Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"For The People...": Do The 'Not We' Own Gettysburg?, John M. Rudy

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

Unlike a few critics from the Civil War blogging community of this past Monday's History Channel presentation of Gettysburg, I watched the whole thing from beginning to end. I've since watched it again. I took mental notes; I paid keen attention.

Monday night I also watched on Twitter. I expected the experience to be very different than a couple weeks ago, when I watched with America as freedom fighters were beat to a bloody pulp for suggesting that we all might be better off if we tried to get along. Not badly different, just different. I was not disappointed. …

The High Water Mark Of Social History In Civil War Studies, Peter S. Carmichael

Civil War Institute Faculty Publications

Just hours before the Army of Northern Virginia raised the white flag at Appomattox Court House, Confederate Colonel Edward Porter Alexander approached his commanding officer, Robert E. Lee, with what he hoped was a game-saving plan. Rather than suffer the mortification of surrendering, Alexander begged Lee to scatter his men across the countryside like “rabbits & partridges” where they could continue waging war, not as regular Confederate soldiers, but as elusive guerrilla fighters. Lee listened patiently to his subordinate’s reasoning for irregular warfare. Before Alexander finished, he reminded Lee that the men were utterly devoted to their commanding general, and …

Korean Ethnic Identity In The United States 1900-1945, Thomas Dolan, Kyle Christensen

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Although Koreans and Korean Americans are ubiquitous in contemporary American society, the migration of Koreans to the United States did not begin until long after other East Asians (Japanese and Chinese) were brought to Hawaii and the West Coast. In 1900 only 31 Koreans were in the entire United States, but by 1910 over 4,000 had come. These fIrst Koreans corning to America differed from Chinese and Japanese immigrant workers primarily in that they were Christians, and many of the early Koreans also came as families instead of single men. As their numbers increased, the Koreans set up communities in …

No Sure Victory: Measuring U.S. Army Effectiveness And Progress In The Vietnam War, Gregory A. Daddis

History Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Conventional wisdom holds that the US Army in Vietnam, thrust into an unconventional war where occupying terrain was a meaningless measure of success, depended on body counts as its sole measure of military progress. In No Sure Victory, Army officer and historian Gregory Daddis looks far deeper into the Army's techniques for measuring military success and presents a much more complicated-and disturbing-account of the American misadventure in Indochina.

"...Never Forget What They Did Here": Memorial Day 2011, John M. Rudy

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

One of my pleasures on this holiday is to buy and place a flag on the monument to the 14th U.S. Regulars in the valley of death. Along the banks of Plum Run, the Regulars held back an onslaught from a pell-mell group of charging Confederates in what would be the final phase of the fight in the Wheatfield and Devil's Den area on July 2nd, 1863. As they retreated back across the swampy lowlands, Confederates hot on their heels, their own gunners on the slopes of the hill had no choice but to fire into the mangled mess of …

Empathizing With The Slave; Empathizing With The Slave-Owner, John M. Rudy

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

Living inside of the world of the past is often the most difficult thing an interpreter can help her audience to do. But, in spite of its difficulty, it is the most necessary. The adage that before you insult a man, you must walk a mile in his shoes is correct. [excerpt]

Civil War Conclusions: What Pbs' Freedom Riders Can Teach Us, John M. Rudy

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

We often have a deep problem in the Historical community. We that have gone through training and courses in "real" history, who have been trained in the academy don't know how to react when we get into the "public" history world. We step out on battlefields (or killingfields) and decide we can't trust our audiences to understand our evidence. So, we hit them over the head with a two-by-four of rhetoric. We have this deep impulse to tell people what to think about what they see on our landscapes.

