Dispatches from the Historical Front

A great book and a good friend

2009-11-13T08:39:00.006-05:00

I just found out that my friend Susan Youngblood Ashmore at Oxford College of Emory Univeristy won the Southern Historical Association's Francis B. Simkins Award - recognizing the best first book by an author in the field of southern history over a two-year period - and the Southern Association of Women Historians' Willie Lee Rose Prize. Not a bad take for one conference. Her book is Carry It On:
The War on Poverty and the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama, 1964–1972 (University of Georgia Press, 2008). It's worth your time.

A Great Post for Writers

2009-11-03T17:57:00.001-05:00

From Insidehighered.com, a great post on tackling those writing projects.

For the Vegemite Fans Out There

2009-11-03T17:16:00.001-05:00

Apparently Kraft Foods in Australia is in search of a new name.

Another book...

2009-10-30T19:35:00.005-04:00

Why is it that all my friends seem to be cranking out the books, while I sit here watching Auburn trying to ascend to mediocrity? This time it's brother Brooks Blevins with his latest, Arkansas/Arkansaw How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol’ Boys Defined a State. It's the study of the image of a state as perceived by its people and outsiders, and if it runs true to the ole Blevins form, it will be a great book and a fun read. His article on selling fireworks in the South, which ran in Southern Cultures a few years back, is one of my favorite essays about the modern South...and a real knee-slapper, something we academics rarely pull off. Now off to write something myself. I've been suitably shamed.

"Serves Me Right to Suffer"

2009-10-20T19:32:00.002-04:00

I'm in marathon advising sessions this week, and John Lee Hooker sings for me...

Fly Fishing and Vets

2009-10-19T17:44:00.002-04:00

A great story about a group helping veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan find healing through what Izaac Walton called the "contemplative man's recreation." Pretty cool.

Best Southern Nonfiction...

2009-10-17T08:38:00.006-04:00

I have an affection for rankings and polls. Maybe it's my love of college football, although Auburn's recent drop from the polls might change my feelings. There's just something about a list of "bests," be they restaurants, pick-up trucks, football teams, all-time NFL strong safeties, or whatever that I find fascinating and down-right fun. The beauty of these kinds of lists is you don't have to agree. In fact, it's better if you don't. A list that clearly got it wrong gives you ample reason to turn to the person next to you in the dentist's waiting room and exclaim, "Can you believe they picked that?!" The Oxford American, a magazine I've always enjoyed despite its frequent financial travails, offered this list of the best in southern non-fiction in their August issue and I just noticed it. The top four are top-notch: James Agee, Richard Wright, W.J. Cash, and Eudora Welty. I would have placed Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl a bit higher on the list, and my affection for Willie Morris would lead me to do the same with North Toward Home. If nothing else, this list -- including those receiving just a few votes -- provides a heck of a reading list for anyone interested in the South and its people.

Marching in Step

2009-10-15T16:00:00.002-04:00

One of my good friends has just published a book those of you who study, read, and ruminate about the South and American culture should find rewarding. It's Alexander Macaulay's Marching in Step: Masculinity, Citizenship, and The Citadel in Post-World War II America (University of Georgia Press, 2009). It's about the South, but it's also about much more. Macaulay examines the concept of American masculinity during the Cold War as seen through the prism of an institution whose self-described mission was to build "whole men." Read it. Buy it. They make excellent gifts. The holidays are almost upon us.

Dexter Filkins on the "Long War" in Afghanistan

2009-10-14T16:15:00.001-04:00

A great piece by Dexter Filkins in the New York Times Magazine. Definitely worth a read.

Odetta - The Midnight Special

2009-10-14T11:02:00.001-04:00

The late, great Odetta.

Steep Canyon Rangers

2009-10-14T10:17:00.004-04:00

They've got roots in western North Carolina and are currently touring with Steve Martin. Good stuff.

A New History for Iraq

2009-10-14T07:45:00.004-04:00

History is always political, and nowhere is that fact more apparent than in school textbooks. Our own school systems and the textbook advisory boards that select the books our children use(called different things in different states) have experienced this reality over interpretations of the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement, and even the religious leanings of the founding fathers. After the Civil War, groups such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy monitored textbooks for their coverage of "the late unpleasantness" and would even dispatch members to monitor teachers when they taught the history of the war. Iraq has a new history for secondary school students, a clear break from the curriculum used by Saddam Hussein to keep himself in power. The Washington Post report indicates some interesting inclusions and exclusions. NPR provides some interviews with students on how they view this new history of Iraq. Things left out: The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the US invasion and occupation. Things included: Sh'ia religious history.

Shine on, Rev. Gary...

2009-10-11T13:28:00.008-04:00

I have to get this album...

Something for Braves Fans to Celebrate

2009-10-10T10:42:00.003-04:00

Today is the 52nd anniversary of the Braves' (Milwaukee, that is) victory over the Yankees in Game Seven of the 1957 World Series. Lew Burdette notched the victory over Don Larsen, as the Brave won 9-7 after quelling a late Yankee rally. Hank Aaron had an RBI single and Del Crandall homered. Alas, I'm not watching the Braves this October, but it's something to celebrate.

Doc Watson, "What Friend We Have In Jesus"

2009-10-10T10:18:00.002-04:00

The great Doc Watson. I still like the acapella version from Doc and Merle's "Down South" album.

"Ain't Nobody Here Can Walk It For You..."

2009-10-10T10:05:00.003-04:00

Mississippi John Hurt, "You Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley." For some reason I've been on a John Hurt kick this week.

