United States History Commons^™

Review Of Hell Of A Vision: Regionalism And The Modem American West By Robert L. Dorman, Allen Frost

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

This thorough study of the American West takes as a given the region's contested and continuously shifting identity among scholars as well as among artists, activists, and government agencies. One of Robert Dorman's many contributions to the field in Hell of a Vision is his decision to chart the formations of these multiple Wests alongside each other, from the latter half of the nineteenth century to the present day.

The primary texts examined here range from the canonical to the unexpected. Dorman's archive begins with John Wesley Powell's maps of the "Arid Region," produced in 1891 for the U.S. Geological …

Review Of Fighting Their Own Battles: Mexican Americans, African Americans, And The Struggle For Civil Rights In Texas By Brian D. Behnken, Edwin Dorn

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

If you are an African American, a Mexican American, or a progressive Anglo who grew up in Texas in the past century, reading Brian Behnken's book, filled as it is with examples of the state's racism, is sure to tear off a few old scabs. Behnken's main objective, however, is to explain the factors that kept black civil rights activists from working with their Hispanic counterparts to reduce racial segregation and discrimination.

One factor, Behnken argues convincingly, was geography: the battleground for the black struggle was in the eastern part of the state, the Mexican American battleground hundreds of miles …

Review Of Theodore Roosevelt In The Badlands: A Young Politician's Quest For Recovery In The American West By Roger L. Di Silvestro, Mark Harvey

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Biographers of Theodore Roosevelt have long been aware of the significance of the time he spent in the Badlands of Dakota Territory during the 1880s. After an initial visit in 1883, Roosevelt returned the following year, this time overwhelmed with grief. Earlier that year he had experienced unimaginable personal tragedy when his beloved wife, Alice, and his mother died on the very same day. A few months later TR returned to western Dakota by train, bound for a landscape he hoped would bring him solace, healing, and renewal.

Over the next several years, Roosevelt returned to the Badlands for weeks …

Review Of Prigg V. Pennsylvania: Slavery, The Supreme Court, And The Ambivalent Constitution, Susan David Demaine

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In 1842, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Prigg v. Pennsylvania, resolving a dispute about fugitive slave rendition that had raged between the states for decades. H. Robert Baker’s analysis of the decision and the events that led up to it is the first book-length work to investigate Prigg and its place in American history. Baker traces the development of fugitive slave laws and recounts the heart-wrenching story that lies behind Prigg to shed light on the Supreme Court’s decision and the gradual clarification of American federalism.

The Fugitive Slave Law, Antislavery And The Emergence Of The Republican Party In Indiana, Christopher David Walker

Open Access Dissertations

The most contentious portion of the Compromise of 1850 between the Northern free states and the Southern slave states was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. For decades slaveholders had complained of the difficulties encountered in reclaiming their fugitive slaves and demanded stronger legislation to deal with the problem. Northerners, however, did not believe that national legislation on the subject of fugitive slaves as embodied in the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 provided adequate protection to free blacks and many states passed anti-kidnapping laws which often placed obstacles to rendition. Slaveholders discovered that the costs involved in reclaiming an absconding …

Making War On Jupiter Pluvius The Culture And Science Of Rainmaking In The Southern Great Plains, 1870-1913, Michael R. Whitaker

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

For two weeks in August 1891, the grounds of the "C" Ranch in rural West Texas thundered with the sound of explosions, as a federal government- sponsored expeditionary force hurled hundreds of pounds of heavy ordnance against an invisible enemy. In command of this unusual operation was "General" Robert Dyrenforth, who with $9,000 of congressional funding in pocket was doing his utmost to find out whether, as a bit of folk wisdom ran, the furious tumult and aerial concussions of battle could somehow cause rain. From tiny western hamlets to the metropolises of the East, Americans were fascinated by the …

The 2013 Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize, R. Matthew Joeckel

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

After long deliberations by members of three subcommittees and the chairs of those committees, the Great Plains Distinguished Book Prize was awarded to Blackfoot Redemption: A Blood Indian's Story of Murder, Confinement, and Imperfect Justice, by William E. Farr, published by the University of Oklahoma Press. As the chair of the prize committee, I am pleased to state that many fine books were submitted for the competition, and that each of them was meritorious in some way. Nevertheless, Blackfoot Redemption is unique among the submissions-and indeed among the vast majority of accounts of Plains Native American lives in …

Review Of The Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology, And Place Edited By Tom Lynch, Cheryll Glotfelty, And Karla Armbruster, Jenny Kerber

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Given the emphasis that advocates of bioregionalism have historically placed on principles of decentralization and localization in the development of more ecologically sustainable modes of inhabitation, it is perhaps not surprising that no wide-ranging survey of bioregional literary criticism has appeared on the scene until now. This is a shame, however, because it turns out that examining bioregional practices across cultures and places yields a wealth of new ideas about how to live more sustainably in one's home place. In The Bioregional Imagination, readers finally have access to a much-needed set of comparative perspectives on bioregionalism, ranging from the implementation …

Review Of Inside The Ark: The Hutterites In Canada And The United States By Yossi Katz And John Lehr, Rod Janzen

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Geographers Yossi Katz and John Lehr's new book on the Hutterites provides an in-depth analysis of the social life of one of the four branches of the Hutterite Church in North America, the Group 2 Schmiedeleut. In many ways it is also an informative introduction to Hutterite life in general.

