United States History Commons^™

Discovering The War At Home: Oakland Manor, George Gaither, And The Shipley Brothers, Anika N. Jensen

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

From my high school, which is majority African American, it takes only ten minutes to drive to Oakland Manor, a grand, sweeping 19th century-style stone house that sits in my hometown of Columbia, Maryland, a town made up mainly of apartments and identical suburban homes. Growing up, the manor was no more than a big, old building that hosted weddings and was somehow tied to my local history. Growing up, moreover, I did not realize the extent to which my hometown was tied to slavery and the Civil War; both seemed too far removed from a community that stressed diversity …

The Digital Archive Of John Wompas, Jenny Hale Pulsipher

ScholarsArchive Data

Data Description: The Digital Archive of John Wompas, by Jenny Hale Pulsipher

In the course of writing my book on John Wompas, Swindler Sachem: The American Indian Who Sold His Birthright, Dropped out of Harvard, and Conned the King of England (Yale University Press, 2018), I gathered a great deal of information on such subjects as Indian slavery, Native land sales, the Atlantic maritime trade, and Native education in Massachusetts. This information contributed to the book by providing historical context for Wompas’s life, but most nitty-gritty details were tangential to the book’s purpose so do not appear in it. Because …

Geopolitics Of Rare Earth Elements, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Rare earth elements (REE) contain unique chemical physical properties such as lanthamum, are found in small concentrations, need extensive precise properties to separate, and are critical components of modern technologies such as laser guidance systems, personal electronics such as IPhones, satellites, and military weapons systems as varied as Virginia-class fast attack submarines, DDG-51 Aegis destroyers, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and precision guided munitions. The U.S. has some rare earth resources, but is heavily dependent on access to them from countries as varied as Afghanistan, Bolivia, and China. Losing access to these resources would have significant adverse economic, military, and …

The Grizzly, October 26, 2017, Valerie Osborne, Skyler L. Gailing, Courtney A. Duchene, Sophia Dibattista, Emily Jolly, Johnny Myers, Julian Spain, David Mendelsohn

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

History of Halloween • Senior English Majors go Gothic • SAO Plans Halloween Trip to Dorney • Senior Halloween Party: An Ursinus Tradition • Fright Night: Phoenixville Theatre Hosts Horror Film Series • Spooky Ursinus Folk • Something Wicked This Way Comes • Opinions: "A Ghost Story" Haunts with Quiet Pain and Loss; Trick-or-Treating Should End for Children Older than Thirteen • Superstitions Win Confidence for Ursinus Student Athletes • First Year Athletes Face Scary New Adjustments

Hughes, Rebecca Lux, D. 1892 (Sc 3155), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and typescripts (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3155. Letters of Rebecca L. Hughes, Hagerstown, Maryland, to her cousin James Fitzhugh in Pleasant Grove (Ohio County), Kentucky. She thanks him for arranging certain land sales on behalf of her family, discusses their investment strategies, and laments the costs of a lawsuit brought by an uncle and cousin involving her grandfather and father. She also relates news of the Fenn, Hughes and Fitzhugh families.

Forggett, Essie (Fa 1104), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1104. Student paper titled “Slavery in Green County” in which Essie Forggett details the history of the settlement of Green County and its eventual dependence upon slave labor. Forggett also includes stories of slave auctions, punishments, attempted escapes, and religious practices of slaves throughout the region. Paper is based on information collected by Forggett from county clerk records and in-person interviews with slave descendants.

“Let Us Stand Or Fall Together”: Hood’S Texas Brigade: An Interview With Dr. Susannah Ural, Ashley Whitehead Luskey

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Over the course of this year, we’ll be interviewing some of the speakers from the upcoming 2018 CWI conference about their talks. Today we are speaking with Dr. Susannah Ural, Professor of History and Co-Director of the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society at the University of Southern Mississippi. A military historian and scholar of war and society, Ural’s work focuses on the experiences of soldiers and families in the U.S. Civil War era. She is the author of several books, including Don’t Hurry Me Down to Hades: The Civil War in the Words of Those Who …