Afghanistan and the Theories of Counterinsurgency

2009-10-09T10:07:00.005-04:00

For various reasons (and many of you know the specifics), I have been interested in the application of what can only be termed the scholarship of counterinsurgency in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The classic works like T.E. Lawrence's The Arab Revolt and more modern books like John Nagl's Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife get close attention from those charged with turning the military tide in tough circumstances. These applications of history and theory to actual combat are sometimes successful and sometimes not, but I find the process very interesting. This week I read about how scholarship is being used to train leaders in counterinsurgency in Afghanistan. This article by Ganesh Sitaraman in the New York Times profiles the Counterinsurgency Training Center - Afghanistan. Take a read.

Happy 300th, John Lawson

2009-10-09T08:09:00.006-04:00

Starting today, the North Carolina Museum of History is hosting a two-day symposium celebrating the 300th anniversary of the publication of John Lawson's A New Voyage to Carolina. They are unveiling an exhibit as well, in case you can't make the talks today or tomorrow. It will run through February. They also have a podcast on Lawson and his book by Jeanne Marie Warzeski, the curator of colonial and antebellum history. Lawson was a English naturalist and his book offers one of the best early descriptions of North Carolina's native peoples and landscape. Pretty cool. You can check out the narrative at the "Documenting the American South" site, hosted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Puttin' the Hog on the Log

2009-10-07T19:28:00.005-04:00

I have just re-read Holy Smoke: The Big Book of North Carolina Barbecue by John Shelton Reed and Dale Volberg Reed (UNC Press, 2008), and I have to say it is better than I remembered. It might be that I'm craving a big plate from Lexington Barbecue or Stamey's, but this is a book that is entertaining, educational, and fun. If you are looking for a barbecue fix, or for something to read while you eat a big tray of chopped pork and red slaw (why you would be reading, I have no idea), this one's worth your time. Mama Dip's banana pudding recipe is worth the price of admission all by itself.

Everybody makes mistakes...

2009-10-07T19:17:00.002-04:00

Somali pirates attacked a warship by mistake near the Gulf of Aden. But it was a French ship...

Whither Memphis...

2009-09-24T18:33:00.004-04:00

Check out this essay by Wanda Rushing brought to you by the good folks over at Southern Spaces. It's a piece drawn from her recent book from UNC Press, and examines economic development and persistent inequality. Worth a read...

And, while we're at it...

2009-09-23T19:03:00.002-04:00

Somebody tell me why Ole Miss is ranked number 4 in the nation??? We're through the looking glass...

Wooooo!!! Back at it!

2009-09-23T17:48:00.014-04:00

Well, I won't make excuses to both of you who are reading this. I have no real excuse for the long hiatus. Laziness is not an excuse. But, if anything would bring me back to the blog, the Nature Boy would! That's right, with a powerful blow to the solar plexus that is the North Carolina State Educational Lottery (with apologies to the late, great Gordon Solie), Ric Flair emerged this week as the pitchman for a new scratch-off ticket. Wooooooo! Makes me want to cash out what retirement I have left and run to the nearest Hot Spot with a quarter in my hand. Next up, Harley Race??? Tommy "Wildfire" Rich?? Inquiring minds want to know.

And, today I ran across an initiative that combines two of my great interests: taking care of soldiers and beer.
In April 2008, the Cropton Brewery and New Inn (that's in the village of Cropton) began selling a beer called "Yorkshire Warrior" to benefit the soldiers of the Yorkshire Regiment of the British Army ("Fortes fortuna adiuvat" or for the math majors, "Fortune Favors the Brave"). Brits are top notch soldiers and I speak from experience. Honoring the Green Howards, the Prince of Wales' Own, and the Duke of Wellington's Regiment (get me to to explain amalgamation and the loss of British Army traditions sometime), these publicans in North Yorkshire are doing a great thing. All proceeds from sales go to, in the words of the landlords, "the Yorkshire Regiment Benevolent Fund to help those who give so much and ask for so little." Good for them! I'm ordering a case and will let you know.

I'm back!! Woooo!

More on the Future of LSU Press

2009-05-28T12:44:00.002-04:00

From InsideHigherEd.com: The American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association are aiding in the fight to save LSU Press from the chopping block. It is a real treasure among academic publishers and offers a wide and deep list in southern history, southern literature, Civil War history, and other fields. Such a loss could never really be replaced.

NCAA Infractions at Memphis????

2009-05-28T08:00:00.004-04:00

Apparently, the boys from Indianapolis have leveled serious charges of academic fraud at the University of Memphis men's basketball program. The Tigers were once headed by Coach John Calipari, but the good coach is now the Lord and Savior at the University of Kentucky. Strange, but no one seems shocked by this. I wonder if this will be another case of the sins of the departed coach being visited upon his last institution, while he grazes happily and unscathed in greener pastures (to the tune of $31 million)?

Trout Fishing in WNC

2009-05-22T16:34:00.002-04:00

I guess it isn't a well-kept secret, but we have some of the best trout fishing in the nation right here. OK, I may be a bit biased. This recent article in the New York Times offers some good highlights. And it reminds me to do more fishing this summer. My son was talking about it just the other day...

Budget Cuts and the Historical Profession

2009-05-09T10:01:00.003-04:00

Times are tight, no doubt about that. The global economic crisis has hit individuals, corporations, and governments very hard and there is no clear end in sight. Two news stories I read today touched on how massive cutbacks are hitting the historical profession. The first, from the Raleigh News & Observer, discusses the ways in which North Carolina museums and historic sites are coping during these poor economic times. The second notes the potential closure of Louisiana State University Press, one of the foremost publishers of works in southern history, the Civil War, and related fields. Tough times, indeed.