Katz and Lehr provide detailed explanations of virtually every aspect of Hutterite life in the province of Manitoba. This includes social and political organization at the colony and intercolony levels, religious and cultural traditions, the impact of space and how it is employed (with helpful charts and images), as well …

“A Very Brutal Man”: Lewis Horton, David Todd, And Prisoner Torture, S. Marianne Johnson

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

In the late summer of 1861, just after the battle of Bull Run, Union seaman Lewis Horton was captured while serving on the U.S.S. Massachusetts and taken to Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. In transport, Horton would recall being shackled to his comrades and marched through the streets for people to jeer at and being forced to spend a night in a building used for convict slaves. Hobnails, Horton remembered, had been hammered partly into the walls and floors of the building, making it too torturous to lie down or lean against the walls. Once he arrived in Richmond, Horton …

Lehman-Collet Papers (Mss 474), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 474. Business and legal papers, primarily of Bowling Green Kentucky businessman George Lehman and his nephew George A. Collet. Includes materials relating to Lehman’s estate and to other Collet family members.

A Hypochondriac Investigates The Evolution Of Medicine, Natalie S. Sherif

Blogging the Library

This exhibit will open to the public in February 2014, but until then I have my work cut out for me. I am currently researching various aspects of medical history spanning from the mid-1800s, through the Civil War, to WWI. Thus far I have read accounts of women volunteers during the American Civil War, important changes that went into effect during WWI, and an overly detailed description on how to perform tooth extractions according to the latest science of the 1860s. [excerpt]

The Grizzly, September 26, 2013, Sabrina Mcgettigan, Mary Deliberti, Briana Mullan, Deana Harley, Amanda Frekot, Vivek Reddy, Shawn Hartigan, Olivia Z. Schultz, Jordan Ostrum, Adebayo Adeyemo, Briana Keane, Atticus Graven, Bethany Mitchell, Austin Fox, David Rogers

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Courtyard Pilot Program Extended • "Much Ado" About UC Drama • Extern Program • Marks Discusses Online Education • Live Music at Reimert • Community Yard Sale This Weekend • New Film Professor Joins the Campus • Enactus Prepares for a New Year • Opinion: Make the Most of Your Ursinus Years; School Spirit Should Extend Beyond Campus • Senior Spotlight: Jenna Stover • Topic of Injuries Overshadowing Football Season • Family Day Roundup

Ngram 150th: Race, Sex And Big Data, John M. Rudy

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

Data is powerful in the right hands. Aggregate data is even more powerful. And Google is data.

One of the odder tools in the Google arsenal is the Ngram viewer a search engine which charts trends within the folds of Google Books' database. Punch in anything. I mean it. Try anything in the Ngram search engine and start falling down the historical trends rabbit hole. [excerpt]

Graham, Robert Duke, 1900-1984 (Mss 473), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 473. Correspondence and scrapbooks of Robert D. Graham, Democratic mayor of Bowling Green, Kentucky from 1960-1963 and 1968-1971. The materials mostly document his public career, but some personal papers, including those of his wife Edith, are included.

Carmichael Family Papers (Mss 467), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 467. Correspondence, legal papers, and miscellaneous material from several related families: Standrod, Campbell, and Carmichael. Includes a claim made after the Civil War for compensation for an enslaved man who joined the Union Army (Click on "Additional Files" below).

Harmon, Arlis Odell, 1905-1992 (Mss 153), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 153. Poems, 1934-1991, obituaries, 1964-1990, written by Arlis Odell Harmon, a gospel song writer and enthusiast, of Allen County, Kentucky. Includes correspondence about gospel music, genealogical data, photos, etc.

American Commemorative Panels: Ray Charles, United States Postal Service. Stamp Division

Rodney Lawrence Hurst, Sr. Stamp Collection

Informational pages for Ray Charles Commemorative Stamp – American Commemorative Panels, includes images of the stamps, information about the physical stamp and biographical information for Ray Charles. First issued September 23, 2013.

Curd, Edwin William, 1864-1923 - Letters To (Sc 2767), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2767. Letters to Edwin W. Curd, Cave City, Kentucky, from shoe merchants J. Benckenstein and Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. The firm discusses the terms on which Curd should act as salesman for its goods, reports, discounts, payment of his traveling expenses, etc. The issues evidently became the subject of a legal dispute between the parties.