Rewriting History - With Alan Taylor '77, Kate Carlisle

Colby Magazine

"Lets go back to the American Revolution and try to look at it with fresh eyes and a neutral perspective and see what happens when you treat everyone with some respect, and try to understand why they did what they did, rather than put labels on them." - Alan Taylor '77

Eckstein, Jane (Bailey), D. 1833 (Sc 3153), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text typescript of letter (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3153. Letter, 25 April 1832, of Jane Eckstein, Frankfort, Kentucky, to her daughter Mary Kinmont in Cincinnati, Ohio. She details an approaching move to Millersburg, Kentucky, where Mary’s father, the artist Frederick Eckstein, will open a school. She relates news of Mary’s siblings, asks her about family matters in Cincinnati, and offers advice on nursing her young child.

Measuring Up: Standardized Testing And The Making Of Postwar American Identities, 1940-2001, Keegan J. Shepherd

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Standardized testing is a defining feature of contemporary American society. It not only governs how people are channeled through their schooling; it amplifies existing social disparities. Nonetheless, standardized testing endures, namely because it has served as a vital tool for the post-1945 American state. The postwar state prioritized, on the one hand, the cultivation of intellects resilient enough to sustain American geopolitical supremacy through scientific discovery and technological innovation and, on the other hand, the maintenance of an obedient population that would not disrupt existing social hierarchies. Standardized testing helped the postwar state solve this mind-body dilemma. As a function …

Finding Meaning In The Flag: Furl That Banner, Olivia Ortman

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Hello again, readers. I hope you enjoyed the summer and are now as eager as I am to jump back into our conversation about the Confederate flag. Although I spent the summer at Minute Man NHP, the Civil War was never far from my mind. Even in a northern park dedicated to the American Revolution, I still heard a lot about the Confederate monument debates, and as I spoke with visitors who were following this topic in the news, I was reminded of a similar debate several years ago concerning the Confederate flag. [excerpt]

Hebron, John L., 1842-1914 (Sc 3154), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text typescript of letter (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3154. Letter, 26 October 1861, to his mother from John L. Hebron, serving with the 2nd Ohio Infantry at Camp Leslie Combs, West Liberty, Kentucky. He describes a recent engagement with Confederate troops, reports on the killed, wounded and local conditions in the aftermath, and criticizes Confederate battle skills. Expecting to spend the winter at Camp Dennison, Ohio, he expresses satisfaction with his warm clothing but complains of the lack of overcoats.

A Reevaluation Of The Damage Done To The United States By Soviet Espionage, April Pickens

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Popular opinion and many historians portray the effects of Soviet espionage on the United States as disastrous. Although covert Soviet efforts undeniably harmed America, their extent and gravity has been greatly exaggerated. This paper evaluates primary and secondary sources on the subject to strike a delicate balance between minimizing and inflating the effects of Soviet activities. It acknowledges that espionage did some damage, but questions the legal status, extent, and effect of much of the Soviets’ “stolen” information, ultimately arguing that most Soviet espionage was actually more harmful to the Soviet Union than to the United States.

Waging Just Warfare During America’S Civil War: An Interview With Dr. D.H. Dilbeck, Ashley Whitehead Luskey

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

Over the course of this year, we’ll be interviewing some of the speakers from the upcoming 2018 CWI conference about their talks. Today we are speaking with Dr. D.H. Dilbeck, an historian of 19th-century American legal and religious history. Dr. Dilbeck received his Ph.D. in American History from the University of Virginia. His first book, A More Civil War: How the Union Waged a Just War (UNC Press, 2016), was a finalist for the Gilder-Lehrman Lincoln Prize. His most recent book, Frederick Douglass: America’s Prophet is forthcoming from UNC Press in 2018. A former Assistant Professor of History at Oklahoma …

The Grizzly, October 12, 2017, Valerie Osborne, Emily Shue, Johnny Myers, Jenna Severa, Ana Dersimonian, Sophia Dibattista, William Wehrs, Robin Gow, David Mendelsohn

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

USAS Fights to In-source Ursinus Cleaning Staff • Ursinus Releases 2017 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report • Dr. April Carpenter and her Team of Students Challenge the "Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate" Approach to Recovery • Several Uninvited Visitors Reported in Reimert Courtyard • Sustainability Week Brought Fall Fun to Ursinus • Digital Aid for Humanities • Opinions: Puerto Rico Deserves Federal Assistance after Maria; Meal Plan Options Should Include Opt-out Opportunity • Mid-season Check-in with Ursinus College Field Hockey • Bears Upset Blue Jays, Remain Atop CC

Hutto, Mary Elizabeth (Peal), 1905-2001 - Relating To (Sc 3151), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3151. Funeral program and photograph of Bowling Green, Kentucky native Mary Hutto, obituaries of Hutto’s parents, and associated information.

