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Full-Text Articles in Cultural History
Inside The Resource: Interpreting Is Pointing At Things, John M. Rudy
Inside The Resource: Interpreting Is Pointing At Things, John M. Rudy
Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public
We preserve the places of the past for a very specific reason: they are places. They are physical manifestations of the past, either landscapes where that past was played out or the remnants of the people who made that past happen.
That was clear to me last week as I watched David Fox, one of Harpers Ferry's premier interpreters, twiddle a shaving mirror in the sunlight and shine a twinkling beam on the gravestone of Rev. Alexander Morrell in the cemetery at the end of Fillmore Street. [excerpt]
"The Wrong Shall Fail, The Right Prevail, With Peace On Earth, Good-Will To Men!", John M. Rudy
"The Wrong Shall Fail, The Right Prevail, With Peace On Earth, Good-Will To Men!", John M. Rudy
Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public
This past Saturday night, I was standing in one of my old haunts. The Dry Goods Store at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is perhaps my favorite place to be an interpreter, especially at night. Low wattage lightbulbs (simulating whale oil or tallow lamps) and the darkness outside the windows make that building a perfect time machine. Near the end of the night, a family came in with two enthusiastic sons. One wearing a toy kepi and carrying a brand new souvenir envelope of Confederate money rushed around the store asking if he could, “buy that with this.” His excitement …
Governor Wise's War: Burn Notice (Part 3), John M. Rudy
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 …
Governor Wise's War: Loose Lips (Part 2), John M. Rudy
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 …
Governor Wise's War: My Misconception (Part 1), John M. Rudy
Governor Wise's War: My Misconception (Part 1), John M. Rudy
Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public
I worked in the living history branch at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park for three years, wearing old timey clothing and talking to visitors about the meanings of John Brown. Harpers Ferry is where I began to understand what the concept of interpretation means, and how it is such a radically different concept from academic history. [excerpt]