History Commons^™

The Farmers' Millennium: The Ideology Of Agricultural Improvement In Iowa, 1855 To 1865, Michael Belding Iii

Michael Belding III

The Morrill Act of 1862, a piece of federal legislation enacted a century and a half ago, lives on today. That law allocated thousands of acres of federal land to state governments, based on the size of their congressional delegations, so they could establish colleges of agriculture and the mechanic arts and give a college education, liberal and practical, to students who could not otherwise afford one. The Morrill Act lives on because the "land-grant colleges" it endowed with financial resources still exist today, operating on billion-dollar budgets and enrolling tens of thousands of students. Further, at least at Iowa …

"Saper La Mente Della Soa Beatitudine": Pope Paul Ii And The Ambassadorial Community In Rome (1464-71), Paul M. Dover

Paul Dover

This article examines the practice of the ambassadors sent by the Italian states to the court of Pope Paul II (1464-1471), focusing in particular on how they have embraced their role as an informant. Since Paul was a pope unstable, often impenetrable and inaccessible, the ambassadors were often obliged to obtain information about the Pope and his intentions indirectly. Relying heavily on the Roman diplomatic correspondence during the pontificate of Paul, this article shows how ambassadors have built networks of contacts within the papal court to ensure a continuous supply of useful information and in time. These networks thus comprised …

Royal Diplomacy In Renaissance Italy: Ferrante D’Aragona (1458–1494) And His Ambassadors, Paul M. Dover

Paul Dover

This article examines the diplomatic challenges faced by the king of Naples, Ferrante d'Aragona (1458-1494) and the activity of his ambassadors in meeting those challenges. It identifies Rome, Florence and Milan as the three most important nodes of Ferrante's diplomacy and looks in detail at the activity of the ambassadors who served in these postings. In the area of diplomatic praxis, Ferrante enthusiastically embraced changes pioneered by Francesco Sforza, the Duke of Milan (1450-1466), including the use of permanent resident ambassadors and diplomatic chanceries. This was very much in keeping with Ferrante's pragmatic approach to statecraft and counters the widely …

Sexual Misconduct, Religion, And Culture, Alev Dudek

Alev Dudek

A Comprehensive Bibliography Of Nineteenth Century Bicycling Periodicals, Christopher A. Sweet

Christopher A. Sweet

Review Of Clayer And Bougarel, Europes Balkan Muslims A New History, Edin Hajdarpasic

Edin Hajdarpasic

No abstract provided.

Feminist Oral History Practice In An Era Of Digital Self-Representation, Margo Shea

Margo Shea

Confederate Monuments Tell Wrong Story About History, Michael J. Slinger

Michael J. Slinger

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Essex Junto: Fear, Dissent, And Propaganda In The Early Republic, Dinah Mayo-Bobee

Dinah Mayo-Bobee

Historians have never formed a consensus over the Essex Junto. In fact, though often associated with New England Federalists, propagandists evoked the Junto long after the Federalist Party’s demise in 1824. This article chronicles uses of the term Essex Junto and its significance as it evolved from the early republic through the 1840s.

Book Review Of Nation Builder: John Quincy Adams And The Grand Strategy Of The Republic By Charles N. Edel, Dinah Mayo-Bobee

Dinah Mayo-Bobee

Review of Nation Builder: John Quincy Adams and the Grand Strategy of the Republic by Charles N. Edel.

Book Review Of Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter Of Monticello: Her Life And Times By Cynthia A. Kierner, Dinah Mayo-Bobee

Dinah Mayo-Bobee

Martha Jefferson Randolph, Daughter of Monticello: Her Life and Times. By Cynthia A. Kierner. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012. Pp. ix, 281.)

