Cultural History Commons^™

Loyalty: Democracy And Gettysburg's Union League, John M. Rudy

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

"The ball is rolling," the Sentinel crowed, "and it is no time now to faint or falter in the good and noble work of crushing rebels and traitors abroad and at home, and bringing back to its original glory our time-honored Union."

The Union would be saved, the Sentinel was sure, by the pure and sustained love and loyalty of her people. Gettysburg was showing her mettle in that department in the waning days of April 1863, as citizens gathered to follow the lead of others to the east in forming a Loyal Union League in the Adams county seat. …

Death Became Them: The Defeminization Of The American Death Culture, 1609–1899, Briony D. Zlomke

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Focusing specifically on the years 1609 to 1899 in the United States, this thesis examines how middle-class women initially controlled the economy of preparing the dead in pre-industrialized America and lost their positions as death transitioned from a community-based event to an occurrence from which one could profit. In this new economy, men dominated the capitalist-driven funeral parlors and undertaker services. The changing ideology about white middle-class women’s proper places in society and the displacement of women in the “death trade” with the advent of the funeral director exacerbated this decline of a once female-defined practice. These changes dramatically altered …

Building The War One Brick At A Time, John M. Rudy

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

I've been waiting for this moment since 1996. Back then, when I was 11, My favorite toy came out with figures from my favorite era. The LEGO Western line was an amazing crossover of my love for history and my love for tiny ABS building blocks. [excerpt]

The Grizzly, April 18, 2013, Jessica Orbon, Sara Sherr, Misha Fausto, Allison Schroeder, Taylor Manferdini, Christine Dobisch, Lauren Dicairano, Caroline Sandberg, Amanda Frekot, Dana Feigenbaum, Daiana Vazquez, John Parry, Briana Brukilacchio, Jordan Demcher, Melissa Kopel, Allen Weaver

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Curriculum Review • Relay Raises Money, Awareness • Tuition Explained • Mental Health Resources Reviewed • Collegeville Community Day April 20 • Student Art Exhibit April 24 • Ursinus College Dance Company's Spring Show • Spanish Classes Popular Among UC Students • Opinion: ESPN Debate Isn't Really About Sports; Autism Awareness Month is a Learning Opportunity • Hockey Not Netting Enough Attention • Senior Spotlight: Wytch Rigger, Men's Lacrosse • Baseball Loses in 18 Innings

Cherokee Acculturation & The Fall Of Women's Status, Danielle Rogner

2013 Awards for Excellence in Student Research & Creative Activity - Documents

As the eyes of the late 18th century Americans fell upon the territories occupied by the Cherokee Nation, the cultural disparities between the two nations became a source of apprehension. Most challenging to many Americans was the differences between the traditional roles of women. Instead of possessing the domestic, submissive role of the American homemaker, Cherokee women held positions of authority within society.

Big Interp: Processing Massive Meaning, John M. Rudy

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

There's been this term bandied about in the historical circles I've been running in of late: Big Data. As far as I've gathered, it's the byproduct of our information age, when more and more data gets fed into more and more machines and is accessible at the fingertips of more and more inquiring minds. [excerpt]

Dark Town's Wealth: A 150-Year-Old Rock-And-Roll Concert Review, John M. Rudy

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

I have a lot of odd things scattered around my house, weird ephemera and bric-a-brac that I've picked up here and there as I've studied history.

Some of them are treasures, like CDVs of long-dead College professors and original pieces of decking from the USS North Carolina. Some are less treasures and more, well, junk. Most folks toss old newspapers within a few days of reading. In the Civil War Era, I'm sure many a page of newsprint went to start an honest mother's hearth in the morning or a pile of moist kindling in some godforsaken camp. [excerpt …

The Grizzly, April 11, 2013, Jessica Orbon, Sara Sherr, Alyse Reid, Rachel Brown, Misha Fausto, Caroline Sandberg, John Parry, Megan Maccaroni, Carly Siegler, Kaitlyn Cherry, Melissa Kopel, Austin Fox, Allen Weaver

