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Articles 1 - 12 of 12

Full-Text Articles in History

Maine’S Public Reserved Lands: A Tale Of Loss And Recovery, Richard Barringer, Lee Schepps, Thomas Urquhart, Martin Wilk Jan 2020

Maine’S Public Reserved Lands: A Tale Of Loss And Recovery, Richard Barringer, Lee Schepps, Thomas Urquhart, Martin Wilk

Maine Policy Review

The story of Maine’s public reserved lands—or public lots—is worth the telling for its own sake and for its enduring lessons. Provided for in the Maine Constitution of 1820 and neglected for more than a century, the public lots were once scattered widely across the Unorganized Territory of northern, western, and eastern Maine. Today, they are restored to public use and benefit, reassembled into large blocks of land that, in aggregate, are more than twice the size of Baxter State Park. These consolidated public lots offer a wide spectrum of extraordinary values, include many of the crown jewels of Maine’s …


Maine Conservation In An Age Of Global Climate Change, Richard Judd Jan 2020

Maine Conservation In An Age Of Global Climate Change, Richard Judd

Maine Policy Review

Maine has been a key player in one of the most dramatic changes in conservation strategy since Gifford Pinchot coined the term in the 1890s as private nonprofit land trusts have become essential to the conservation movement in the state. Land trusts spearheaded the new approach to conservation by drawing together landowners, philanthropic organizations, state and federal agencies, older conservation organizations, and most importantly, ordinary citizens. Given its prominence in the land-trust movement, Maine has provided leadership in a second revolutionary trend as trust managers embraced the emerging science of ecosystem management.


At The Confluence Of Public Policy And History: The Value Of Historical Thinking In Public Policy Development, Daniel S. Soucier Jan 2019

At The Confluence Of Public Policy And History: The Value Of Historical Thinking In Public Policy Development, Daniel S. Soucier

Maine Policy Review

Daniel Soucier explains why conversations between those who study how policy decisions affected society in the past and those tasked with shaping the future are beneficial.


Mapping The History Of The State: The Historical Atlas Of Maine, Stephen J. Hornsby Jan 2015

Mapping The History Of The State: The Historical Atlas Of Maine, Stephen J. Hornsby

Maine Policy Review

This article describes the creation of the Historical Atlas of Maine, one of the most significant scholarly achievements in the humanities to come out of the University of Maine. Conceived in the late 1990s, the atlas was published by the University of Maine Press in 2015. It represents an enormously ambitious attempt to map the historical geography of the state from the end of the last ice age to the end of the millennium in 2000.


Maine Library History, Melora Norman Jan 2013

Maine Library History, Melora Norman

Maine Policy Review

From the earliest small private and university libraries of the 1700s to today’s high-speed Internet-connected institutions, the history of Maine’s libraries mirrors the development of the state and provides a sense of the concerns people had for access to information and education. Melora Norman describes the development of various kinds of libraries in Maine and the opportunities and challenges they have faced over time. She notes that the 20th century was a time of increasing professionalization and standardization in Maine’s libraries. During the late 1990s through the present, libraries have been changing dramatically as they shift from a focus on …


The Margaret Chase Smith Library: A Unique Collection Fostered By A History Of Collaboration, David Richards Jan 2013

The Margaret Chase Smith Library: A Unique Collection Fostered By A History Of Collaboration, David Richards

Maine Policy Review

Maine is a small state with a long history of scarce resources, of “making do,” and of “helping your neighbor.” The state’s libraries are a prime example what can be achieved to maximize resources through partnerships and collaboration. David Richards discusses the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, Maine, which he terms “a unique collection fostered by a history of collaboration.” Richards describes the vital role collaborations with multiple kinds of partners have played in helping the library fulfill its four functions: archives, museum, education, and public policy.


Local History: A Gateway To 21st Century Communications, Stephen Bromage Jan 2013

Local History: A Gateway To 21st Century Communications, Stephen Bromage

Maine Policy Review

Stephen Bromage discusses the important role libraries are playing through collaboration with the Maine Historical Society and local historical societies in documenting local history and making it accessible online.


The Maine Woods: A Legacy Of Controversy, Richard W. Judd Jan 2007

The Maine Woods: A Legacy Of Controversy, Richard W. Judd

Maine Policy Review

In the Margaret Chase Smith Essay, Richard Judd reflects on the history of Maine’s North Woods. He discusses the divergent interests with a stake on the North Woods over the centuries, but notes that there has been a long-standing interest in conservation and in the heritage represented by this vast region.


Margaret Chase Smith Essay: High School Student Essay Winners, Emily Parker, Rachel Culley, Miles Kirby Jan 2003

Margaret Chase Smith Essay: High School Student Essay Winners, Emily Parker, Rachel Culley, Miles Kirby

Maine Policy Review

Maine has benefited from the public service of many well-respected and influential national leaders over the last two centuries. One of them, Senator Margaret Chase Smith, offered her reflections on leadership at a time when the United States faced a struggle for civil rights at home and the tensions of the Cold War abroad. With the country currently confronting challenges such as the threat of terrorism, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and the taint of corporate scandals, the Margaret Chase Smith Library annual essay contest invited Maine high school seniors to reflect on the qualities leaders will need to …


The Perils Of Voice And The Desire For Stealth Democracy, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse Jan 2002

The Perils Of Voice And The Desire For Stealth Democracy, Elizabeth Theiss-Morse

Maine Policy Review

This article is an address given at the May 2002 Maine Town Meeting sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. Elizabeth Theiss-Morse takes issue with each of the alleged beneficial effects of increased participation and deliberation in politics. She presents evidence from her own research with colleague John Hibbing that suggests a more participatory democracy does not necessarily result in better decisions, a better political system or better people. Rather, most Americans would prefer not to have to participate in politics at all. Theiss-Morse explains where this view comes from and, in the end, argues for a civic …


A Sampler From The New Historical Atlas Of Maine: Religion In Maine, Burton Hatlen, Joshua M. Smith, Peter Lodge, Michael Hermann Jan 2002

A Sampler From The New Historical Atlas Of Maine: Religion In Maine, Burton Hatlen, Joshua M. Smith, Peter Lodge, Michael Hermann

Maine Policy Review

This article offers an example of work-in-progress on a significant project to develop an historical atlas of Maine. Although an article depicting religious settlement in Maine may seem far removed from the policy analyses typically featured in the journal, religious participation is a fundamental aspect of civic engagement in the United States. Thus, we feature here a glimpse of Maine’s religious heritage. We also present Maine Policy Review’s first full color pullout, which is intended to give readers a visual as well as textual portrait of religious settlement in the Kennebec Valley and Portland through the first half of …


The Project Of Democracy, Alexander Keyssar Jan 2002

The Project Of Democracy, Alexander Keyssar

Maine Policy Review

This article is an address given at the May 2002 Maine Town Meeting sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. Alexander Keyssar chronicles the advances and contractions of democratic political rights in American history. While on balance, this is a story of progress, it is not, Keyssar argues, unilinear, nor one that is completed. Although arguably late for the world’s “greatest democracy,” by the 1970s the United States had achieved universal suffrage. Today, however, the tug between democratic and anti-democratic forces continues. The contest is no longer over voting rights but over the procedures and rules governing elections …