History Commons^™

The Language Of Law: Interpreting Nineteenth-Century Legal Documents, Arthur Mitchell Fraas

Arthur Mitchell Fraas

The documentary record produced in the course of 19th century American legal proceedings remains one of the greatest sources for understanding the everyday lives of the middling and non-elite who otherwise rarely rise to the surface of the historical record. This documentation though has often gone unused or misused thanks to the circumstances of its production and the difficulties of parsing the specialized language used within. Documents produced for use in a courtroom always have multiple layers of meaning, each intended with different purposes and audiences in mind. Formulaic language and confusing tangles of proceedings and filings too often get …

Table Annexed To Article: Birthing The Michigan Territory As A Nascent State, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Our Constitutional Logic presents, in PDF text format, two statutes of the United States relevant to the founding of the Michigan Territory in 1805.

Details Of Military Service For Thirty-Five General Officers Serving, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Our Constitutional Logic has supplied A Census of Thirty-Five General Officers Appointed By Madison Before or During The Second War for American Independence, 2 OCL 915_Generals_Main; that project surveyed the 35 general officers who served in the regular army from June, 1812 through February, 1815 during the Second War for American Independence. The military service for each officer is detailed along with the most previous battlefield experience prior to selection.

A Census Of Thirty-Four General Officers Appointed By James Madison, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The Upper Country: French Enterprise In The Colonial Great Lakes, Claiborne A. Skinner Jr.

Claiborne A. Skinner Jr.

The Upper Country melds myth and conventional history to provide a memorable tale of French designs in the middle of what became the United States. Putting the reader on the battlefields, at the trading posts, and on the rivers with voyageurs and their allies from the Indian nations, Claiborne Skinner reveals the saintly missionaries and jolly fur traders of popular myth as agents of a hard-nosed, often ruthless, imperial endeavor. Skinner's engaging narrative takes the reader through daily life at posts like Forts Saint Louis and Michilimakinac, illuminates the complexities of interracial marriage with the courtship of Michel Aco at …

Rethinking The Fur Trade: Cultures Of Exchange In An Atlantic World, Claiborne A. Skinner

Claiborne A. Skinner Jr.

Review of: "Rethinking the Fur Trade: Cultures of Exchange in an Atlantic World," edited by Susan Sleeper-Smith.

Connecting Literature And History: Fitzgerald’S The Great Gatsby Museum Project, Adam Kotlarczyk

Adam Kotlarczyk

Despite mixed reviews at the time of its 1925 publication, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has come to be one of the most widely taught American books and has become a popular candidate for the title of the “Great American Novel.” Uniquely intertwining social history, biography, and literature, the text challenges readers to understand the culture and history of the Jazz Age and to see its interrelationship with the lives and motivations of the characters, as well as with the author himself. This project encourages students to engage and work closely with one of the historical elements that influenced …

The Standard Model’S Eight Modules And How They Advanced The Eighteenth Century's Agenda, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

‘Why do things have to come out that way?’ Sometime earlier than the fifth century B.C. this question was put to some public body or actor and the available solutions dissected. It turned out that since the systems of a political society were organized to distribute benefits to the members of civil society, many of the systems were designed to deliver product which could be assessed as to quality of output before the output was delivered. Our Constitutional Logic investigates.

Table Annexed To Article: Armstrong’S Hints Passed Through To Armstrong’S Notices, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

After James Madison effectively sacked his Secretary of Defense (August 29), it took John Armstrong until September 4, 1814 to post his resignation. Armstrong’s campaign to revive his reputation matured two decades later, with the publication of his Notices of the War of 1812 (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1840; 1st ed. 1836). This work offered his readers a species of apologetics, vilification and whining which has few equals in a literature rich in overt posturing and distorted narrative. There is one feature which is unique: Armstrong was able to draw on his own work, Hints for Young Generals, which …

Aristotle Divides ‘Laws Correctly Laid Down’ From ‘Laws Necessarily Just’, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Table Annexed To Article: Hatsell’S Precedents Of Proceedings (Vol. 2, 2nd Ed., 1785) Extracted For Comparison With Other Basic Texts, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

John Hatsell served as Assistant Clerk to the House of Commons (later Clerk) and his four-volume Precedents of Proceedings has achieved a well-deserved iconic status among students of parliamentary practice. Our Constitutional Logic has extracted 58,277 words from Vol. 2, 2nd ed., 1785 for comparison with four principal American texts consisting of procedural rules in legislative assemblies and the federal convention. All five texts now appear in Five Basic Texts in the Founding of Parliamentary Science Originating from the United Kingdom and United States (in MR Text Format), 2 OCL 136_5; in turn, OCL is producing the first concordance of …