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Drug Search Policy • Advocates Strive to Empower • Diversity Report • 4th Annual Cuts for a Cause April 14 • New Club Fosters School Spirit • Move-Out Program • Pause for Paws Brings Cheer • Opinion: Ritter Needs Renovating; The "R" Word Hurts • Class of '13 Spotlight: Kevin Wilson • Senior Spotlight: Liz Chatburn, Women's Lacrosse • Men's Lacrosse Beats York

On The Battleground At Gettysburg: A Journey To Remember, John M. Rudy

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

I was very pleased to be one of the two speakers at Sunday night's inaugural "Journey to Remember" event sponsored by Gettysburg College. A group of students and community members trekked up the hill from the campus, resting on Oak Hill at the base of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial to hear myself and Janet Riggs, the college's President and a fellow alum. The student organizers asked me to place that place into historical context. [excerpt]

Report Of Meeting With Chancellor And Provost, Dean Saitta

John Evans Study: Supporting Materials

Meeting notes regarding formation of a John Evans study.

The Grizzly, April 4, 2013, Jessica Orbon, Sara Sherr, Alyse Reid, Caroline Sandberg, Shane English, Carly Siegler, Rosemary Clark, Vivek Reddy, Austin Fox, Sara Hourwitz, Sabrina Mcgettigan, John Parry, Megan Maccaroni, Jalel Guesmi, Allen Weaver

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

AFAC to Fund ESPN • No Tolerance for Open Containers • Staff Form Assembly • Transfer Students Offer Perspective on UC • Airband Event • Devoted Yet Battered Players • Blogging has Educational Benefits • Ursinus Students Celebrate World Water Month • Opinion: Seniors, Don't Freak Out About the Future; Extra-Curriculars an Important Part of Education • Ursinus Athletics Struggles • Concussions Affecting UC Athletics

Lg Ms 025 George Daniell Artwork Finding Aid, Susannah Clark

Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids)

Description:

George Daniell, photographer and artist, lived the second half of his life in a coastal community near Bar Harbor, Maine. Originally from Yonkers, he worked as a freelance photographer in New York and Europe for most of his early career. In the 1930’s, he made his first visits to Monhegan Island and Grand Manan Island, capturing images in photographs and paintings. For many years he owned a house on Fire Island, and spent winters in Key West, and these locations also feature prominently in his work. He is best known for his photographic portraits of well-known artists and literary …

From A Northern Home To A Southern School: Cultural Imperialists Or Just Stubborn Yankees, Janel Janiczek Smith

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the cultural influences on the lives of northern teachers in southern schools. During the 1860s, white, northern, middle-class women traveled to southern homes to begin and maintain schools for the recently freed slaves. Each woman carried with her an independent set of cultural systems that predetermined her perspective for educating the African American students. Furthermore, the northern relief agencies, Freedmen's Bureau agents, southern white citizens, and southern freedmen all had their own opinions for the education of the students. Although much time has elapsed between the 1860s and 2013, the same topics …

Jeff Davis, A Sour Apple Tree, And Treason: A Case Study Of Fear In The Post-Civil War Era, Brianna E. Kirk

Student Publications

The end of the Civil War raised many questions, one being how to piece back together the violently torn apart Union. With such an unprecedented war in American history, the exact course of how to do so was unknown. Would the country survive through Reconstruction, and how would sectional reconciliation be achieved? An even larger question was who to blame for the four long years of violence. In the minds of many northerners, that man was Jefferson Davis. Davis had not only led the secessionist movement, but was a traitor to the Union. By analyzing the calls for and against …

The Grizzly, March 28, 2013, Jessica Orbon, Sara Sherr, Rosemary Clark, Alyse Reid, Heidi Jensen, Vivek Reddy, John Parry, Megan Maccaroni, Rachel Brown, Jacquelyn Heikel, Sofia Gallicchio, Jordan Demcher, Misha Fausto, Allen Weaver

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Students Fight Prisons • St. Paddy's Day Cleanup Trouble • Science Plans Change • Town, Gown Growth • 9th Annual Edible Books Festival April 2 • "Ricochet," New CIE Event • WeCAN Raises Awareness • UC Tech Support • Opinion: Campus Safety Isn't Customer Service; Dorm Security Shouldn't be Compromised • Coach Profile: Sam Campo, Softball • Senior Spotlight: Allison Pfrommer • Warren Named All-American

