Mark R. Cheathem Early Republic, Slavery

Brutal Slave History on Maryland Plantation

The archaeological dig at the L'Hermitage plantation in Frederick County, Maryland, offers the possibility of adding to our knowledge of slavery's brutality in the Early Republic period. At the very least, it will help us better understand slavery in the Upper South. It is a story of international upheaval, racial oppression, family complexity and, perhaps, … Continue reading Brutal Slave History on Maryland Plantation

Mark R. Cheathem African colonization, Andrew Jackson, David S. Reynolds, Early Republic, Liberia, Marie Tyler-McGraw, Richard John

Virginia Emigrants to Liberia

One of the small pleasures in my life is reading the book reviews in a new issue of an academic journal. It gives me the opportunity to see how other historians view major works in my own field of research, as well as exposing me to new books that I might have overlooked. The August … Continue reading Virginia Emigrants to Liberia

Mark R. Cheathem Dueling, Early Republic, Richard Bell, Slavery, Suicide, Terri L. Snyder

Suicide in the Early Republic

I recently started catching up on my academic journal reading. Two articles in different journals addressed aspects of suicide that I found interesting. I'll try to do justice to them in summarizing the arguments made by the authors. Richard Bell's "The Double Guilt of Dueling: The Stain of Suicide in Anti-Dueling Rhetoric in the Early Republic" … Continue reading Suicide in the Early Republic

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, Charles Sellers, Daniel Walker Howe, Early Republic, Market revolution, Whig party

Review of Daniel Walker Howe’s What Hath God Wrought

What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. By Daniel Walker Howe (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007), 904 pages; $35.00.    Andrew Jackson has been dead 165 years, yet he remains the locus of intense political controversy. Since 1945, and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.’s, The Age of Jackson, three generations of American historians and journalists … Continue reading Review of Daniel Walker Howe’s What Hath God Wrought

Mark R. Cheathem Academic dishonesty, Bancroft Prize, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Early Republic, H-SHEAR, Michael Bellesiles, Stephen Ambrose

Michael Bellesiles’ Comeback

Michael Bellesiles' new book 1877: America's Year of Living Violently, is coming out next week. For those of you who don't know or remember, in 2001-02, Bellesiles was accused of scholarly dishonesty and falsifying data in his award-winning book Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture. Arming America's critical argument was that widespread gun ownership was … Continue reading Michael Bellesiles’ Comeback

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, Early Republic, Teaching

Books I’ve Used in My Jacksonian Course

I've taught the Jacksonian course three times: twice at my previous institution and once at Cumberland. I conceived of the course at my previous institution as an Early Republic course; the title, "Republicanism, Democracy, and Expansion, 1789-1845,"  emphasized the themes around which the content was organized. At Cumberland, the course is entitled "Jacksonian Democracy," but I organized it … Continue reading Books I’ve Used in My Jacksonian Course

Mark R. Cheathem Early Republic, Jacksonian politics, Presidents, Siena College

2010 Presidential Rankings

Siena Research Institute, housed at Siena College in Loudonville, New York, recently released its presidential expert poll. The SRI press release explains the methodology used:  The Siena College Research Institute (SRI) Survey of U.S. Presidents is based on responses from 238 presidential scholars, historians and political scientists that responded via mail or web to an invitation … Continue reading 2010 Presidential Rankings

Mark R. Cheathem Andrew Jackson, Early Republic, Gordon Wood, Jacksonian politics, Robert V. Remini, Tennessee history

Biographies That Need Writing

In a 1997 essay entitled "American Political Biography," Robert V. Remini assessed the state of the field and found it wanting: "Old-fashioned political biographies of 'dead white males' that are 'character-driven narratives' seem to have little appeal for graduate students. . . . These biographies could be written by doctoral candidates and would add significantly to our … Continue reading Biographies That Need Writing

Mark R. Cheathem Abolitionism, David Ruggles, Early Republic, Graham Hodges, SHEAR

Abolitionism/Anti-abolitionism

I'm revising my earlier statement about the SHEAR program this year. I thought that there wouldn't be much of interest to me, but all of the panels that I attended were exceptionally well done and provoked much thought. Never underestimate those Early Republic historians!  Two panels that I attended dealt with different aspects of abolitionism. … Continue reading Abolitionism/Anti-abolitionism

Mark R. Cheathem Early Republic, Jeffrey L. Pasley, SHEAR

The Digital Republic

I attended a SHEAR session this morning dedicated to the "Digital Republic." The panelists discussed a number of different pedagogical tools to engage students in studying the Early Republic using new media technology. There was also quite a bit of conversation about the technological divide between what students are supposed to know and what they actually do … Continue reading The Digital Republic