinn’s book is the only one to get the special treatment. I don’t know, you decide. Makes me want to start my own resource for teachers that does not promote one thing over another.

So this goes back to past discussions on Howard Zinn’s materials and books in the classroom and how they are used. Remember, Zinn’s books are propaganda and the work of an activist with limited historical accuracy. [See here, here and here.]

However, as a student of history I am beginning to have some cause for concern. With the recent closed door signing of a bill by the President to increase the Federal deficit to $14.3 trillion, along with: a potential massive health care bill and the jobs bill that supposedly will create jobs (remember we already had one that was to keep us from seeing 8-9% unemployment; we are now hovering around 10%.)  That’s not to mention Cap and Trade and other bills lurking in Congress. The fact that future taxation will have to become a burden for not just the wealthy but for most of us who hold jobs, has got me wondering if Mr. Beck is right?

According to the report [linked above]:

White House Office of Management and Budget projects that these changes will raise taxes on wealthy Americans by $636.7 billion over the next decade.

Spend and tax did not get America out of the Great Depression as unemployment never stabilized because the job creation initiatives by FDR failed to initiate true economic recovery (it was a government injected mirage that was never sustainable). Some argue FDR did not go far enough, did not spend enough. FDR wanted to keep the deficit somewhat under control. How did he achieve this? Taxes, especially on the wealthy and small business (those that survived). It’s the private sector, the small businesses that will create long term sustained job growth. However, not when they face no incentive to create jobs as their government will simply tax their profits to some extreme measures. Spending money by the government can be just fine and dandy, but when that is combined with heavy taxation, the private sector is doomed. Spend money on what you must, but cut taxes on the small businesses (and corporations) and watch them grow and grow and before you know it, you have the tax money needed because the private sector has grown, thus producing more tax revenue. Think of it this way, when Henry Ford introduced his assembly line and sought to produce more and more cars at a cheaper price in order to create more demand, he made more money. Same thing applies to taxation, create more tax payers without increasing the tax, and you make more money.

Several arguments. What got us out of the Great Depression? You could argue that the New Deal created the infrastructure that allowed the country to survive. The massive spending on war materials in the late 1930s early 40s. But mainly, and this is a point of serious debate, is the simple fact that after the war the United States was the only industrial economy left standing and this allowed the private sector to blossom and with it the complete recovery of our economy.

In comparison, the Great Depression did not truly become great until three years after the stock market crash of 1929. When the floor fell out of the economy (1932) is when true suffering occurred and thus produced the  “great” depression. Recently, our stock market crash was 2008-09.  Will we see a similar result by 2012 that we did by 1932 (per graph unemployment hits 25%)? I hope not.

FDR did not listen to small business owners. Henry Ford (you know, that great capitalists mentioned above) equated FDR’s policies to communism and refused to sign into the National Recovery Administration’s policies [for more on that click here]. FDR relied on economists who were ideologues and theorists who knew little about running a business. I hope our current President is not making the same mistake?

The facts are daunting. A $14 plus trillion dollar deficit will probably doom my generation from ever enjoying the sustained prosperity of our parents. The Republicans started the spending under Bush, and now the Democrats are doing the same times ten. Meet the new bosses, same as the old bosses. It’s hard to keep a straight face when I teach American Government and Politics as a high school teacher.

We can, however, hopefully, do something for our children. That probably starts this year when we elect fiscally responsible politicians? I don’t care if these include Democrats, Libertarians, Tea Partiers, whoever, it is our most direct way to avoid a potential disaster if Glenn Beck and others are right. And I hope they are not!

UPDATE: Lone voice warns of debt threat to Fed

The US must fix its growing debt problems or risk a new financial crisis, Thomas Hoenig, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, warned on Tuesday, adding a mounting deficit could spur inflation.

Economists Predict Cutbacks, Tax Increases That ‘Aren’t Even Imaginable’…

American political and economic leaders have sounded the alarm for years about the red ink rising in reports on the federal government’s fiscal health.

David Muir looks into how the deficit has become so large.But now the problem of mounting national debt is worse than it ever has been before with — potentially dire consequences for taxpayers, according to a report by the nonpartisan Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform.

Twenty years after the Civil War ended, the 179,000 African-American veterans of the Union Army saw racial inequality widen as the Pension Bureau left most of them out of a rapid expansion.

According to a new Brigham Young University study, the program shifted away from its relatively color-blind roots when it began granting disability claims based on chronic illness to soldiers who had not been wounded in the war.

During the 1880s, the Pension Bureau approved applications from uninjured white veterans at more than twice the rate of approval for uninjured black veterans.

“Black veterans were far less successful than whites for conditions that were hard to verify and required a degree of trust,” said Sven Wilson, an associate professor of political science at BYU.

To read more…

[PHOTO CREDITS: Union Army veteran John Pinkey served in Company B of the 104th Infantry Regiment of the USCT (U.S. Colored Troops). Pinkey submitted this photo as part of his pension application. ]