Remember when I said I didn't really get the Abe Lincoln/vampire mash-up novel and movie? After reading W. Scott Poole's article in the HuffPo, I'm rethinking my opinion. Poole makes the following argument: If you've read the novel, you know it's a dark rendering of America's secret history, the idea that dark powers have moved … Continue reading Revisiting Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Meeting Lewis Donelson III
A week ago Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew Jackson Donelson's great-grandson, Lewis (Lewie) Randolph Donelson III. Donelson practices out of the prominent Baker Donelson law firm in Memphis. He has also been active in state politics as a member of the Republican party. I went to Donelson's book signing at The Hermitage … Continue reading Meeting Lewis Donelson III
Ten Years Ago Today
On 28 June 2002, I successfully defended my dissertation at Mississippi State University. I never imagined pursuing a graduate degree, much less a Ph.D. Having my committee members shake my hand and call me Dr. Cheathem was quite a surreal experience. I've said it before, but I can't thank John Marszalek, Connie Lester, Libby Nybakken, … Continue reading Ten Years Ago Today
Review of Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America
As part of my summer reading, I determined to pick up Randall Balmer's Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory. I first became acquainted with Balmer after seeing him in the God in America series on PBS. During one of his moments discussing the emergence of the evangelical movement, he mentioned that he grew up in a fundamentalist … Continue reading Review of Balmer, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture in America
BrANCHing Out
I recently learned that my proposal, "‘The Evolution of the Enslaved Community at Andrew Jackson’s Plantations, 1790s-1840s," was accepted to be part of the 2012 BrANCH (Association of British American Nineteenth Century Historians) conference, which will be held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne this fall. This paper is part of a new project focusing on the slave community at The Hermitage. … Continue reading BrANCHing Out
Andrew Jackson, Alien Slayer
I didn't get the allure of Seth Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, but it drew enough attention that someone made a movie about it. One good thing about the movie: Benjamin Walker of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson makes his big-screen debut. Given the dearth of film portrayals of Andrew Jackson, I suppose it's inevitable that … Continue reading Andrew Jackson, Alien Slayer
THS 2012: Popularizing Digital History
At last week's THS conference, I also attended the roundtable, “The Perils and Promises of Popular History in a Digital Age.” Yoni Appelbaum, Chris Cantwell, John Fea, and Elizabeth Pardoe each addressed a different aspect of digital history. Appelbaum, a Ph.D. candidate at Brandeis who also writes for The Atlantic, proposed that digital essays* (much … Continue reading THS 2012: Popularizing Digital History
THS 2012: Popularizing Jacksonian America
I consider my first visit to The Historical Society’s biennial meeting a success. In today’s post, I’ll cover the session in which I presented. On Thursday, I’ll discuss the session on digital history. Heather Richardson chaired and commented on my session, entitled “Popularizing Jacksonian America and ‘Frontier’ History.” Dan Allosso, a Ph.D. candidate at the … Continue reading THS 2012: Popularizing Jacksonian America
The Evolution of a Book, Part 6: Editing the Manuscript
(The rest of this series is available at the following links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5.) I'll address the official copy-editing process in a later post. Today's topic is the editing that takes place before submission to your acquisitions editor. There are two types of editing while you're writing. The first is your own, … Continue reading The Evolution of a Book, Part 6: Editing the Manuscript
The Road Not Taken
I'm comfortable identifying myself as a Jacksonian historian, even a Jacksonian political historian. But there are times when I think about the other fields of history I considered pursuing.* The first field would have been religious history. Two research areas in particular interested me. One is the history of the LDS Church, or Mormonism, as … Continue reading The Road Not Taken
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 