History Commons^™

Two More Proclamations For A Special New Years Eve, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

'In accordance, as I believe, with the will of our Heavenly Father, and by direction of your great and good friend, whose name you are all familiar with, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, on the 1st day of January, 1863, you will be declared "for ever free."' [excerpt]

Barney Sellers Collection, 1960-2012

NEARA finding aids

This collection includes negatives and prints of Barney's personal photography from 1960 to 2012 as well as an exhibit comprised of images selected by his widow and children.

Beta Pi Omega Chapter Alpha Kappa Sorority, Incorporated Records, 2012

Finding aids

This collection contains a booklet on the history of Beta Phi Omega, oral history interviews on former members of Beta Phi Omega and a DVD of the 75th birthday of the sorority.

Arkansas Department Of Labor Records, 2007-2012

Finding aids

The Arkansas Department of Labor records consist of the press files from 2007 to 2012. The folders contain correspondence, memoranda, performance reports, claims, press releases, and newspaper articles pertaining to the labor issues in Arkansas.

William Boggess Collection, 1786-2012

Finding aids

This collection contains census records, articles, correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, military records, photographs, computer recording devices, and maps. All the materials in this collection were used to write four books about Arkansas history: That Man Named Solon, Solon Borland and Family, The Story of Two Arkansas Pioneer School Teachers, and The Gray's From Maine.

Arkansas Black Retired Educators Records, 1990-2012

Finding aids

This collection contains financial records, photographs, directories, correspondence, newspaper articles and other information pertaining to retired black educators in Arkansas.

Friends Of Josephine Pankey Grant Project Report, 2012

Finding aids

The Josephine Pankey project final report consists of oral history interviews covering 10 CDs, one book published by the Friends of Josephine Pankey, and project documents. This project was funded by the Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant program through the Black History Commission of Arkansas. The Black History Commission of Arkansas (BHCA) was created by Act 1233 of 1991 and is composed of seven members appointed by the governor with approval of the Senate. The BHCA is charged with preserving the history of black Arkansans and black communities in Arkansas. This commission also encourages research of Arkansas’s black history and …

Arkansas Railroad Club Records, 1970-2012

Finding aids

This first record group in this collection consists of materials used for research and content development for the Arkansas Railroader, the official newsletter for the Arkansas Railroad Club. The types of material included are issues of the Arkansas Railroader, newspaper clippings, articles, photographs, newsletter mock-ups, railroad-related publications, and ephemera such as train timetables, tickets, and advertisements. The second record group in the collection contains administrative material for the Arkansas Railroad Club, including correspondence, by-laws and lease agreements, photographs, financial material, and material related to club events and book projects.

Rosemary Hamel Collection, 1841-2012

Finding aids

The collection includes a 3-ring notebook with family histories, Dr. William Allison's Bible and journal, family correspondence, newspaper clippings, and 53 photographs.

Friends Of Josephine Pankey Grant Project Report, 2012

Finding aids

The Josephine Pankey project final report consists of oral history interviews covering 10 CDs, one book published by the Friends of Josephine Pankey, and project documents. This project was funded by the Curtis H. Sykes Memorial Grant program through the Black History Commission of Arkansas. The Black History Commission of Arkansas (BHCA) was created by Act 1233 of 1991 and is composed of seven members appointed by the governor with approval of the Senate. The BHCA is charged with preserving the history of black Arkansans and black communities in Arkansas. This commission also encourages research of Arkansas’s black history and …

Life And Law And In Late 19th Century Arkansas Teaching Kit, 2012

Finding aids

This collection consists of a teaching kit issued by the U.S. Marshals Museum, and sponsored by the Fort Smith Museum of History, Fort Smith National Historic Site, and the Clayton House. These materials are used as teaching aids for children pertaining to how law and judicial power was administered in late 19th century Arkansas. Materials include information on U.S. Marshals, the judicial system of the late 1800s, photocopies of legal documents, transcriptions, portraits, and biographical information on prominent figures from Fort Smith who worked in the judicial system, were criminals, or frontiersmen. Also included are one DVD containing aforementioned documents …

Bureau Of Legislative Research Photograph Collection, 1947-2012

Finding aids

This collection is comprised of professional portraits and group photographs of Arkansas Legislative Council members, 1947 - 2012.

Arkansas Advertising Federation Collection, 1958-2012

Finding aids

This collection consists of newsletters, photographs, fund raising flyers, ADDY awards publications, programs, Star Search 1993 information, award and scholarship luncheon information, and news articles related to the Arkansas Advertising Federation.

Resolute On The Eve Of Emancipation, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

In the eyes of William Lloyd Garrison, Abraham Lincoln stood waffling on the issue of slavery in the early days of December 1862. To be quite fair, in Garrison's eyes nearly anyone aside from William Lloyd Garrison stood waffling on the issue of slavery most of the time. [excerpt]

Kings And Princes: Christmas In Gettysburg, 1862, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

In a house along the first block of the north side of Chambersburg Street, a small metallic ticking noise signaled change. The calendar read December 24th, 1862. The rhythmic tapping was a voice, reaching out in code along thin strips of metal dangling from poles running to the east out of town. Soon, "Hanover, York, Harrisburg, and Baltimore," were sending their glad tidings to Gettysburg's citizens. Then soon, Gettysburg found herself on that Christmas Eve connected, "with all the world and the rest of mankind," the Adams Sentinel reported. In the home of John Scott along Chambersburg Street, the telegraph …

"Go, Going, Gone": Anti-Chinese Sentiment In Washington Territory, 1885-1886, Naomi Eide