Bennett Place

2009-04-28T19:16:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, Jim Wise offered a great little article on Bennett Place in the Raleigh News & Observer. The folks at the Bennett Place State Historic Site do a great job interpreting the events that unfolded there as the Civil War drew to a close. It's an important, but too often overlooked, episode in Civil War history. For those interested in more, be sure to read Mark Bradley's excellent This Astounding Close: The Road to Bennett Place (UNC Press, 2006).

"See the USA in your Chevrolet?" Maybe not for long...

2009-04-27T17:43:00.003-04:00

GM will drop Pontiac in it's latest attempt to save itself. We know what that might mean for thousands of workers, communities across the nation, and for what's left of the American automobile industry. But what will it mean for American music? NPR offers this GM music retrospective.

Civil War 150

2009-04-27T07:52:00.005-04:00

This morning, as I sipped my morning coffee, I read with interest this article from the Miami Herald on growing national interest in the approaching Civil War sesquicentennial.

The North Carolina Office of Archives and History is already organizing a four-year long series of programs, symposia, and other commemorative activities in connection with the sesquicentennial . Virginia is as well. This anniversary is a great opportunities for historic sites, professors, public school teachers, and a variety of others who interpret history for the public to ask big questions about the war and its meaning. I fear that the economy will curtail spending on such efforts, but I hope the anniversary energizes citizens to consider what the war means for our history and for our times.

Charles Reagan Wilson and the Legacy of Space

2009-04-24T19:34:00.002-04:00

Check out this essay by Charles Reagan Wilson on the legacy of space. It at Southern Spaces, an interesting e-journal brought to you by the good folks at Emory University. It examines spatial separation and its meaning in South Africa, Northern Ireland, and the South. It's worth a read.

North Carolina Maps

2009-04-24T19:24:00.003-04:00

I'm really impressed with North Carolina Maps, a collaboration between the State Archives and the University of North Carolina at Chapel. It is a fabulous digital collection of historical maps which researches, teachers, students, and anyone interested in the Old North State will find fascinating. It even includes an interactive section that places historical maps in the context of current ones. Really neat and really useful.

Southern Music, Southern Religion, and Other Matters

2009-04-24T18:25:00.007-04:00

Sorry for the protracted silence. Given the state of the economy and the state of everything else, I have neglected my duties to both my readers (I may be overestimating here). Things have been crazy in my little section of the universe. Budget cuts, low morale, uncertainty - everything that everyone seems to be dealing with - have dominated my life for that last little bit. Things aren't all bad. I did hear that one of my former grad students won a big fellowship and I couldn't be more pleased. My students have kept me going, too. No matter...On to the show.

I was perusing the web the other day and read Randall Stephens over at "Religion in American History," who had a great post about Pentecostalism and musicians like the King himself, Jerry Lee Lewis, and others. It's worth a read.

Did you hear that Douglas A. Blackmon won the Pulitzer in general nonfiction for Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II? I'm about a third of the way through it. Very interesting book.

And this from the Washington Post on what President Obama's election might mean for interpretations of the Civil War.

More later...

James C. Cobb on John Hope Franklin

2009-03-28T18:52:00.002-04:00

A great tribute to a true gentleman and scholar infused with Jim's typical mix of wry wit and seriousness. But the thought of Hardy Jackson in a swimsuit...Come on, Jim!

John Hope Franklin, RIP

2009-03-25T19:13:00.004-04:00

Historian and civil rights pioneer John Hope Franklin laid his burden down this morning at the age of 94. I met him once at the book exhibit at a Southern Historical Association Meeting in Birmingham and we talked fly fishing. A kind and gracious man to a young grad student, something I'll always remember. It can be said of few historians that an individual both defined a field and worked successfully to make the world a better, more just place. John Hope Franklin was such a man. We all should aspire to leave such a legacy.

Why Study History?

2009-03-25T07:29:00.003-04:00

A couple of days ago, one of our majors told me about a debate he had with his dad over spring break. The topic, at least from his dad's perspective, was "Why I am throwing away good money so you can become an expert in the old and irrelevant?" I think my student did a pretty good job defending the importance of studying history and the skills it imparts. At least his dad agreed to keep paying his tuition. Heather Cox Richardson offers a thoughtful response to this same question at the new blog hosted by The Historical Society. It's worth a read.

Bancroft Prize Winners

2009-03-21T18:52:00.005-04:00

I have just managed to clear the deck a bit, and just in time to read about this year's winners of the Bancroft Prize. They are Thomas G. Andrews, Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War (Cambridge: Harvard University Press), Drew Gilpin Faust, This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War (New York: Alfred A. Knopf); and Pekka Hämäläinen, The Comanche Empire (New Haven: Yale University Press). I must confess that the only one I have read is Faust's book, and I was quite impressed. Her's is a powerful and beautifully written treatment of how the war changed the meaning of and the rituals surrounding death in American culture. Now I have to check out the other two.

Picturing U.S. History

2009-03-08T11:10:00.003-04:00

I just came across the Picturing U.S. History Project site, an effort of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and the American Social History Project. It includes great visual materials for teaching various topics in American history, as well as interpretative essays and viewing guides for teachers and students. Using visual evidence in the classroom can be difficult, but can also be very rewarding for both teachers and students. I have visited a number of sites like this one, and some are good and others not so good. This one is worth your time.

John Lukacs on Historical Knowledge

2009-03-07T16:36:00.003-05:00

Check of this excellent essay by John Lukacs in the latest issue of The American Scholar. He offers an eloquent argument for placing history at the center of human knowledge. That can be a pretty controversial idea in an age when humanistic learning of all types seems to get short shrift, but his view does provoke thought. If nothing else, he reminds me of the grander and broader reasons why for studying the past. Good stuff.

