United States History Commons^™

Hymn To Freedom: Obama's 150th Proclamation, John M. Rudy

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

This post is about the President's proclamation on Tuesday. I was heartily pleased by this action from the White House. It phrasing brings to mind an intellectual fusion not unlike that crafted through Daniel Webster's 1830 pronouncement of, "Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable." Certainly the 19th century conception of Liberty and our modern conception of the term, as adeptly pointed out in the most recent episode of Backstory with the American History Guys, are not the same. Still, Obama's proclamation keenly joins the two Northern war aims and war outcomes at the hip. "The meaning of …

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]

The Civil War Centennial: Inspiration For The Civil Rights Movement?, John M. Rudy

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

I read Richard Williams' Old Virginia Blog, not because I agree with what he has to say but explicitly because it gets me so corking mad. Interspersed with tea party rants and modern political diatribes, Williams is an interesting (and sometimes frightening) voice of modern Confederatism and Southern exceptionalism.

"...The Way Things Were Back Then": Why Making Excuses For Slavery Doesn't Work, John M. Rudy

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

Presentism. Aside from historical revisionism, it is perhaps the 'epithet' with which the modern historian find themselves branded the most. I've been reading again a series of screeds by Bill Vallante, a Confederate reenactor and SCV member from Commack, NY (thanks to John Hennessy). I've read these pages before, but this time around was struck by the abject vitriol which oozes from the language employed. A line in one piece in particular stood out to me as quite angry:

"Add a heavy dose of presentism (judging or interpreting the past according to the standards of the present), mix thoroughly and …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Interview With James Myers, March 28 & 31, 2011, James P. Myers Jr., Brad R. Miller

Oral Histories

James Myers was interviewed on March 28 & 31, 2011 by Brad Miller about his childhood, collegiate years and teaching at Gettysburg College. He also discussed Carl Arnold Hanson's presidency, the political unrest during that time, and how the college has changed during his time here.

Length of Interview: 103 minutes

Course Information:

• Course Title: HIST 300: Historical Method
• Academic Term: Spring 2011
• Course Instructor: Dr. Michael Birkner '72

Collection Note: This oral history was selected from the Oral History Collection maintained by Special Collections & College Archives. Transcripts are available for browsing in the Special Collections Reading Room, 4 …

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]

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]

Lee Chapel: Lost Cause Artifact And Culture Shock, John M. Rudy

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

I had the privilege to accompany a group of undergraduate students recently on a whirlwind tour of the Wilderness, Richmond and Appomattox. Our tour took us along the I-81 corridor on the way back to Gettysburg, so why not stop in Lexington for a Civil War two-fer. [excerpt]

"And You May Ask Yourself: Am I Right? Am I Wrong?", John M. Rudy

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

This blogging endeavour is dangerous. Blogging, I believe, should be a personal medium, where you wear your heart on your sleeve and let the real "you" hang out. That's scary. [excerpt]

The Quiet War: Nazi Agents In America, Robert Kellert

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

In the summer of 1942, the East Coast bore witness to an aberration when a German submarine appeared in the waters off Long Island, seemingly countless miles from the bitter fighting and utter carnage engulfing Europe.1 Only four days later, another submarine unexpectedly surfaced, this time near Ponte Vedra Beach off the coast of Florida.2 The United States, historically protected from its enemies abroad by the vast stretches of the mighty Atlantic, now found itself exposed to the Unterseeboote that had once provoked the superpower into world war.3 The submarines harbored agents of the notorious German spy organization known as …

The Master Of The Senate And The Presidential Hidden Hand: Eisenhower, Johnson, And Power Dynamics In The 1950s, Samuel J. Cooper-Wall

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

In March of 2010, renowned architect Frank Gehry unveiled his design for a memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington, D.C. Centered around an elaborate layout of stone blocks running along a city-block of Maryland Avenue is the featured aspect of Gehry‘s design: a narrative tapestry of scenes from Eisenhower‘s life. Over seven stories tall, the tapestry will impede the view of the building located directly behind it. That building is the Department of Education, named for Lyndon Johnson.1 Decades after two of the greatest political titans of the twentieth century had passed away, their legacies were still in competition. …

Lisa Blas: Meet Me At The Mason Dixon, Shannon Egan, Miguel De Baca

Schmucker Art Catalogs

The Schmucker Art Gallery at Gettysburg College is extremely pleased to mount the remarkable series of paintings, photographs, and mixed-media installation by contemporary artist Lisa Blas entitled Meet Me at the Mason Dixon. This exhibition is an official part of Gettysburg area’s 150th Commemoration of the American Civil War as well as Gettysburg College’s Kick-Off event for this significant anniversary. Gettysburg provides an especially appropriate backdrop for the exhibition, as the artist took the history of this “hallowed ground” and its current resonances as the subject of her work. Blas traveled the Gettysburg National Military Park, as well as to …

Front Matter

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

Includes cover, list of editors, table of contents, and author biographies.

Letter From The Editor, Rachel Santose

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

No abstract provided.