The Grizzly, September 19, 2013, Sabrina Mcgettigan, Briana Mullan, Mary Deliberti, James Wilson, Vivek Reddy, Brandon Patterson, Nicholas Dimuzio, Deana Harley, Shawn Hartigan, Briana Keane, Gerald Merle Gares, Bethany Mitchell, Derrick Falletta, David Rogers

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

New UC Faculty Members' Plans • Sustainability Week at UC • Ursinus Image Beyond Campus • Tuition Based on Other Colleges' Numbers • Honored Professor • Family Day Brings Food, Fun • Student Groups Spread School Spirit • Opinion: Ursinus Needs a Practical Living Course; Community Service Belongs in the Curriculum • Olympics 2020: Tokyo Wins Bid Over Istanbul • Athletic Communications Promotes UC Athletes • Football, Field Hockey, Men's Soccer Take Home Wins

Things Never Change: Piecing Together College Life, John M. Rudy

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

Sometimes you stumble on something on eBay you just can't pass up. It's that $6 buy that is awkward, odd and just a little out of your scope. But it's only $6. If you'd buy a burger for $6, you shouldn't pass up an original letter from 1835.

Every letter has a story. And each of those stories has its own drama, its own meaning, its own power. The mundanities of human life can be just as powerful as the battles and charges. [excerpt]

Klein, Wilma - Collector (Sc 2766), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2766. Will (1823) of James Bray, Chesterfield County, Virginia, in which he frees his slaves and bequeaths all his property to them; poem (1928) to her parents by Ruthia Chloe Jane Miller, Bowling Green, Kentucky; Beech Grove Missionary Baptist Church ordination minutes, 27 November 1994; and birthday greetings to William H. Howard, Tompkinsville, Kentucky, from Governor Paul E. Patton, 8 April 1996.

At All Costs: The Stand Of The 16th Maine At Gettysburg, Bryan G. Caswell

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

The order to hold to the last, to continue fighting, to refuse to break no matter the cost, is often held to be a noble and heroic concept, especially in the Victorian context of the nineteenth century and the American Civil War. The most famous action of this kind at the Battle of Gettysburg is of course the stand of the 20th Maine on Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, which has been popularized through the writings of Michael Shaara and the 1993 film Gettysburg. The 20th Maine’s commanding officer, Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, reflects upon this unique …

Montell, William Lynwood, 1931-2023 - Collector (Sc 2765), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2765. Program of The Sixth Annual Gathering of Authors, presented by the Paul Sawyier Public Library and held in Frankfort, Kentucky, on 24 August 2013. The program is autographed by the attending authors, some of whom include inscriptions to Dr. Lynwood Montell.

Victory, Reconciliation, And Reunion: The Soldiers’ And Sailors’ Monument Of Easton, Pennsylvania And A Memory Of The Civil War, Bryan Toth

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Thirty-five years after the Civil War came to an end the people of Easton, Pennsylvania erected a monument to honor the men of Easton and Northampton County that fought and died in the sectional conflict. With the nation recognizing the sesquicentennial of the Civil War the study of how the people of Easton have chosen to remember this conflict can help us better understand the war itself and its ever changing place in the collective national psychology. The Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument that was built in Easton’s Centre Square is reflective of a Northern monument design, and a memory of …

Adams, Lura Alice (Hopper), 1903-1996 (Mss 454), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 454. Letters to Lura Alice (Hopper) Adams, Franklin and Bowling Green, Kentucky, written by her parents, David Carson Hopper and Victoria Frances (Wade) Hopper from Russell Springs, Kentucky. Includes a typescripted compilation and background information from Lura’s daughter, Marion Lee Adams.

The Grizzly, September 12, 2013, Sabrina Mcgettigan, Olivia Z. Schultz, Briana Keane, Amanda Frekot, Derrick Falletta, Dana Feigenbaum, Vivek Reddy, Briana Mullan, Dave Muoio, Bethany Mitchell, Mary Deliberti, Brian A. Kennedy, Jordan Breslow, James Wilson, Kevin Medina, Adebayo Adeyemo, Shawn Hartigan

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

Reimert Arrest • USGA Leadership Retreat • Construction in Thomas and Pfahler • Ursinus Site Undergoes Update • 14th Annual Fringe Festival • New Pitch Program Rewards Creativity • Policy Changes a Result of Student Demand • Opinion: Chemical Attacks Need International Response; We Should Stay Out of Syria • UC's Open Laptops • Volleyball Counting on Newcomers This Season • Athletic Training Room Source of Aid and Knowledge • Men's Soccer Looking to Improve • More Shots a Priority for Bears

Shaw's Backside: The Other Side Of An Icon, John M. Rudy

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

This week I find myself in Boston, one of the couple of American cities which call themselves the cradle of liberty. But I'm not drawn like a moth to the Revolution. It's just not my bean.

Instead, I find myself in the awkward position of standing at a visitor desk and asking a park ranger what will interest a Civil War geek in a Revolutionary-bent city. That dog don't hunt so well. [excerpt]

Jackson, Sheila Lavern (Harris), B. 1955 - Relating To (Sc 1110), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1110. Materials generated by and for the Sheila Harris Fund, to benefit Harris, a native of Franklin, Simpson County, Kentucky. A Western Kentucky University graduate and aspiring opera singer, she had benefactors who made it possible for her to graduate from the Curtis Institute of Music in 1982. Includes programs of some of her recitals and a photograph.

Feather Crowns (Sc 1115), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1115. Correspondence concerning inquiry of Tom Russell, Dallas, Texas, with Western Kentucky University personnel, Bowling Green, Kentucky, about feather crowns. Includes family story regarding the formation of the crowns in a goose down pillow after an individual’s death.