Budgets, Fire Codes, and the Future of Wilson Library

2009-03-04T08:08:00.007-05:00

For generations, historians of the South and of North Carolina have enjoyed close familiarity with the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Home to the Southern Historical Collection, the Southern Folklife Collection, and the North Carolina Collection, Wilson holds some of the riches and most significant collections in southern history. Many a day have I sat in the North Carolina Collection's paneled reading room, an atmosphere so conducive to historical inquiry. Today's Raleigh News & Observer reports that fire codes and budget trouble have put much of Wilson off limits and have made its future uncertain. The University needs $12 million to bring Wilson up to fire code and the money is not forthcoming in these bleak budget times. It would be a tragedy not to save this iconic building.

The Dangers of Cricket

2009-03-03T17:57:00.003-05:00

Now, I've never understood the game of cricket, but it has fascinated me ever since my British and Australian friends introduced me to it when I was on a sojourn overseas. I still don't understand the rules, but why let that spoil it. People around the world love the game with its tea breaks and gentlemanly atmosphere. It is hard for an American to grasp how much some people, especially in South Asia, invest in their sides. When Australia won The Ashes -- a big deal in test cricket -- in 2007, I expected the victors would hoist a Stanley Cup-like trophy in celebration. Not so. It's a tiny thing, holding the ashes of the wickets from the first match. And, it's a replica. But I really don't understand this. Scary. So much for a civilized game.

Booker T. Washington and the Long Civil Rights Movement

2009-02-27T16:24:00.006-05:00

Check out Ralph Luker's post on Cliopatria concerning Robert J. Norrell's new biography of Booker T. Washington. I've not read Norrell's book yet, but this makes me want to take a look. More interesting is Luker's riff on scholars like Jacquelyn Hall, Glenda Gilmore, and other scholars of the "long civil rights movement." These historians have moved the focus of civil rights scholarship away from the King-centered narrative that we have become accustomed to. In general, I think that's the right move, but there are some who see problems with this new approach. Certainly there are some generational dynamics at work here, as well as some tension between those who were active in the movement and those who are students of it. But, the "long civil rights movement" has injected renewed vigor, vision, and nuance into the study of the fight for racial equality in the United States. That's important. So is Luker's post. It represents the type of debate we historians should be having about the grand narrative of civil rights and so many other topics in American history.

2009-02-25T20:06:00.005-05:00

The Iraqi National Musuem reopened this week. The BBC had some great photos from the opening. Given the widespread looting and destruction which occurred after the US invasion, this is a tremendous event. I actually saw the museum very briefly in 2006 and it didn't look as good as it does in the BBC images.There may be more than meets the eye here, as only a few of the exhibit halls are open, and the museum director was fired last month. See the Museum's website for more images and information on the exbibits.

Spies in the Big House?

2009-02-21T18:36:00.002-05:00

I saw this on CNN this morning. A slave in the Confederate White House was spying for the Union. I'd heard about this before, but I'm going to check this out.

A Book That Leaves Me Wishing for Spring

2009-02-17T17:56:00.006-05:00

I have been perusing of Jim Gasque's Hunting and Fishing in the Great Smokies, recently republished by the University of North Carolina Press with a new introduction by Jim Casada. A friend who will remain nameless sent it along, and I appreciate it. I read the book years ago, and I spent part of the afternoon getting reacquainted with it. Written in 1948, Gasque takes his readers on a knowledgeable and informative tour of outdoor sports in the North Carolina mountains. And you get to meet the dean of mountain outdoorsmen, Mark Cathey. It's well worth your time. And it's left me wondering when I'll be able to get the fly rod out again. Soon, I hope.

C-SPAN's Presidential Picks

2009-02-16T09:49:00.005-05:00

That powerhouse of cable TV, C-SPAN, has issued its latest Presidential rankings. Interesting. I always feel a bit sorry for Millard Fillmore. And I do note that Truman has made a dramatic resurgence.

Get 'em Wayne!

2009-02-14T08:59:00.006-05:00

Professor Wayne Flynt, my old advisor, the dean of Alabama historians, and long a voice of reform in his state and region, is leading an effort to overturn the Alabama Constitution. Ratified by a tainted constitutional convention in 1901, this constitution not only disfranchised African American men, but also placed city and county governments at the mercy of the state legislature. Alabama's is the nation's longest state constitution --longer, Wayne says, than Moby Dick and The Bible -- and has over 800 amendments. This is because any time a county needs to pass a law of local interest -- almost as minor as naming a street -- they often must propose a constitutional amendment which voters across the state must ratify. It also enshrines a tax system that places the public burden on the poor and propertyless.

You can read the lawsuit, Wayne's statement, and hear an NPR interview with him here.

I have known about his efforts for years, but read about these recent developments today on the Cliopatria blog of the History News Network, a great resource.

Get'em Wayne!

Thoughts on Lincoln

2009-02-12T07:49:00.005-05:00

OK, a bit of shameless self-promotion: Here is a link to an op-ed I wrote on the legacy of Lincoln which appears in today's Raleigh News & Observer. Happy 200th Birthday, Mr. President, and to Mr. Darwin, too.

Eric Foner's Lincoln Recommendations

2009-02-11T08:34:00.008-05:00

Last night, Eric Foner, one of the nation's most important scholars of nineteenth century America, offered his suggestions for book on Lincoln on NPR. Take a listen...

