Updated (10/18/12): Georgia's governor and secretary of state have agreed to keep the state's archives open to the public for the rest of the budget year. The archives will then transfer to the state's university system. It's unclear to me and others whether the staffing cuts are part of this agreement. h/t Tammy Ingram Updated … Continue reading State of Georgia Closing State Archives
The Working Class and Higher Education, Pt. 1
An article earlier this year in the Chronicle, "Should Working-Class People Get B.A.'s and Ph.D.'s?" struck a nerve with me. Such a nerve, in fact, that six months later, I'm finally finishing the post I started about it. The article co-authors, Briallen Hopper and Johanna Hopper, are sisters who took different career paths from their … Continue reading The Working Class and Higher Education, Pt. 1
You Can Lead a Horse to Water, But . . .
Last year, I introduced a new assignment. Students in the U.S. survey were required to meet with me for five minutes during the first two weeks of class. We could talk about any topic, including the class. For a five-minute investment, students earned ten points (out of 600 pts. total in the course). This semester, … Continue reading You Can Lead a Horse to Water, But . . .
Clickers in the History Classroom
During our school-wide in-service meeting, my colleague Sarah Pierce made a presentation on clickers in the classroom. I had talked to her previously about observing their use in one of her courses, but our schedules conflicted, and I never made it. I have to say, I was pretty impressed with what Sarah showed us. The … Continue reading Clickers in the History Classroom
Free Polk Biography and Battle of New Orleans Study
Update: All four books have been claimed. I have four free books I'll send to the first person who wants them. Send me an e-mail (jacksonianamerica at gmail dot com) or a tweet (@markcheathem). The first is volume 2 of the Sellers biography of James K. Polk. It's a softcover book, and the interior is … Continue reading Free Polk Biography and Battle of New Orleans Study
Teaching at Your Alma Mater
Twenty years ago, I started my freshman year at Cumberland University. Sixteen years later, I returned to take a faculty position. Teaching at your alma mater can be difficult. Former professors become your colleagues, and you have to overcome the reluctance to challenge or contradict your mentors. You also have to confront suspicions about academic … Continue reading Teaching at Your Alma Mater
Who Is This Nineteenth-Century Political Candidate?
Yesterday, I came across an eBay auction that sparked my curiosity.* The seller has two political campaign buttons: one of Millard Fillmore (left) and one of someone he thinks is Andrew Jackson Donelson (right). The Fillmore button is correctly identified, but the other button does not depict Donelson, who looked like this in 1856: The … Continue reading Who Is This Nineteenth-Century Political Candidate?
Census Reliability in the Early Republic
There are times when academic conversations surprise me. The ongoing one on H-SHEAR about the reliability of the Early Republic census is one of those pleasant surprises. SHEARites have offered numerous examples of census inaccuracies and suggested several scholarly sources that discuss this issue. Whether you are interested in political history or community history, this … Continue reading Census Reliability in the Early Republic
The Tension Between Popular and Academic History
It's no secret that academic historians look askance at non-academics who write history. That tension became apparent this week when Andrew Burstein and Nancy Isenberg, professors of history at LSU, wrote a piece for Salon that calls journalists "America's worst historians." Their argument is summarized early on: Frankly, we in the history business wish we … Continue reading The Tension Between Popular and Academic History
Beloit Mindset List for 2016
This year's Beloit mindset list is out. The fact that "For this generation of entering college students, born in 1994, Kurt Cobain, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Richard Nixon and John Wayne Gacy have always been dead" is pretty remarkable. Other interesting tidbits: The Biblical sources of terms such as “Forbidden Fruit,” “The writing on the wall,” … Continue reading Beloit Mindset List for 2016
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 