It seems as if every nineteenth-century president now has a vampire connection. The National Constitution Center noted the origin of a vampire story involving President Andrew Johnson in a blog post last summer. The [1892 Brooklyn Daily Eagle] report says that a convicted murder, a Portuguese sailor named James Brown, was just sent to the national … Continue reading President Andrew Johnson’s Vampire Story
Don’t Forget To Play AHA Bingo!
For those of you attending the AHA this week, don't forget to take along your AHA Bingo card. Play it while imbibing in the cocktail that you named especially for the AHA, or while partaking of beignets at Cafe Du Monde. I don't recommend whipping it out in the middle of an interview and yelling "BINGO!" … Continue reading Don’t Forget To Play AHA Bingo!
Jacksonian America: 2012 in Review
Here are the top posts for Jacksonian America for 2012. Thanks for making this year the blog's most successful. 1 What History Professors Do (February 2012): 6,344 views 2 The Living Grandsons of President John Tyler (December 2010): 1,273 views 3 Andrew Jackson's Profane Parrot (April 2012): 954 views 4 State of Georgia Closing State Archives (September 2012): 480 views 5 AHA Bingo for … Continue reading Jacksonian America: 2012 in Review
New Book of Essays Honors John F. Marszalek
The University Press of Mississippi has shipped the author copies of Of Times and Race: Essays Inspired by John F. Marszalek. As one would expect, Dan Feller and John Dittmer provided very kind words about John in their blurbs.
Welcome the Members of the Early American Junto
Members of The Junto: A Group Blog on Early American History plan to begin posting on December 10 (Updated: The blog's first post). Their focus appears to be appealing both to general and academic audiences on early American history topics, although the definition of "early America" seems vague, perhaps purposely. Contributors, many of whom are twitterstorians … Continue reading Welcome the Members of the Early American Junto
It’s Official–I Have a New Career Path!
I've held a number of jobs during my life: retail clerk, grocery clerk, potato chip vendor, land survey company flunky extraordinaire, and historical interpreter. I've also taught history at four different universities. In his new book Superior Storm, Tom Hilpert, author and friend, has given me a new potential career path: Dr. Mark Cheathem took … Continue reading It’s Official–I Have a New Career Path!
The 40th Anniversary of Jesus’ Rapture
This year marks the anniversary of the Christian cult film A Thief in the Night. In the 1980s, I watched this film and at its sequels during a string of Saturday night showings at Highland Park Baptist Church. The irony of seeing these films, which featured "worldly" dress Christian rocker Larry Norman's music, at the … Continue reading The 40th Anniversary of Jesus’ Rapture
Interview with Joshua Rothman about Flush Times and Fever Dreams
The Journal of Southern Religion recently interviewed Joshua Rothman about his new book, Flush Times and Fever Dreams: A Story of Capitalism and Slavery in the Age of Jackson. Rothman is an associate professor of history and director of the Summersell Center for the Study of the South at the University of Alabama and is best known for his first … Continue reading Interview with Joshua Rothman about Flush Times and Fever Dreams
Assessing the Threat to the Georgia State Archives
As you recall, I wrote earlier this semester about the proposed closing of the Georgia State Archives. The OAH has published a piece by Jamil S. Zainaldin, president of the Georgia Humanities Council and secretary of the Friends of Georgia Archives and History, that is worth reading. He explains the historical developments that led to this … Continue reading Assessing the Threat to the Georgia State Archives
Research Papers and E-Books
Like a lot of universities, ours has made a push to incorporate tablet technology into the curriculum. Cumberland University actually gives freshmen and nursing students a free iPad (with certain strings attached). One of the arguments for the program was to give students the option of acquiring electronic versions of textbooks at a cheaper cost. … Continue reading Research Papers and E-Books
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 