History Commons^™

Digitizing Immigrant And Homeland Letters: Problems And Opportunities, Dominic Pacyga

Dominic Pacyga

No abstract provided.

Book Session: The American Urban Reader: History And Theory, Steven Corey

Steven H. Corey

No abstract provided.

Chicago: A Biography, Dominic Pacyga

Dominic Pacyga

Chicago has been called by many names. Nelson Algren declared it a “City on the Make.” Carl Sandburg dubbed it the “City of Big Shoulders.” Upton Sinclair christened it “The Jungle,” while New Yorkers, naturally, pronounced it “the Second City.”

At last there is a book for all of us, whatever we choose to call Chicago. In this magisterial biography, historian Dominic Pacyga traces the storied past of his hometown, from the explorations of Joliet and Marquette in 1673 to the new wave of urban pioneers today. The city’s great industrialists, reformers, and politicians—and, indeed, the many not-so-great and downright …

Putting History Teaching 'In Its Place', Keith A. Erekson

Keith A Erekson

Recent literature on history teaching has emphasized "doing history"—whether as "active learning," "historical thinking," or reading photocopies of primary sources. This paper extends the discussion of a "signature pedagogy" of history teaching and learning to include attention to the places where historians do history--in the archives and at the presenter's podium. It presents a case study of effective teaching from the 1920s and 1930s and provides recommendations for helping students to research in nearby archives (such as the home) and present their findings to public audiences.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words - Nixon's Effect On School Desegregation, Demetri L. Morgan

Demetri L. Morgan, Ph.D.

A review of Preisdent Richard Nixon’s deeds rather than his rhetoric or policy stances, illuminates a previously under investigated reality that Nixon’s education civil rights record has been the most progressive and beneficial for the education of students of color to date. How can this be? As this presentation will outline, Nixon’s rhetoric and stances on education were symbolic measures to appease both the ‘silent majority’ and conservative southern democrats, which Nixon identified as vital to his election aspirations in the 1968 presidential campaign. This political ploy eventually collided with Nixon’s efforts to acquiesce to his campaign mantra and governing …

Responding To The Second Ghetto: Chicago's Joe Smith And Sin Corner, Dominic Pacyga

Dominic Pacyga

World War Two and its aftermath transformed Chicago's African American community. The Great Migration entered a second and more intense phase as black migrants flooded into Northern cities. This massive relocation of Southern blacks resulted in the expansion and reformulation of Chicago's ghettoes on both the West and South Sides of the city. The question of a response to this Second Ghetto from African Americans themselves presents itself. White politicians, cultural elites and businessmen still controlled the city and could impose their will on its neighborhoods simply redrawing ghetto boundaries to reflect the new realities of the postwar era. The …

Examining America’S Urban Landscape: From Social Reform To Social History, Steven Corey, Lisa Boehm

Steven H. Corey

The American Urban Reader brings together the most exciting work on the evolution of the American city, from colonial settlement and western expansion to post-industrial cities and the growth of the suburbs. Each of the chronologically and thematically organized chapters includes thoughtfully selected scholarly essays from historians, social scientists and journalists, which are supplemented by relevant primary documents that offer more nuanced perspectives and convey the diversity and interdisciplinary nature of the study of the urban condition. A comprehensive companion website offers valuable further reading, compelling supplementary links, slideshows of additional images, and a dialogue opening blog written by one …