Tool Of Revolution, Piece Of The True Cross, John M. Rudy

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

One of my former students, brilliant researcher and Gettysburg College Senior Lauren Roedner has been pulling together an exhibit from the private collection of Angelo Scarlato, displayed in the display cases in Gettysburg College's Special Collections. The exhibit,Slaves, Soldiers, Citizens: African American Artifacts of the Civil War Era opens officially on Monday. But I was able to sneak a quick peak on Wednesday night of the exhibit-in-progress. [excerpt]

Choice Poetry: Valiant Manhood's Flinch, John M. Rudy

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

Throughout the war, the front page of Gettysburg's newspapers, regardless of your political stripe, had an evergreen column. Poetry graced the upper left corner each week. Sometimes raucous, often love-lorn, chiefly patriotic, the poems must have buoyed many a Pennsylvanian spirit as America floundered in the depth of Civil War.

Most of the poems were mainstream schmaltz, passed from paper to paper as each editor read a line or two he liked and thought his readers might appreciate. The poems spread like a particularly odd malignant cancer from organ to organ. [excerpt]

The Grizzly, March 21, 2013, Jessica Orbon, Sara Sherr, Rosemary Clark, Rachel Brown, John Parry, Vivek Reddy, Alyse Reid, Megan Maccaroni, Melissa Kopel, Jonathan Vander Lugt, Dana Feigenbaum, Matthew Johnston, Michael D'Amico, Allen Weaver

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Remembering Rachel Blunt • Mental Health Resources • Diversity Committee • Ball at the Bellevue Offers Fun for All • Mock Energy Bills Sent Out • UC Students Prepare for Spring Performance • Accessibility Workshop for Disabled Museum Goers • Opinion: New President Promises Improvement; "Tomb Raider" Separates Itself from the Competition • Men's Lacrosse Hot Entering CC Play • Women's Lacrosse Looks to Build Off Spring Trip • Gymnastics Team Heads to Nationals

Naccs 40th Annual Conference, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

NACCS Conference Programs

Advancing From Sea to Shining ¡Sí!: Learning From Our Past, Defending Our Rights in the 21st Century
March 20-23, 2013
Omni San Antonio Colonnade

Deutschland Unsere Mutter, Columbia Our Bride: German-America In The Progressive Era, Taylor Holmes

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

In many histories of American involvement in the First World War, the anti-German hysteria that exploded in the United States is often trivially attributed to the reality that America had declared war on Germany and the consequent propaganda the war effort generated. This, however, overlooks the significant presence of anti-German sentiment prior both to the outbreak of the First World War and American entry into the war. Precedent to and coincident with U.S. military intervention in Europe was the domestic cultural struggle between an ascendant and dominantly Anglo-American Progressive ideology and a cultural pluralism that German-American ethnic pride embodied. The …

Loading Chekhov’S Gun In 9-Times: The Fundamental Disconnect In Historical Interpretation, John M. Rudy

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

Thursday night brings into Gettysburg an avalanche of historians (both public and academic) to discuss the Future of Civil War History for a whole weekend. That means I'll be taking some annual leave from work and participating in a working-group investigating "Training Seasonal Historians in the Age of Holding the High Ground." It's still unclear who will be able to attend our panel thanks to sequestration and a moratorium on NPS travel. Still, those of us who can make it will soldier on. [excerpt]

Recovering A Sordid Past: Public Memory Of Scollay Square, Joan Ilacqua

Graduate History Conference, UMass Boston

Boston’s own entertainment district, Scollay Square, has been eradicated from Boston’s landscape, both physically and in public memory. In its prime, Scollay Square housed dime museums, theaters, burlesque attractions and its answer to Nathan’s hot dogs, Joe and Nemo’s. Eventually, Scollay Square deteriorated and was targeted for urban renewal. At present, Boston’s Government Center and City Hall Plaza occupy what once was a thriving local attraction. Beyond the plaque dedicated to the Howard Athenaeum, a strong public memory of Scollay Square is not evident in Boston. Following the rise and fall of Scollay Square and analyzing rhetoric used to support …

Memo To Du Provost And Chancellor, Dean Saitta

John Evans Study: Supporting Materials

Memorandum sent to the University of Denver's Provost and Chancellor about interest in a study on John Evans and the Sand Creek Massacre.