Part 6: Miscellaneous And Bibliography, Jack L. Dickinson

C.S.S. Alabama: An Illustrated History

The Alabama claims were a diplomatic dispute between the United States and Great Britain that arose out of the U.S. Civil War. The peaceful resolution of these claims 7 years after the war ended set an important precedent for solving serious international disputes through arbitration, and laid the foundation for greatly improved relations between Britain and the United States.

Part 3: Cruise Of The Alabama, Jack L. Dickinson

C.S.S. Alabama: An Illustrated History

“The Alabama was built for speed rather than battle. Her lines were symmetrical and fine; her material of the best. In fifteen minutes her propeller could be hoisted, and she could go through every evolution under sail without any impediment. In less time her propeller could be lowered; with sails furled, and yards braced within two points of a headwind, she was a perfect steamer. Her speed, independent, was from ten to twelve knots; combined, and under favorable circumstances, she could make fifteen knots. When ready for sea she drew fifteen feet of water.”

Century Magazine, 31, April 1886, p.911.

Part 5: Exploration & Excavation, Jack L. Dickinson

C.S.S. Alabama: An Illustrated History

During June and July 2001, the American CSS Alabama Association and the French Association CSS Alabama carried out an archaeological investigation of the remains of the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama. Under the direction of Dr. Gordon P. Watts Jr., American and French archaeologists, French volunteer divers and French Navy personnel cooperated in an examination of the wreck that took place between 6 June and 4 July. Objectives for the investigation included video and 35mm photographic documentation of the wreck, limited test excavation in the officer’s quarters and recovery of selected artifacts exposed on the bottom surface. Unfortunately the most …

Part 4: Battle With Uss Kearsarge, Jack L. Dickinson

C.S.S. Alabama: An Illustrated History

“June 19: Lying off Cherbourg. Moderate breeze from the westward. At 10:20 am discovered the Alabama steaming out of the port of Cherbourg, accompanied by a French ironclad steamer and a fore-and-aft rigged steamer, showing the white English ensign. Beat to general quarters and cleared for action. Steamed ahead, standing offshore, being distant from land about 2 leagues; altered our course and approached the Alabama."

Official Records of Union and Confederate Navies, I, 3, p.64.

Political Animal: Florence Brown Cotnam And The Arkansas Women's Suffrage Movement, Jared Barton Craig

Theses and Dissertations

Florence Brown Cotnam was a suffragist, war worker, clubwoman, one-time congressional candidate, and an active member of the Democratic Party. She entered the Women’s Suffrage Movement when nothing got done, especially in the American South that opposed equal suffrage on racial and social grounds. The Arkansas General Assembly stalled legislation. Equally daunting were the anti-suffrage arguments were rampant, both in government corridors and in communities across the state. Cotnam was uniquely suited to change that. She remade the perception of a suffragist through a robust publicity campaign, linked the movement to World War I, made suffrage a patriotic issue, countered …

Part 2: Officers And Crew, Jack L. Dickinson

C.S.S. Alabama: An Illustrated History

During the Civil War naval officers were divided into four categories for purposes of berthing and messing aboard ship: cabin, wardroom, steerage, and forward officers. The captain had a private state room, and higher ranking officers had small cabins, while lower ranks only had individual lockers. This was the arrangement of the officers of the CSS Alabama.

Pioneer Baptist Cemetery - Russellville, Kentucky (Sc 3150), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 3150. Correspondence of Dr. Jerry W. Martin, Bowling Green, Kentucky, regarding the apparent destruction of the Pioneer Baptist Cemetery, Russellville, Kentucky, and particularly the removal of the gravestone of early pastor William Warder. Includes clippings explaining the First Baptist Church of Russellville’s decision to remove and store the stones as part of a cemetery restoration project.