How To Sap The Romance: America's National Killingfield Parks, John M. Rudy

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

"Maybe they should call them Killingfields instead of Battlefields..." [excerpt]

‘Unkle Sommerset's’ Freedom: Liberty In England For Black Sailors, Charles R. Foy

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

With his 1772 decree in Somerset v. Steuart that slavery was ‘so odious that nothing can be suffered to support it [in England] but positive law’, Lord Mansfield altered the legal landscape regarding black rights in England. While earlier judicial decisions had implied that slaves who came to England were free, prior to the Somerset decision there was no judicial consensus on the issue. The Somerset decision did not decree that slavery was illegal in England. Yet many blacks believed it ‘emancipated’ any slave who reached the shores of England. This understanding, combined with the British military welcoming runaways into …

Hechiceras E Inquisidores: The Relative Lack Of Severity Of Witchcraft Prosecution Among Spanish Imperial Territories, Jeffrey Michael Mastrianni

Honors Scholar Theses

This paper examines the social, cultural, political, and judiciary motivations behind the prosecution of witchcraft in the Spanish Empire between the years of 1492 and 1643. Included as background material are introductions to witchcraft, the history of the Empire, and the behaviors of the Spanish Inquisition. The paper attempts to illustrate the fact that witchcraft prosecution was neither severe nor overly violent in the Empire, and that each of the four major regions of the Empire (Spain proper, the Netherlands, Italy, and the Viceroyalty of Mexico) witnessed a steady and early decline of witchcraft prosecutions, albeit for different reasons. It …

Crusader, May 6, 2011, College Of The Holy Cross

Student Newspapers

The student newspaper for the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Articles include coverage of campus events and issues, sports, editorials and special features.

Trail Blazer - Volume 87, Number 13, Morehead State University. Trail Blazer.

Morehead State Trail Blazer Archive

Morehead State Trail Blazer published on May 5, 2011.

The Grizzly, May 5, 2011, Katie Callahan, Michael Delaney, Taylor Sparks, Briana Brukilacchio, Lisa Jobe, Jarod Groome, Liz Kilmer, Eva Bramesco, Katie Haldeman, Erik Derr, James Shelton, Kyu Chul Shin, Anna Larouche, Nick Pane

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Student Found to be Bone Marrow Match • UC Students Show Off Their Real Bodies in Fashion Show • Ursinus College Environmental Action Hosts Earth Week • Breakaway Student Productions Presents One Act Plays • Osama bin Laden Announced Dead • POD Participates in Creek Clean-up • Senior Spotlight: Looking Towards New Adventures • Saying Farewell after Four Years at Ursinus College • Senior Reflection • Looking Forward to Warm Weather • Opinions: Putting End of Semester Finals into Perspective; Main Street Drivers not Winning and not Appealing • Men and Women's Track & Field Ends on High Note • …

One Sunday In America: Echoes Of John Brown, John M. Rudy

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

I had just walked into the house Sunday night and turned on the television, intent on going to bed early for a change. It was a little after 10pm. CNN was announcing that a speech dealing with a grave national security by the President was imminent in just a few minutes. Wolf Blitzer expounded how the Sunday address was unprecedented and telegraphed that it was big news. But no one knew the topic. [excerpt]

Mythological History, Identity Formation, And The Many Faces Of Alexander The Great, James Mayer

Classical Mediterranean and Middle East Honors Projects

Alexander the Great, ruler of Macedonia and conqueror of much of the eastern Mediterranean world in the fourth century BCE, figures prominently in folklore for centuries afterward.  This paper analyzes several stories about Alexander to explore the intersections among history, myth and identity.  By looking at accounts of Alexander written by Jews living in Alexandria in the Roman period, by early Byzantine Christians and by medieval Persian Muslims, I demonstrate that communities from all over the Mediterranean used myths about Alexander to redefine their identity in response to catastrophic changes.

