“The Scholars Speak”: Civil War and Reconstruction Today’s scholar is Professor Amy Murrell Taylor, professor of history at the University of Albany. She is the author of the marvelous book The Divided Family in Civil War America (2005) and a co-editor (with Michael Perman) of Major Problems in the Civil War and Reconstruction. 1. Ever…
Here is Jennifer Graber’s response to the student comments on her work that considered antebellum prisons and how to teach antebellum America. Similar to Matt’s response, I’m interested that students picked up on something – the connection to slavery – that was not the focus on my book. I find this instructive in terms of…
Matthew Bowman Responds to Student Comments Offer extra credit and they shall come! My students were offered some extra credit to read Matthew Bowman‘s blog entry on teaching Mormonism in the US history survey course and incorporate their thoughts on Joseph Smith’s writings on plural marriage in 1842 (and apologies to all for the…
Primary Sources on Transatlantic Feminisms“And the war came.” Thank goodness for Abraham Lincoln, his short sentences, and even his passive voice. There is so much to teach even from this little bit in his Second Inaugural. In class, we’re pressing ever closer to the Civil War (or whatever we choose to call it). One of…
Trimester of the Semester As my students handed in their second essays (either on what made the United States a “nation” from 1760 to 1830 or on what was the biggest weakness in the new nation-state), I reflected with my students on entering the “trimester of the semester.” My wife has just entered her third…
The Scholars Speak – Anthony Kaye on Teaching Slavery Today’s edition of The Scholars Speak comes from Anthony Kaye who teaches history at Penn State University. He is the author of Joining Plaecs: Slave Neighborhoods in the Old South, a fascinating examination of how slaves made space in the Natchez District of southwest Mississippi and…
We don’t advocate alcohol abuse (or any kind of abuse) at this blog, but sometimes “Drunk History” is pretty funny. Today’s Friday Funny is about William Henry Harrison and his short presidency. A war hero from 1812, a Whig, and a part of the taking of Native American lands, Harrison fits a lot of big…
The Scholars Speak – Matthew BowmanToday’s guest post comes from Matthew Bowman, the author of The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith. Professor Bowman teaches at Hampden-Sydney College and is the associate editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. We asked him to reflect on teaching Mormonism in the U.S. history survey.…
Together or Apart Katniss and Peeta(I think it’s Peeta; I haven’t seen the movie yet) Maybe this is a stretch, but today’s post is based on my quirky thinking about The Hunger Games. Not to spoil anything, but one question in the novel is whether the participants should band together or remain apart. In the…
Prisons in Antebellum America Today’s edition of The Scholars Speak comes from one of our favorite historians and people – Jennifer Graber. She is the author of The Furnace of Afflication: Prisons and Religion in Antebellum America and is currently writing a religious history of the Indian Wars of the mid and late nineteenth century.…