Shattered By War: The Huber Family, John M. Rudy

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

The tale of Sergent Frederick Huber is relatively well known. The young man, fighting at the battle of Fair Oaks, was struck by three rounds, the final a bullet through his breast that quickly sapped him of his life. The Adams Sentinel reported the incident in the early summer days of 1862, underlining Frederick's bravery in the face of the great beyond. "Tell Father," he reportedly said with his dying breath, according to the Sentinel, "I have died for my country." [excerpt]

The Grizzly, February 28, 2013, Jessica Orbon, Sara Sherr, Alyse Reid, Misha Fausto, Caroline Sandberg, Vivek Reddy, Megan Maccaroni, Amanda Frekot, Rachel Brown, Cecelia Marquez, Jordan Demcher, Allen Weaver

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

UC Employment • Anti-Vandalism Campaign • Student Trip to Haiti • Dean Calls for Faculty Award Nominations • Ninth-Semester Seniors Have Financing Options • Recycling Competition • Oscars Summary • Alum Dance Show • UC Facebook Compliments • Opinion: Strong Performances Sell "Silver Linings"; Religion's Influence Too Strong in US Politics • Baseball Looks to Win Under Exeter • Softball Begins Season with Championship Mindset • Wrestling Takes Home CC Team Title

“A Time To Be Born, And A Time To Die.”, John M. Rudy

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

"While surgeons were well acquainted with the horrors of a field hospital in the aftermath of a grand battle like Gettysburg, the civilians of the North were woefully unprepared for the carnage at play in the halls of their local institutions and homes until it presented itself in full-colored glory in front of their very eyes. Senior Michael Colver finally picked his way down the long slope of Cemetery Hill, across the borough and onto the campus of his alma mater on Monday the 6th of July. “On our arrival,” he recalled, “we found in and around the building, according …

The Grizzly, February 21, 2013, Jessica Orbon, Sara Sherr, John Parry, Alyse Reid, Vivek Reddy, John Robinson, Megan Maccaroni, Sara Hourwitz, Sabrina Mcgettigan, James Wilson, Rachel Brown, Jalel Guesmi, Jordan Demcher, Allen Weaver

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Wismer Cited for Health Violations • UC Does the Harlem Shake • Fewer Choose Graduate School • Crigler Reconsiders Admissions Policies • Free Piloxing Classes • Music and Haircuts • Harlem Shake Craze Takes Over Ursinus • Escape Velocity Prepares for Spring Performance • Opinion: Main Street Crosswalk Still Dangerous; Academic Writing a Challenge for International Students • Behind the Scenes: Jim Wagner, Sports Information Director • Bears Lose, Miss Playoffs

Consumptive Use History, John M. Rudy

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

It's been five years since I was living in DC and working at the Lincoln Cottage. I don't often talk about my short stint in DC at American University (let's just say that the University and I didn't quite mesh philosophically) and working with the National Trust for Historic Preservation at President Lincoln's Cottage right as the site was opening. My time at the cottage was a blip on the radar; barely any digital footprints still exist from then. [excerpt]

In Plain Black And White: Race & Gettysburg, Winter 1863, John M. Rudy

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

"Kinkyheads," the Gettysburg Compiler gleefully quipped at the bottom of a column in its February 23rd edition, "is the new title used for Abolitionists." This was, of course, "in contradiction to 'Copperheads.'"

Race was the live wire of Gettysburg's political scene. For the roughly 10% of the borough's population that was black, that live wire must have shocked daily. [excerpt]

Presidents' Day In A Land At War, John M. Rudy

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

Monday is Presidents' Day, our modern conglomeration of the celebrations of Washington's and Lincoln's Birthdays. Of course, no one but Mary Todd, Tad and some friends were celebrating Lincoln's birthday in 1863. Dying has a way of making special family events into cherished national holidays. Hence Washington, father of the nation who was already cold in the ground, warranted celebration and accolades on his birthday. [excerpt]