Cultural Distortion: The Dedication Of The Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Monument At Manassas National Battlefield Park, Shae Adams

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

The Stonewall Jackson monument on Henry Hill at the Manassas National Battlefield Park stands as a testament to the propensity of Americans to manipulate history in order to fit current circumstances. The monument reflects not the views and ideologies of the veterans of the Civil War, but rather the hopes and fears of those who spent the prime years of their lives immersed in the Great Depression. Those of the latter generation searched in vain for heroes among the corrupted businessmen on Wall Street who ran the economic affairs of the country, and who, in the eyes of the public, …

Loose Party Times: The Political Crisis Of The 1850s In Westchester County, New York, Zachary Baum

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

On November 7, 1848 William H. Robertson rose early and rushed to the post office in Bedford, a town in Westchester County, New York. The young lawyer was brimming with excitement because two weeks earlier, the Whigs in the county?s northern section had nominated him as their candidate for the New York State Assembly. Only twenty-four years old and a rising legal star, Robertson hoped that holding political office would launch his nascent career. After casting his ballot at the Bedford Post Office, Robertson paid a visit to Sheriff James M. Bates, his political manager, to await the election results. …

“All May Visit The Big Camp”: Race And The Lessons Of The Civil War At The 1913 Gettysburg Reunion, Evan Preston

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

Shaping historical memory means extracting lessons from the past. Those lessons frame the debate about the nature of the present. Just months after the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, the attention of most of the nation focused on the events scheduled to commemorate the semi-centennial of what was by then increasingly viewed as “the turning point” of the Civil War. The reunion at Gettysburg in 1913 constituted the contemporary public exegesis of the status of American memory of the Civil War. In this respect, the reunion in Gettysburg reflected the erasure of the legacy of emancipation and the unfulfilled promise of …

The Richmond Bread Riot Of 1863: Class, Race, And Gender In The Urban Confederacy, Katherine R. Titus

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

Confederate war clerk, J.B. Jones's description of the Richmond Bread Riot of 1863, clearly highlights the suffering which permeated the urban centers of the Confederacy by the midpoint of the Civil War. The production and transportation of goods became increasingly difficult in the war torn nation. Inflation undermined the value of Confederate currency and made it difficult for those on fixed wages to provide for themselves and their families. The influx of thousands of refugees into Richmond created a deficit of housing in the city and raised the already inflated prices of goods. By 1863, most citizens remarked that they …

Colonel Utley's Emancipation - Or, How Lincoln Offered To Buy A Slave, Jerrica A. Giles, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

The reputation of Abraham Lincoln has see-sawed over the last half-century on the fulcrum of race, and the results have not been happy for that reputation. As Gerald Prokopowicz has written, "the big question" about Lincoln and slavery runs today like this: "Was Lincoln really the Great Emancipator that we have traditionally been brought up to admire, or was he just a clever, lying, racist, white male politician who had no interest in the well-being of black America other than when it served his political interests?" No longer is it necessary, as one historian has wryly remarked, for politicians to …

Glatfelter Hall: A Colorful History, Kaitlyn Roman

Hidden in Plain Sight Projects

"I had facilities paint over the ugly pink leafy border that went all around my office." With that statement it seemed as though my lead had hit a dead end. But what Professor Ben Bruce, the current head of the Management department, had just told me was just the beginning of a puzzle waiting to be pieced together. Professor Dan DeNicola of the Philosophy department had shared with me a story describing a stenciled artwork located on the fourth floor of Glatfelter Hall with roots stemming in a secret literary society. Immediately this story captivated my interest and that afternoon …

Breidenbaugh To Zinn: The Evolution Of Chemistry At Gettysburg College, Rachel F. Surmick

Hidden in Plain Sight Projects

For students at Gettysburg College, there are many departments from which one can chose to make their major course of study. Included among these courses of study is the chemistry department. Though the chemistry department might seem like a stagnant, fixed part of the Gettysburg curriculum, it has not always been that way. For about the past 125 years, the chemistry department has seen a world of change from the time that it finally separated from the physical sciences and became its own department to the changing of omnipresent faculty, the chemistry department has evolved over time to become what …

The Old Tin Cup, Nicholas T. Scerbo

Hidden in Plain Sight Projects

The world of college football, always colorful and exciting, is perhaps at its best on chilly October Saturdays, with the stands packed for Homecoming. There is a grand parade, a Homecoming Queen, an exciting game between gridiron rivals prompting the large crowd to roar with delight as the hometown heroes march dramatically down the field to victory, or perhaps dig in to preserve the lead with time running out and their backs to their own goal. Perhaps a coveted trophy will be awarded to the winning team. Ceremonies will follow the game: a trophy presentation at midfield, in full view …

"Under God": The Story Of Gettysburg In India, Daniel J. Willever

Hidden in Plain Sight Projects

At Gettysburg College, any student who strolls through Pennsylvania Hall, Musselman Library, and the College Union Building cannot help but notice the colorful retro-style posters highlighting the accomplished alumni of this historical institution. Some students dream and joke of being included among these men and women, a television star, a children’s author, and a Civil Rights activist among them. Sadly, for every pop culture icon and Nobel Prize winner, there are those who go unnoticed. Pictures of founders and theologians such as Samuel Simon Schmucker and Henry Baugher remain, but there could not be more of a general disinterest in …

George Croll Baum: Building A Greater Gettysburg, Abraham M. Apfel

Hidden in Plain Sight Projects

On November 16th, 1926 George Croll Baum died. In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania the local newspaper covered his death. The Gettysburgian, the paper for Gettysburg College reported that Henry W.A. Hanson, the college president, was “deeply distressed and further noted that Baum's death 'touched the hearts of all that knew him with deep regret.'" Within a month Dr. Hanson had already ordered three memorial plaques to be placed on the campus. Baum's family tried to help pay for them. Hanson refused the money. In a correspondence with Baum‟s brother about the plaques, Hanson told him, “What I did for your brother …

Original Pennsylvania College Building, Robert S. Kellert

Hidden in Plain Sight Projects

At the corner of Washington and High Streets in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania stands a modest old house—an anachronism that somehow seems so fitting in a town of such rich history. In the foreground lies a fairly inconspicuous plaque with condensed text—easy to miss on a leisurely car ride past the antiquated structure. Casually passing by, residents and tourists alike might not give the house a second thought or reflect on its origins. Yet, were they to merely glance over the building‘s historic plaque, they would discover a building whose significance can hardly be overstated. This was the site of the original …