History & Classics Undergraduate Theses

Unwilling to conform to the pressure set forth by the national government, the citizens of Washington Territory, during 1885 and 1886, united to purge the region of the Chinese through a systematic ethnic cleansing of two major territorial cities. Motivated by the desire to become active members of the federal government, Territorial leaders ignored the negative effects of population exclusion and led an active movement rallying around the cry that “the Chinese must go.” Not until the lawlessness of the rioters shut down the territorial government, did the political agitators acknowledge how outsiders perceived their drastic actions, realizing that the …

Strahm, Victor Herbert, 1897-1957 (Sc 2651), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2651. Diary kept by Brigadier General Victor H. Strahm while serving with the Ninth Air Force during World War II. Brief daily entries for 1944 cover his work and the progress of the war, particularly the air war against the Germans. Includes loose items from diary and four photos of Strahm.

Rodes Collection (Mss 427), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 427. Correspondence, photographs, and business and personal papers, primarily of Robert Rodes, Sr. of Danville, Kentucky, and John Barret Rodes of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Robert Rodes's correspondence includes letters outlining his fear of an invasion of Bowling Green by Confederate forces, 1861 (Click on "Additional Files" below for typescripts). Also includes material related to Rodes ancestors and descendants, as well as to members of the Grider, Hines, Helm, Loving and associated families.

Adventus: The Great Coming Of 1862, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a weekend in Harpers Ferry helping to interpret that amazing place for the National Historical Park's annual Christmas 1864 event. One of the greatest joys of my desk job in interpretive training is getting back out into a parkscape to test out new ideas and practices. This time it gave me the chance to experiment out in the field, wearing the olde-timey clothes of the 1860s and discussing how hammers, anvils and black labor won the war through the U.S. Quartermasters Depot at Harpers Ferry. The event is amazingly fun and infinitely powerful …

Farmers Bank - Smiths Grove, Kentucky (Mss 441), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 441. Letter press book of Farmers Bank, Smiths Grove, Kentucky, recording certificates of protest. Includes loose certificates found in the letter book.

Cummings, F. G. (Sc 2648), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2648. Letter, 25 September 1851, of F. G. Cummings, Rochester, New York, to J. D. McGill, chairman of the board of trustees of Covington Theological Institute, Covington, Kentucky, inquiring about admission. He describes his background and his decision, made in Texas, to enter the ministry. He also inquires about teaching in the school’s preparatory department.

Beard, Thomas Houston, 1872-1956 (Sc 2650), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2650. Letter of Thomas H. Beard, Bowling Green, Kentucky, to his nephew William T. Beard, at school in Lexington,Virginia. He stresses the importance of education in the successful pursuit of a profession, and points to examples among some of his nephew’s contemporaries from Bowling Green.

Smiths Grove College - Smiths Grove, Kentucky (Sc 2649), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 2649. Subscription lists, receipts and other financial records related to the operation of Smiths Grove College in Smiths Grove, Kentucky. Includes a debate outline demanding equal rights for women (Click on "Additional Files" below for scan).

Crabb, Alfred Leland, Jr., 1919-2020 (Sc 2647), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2647. Reminiscence of Alfred Leland Crabb, Jr. of a visit to the Warren County, Kentucky farm of his grandfather, James Wade Crabb, in the mid-1920s.

The Legal Career Of Abraham Lincoln [Annotated Bibliography], Steven Fioretti

Undergraduate Research Award

No abstract provided.

Ohlenmacher, Carl Frederick, 1859-1932 (Sc 67), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 67. A sentimental essay entitled “Memories of School Days,” written by Carl Frederick Ohlenmacher, Scottsville, Kentucky.

Socialist Utopian Communities In The U.S. And Reasons For Their Failures, Elizabeth Nako

History & Classics Student Scholarship

Near mid-nineteenth century, dozens of groups of men and women in both North America and Europe at this time saw “forming communities as the best opportunity for social progress.” While a small number of men enjoyed the luxuries and riches with the benefits of the Industrial Revolution, the majority of people comprised of the working class found themselves in suffering and misery from this new system. The unhappiness amongst civilization at this time period led to social philosophers and reformers to find new systems to cope with these social problems of the working class. One of these reform ideas and …

Stansbury, Edgar Bryant, 1906-2009 (Mss 438), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 438. World War II diary kept by Edgar Bryant Stansbury, 1942, as well as articles by Stansbury, his thesis about industrial arts in Kentucky high schools, a scrapbook about his sports participation at Western Kentucky University, and several other items related to his experiences in World War II.

In Response To Kevin: Truncated And Sliced, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

There is not one program given on any Civil War battle landscape that cannot, somewhere in it's natural flow and using resource-specific elements and tangibles, discuss the cause and context of the war in a meaningful and thematically-integrated way. Period. Full Stop.

Furthermore and because of this, there is no reason or excuse not to cover the cause and context of the war in a meaningful, thematically-integrated and site-specific way in every personal services program in some manner or fashion. Period. Full Stop. [excerpt]

In The Name Of The King: Alexander Howat And His Loyal Followers, Ryan Yanez

Theory and Practice: HIST430

Coal operators and the union leaders that attempted to resist them were in a constant struggle during the early 20th century. This iconic struggle between workers and company would come to illustrate the perfect example of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. Trapped between these battling titans stood the United Mine Workers of America, and the fearless leader of Local District 14, Alexander Howat, ready to do battle with both of the giants if deemed necessary, all for the sake of gaining what little ground they could at the time. Despite the almost non-existent fiscal reward for their effort, …