His suggestions:

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
Lincoln : A Life of Purpose and Power by Richard Carwardine
The Radical and the Republican by James Oakes

I would add Foner's own Our Lincoln: New Perspectives on Lincoln and His World.

Interpreting Slavery at North Carolina Historic Sites

2009-02-11T07:48:00.006-05:00

An article in today's Raleigh News & Observer highlights a report produced by scholars at East Carolina which examines how slavery is interpreted at a number of historic sites across the state. I haven't read the report itself, but it's been my experience that state sites like Summerset Place and Historic Stagville do a pretty good job. The report notes that depictions of slavery at private houses is much more mixed. Interpreting our history, especially the more painful episodes, is a difficult thing, but it remains important if we are to understand who we are as a people. I'm going to try to get a copy of this report. I think it will make interesting reading.

A Guide to Writings About Lincoln

2009-02-09T17:43:00.004-05:00

I found this essay by Fred Kaplan in the Washington Post a useful layman's guide to the deluge of writings about Abraham Lincoln. If you don't have the five years Kaplan estimates it would take to get through the books about the 16th President, take a look at his recommendations.

Teaching the Wilmington Riots of 1898

2009-02-09T11:15:00.013-05:00

Despite the budget crisis, at least one matter of historical note has gained legislative attention. North Carolina state Senator Susan Boseman (D-New Hanover) has submitted a bill to require the state Department of Public Instruction to develop curriculum materials and organize workshops to teach teachers about the events and legacy of the Wilmington riots of 1898.

I won't recount the sad tale of the riots here. The short version: In 1898, Democrats used the violent politics of white supremacy to overthrow an interracial coalition of Populists and Republicans. Many died, and soon thereafter African Americans had the right to vote effectively stripped from them in North Carolina. It is a heinous event that continues to cast political and historical shadows over North Carolina.

Although I question the use of legislative power to determine what faculty members teach, I welcome this attention to this period in the state's experience. If we give teachers better resources, perhaps they can better teach their students about the diverse past of the place where they live. I, for one, would like to see colleges and universities do more of this sort of thing. We shouldn't need a law to develop these types of programs. I do know that some institutions do things like this, but we can do a great deal more. I might even make some suggestions here.

Of course, this is not the first effort by state government to give attention to the awful events of 1898. In 2006, the 1898 Wilmington Race Riot Commission, a group authorized by the legislature whose work was facilitated by the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, completed its work. This link to the commission website contains a tremendous amount of information on the riots and their significance to the state and the nation.

You can view Boseman's bill here.

A New Federal Writers Project?

2009-02-07T13:17:00.003-05:00

In the last few days, I've noticed a number of people calling on the Obama administration to create a new Federal Writers Project, the old New Deal program that did more than just pay out of work witters to pick up their pens. The New Deal version created state guidebooks, conducted important oral history interviews, and generally did important work in preserving American history and culture, as well as documenting the history of the Great Depression. Larry Cebula posted a blog entry on this topic and and Mark Pinsky wrote something similar in The New Republic. In short, I'm for it. Public funding for humanities and the arts is minute compared to other disciplines, and in bad times private money is quick to dry up. I think a project along these line would go a long way in helping us preserve our diverse national history and culture. And, who knows? It might also lift our national morale. Lord knows, we need that just as much as we need some sort of economic stimulus.

Obama and the Lessons of History

2009-02-02T10:36:00.009-05:00

There seems to be something of a movement among professional historians and other scholars to teach President Obama the lessons of history. More specifically, there have been a number of op-eds which have sought to point out historical lessons to apply to governing. One example is this essay by David T. Beito and Jonathan Bean which offers the new president lessons from Booker T. Washington. Others have used FDR, Lincoln, Churchill, the Great Depression, and countless other subjects to offer Obama historical insight into the myriad of tasks before him. If he read all these, he might not have time to do his job. I find this interesting. I agree that it is important to learn the lessons of history, but which lessons? Identifying the right lessons is at least as important as selecting a topic that might have contemporary significance. I'm still thinking about this...

Lincoln and the Survivial of the Union

2009-02-02T08:20:00.003-05:00

As this is the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth, there has been an outpouring of tributes and memorials of the 16th President. Here's one I found particularly interesting.

Super Bowl Prediction

2009-02-01T17:56:00.003-05:00

As I was in Bank of America Stadium when Arizona destroyed the Panthers, I'll say:

Cardinals 20
Steelers 17

We'll see.

African American History in Asheville

2009-01-30T14:46:00.004-05:00

The literature on African Americans in Appalachia remains pretty small. Today, WUNC's "The State of Things" hosted Darin Waters, a Ph.D. candidate at UNC who is writing about this long-neglected aspect of Appalachian and North Carolina history. This broadcast is worth your time.

Apparently, John Wilkes Booth's Daddy Was Not an Andrew Johnson Fan

2009-01-26T07:36:00.004-05:00

Editors of the Andrew Johnson Papers at the University of Tennessee have authenticated a letter from Julius Brutus Booth, father of actor, assassin, and drunkard John Wilkes Booth, in which Booth the Elder tells the president to pardon two men convicted of piracy or "I will cut your throat whilst you are sleeping." For some reason, I hear Hank Jr.'s "Family Tradition" playing in my head.

Teaching History and Veterans

2009-01-24T14:20:00.010-05:00

Recently, one of my friends emailed me for some advice on teaching history in classes with students who are veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. In the interest of full disclosure, I am an officer in the US Army Reserve and served in Iraq during 2006-2007. I also teach American history and chair a history department at a comprehensive state university.