The Responsibility Of Intellectuals: Chomsky And Student Opposition To The Vietnam War, Matthew S. Krane

Young Historians Conference

The paper offers a critical perspective on the relevance of noted public intellectual Noam Chomsky’s work to American opposition to the Vietnam War. It gives a brief background of the war and United States policies in order to set the stage for an analysis of Chomsky’s critique. Then, the paper situates Chomsky’s main work of dissent, The Responsibility of Intellectuals, in the proper chronological and historical context. Two paradigms of protest by intellectuals and students are noted: logical and reactionary. In Vietnam, it is argued that the former was rooted in the latter, which no intellectual justification touched; therefore, while …

Race And Justice In Mississippi's Central Piney Woods, 1940-2010, Patricia Michelle Buzard-Boyett

Dissertations

“Race and Justice in Mississippi’s Central Piney Woods, 1940-2010,” examines the black freedom struggle in Jones and Forrest counties. The writer concludes that more than any other region of Mississippi, the Central Piney Woods became the pivotal theater in the war for racial justice because the intensity of its racial oppression combined with its unparalleled suffrage campaign, and watershed street protests forced a federal alliance, instigated landmark court rulings, and generated black political victories that lay the foundations for a more equitable racial order. To obtain a broader perspective on the forces that transformed racial justice over time, this community …

Full Court Press: How Mississippi Newspapers Helped Keep State College Basketball Segregated, 1955-1973, Jason Ashley Peterson

Dissertations

During the civil rights era, Mississippi was cloaked in the hateful embrace of the Closed Society, historian James Silver’s description of the white caste systems that used State’s Rights to enforce segregation and promote the subservient treatment of blacks. Surprisingly, challenges from Mississippi’s college basketball courts brought into question the validity of the Closed Society and its unwritten law, a gentleman’s agreement that prevented college teams in the Magnolia State from playing against integrated foes. Led by Mississippi State University’s (MSU) basketball team, which won four Southeastern Conference championships in a five-year span, the newspapers in Mississippi often debated the …

The Whiter Lotus: Asian Religions And Reform Movements In America, 1836-1933, Edgar A. Weir Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study examines the influence of Asian religions and thought on various reform movements in America, including anti-slavery, labor rights, the alleviation of poverty, women's rights, and the rights of immigrants. The interactions between these two forces will be uncovered and analyzed from 1836, the year Ralph Waldo Emerson's ground-breaking work Nature was published, until 1933, the year that Dyer Daniel Lum, the last individual discussed in this work, passed away. Previous studies have demonstrated that those who incorporated Asian religions and thought into their own lives and worldviews also affixed great importance on affecting society in a positive manner. …

From Khaki To Brown: Community Formation, Homeownership, And Mobility In Santa Ana, California, 1950-2000, Stefani Jan Evans

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines the first fifty years of a modest 1950 housing tract of one hundred thirty-nine houses and five commercial lots in Santa Ana, California. I analyzed deeds, maps, newspapers, powers of attorney, building permits, city directories, and promotional material and interviewed nearly one hundred former and current residents to determine who came to Santa Ana in the mid-twentieth century, why they came, and why they stayed or left. Contrary to what contemporary Los Angeles boosters might have thought, mid-century Santa Ana was not simply a suburb of Los Angeles. In 1950 Santa Ana, with 45,533 residents and forty …

Victor Garcia Interview For A Wright State University History Course, Elise Kelly, Victor Garcia

Dayton and Miami Valley Oral History Project

On April 28, 2011 Elise Kelly interviewed Victor Garcia, a former professor and president of the non-profit Del Pueblo Inc., for a class project dealing with oral histories and capturing the history of the Miami Valley. During the interview Victor discussed arrival in the United States, his work at Antioch as a professor, and his community work with Del Pueblo Inc.

The Grizzly, April 28, 2011, Katie Callahan, Allison Nichols, Liz Kilmer, Taylor Sparks, Lisa Jobe, Sara Hourwitz, Laura Faith, Ryan Sullivan, Jeff Centafont, Sarah Bollert, Brooke Haley, Sara Sherr, Kyu Chul Shin, Nick Pane

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

New U Hosts "Spring Into Wellness" Month • College Campuses are a Hotbed for Theft • Take a Little Break with Activities from Around Collegeville • Relay for Life Benefits American Cancer Society • Active Minds Hosts Art Festival • Senior Reflection: The Past was Worth the Future • Students Uncover Papers from the Third Reich • Internship Spotlight: Sierra Guerin • Opinions: The Magic is in the Turning of the Page; Books and Electronic Books can Coexist; A New (Satirical) Take on Racial (In)equality at Ursinus • Looking Past Senioritis: Importance of Giving Back to UC • Senior Spotlight: …