A Call To Redefine Historical Scholarship In The Digital Turn, Jason A. Heppler, Douglas Seefeldt, Alex Galarza

Jason Heppler

This is a collaboratively-written call for the American Historical Association to appoint a task force to survey the profession as to the place of digital historical scholarship in promotion and tenure and graduate student training and to recommend standards and guidelines for the profession to follow. This document is a product of many of the exciting changes discussed below. It began at a session atTHATCamp AHA 2012 that included graduate students, tenured and non-tenured faculty, and librarians. These participants and others continued their conversations at the physical conference and afterwards on the web. Additional signatures and edits in the …

Prophecy And Porneia In Shenoute's Letters: The Rhetoric Of Sexuality In A Late Antique Egyptian Monastery, Caroline T. Schroeder

Caroline Schroeder

The writer examines the apparently ubiquitous sexual references in the first surviving letters of Shenoute. Shenoute's references to sexuality constitute one aspect of his self-representation as his community's prophet. His textual performance as a prophet in these texts indicates that his sexual rhetoric served not only to condemn sexual activity among ascetics but also to help construct a relationship between God and the monastic community that is based on the relationship between God and the people in the Christian Old Testament. The sins of the monastery, as understood by Shenoute, like those of Israel or the nations in the prophetic …

Passeth The Cran’Brry Sauce: The Medieval Origins Of Thanksgiving, Ken Albala

Ken Albala

No abstract provided.

Ovid Butler And The Founding Of Butler University, Sally Childs-Helton

Sally Childs-Helton

Without Ovid Butler, there would be no Butler University today. The history of the man and the university are intimately and inextricably entwined; without Ovid Butler's vision, leadership, and financial support, the university may not have come into being, or survived its early years. One hundred and sixty years after it was chartered, Butler University today is a private, not-for-profit, comprehensive university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Butler offers more than 65 majors from six colleges: Liberal Arts and Sciences, Education, Pharmacy, Business, Fine Arts, and Communication. The unofficial fall semester 2010 enrollment is 4,051 full-time undergraduates and 4,575 total students …

A Mini-History Of Computing, George K. Thiruvathukal

George K. Thiruvathukal

This book was produced by George K. Thiruvathukal for the American Institute of Physics to promote interest in the interdisciplinary publication, Computing in Science and Engineering. It accompanied a limited edition set of playing cards that is no longer available (except in PDF). This book features a set of 54 significant computers by era/category, including ancient calculating instruments, pre-electronic mechanical calculators and computers, electronic era computers, and modern computing (minicomputers, maniframes, personal computers, devices, and gaming consoles).

The Top 10 Considerations When Using Primary Sources With Grades 8-12, Lee Eysturlid

Lee W. Eysturlid

Too often teachers are confronted with the expectation of using “primary sources” without any thoughtful discussion of how to do so or why one should. The following points will hopefully act as a catalyst for thinking about the “how” and the “why” of effectively using primary sources.

The Barber Who Read History And Was Overwhelmed, Rowan Cahill

Rowan Cahill

The Power Of The Purse, George W. Geib

George W. Geib

The Army finance office was born two centuries ago in the midst of the American Revolution. From the golden orle insignia that legend reports was first authorized by George Washington, to the outline of its modern functions and limitations that emerged during the war, the service took form in the critical years of the struggle for independence.

Development And Preservation, George W. Geib

George W. Geib

Details the history of two Marion County Courthouses.

Benjamin Harrison, George W. Geib

George W. Geib

An account of Benjamin Harrison's rise to the presidency beginning with his successful career during the Civil War.

Partitioned Lives: Migrants, Refugees, Citizens In India And Pakistan, 1947-65, Haimanti Roy

Haimanti Roy

Partitioned States offers new perspective in the histories of Partition and its aftermath by connecting it to the long, drawn out and skewed formation of new national entities: India and East Pakistan. The book focuses on the Bengal Partition and locates its narrative within the intersection of long term cross border movement, chronic small-scale violence, the emergence of a document regime, and biased national refugee policies, all of which contributed to the formation of national citizenships in India and East Pakistan. This book argues that minorities -- Hindus in East Pakistan, Muslims in eastern India -- and the discourse over …