Table Annexed To Article: An Introduction To Quorum Issues At The Federal Convention, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The first Standing Order of the federal convention directed voting by states under a ‘one state, one vote’ formula, but without the fatal ‘one state, one veto’ formula which Rhode Island abused in the Confederation Congress. “A House to do business shall consist of the Deputies of not less than seven States; and all questions shall be decided by the greater number of these which shall be fully represented; but a less number than seven may adjourn from day to day.” See A Survey of the Standing Orders of the Federal Convention and the Differences Between Jackson’s and Madison’s Text, …

Table Annexed To Article: William Duane's Military Dictionary, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In 1810 William Duane, Adjutant General of the United State Army, published his Military Dictionary, under the general title of the American Military Library. The volume enjoyed the distinction of being one of the three volumes burned by the British on August 24, 1814. Duane published a total of nine volumes on related topics, which titles are surveyed by OCL. OCL has surveyed word counts which gather ‘Tactics’, ‘Operations’, and ‘Strategem’ and ‘Policy’, the latter two taken together, since Duane’s Military Dictionary defines ‘Policy’ as ‘Strategem.’ These appear in the table annexed hereto. The word counts are Strategem 15 policy …

Yes And ~Yes: A Lesson For South Carolina In The Illogic Of Secession, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

On December 20, 1860 a convention of South Carolinians claimed to have repealed a previous convention’s ratification of the Philadelphia constitution. This straightforward text of 138 words apparently stands on its own merits, since the long-winded, rambling and thoroughly confused 2,182 words worth of supporting argument did not appear until December 26, 1860. What is the chartered logic applicable to ratifications and un-ratifications? Our Constitutional Logic unleashes Article VII on the problem.

Table Annexed To Article: Machine-Readable Text Of The Federalist Essays, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Our Constitutional Logic presents readers with its source files, that is, the text which it employed in scored word counts, frequencies and VerbumForte scores. The table annexed includes the machine-readable text of all eighty-five Federalist essays. Because many on-line versions are broken into segments which render searches (virtually) impractical.

Table Annexed To Article: Early State Constitutions (Adopted Before 1787) In Mr Text Format, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Our Constitutional Logic has assembled and transcribed (in machine-readable [or searchable] text format the 15 state constitutions adopted from 1777 through 1786. Word counts total 82,250 with asterisks separating the constitutions presented herewith. The reader is directed to Selected Details of State Constitutions Adopted Before 1787, 2 OCL 312 for word counts for each constitution and other details.

Table Annexed To Article: Twenty-Nine Events In Ten Projects (Or Discrete Event States) 1781-1846, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

From 1781 through 1846 American public officials wrestled with the problem of creating and managing a national banking institution that would serve the needs of the federal government. The twenty-nine relevant official events (legislation, presidential approvals/vetoes, court cases) are divided into ten separate Discrete Event States, as the national government attempted to charter or recharter these institutions, along with the relevant sources and dates.

William Duane's Military Dictionary, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In 1810 William Duane, Adjutant General of the United State Army, published his Military Dictionary, under the general title of the American Military Library. The volume enjoyed the distinction of being one of the three volumes burned by the British on August 24, 1814. Duane published a total of nine volumes on related topics, which titles are surveyed by OCL. OCL has surveyed word counts which gather ‘Tactics’, ‘Operations’, and ‘Strategem’ and ‘Policy’, the latter two taken together, since Duane’s Military Dictionary defines ‘Policy’ as ‘Strategem.’ These appear in the table annexed hereto. The word counts are Strategem 15 policy …

The Standard Model At War, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In 1775-1776 a North Atlantic superpower’s thirteen provinces found themselves maneuvered into a declaration of independence and (the inevitable) follow-on recognition war. The empire’s strategic goal was clear: force the rebels into the open, crush them while vulnerable, and unleash a program of post-rebellion oppression which would enrich superpower loyalists and establish their (and imperial) political ascendancy. Our Constitutional Logic offers, preliminary to a complete survey, considerations pertinent to the wartime provenance of America’s political society as founded under the standard model.

Detailed Delegate Attendance Table From Farrand’S Records Of The Federal Convention (May 25, 1787-September 17, 1787), Peter J. Aschenbrenner, David Kimball

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Fifty-five delegates were appointed by twelve states to attend the 1787 federal constitutional convention: the first day of business was held May 25, 1787. Twenty-nine delegates attended the session on that day, the low-water mark; forty-five attended on June 15, the high-point for delegate appearances. OCL updates the attendance data, which was last surveyed in Farrand's Records, 3 Farrand 586-590 (rev. ed. 1937).

Table Annexed To Article: Selected Details Of State Constitutions Adopted Before 1787, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

OCL surveys the fifteen state constitutions (including those adopted and replaced) from 1776 through 1786, including both of Vermont’s constitutions. The word counts in the fifteen state constitutions written from 1776 to 1786 total 81,893 words with 3,894 unique words. The charters (including those adopted and replaced) run from 1776 through 1786, including both of Vermont’s constitutions. To this OCL would add Constitution I (the constitution of the year One) = 3,354 words with 774 until words and Constitution II (constitution of the year eleven) = 4,321 words with 831 unique words.