How To Interpret History To The Sci-Fi Fan: My Favorite Civil War Novel, John M. Rudy

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

I often struggled to find an answer to the comment often leveled by visitors that, "they were so backward back then," or that, "we know so much more now." Getting across the fact to visitors that much of science, especially the basics of Newtonian physics and electromagnetic, has been understood at their elemental level for generations is sometimes a tough order of business. I found myself at times trying to explain Alessandro Volta's invention of the Voltaic battery in 1800 or the use of the Turtle during the American Revolution. Still, compared to the explosions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the …

Coda: Henry Wise's Peculiar Property, John M. Rudy

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

Slaves belonging to Henry A. Wise, Princess Anne County, Virginia.

The Grizzly, April 21, 2011, Katie Callahan, Liz Kilmer, Katie Haldeman, Allison Nichols, Sara Hourwitz, Lisa Jobe, Jessica Long, Traci Johnson, Michael Schmidt, Elizabeth Burns, Sarah Bollert, Brandon Kamin, Taylor Sparks, Kyu Chul Shin, Carly Siegler

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Trappe Tavern Features Student Radio Show • Relay for Life Raises Money for the American Cancer Society • Ursinus is Talking About Student Photography • Ursinus Students Highlighted in New York Times Article • Dennis Winters Visits Ursinus Campus • Photos from Second Annual Tri Sigma Drag Show • Ursinus College Dance Club Rocks the Stage • CAB Organizes Student Trip to Philadelphia for the Day • CAB Gives Options for Students to Escape the Books • Internship Spotlight: Laura Faith • Senior Reflection: My Time as a Kosher Thespian • Opinion: Difficult Decisions Must be Made for the Ivory …

Governor Wise's War: Burn Notice (Part 3), John M. Rudy

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

The early teens of April seem to have been specifically engineered by Ex-governor Wise and some of the members of the Secession convention jonesing for separation of from the Union. A notice ran in the Alexandria Gazette on April 1st, declaring that on the 16th of that month a, "grand Secession demonstration," would be held in Richmond. Among those signing the notice was Henry Wise. The Gazette reported that, first news of it came from Norfolk," just a stones throw from Wise's home in Princess Anne County. "Perhaps they think the Convention too slow," the Gazette presumed, "and wish to …

Gatsby And Jazz: One Coin, Two Sides, Sally Van Der Graaff

2011 Awards for Excellence in Student Research & Creative Activity - Documents

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Toni Morrison's JAZZ both tell the story of the American 1920s, but from opposite points of view. Fitzgerald and Morrison offer two compelling narratives of the societal shift that took place in post-World War 1-era America, but although the accounts share the same general topic and historical era, it is otherwise difficult to reconcile the two American portraits that have been painted. It is as though the two authors are giving a description of the same coin, but one describes the front and the other describes the back. To the white population this …

Governor Wise's War: Loose Lips (Part 2), John M. Rudy

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

When last we left Ex-Governor Henry Wise, he was exceedingly impatient at the Virginia secession convention's failure to act immediately and swiftly after the firing on Fort Sumter. The power broker who had stared down John Brown now called upon personal loyalties to get the job done where politics had failed. An account by John Imboden has the Governor querying the future Brigadier General, asking whether he remembered the charge Wise made upon presenting two brass cannon to a Staunton militia unit. Imboden recalled the Governor had told him, "he was bound to obey the call of Wise for those …

Maria Juanita Goeser Interview For A Wright State University History Course, Elise Kelly, Maria Juanita Goeser

Dayton and Miami Valley Oral History Project

On April 15, 2011 Elise Kelly interviewed Maria Juanita Goeser, for a class project dealing with oral histories and capturing the history of the Miami Valley. During the interview Maria discussed her childhood, working in Texas after college, her work with the Ohio Bureau of Employment, and more.

Crusader, April 15, 2011, College Of The Holy Cross

Student Newspapers

The student newspaper for the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Articles include coverage of campus events and issues, sports, editorials and special features.