It's a really good question. The influx of veterans on campus is a tough issue and one for which American campuses are not prepared. This issue is getting more attention of late, and the American Council on Education has a list of helpful policy suggestions to aid campuses in preparing for student veterans. After World War II, being a veteran on campus was really nothing special given the number of people who served during the war. Huge segments of student bodies, flooding campus to take advantage of the GI Bill, could serve as ready-made support groups, even if that language didn’t exist at the time. During Vietnam, most soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines survived a year in combat and came home. Like veterans before them, they brought the war with them to college. But the environment which greeted them was different than earlier generations. Campuses were alive with protests against their war and the war infused the politics of the day. Today, is a little different, and in some ways I think the issues faced by vets are more pronounced. We have vets returning to school who have served 2-3 or more years in combat, not just in the military. And campuses, at least for the most part, are likely to be more ambivalent or apathetic about the wars these men and women fought than during Vietnam. Protests don't rock American campuses and students, like many Americans, seem to forget we are fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Faculty remained concerned about the wars and the policies behind them, but their voices are too often cries in the wilderness. A fresh slate of GI Bill benefits – generous and long-overdue – will bring more veterans to college and this new influx of veterans will bring a whole treasure trove of issues for professors and campuses generally.

I've thought a bit about this, and I have some thoughts on how to approach student veterans in the college history classroom.

1. Veterans have much in common with other students and you should treat them as such. They are young, like to party, listen to music, and have lofty goals and aspirations. The relationship between teachers and vets, though, is highly individual. Most of us in higher education have taught veterans, but didn't know it at the time. Some will self-identify, but others will not. Vets have a great deal to contribute to our classrooms and most, me included, come with a good bit of baggage. But the also share much in common with other students.

2. Don't change the way you teach or the subjects you cover. It's intellectually dishonest, and students need to be exposed to different points of view. US military involvement around the world in the twentieth century is not a march to glory. That might be hard for vets to hear sometimes, but they needs to learn about history, good and bad. Likely, though, the vet will be more receptive to different points of view than many in the academy, but this can vary widely. It has been my experience that recently returned vets are much more willing to entertain divergent views than some faculty and many students. Some vets, however, will remain close-minded. While not altering the way you teach, you might consider being sensitive to how you approach certain topics. In a discussion, you might differentiate between the soldier experience in, say, Vietnam, and the policies behind the war. You might actually get the vets to come out of their shells and the whole class might benefit.

3. The entire span of American history does not lead us directly to the Iraq War. Don't try to make it seem so. That's wrong historically and may serve to alienate the vets in class. If you do discuss issues that pertain to Iraq or Afghanistan, fine. You should. Just understand that vets will filter what you say through the lens of their experience.

4. If you pose a question in class and a vet answers, let them talk from their experience. Listen without being judgmental. It can be cathartic for student veterans and educational for the class, but hold them to the same standards as other students. If it's not relevant, move on as you would with any contribution that strays from the topic. Ask about the conclusions they draw, but don't challenge the validity of their experience or their memories. I would also not try to target a student veteran as the representative of some specific group or opinion. You wouldn’t ask an African American student to speak for the black community.

5. Don't try to psychoanalyze the vet, but if the vet manifests behaviors (not opinions) in class that make you think they need help coping with their experiences, refer them to counseling through whatever confidential mechanism your campus has for such matters. Conservative opinions or strong opinions about our current wars don't necessarily mean the vet is a PTSD case. Don't tell them that they need to get help, as they'll likely just tell you to piss off. There is a Veteran's Affairs Office on most campuses. You might ask there what types of referrals are available.

6. Don't assume that all veterans are male. It might shock the professoriate, but some of the women in your classes have served in combat and their experiences cover a wide spectrum. They are also the most ignored segment of the veteran population. That’s unfortunate and sad, but true.

7. Understand that vets often come with life experiences and a level of maturity that make them different than the average 21-year old. They will likely be impatient with campus bureaucracy and might point put when policies lack common sense. Try to be patient and help them out if you can.

These men and women have a great deal to offer our classrooms and our society. Don’t let them slip through the cracks.

Lincoln and Obama

2009-01-24T10:28:00.004-05:00

The Presidential campaign and the inauguration were alive with reference to the Lincoln legacy. The train trip retracing Lincoln's journey to Washington, the rhetorical references, and the constant comparison in the press between Lincoln and Obama. In the days leading up to the election, the First Family even made a nighttime visit to the Lincoln Memorial, an act that seemed to solidify the link between the two men from Illinois. In the New York Times, Henry Louis Gates and John Stauffer offer an interesting op-ed speculating on what Lincoln might think about a black president. Interesting and thought-provoking.

The NCAA proves once again...

2009-01-20T15:31:00.003-05:00

That it is practically useless at regulating college sports. Funny thing is, that's what it's supposed to do. Now, seventh graders can be legally contacted by college basketball coaches. This august body decided to take action because college coaches were conducting middle school camps and participating in developmental leagues, and scouting players all the while, and the organization was powerless to stop them because these activities fell outside current rules. Now these players are officially prospects, which means their contact with coaches can be regulated. Yeah, right. Why not just say that no college coach can have any contact with any player before high school under any circumstance? Period. Let them be kids. It seem to me that this change will make AAU leagues and private camps more of of a recruiting nightmare then they already are.

Maybe I'm being a bit hasty. My son is halfway through second grade. Maybe I need to develop a five year plan so my dreams of retiring to a beach house can be realized? Sorry, I have to go run some rebounding drills...Where my whistle?

Will the Humanities Survive?