Table Annexed To Article: How The Twenty-Six Superfounders Fared At The Ballot Box, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Twenty-six delegates who attended the federal convention at Philadelphia and who signed the constitution also attended their state ratifying conventions. Many of these SuperFounders ran for federal elective office in the first federal elections.

Table Annexed To Article: Jefferson’S Manual Of Parliamentary Practice (1801), Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In 1801 Thomas Jefferson published his “Manual of Parliamentary Practice, Composed Originally for the Use of the Senate of the United States,” which which OCL has keyed in from the first edition, in 58,277 words. With 98 cross references to John Hatsell’s Precedents of Proceedings (Vol. 2, 2nd ed., 1785) which Our Constitutional Logic has produced in MR Text Format at John Hatsell’s Precedents of Proceedings (Vol. 2, 2nd ed., 1785) Extracted for Comparison With The Standing Orders of the Philadelphia Convention, 2 OCL 136_2, Jefferson pays his debt to Hatsell whose interest in parliamentary science is, by comparison, antiquarian. …

Table Annexed To Article: Superfounders (And Others) Count Wins And Losses In The First Federal Elections, 2 Ocl 163, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Our Constitutional Logic has calendared wins and losses in the first federal elections by delegates, subdividing these fifty-five into SuperFounder, Near-Founders, No-Founders and those lacking any previous experience. This taxonomy is drawn from Who Were The SuperFounders? And Why Does It Matter?, 2 OCL 117 and the data are treated as a species of convention behavior with interdependency of variables – you were probably less likely to serve on committees and speaking for propositions if you were lacked the ambition to attain one of the 107 federal offices – deferred for further study. OCL has also addressed election results in …

Table Annexed To Article: Delegate Speaking Patterns At The Federal Convention Surveyed As To The Twenty-Five Votes That Made The Presidency, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

In Twenty-Five Votes that Made the Presidency Our Constitutional Logic surveyed votes taken on August 24, September 5 and September 6. OCL tables the number of times the delegates to the convention acted on these 25 occasions. Motions made, jointly made, seconded, as well as speaking for and speaking against the motion are calendared by delegate. Five of 22 actions by Slave_Owners are scored to James Madison; 7 of 31 action by non-Slave_owners were taken by Hugh Williamson of North Carolina.

Table Annexed To Article: Why Is March The Fourth March The Fourth? Excerpts From The Journals Of The Continental Congress, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

On September 13, 1788 the Continental Congress set the first Wednesday in March, 1789 as the date on which the first federal congress was to launch government operations, that is, principally, building the legal infrastructure of the new government. Although Congress had the power to move the date set forth in the constitution itself (the first Monday in December, via Article 1, Section 4, Clause 4) for the opening of its annual sessions, this did not occur until the adoption of the Twentieth Amendment. Section 1 thereof set the opening date for the 74th Congress at January 3, 1935 under …

Table Annexed To Article: The Capture Of The City Of Washington In Mr Text Format, Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

The first post-mortem on the fall of Washington, commissioned from a committee of the House of Representatives under the leadership of Richard M. Johnson of kentucky, appeared in the American State Papers, Military Affairs subdivision, as Doc. No. 137, at Pages 524-599. The work was published in Washington by Gales and Seaton with documents of Congressional provenance selected by the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House. The Capture is not merely an exemplar of public history, the actors who participate in the events they relate self-consciously vouch for their role as historians of the moment. “In …

Making It In Maine: Stories Of Jewish Life In Small-Town America, David M. Freidenreich

David M. Freidenreich

There are countless stories of Jewish life in Maine, stretching back 200 years. These are stories worth telling not only for their enjoyment value but also because we can learn a great deal from them. They reflect the challenges that confronted members of an immigrant community as they sought to become true Mainers, as well as the challenges this ethnic group now faces as a result of its successful integration. The experiences of Jews in Maine, moreover, encapsulate in many ways the experiences of small-town Jews throughout New England and the United States. Their stories offer glimpses into the changing …

Administrative Equal Protection: Federalism, The Fourteenth Amendment, And The Rights Of The Poor, Karen M. Tani

Karen M. Tani

History Of The Blues, Dan Rager

Dan Rager

This all inclusive History of the Blues introduction begins as early as 1400, when the first global trading routes began. Two early maps are enclosed from this period showing the direction and locations from which people, food and supplies were moved.

This research presentation illustrates African tribes such as the Arada, Dahomey and Fulani who sang music in their daily rituals and ceremonies long before they were moved to other continents. Early developmental music elements are introduced including spirituals, worksongs, Scottish ballads, Methodist and Baptist hymns, call and response, guttural effects, interpolated vocality, falsetto and blue notes. All of these …