Public History Commons^™

The Rebel Flag: Offputting Symbol Or Point Of Pride?, John M. Rudy

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

In 2004, Gettysburg College hosted an art exhibit by John Sims, a Florida based artist and ethnomathematician. The exhibit focused on varied recolored versions of the Confederate Flag. The press outrage was quick and damning. I should know, I was quoted in it (in the Civil War News).

Back in 2004, I called the exhibit, "sickening," and condemned the college for, "trying to distance itself from the town by rejecting the Civil War past in which it is steeped." I was wrong. I figured that out no sooner than passing through the doors of the art gallery and viewing …

Valerie Murray

African American Funeral Programs

Valerie_Murray.pdf. Death notice for Valerie Murray.

Rebecca T. Smith

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Verna Mae Williams Walker

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

On Dogs And Ponies And 'Three Days In July' Syndrome (Part 2), John M. Rudy

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

What happened in Chambersburg and Fairfield in April of 1861? Certainly not events which were earth shattering for the nation as a whole. But to the citizens of the bustling southern Pennsylvania urban centers, it was their world. [excerpt]

Youtube Wednesday: Why I'M Celebrating The Civil War 150th (And Why You Should Too), John M. Rudy

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

There's quite a bit of talk within the interpretive community about the word, "celebration." The word is tiptoed around and eschewed. Its use raised ire in Charleston Harbor this past December. These debates over commemoration versus celebration, no doubt, will crop up again and again over the next few years. We, as a community, are nearly afraid of one misstep. We catch our words as they escape our mouths, quickly correcting ourselves every time "celebration" accidentally emerges trips over our teeth. We seem afraid to say that we are celebrating an American bloodbath of biblical proportions. I can understand this …

Lucille Phillips

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Mr. Cornell T. (C.T.) Parrish

African American Funeral Programs

Funeral Program for Mr. Cornell T. (C.T.) Parrish on March 6, 2011 at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church

Ivy Polk

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Mrs. Myrtle B. Warner

African American Funeral Programs

Mrs_Myrtle_B_Warner.pdf - Funeral program for Mrs. Myrtle B. Warner. Service held on March 5, 2011.

Rena Mae Cone Wiley

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

On Dogs And Ponies And 'Three Days In July' Syndrome (Part 1), John M. Rudy

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

In 1961, Gettysburg played host to a kick-off event for the Civil War Centennial. The town commemorated the sendoff of the Independent Blues, a militia company which marched off to war in the aftermath of the firing on Fort Sumter. The affair was huge. The Diamond was closed off to traffic as actors in old time clothes strutted through a political rally on the square. Spectators watched from the sidewalks as speakers mounted a wagon and gesticulated wildly at the crowd. Gettysburg College's students, wielding trumpet and drum as they did for Football games on Nixon Field, stood in for …

Landmark Report (Vol. 29, No. 1), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Landmark Report

Newsletter published by the Landmark Association; this local group advocates the preservation, protection and maintenance of architectural, cultural and archaeological resources in Bowling Green and Warren County, Kentucky.

Interview With Joel Berman - Vp For Legal Affairs, Joel Berman

Oral Histories of Nova Southeastern University

Dolphins agreement, Dan Marino, Jack LaBonte, David Rush, Ray Ferrero, Abe Fischler, Southeastern, Mort Terry, Arnold Melnick, Ovid Lewis, Steve Feldman, Olympia & York, law school, Park Plaza, hospital, Coral Reef Center, NYIT, Museum of Art , merger, Alex Schure, golf course

Montgomery: The Murals In The Dome, John M. Rudy

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

A broad sweeping portico looms behind the gay couple riding horses on a summer's afternoon. The man wears a brown coat and tall black top hat. The woman dresses in the finery of the turn-of-the-century. A hunting dog stands at attention as the horses stride across the plantation's spacious lawn. Back on the porch, a black "mammy" figure watches over a young girl. [excerpt]

Ben "Benny Boy" Hall

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Julia Howard Best

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Mrs. Leola Harrison Coleman

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Montgomery: Jeff Davis' Seal Of Solomon, John M. Rudy

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

Set into the marble steps of Alabama's Capitol building is a brass star. Gleaming against the white stone, the star stands at the top of the stairs on the Capitol's west face. The star reads, "Placed by Sophie Bibb Chapter Daughters of the Confederacy on the spot where Jefferson Davis stood when inaugurated President of C.S.A. Feb. 16. 1861." [excerpt]

Why It's Interpretive: Bid 'Em In, John M. Rudy

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

Browsing the provocative blog "Jubilo! The Emancipation Century" recently, I came upon a post featuring a curious YouTube video.

So why did Bid 'Em In speak so deeply to me? I think it's because it places you in the shoes of the 15 year old slave woman being auctioned. It's not an intellectual investigation of slavery. It's not an historical narrative written after the fact of a particular event. It's visceral. [excerpt]