2009-01-20T15:02:00.002-05:00

Although I am not exactly a fan of Stanley Fish, his recent blog post on the future of the humanities in higher education does ring true. The increasingly for-profit mindset of higher education threatens to strip the arts, literature, philosophy, history, and allied fields (such as political science) from curriculums at institutions across the nation though under-funding, under-staffing, and a failure to understand what these field provide both students and society at large. Perhaps we practitioners of these fields should do a better job showing why critical thinking, reasoning skills, and cultural literacy remain important, and I would say essential, to society. But we better do so quickly.

The Culmination of the Dream?

2009-01-20T14:56:00.003-05:00

In a piece in Newsweek, historian David Garrow notes that, in the rush to make President Obama's inauguration the fulfillment of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream, the new administration and the media ignore that King moved well beyond voting rights in his quest for equality. Will we see anyone beat the drum for full social and economic justice? That's a much harder dream to realize, something King knew all too well.

An Anniversary of a Forgotten Amendment

2009-01-20T13:55:00.008-05:00

In the lead-up to President Obama's historic inauguration, the media has plumbed the depths of civil rights movement history to point out how far America has come in the quest for racial equality. The president retraced Lincoln's train route on his way to the capital and Rev. Joseph Lowry took the podium after the inaugural address and preached a sermon of a benediction, as only an old Civil Rights preacher can, about how far we have come and how far we have to go in the quest for equality. ABC News even unearthed an old BBC interview with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. predicting the election of an African American president. The ghosts of the civil rights movement were certainly felt from the election to the inauguration.

But, an anniversary seems to have been missed as the media and the new administration strummed the mystic chords of memory. On January 23, 1964, the 24th Amendment gained ratification. Most Americans probably can't name six of the top ten amendments, so it's easy to understand why one so far down the list has escaped attention. The 24th Amendment outlawed the poll tax, an institution designed in the wake of Reconstruction to strip the right to vote away from African American men in the South. Now, you might say, the 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote. Right you are, but there are rights and then there are rights. After Reconstruction, southern states began to enact voting restrictions as soon as federal authorities turned their attentions elsewhere.The tax, however minimal it may have been, created an artificial barrier between the citizen and his right to vote. The poll tax, as part of a package of nasty and ingenious state voting requirements, effectively ended African American voter participation in the South until the 1960s. But the 24th Amendment ended the practice, and Congress soon followed with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, both of which sought to extend political and social equality to every American, Nevertheless, the 24th Amendment remains something of a forgotten landmark of the civil rights movement. So 45 years (minus three days) after it became unconstitutional to use a tax to limit voting rights, our first African American president takes office. Powerful stuff. We all know that for President Obama, the hard stuff comes after the band packs up at the inaugural ball. But at a time of political transition, it is right and proper to pause and reflect.

How far have we come? All or part of eighteen states are still federally supervised under the Voting Rights Act so as to protect the rights of individual voters. In the last few years, Congress has considered getting out of the voter protection business, but President Bush signed a 25-year extension of the Act in 2006. Nothing is more fundamental to a democracy than the free exercise of voting rights. Hopefully, President Obama and his allies in Congress will make it their business to ensure that our American freedoms continue to be freely exercised. The anniversary of the 24th Amendment occurring the same week as President Obama goes to Washington reminds us that our rights are only as good as the willingness of leaders to guarantee them. And, that bad things can happen when our leaders turn a blind eye to the protection of every American's civil rights.

Saving the Smokies

2009-01-14T07:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, US District Court Judge Lacy Thornburg ordered the Tennessee Valley Authority to begin installing new pollution control technology on coal-fired power plants in east Tennessee and north Alabama in order to improve air quality in the North Carolina mountains. Now, I've lived here most of my life and I'm not the only one who has noticed that the Great Smokies are smokier than the mountains of my childhood. TVA has until 2013 to fully comply. Let's hope this is a step in the right direction to preserve the mountain landscape for future generations.

Appalachian Sludge

2009-01-07T16:47:00.006-05:00

Last month at a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power plant near Kingston, Tennessee, a coal ash holding pond ruptured, sending a cascade of very nasty stuff into the valley below. The coal ash, which contains arsenic, various heavy metals, and other contaminates, has destroyed homes and contaminated water supplies. Long term effects remain unknown. Residents are fearful about more than losing their homes in these bad economic times. They fear for their health and the health of their children. Check out Duke's Institute for Southern Studies, which has provided some of the best coverage I have read concerning this incident and the social, political, and economic issues it raises. Also check out coverage by United Mountain Defense.

The South's environment, especially in the southern mountains, is threatened by overdevelopment, extractive industries, air pollution, overstressed aquifers, hazardous waste, and countless other environmental time bombs. This issue should have a prominent place on the political agenda of leaders at the local, state, and national level. But despite hang-wringing when something like this happens, there is little real effort to address what is happening on the southern landscape. Henry Grady has many twenty-first century kindred spirits who see economic development at all costs to be the region's driving force. What are those costs? The people in Roane County, TN know them all too well.

BCS Predictions - You Heard it Here First

2009-01-07T15:59:00.000-05:00

1. People, me included, will continue to hate the BCS with great gusto. I suggest college football fans take the BCS to the World Court of Justice and demand some type of playoff.

2. Auburn will not win the BCS National Championship.

3. Florida 42, Oklahoma 28.

Will Obama's Stimulus Invest in our Intellectual Infrastructure?