Sledge, William Leonard, B. 1948 (Sc 3149), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3149. A genealogy of the Sledge family, chiefly of Warren County, Kentucky, titled “Sledge: Family of Miles Carey Sledge and Sarah Jordan Sledge,” written by William L. Sledge.

The Grizzly, October 5, 2017, Valerie Osborne, Courtney A. Duchene, Johnny Myers, Min Son, Madison Bradley, Emily Jolly, Kevin Leon, Sophia Dibattista, David Mendelsohn

Ursinus College Grizzly Newspaper, 1978 to Present

The Fringe Festival Returns to Ursinus • U-Imagine Hosts Marketing Contest • UCARE Holds Voter Registration Drive and Local Election Panel • Q&A with Aneesah Smith: Ally Training Facilitator • Breaking Through the Haze • Perspective from the Past • Opinions: NFL Players Take a Knee to Stand up Against Injustice; Recent Natural Disasters Demand More Human Decency • Moving the Chains: Inside Look at the UC Chain Gang • UC Swimming Dives in for Midnight Madness

Wagon Tracks, Volume 31, Issue 4 (August, 2017), Santa Fe Trail Association

Wagon Tracks

2 On the Cover: Steamboat Arabia Sinks
4 President: As I See It
5 Joanne’s Jottings
6 Eclipse Along the Santa Fe Trail
7 PNTS, Kaw Mission Programs
8 Symposium 2017: “The Santa Fe Trail: America’s First Highway of International Commerce”
10 SFTA Proposed Bylaw Changes
12, 13, 21 Trail News
14 Diaries of Smith Archibald Sayre, by Gratton J. Giles
17 Juan de Dios Maese: New Mexican Leader 1821-1852, by Doyle Daves
22 Who was John Perry Sellar?, by Michael L. Olsen
24 Frank Stahl Diaries on Website
24 Chapter Reports
25 Membership Information
28 Calendar

The Supreme Court Vs. The President: How The Court Decides The Constitutionality Of Challenged Presidential Actions, Laura Wittern-Keller

Campus Conversations in Standish

In this presentation, Dr. Laura Wittern-Keller discusses the growth of presidential power through unilateral action—executive orders, proclamations, national security directives, and signing statements—and how the Supreme Court has determined the constitutionality of those actions. The precedent usually used by the Supreme Court stems from a 1952 case that found President Harry Truman’s executive order authorizing the seizure of some American steel mills to be an unconstitutional extension of presidential unilateral action. The case, Youngstown Sheet and Tube v. Sawyer, included a concurrence by Associate Justice Robert Jackson that created a three-part test of presidential orders. That test, modified in …

“Died Of The Spotted Fever”: The Spot Resolutions And The Making Of Abraham Lincoln, Ryan D. Bilger

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

On December 22, 1847, the Speaker of the House of Representatives recognized a young, freshman congressman from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln who wished to speak about the ongoing war with Mexico. The lanky, awkward, high-voiced westerner raised doubts regarding President James Knox Polk’s conduct in starting the war, proposing eight resolutions that challenged Polk to provide evidence for his stated reason for doing so. Polk had said that Mexican troops had shed “American blood on American soil” and forced his hand, but Lincoln challenged this assertion. Lincoln insinuated that the fatal encounter between Mexican and American troops had in fact …

Southern Kentucky Paddlers Society - Bowling Green, Kentucky (Mss 619), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 619. Administrative papers and programming material from the Southern Kentucky Paddlers Society which was headquartered in Warren County, Kentucky, although some members came from adjoining counties. The group formed for educational, recreational, and conservation purposes in 1980 and disbanded sometime around 2009.

Green River Female College - Bowling Green, Kentucky (Sc 3147), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3147. Graduation diploma from Green River Female College, Bowling Green, Kentucky, issued to Julia Woodburn Adams on 14 June 1866. Includes the signatures of Thomas H. Storts, president of the college, teachers Mrs. A. R. Storts and Caron Donalson, and trustees John Burnam and W. D. Helm.