Sketches At Home And Abroad: A Critical Edition Of Selections From The Writings Of Nathaniel Parker Willis, Jon Miller, Nathaniel Parker Willis

Jon Miller

Critics and general readers highly regarded the poetry and prose of Nathaniel Parker Willis (18061867) during the "American Renaissance" of creative literature in the decades before the Civil War. As an editor and frequent contributor to one of the young nation's most successful and elegant literary magazines, The New-York Mirror, Willis achieved an international reputation for his witty and worldly tales and letters. This new edition collects outstanding examples of Willis's short fiction written at the peak of his abilities. These tales of adventure embellish and improve Willis's own experience as a bachelor adventurer during the 1830s, relating, for example, …

Recipes By Ladies Of St. Paul's Church, Harriet Angel, Jon Miller

Jon Miller

Originally published in 1887, this unique cookbook includes recipes for Oyster Croquettes, Frizzle Beef, Eggs Au Plat, Royal Diplomatic Pudding, English Currant Bread, White Mountain Cake, Hickory Nut Macaroons, Spanish Pickles, and more. Also included is a discussion of cooking for the sick, and a chapter, “Scraps,” that details homemade solutions for getting rid of red ants, removing mildew, and preventing calicos from fading. There’s even a discussion of antidotes for common poisons of the day like laudanum–“coffee, acids, and cold water on the head with friction.” Moreover, the book is catalog of the era’s history and culture reflected in …

The Cycles Of American Drug Policy, David T. Courtwright

David T. Courtwright

No abstract provided.

Building The Modern World: Morrison-Knudsen Construction Company, James David Duran

Jim D. Duran

After working on construction projects in Boise, Idaho, Morris Hans Knudsen and Harry Morrison combined their resources and skills to form Morrison-Knudsen Company (M-K) in 1912. The two of them built a world-class construction and engineering company that, at one time, was the industry leader in their field. Their success relied upon fast, cost-effective, construction and an uncanny ability to match their company’s mission to the goals of U.S. foreign and domestic policy. When Harry Morrison moved to the position of president in 1939, he took M-K international by presenting his company as the deliverer of modernization to the developing …

The Decline Of Christianity In Modern Europe, David C. Taylor Jr

David C Taylor Jr

Europe was once considered the epicenter of the Christian religion. For centuries Christianity was not only the main religion of Europe it was also a main political power. The Roman Catholic church, and in turn the Christian faith, enjoyed great power at various times throughout history in the European countries and influenced the culture in many ways. However, today there has been a moral and spiritual decline in Europe of staggering numbers. This short essay will explore possible reasons for Christianity’s decline in Europe in the last century and whether or not there is a possibility that the church could …

The First Crusade, Was It Christian?, David C. Taylor Jr

David C Taylor Jr

On February 5th, 2015, President Barack Obama addressed the audience at the National Prayer Breakfast. During this breakfast he made comments about the Islamic State and the Crusades that sent waves throughout the religious world. In his speech, he claimed that just like the Islamic State is doing things, terrible things, in the name of Islam, we should remember that terrible things were done in the name of Christ during the Crusades. While it did not sit well with members of the church, the question must be asked. Was he right? This paper will examine the First Crusade, its cause, …

Changing Cities, Changing Roles: Municipal Developments And The Urban Social Contract In Nineteenth Century Vienna, J. Alexander Killion

J. Alexander Killion

Humans have congregated in urban areas for millennia, but the way in which people have viewed the cities they live in has varied greatly over time. The nineteenth century brought extremely rapid changes in the interactions between people and space, especially in urban areas such as the Austrian capital of Vienna. The experience of Viennese inhabitants during this period is typical of what historian Reinhart Koselleck described as a “denaturalization of historical temporalities,” in which “the relations of time and space have been transformed, at first quite slowly, but in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, quite decisively.” This rapid transformation …

"There Were Streets": Urban Renewal And The Early Troubles In London/Derry, Northern Ireland, Margo Shea

Margo Shea