2009-01-06T08:32:00.009-05:00

Debate continues over what should be stimulated in President-elect Obama's economic stimulus package while the nation notes the passing of Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell, the architect one of the most important federal student aid programs. We have read about bail-out for banks, investment houses, and other institutions, but it seems to me that it might be wise to invest in America's intellectual infrastructure. The recently enhanced GI Bill will allow veterans to tap into their promise at institutions of higher learning across the country. What about other Americans? An updated, enhanced, and broad-based student aid program would allow Americans to train for the jobs of tomorrow as well as prepare the nation to better face the economic, social, and political challenges which confront us. Roads, bridges, and other infrastructure are important, and I think we know that improving them is a worthy cause. At a time when America need to prepare for the economy of the future, and at a time when college costs are keeping countless students from achieving their potential, perhaps the new administration would do well to consider investing in our intellectual infrastructure as well.

An Addendum, 7 January 2009: After I posted this, I discovered that the Obama tranisition website has a message board asking for input on keeping college affordable. Thanks to Insidehighered.com.

Obama's Southern Strategy?

2009-01-05T06:25:00.002-05:00

Today we learn that President-elect Barack Obama will appoint Virginia Governor Tom Kaine to head the Democratic National Committee. You may remember that last fall some floated Kaine's name as a potential Vice-Presidential nominee. Kaine has good relations with Republicans in Virginia and is seen as a rising southern star in Democratic circles. Is this the beginning of a southern strategy by the new President? That remains to be seen, but the case of North Carolina, Virginia, and Florida indicate that some states in the South are legitimately in play for the first time since Jimmy Carter. Is Kaine's nomination a sign that Democratics are going to make a real effort to gain a stronger foothold in the South? Professor Jim Cobb, a noted southern historian, has offered some interesting analysis about what happened to the Republicans when they "gave their hearts to Dixie." Will two-party politics return to the South? We'll wait and see.

A Russian Take on Regionalism

2009-01-04T18:58:00.003-05:00

Have you heard that Russian intelligence analysts now predict that the United States will soon break up into six different regions? Igor Panarin, an KGB-trained analyst in the Kremlin, believes that we're are on the way out. California will go its own way, which is not exactly news, while the old Confederacy will split. South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia will join the mid-Atlantic states and New England in seceding, not to form their own government this time, but to join the European Union. The lower South, Florida, Texas, and the Southwest will unite with Mexico. It is good to see that Russian intelligence works just about as well as our own. Save your Euros, ya'll.

PTI and Politics

2008-12-01T14:19:00.003-05:00

Here's an interesting op-ed written by a friend of mine about the media's fixation on presenting two sides of every issue (as if there are only two sides). Take a read.

Sylvester Croom: An End and, Maybe, a Beginning?

2008-12-01T10:29:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, just as fans tuned in to watch a murderer’s row of college football rivalry games, a breaking story drew viewers’ attention away from the action on the gridiron. Sylvester Croom, head coach at Mississippi State University, had resigned in the wake of a 45-0 loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. Of course, November ‘tis the season for football coach firings and resignations across the nation, but this one marked the end of an historic tenure. When he took over at MSU in 2004, Croom became the first African American head coach in the Southeastern Conference.

His was a distinguished pedigree. A preacher’s kid from Tuscaloosa, Croom became an All-American center and team captain at the University of Alabama while playing for the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant. After a single year with the New Orleans Saints he returned to Bama as one of Bryant’s assistants, staying at his alma mater for 11 seasons and coaching on two national championship teams. Seventeen seasons in the NFL built on his college experience. When Alabama sought a successor to Mike Dubose in 2003, Croom was a finalist, but his resume and being one of Bear’s boys was not enough. Bama hired Mike Shula and fired him four years later. Mississippi State gave Croom an opportunity in 2004 as it sought a leader for a program in shambles after Jackie Sherrill’s antics led to NCAA sanctions. A generation ago, such a move would have been unheard of at a school in the football-crazed South. Croom’s undergraduate degree is in history, but he consistently downplayed his role in breaking down the racial barriers in SEC coaching ranks. He told an interviewer just after he took the MSU job, "I'm just a guy trying to do the best job he can. It just happens that the timing of my hiring puts me in that position. I don't see myself that way. If other people perceive that, so be it. I'm just trying to do the best I can here." Despite his reluctance to be labeled a pioneer, Croom was forced into that role. His teams drew attention not just for playing in the nation’s toughest conference, but also for being the first led by a man who was both a product of the civil rights movement and who bore the burden of being first. Their success or failure was judged in light of both who their coach was and what their coach was.

But coaching football is about winning, and a 21-38 record won’t cut it at a big time program, or at Mississippi State. Conference coach of the year honors and a victory in the Liberty Bowl in 2007 are dim memories for fans and administrators whose demands grow increasingly unrealistic.

By all accounts Croom is a class act, and the wall of silence which follows an incident like this means we may never know if Croom was forced out, or if he decided that he had done all he could do in Starkville to turn the Bulldogs into a competitive team in the meat grinder that is SEC football. Croom may get another chance to coach big time college football, and he should. But what about other African American coaches? Croom’s resignation means that there are only three African American head coaches in the NCAA’s Bowl Subdivision. A friend of mine and I have often pondered why such highly successful African American assistant coaches such as Florida’s Charlie Strong seem to be passed over for opportunities for which they seem so well suited. ESPN Analyst Mark May had a good point when he said that African American coaches, with the exception of Tyrone Willingham, are getting jobs but not the type of jobs that set them up for success. The biggest question left by Croom’s departure is will his time at MSU be viewed as a failed experiment? Or will it be seen, as I hope it will be, as the beginning of an era where coaches are judged less by the color of their skin and more by their abilities? Croom and MSU took an important first step. Let's see how long it takes before the head coaching ranks look more like the teams they coach.