Category Archives: American History

A Doomed Fight for Justice in the Jim Crow South (Teaching Civil Rights, 7)

A Review of Joseph Madison Beck, My Father & Atticus Finch:  A Lawyer’s Fight for Justice in 1930s Alabama.  New York:  W.W. Norton & Company, 2016. As the title suggests, this book begins with the notion that the story of … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Unflattering Views of the Georgia Legislature, 2017 and 1817

[Note:  Four years ago, just in time for the adjournment of the Georgia legislature,  I came across a lovely description of the state’s solons from 1817.  Re-reading that post today, as the 2017 session of the legislature convenes, I realized that … Continue reading

Posted in "Business-Speak", American History, Current Events, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, Popular Culture, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

A Post for Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, 2017

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., has long been one of my  heroes, beginning when I was a youngster growing up in an industrial suburb of Baltimore in the 1950s.  In the 1960s, when I decided that I wanted to teach … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Civil Rights Movement, Current Events, Dr. Martin Luther King, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Popular Culture, Prep School, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

“Massive Resistance” at Ground Level: The Case of Prince Edward County, Virginia (Teaching Civil Rights, 5)

A Review of Kristen Green, Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle (Harper, 2015) [NOTE:  One of the great joys of my last few years in the classroom was the … Continue reading

Posted in "The Race Beat", Age of Jim Crow, American History, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Education, Elective History Course for 9th and 10th Graders, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Martin Luther King, Popular Culture, Prep School, Prince Edward County Virginia, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Willie “61” Blackwell, A Blues Performer Without a Wikipedia Entry, 1905-c.1972 (Blues Stories, 23)

[NOTE:  I suppose “obscurity” is a relative concept.  Before the modern era, one would actually have had to “research” a person in various “hard copy” sources, before lamenting his or her “obscurity.” In more recent years, however, with the Internet in general, … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Delta Blues, Historical Reflection, History, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Southern History, The Blues, Uncategorized, Willie '61' Blackwell | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Long Arm of Jim Crow Justice (Teaching Civil Rights, 4)

 A Review of Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy:  A Story of Justice and Redemption. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2014.   [NOTE:   As I’ve mentioned before, when I took over a course on the Modern American Civil Rights Movement a number of … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Books, Civil Rights Movement, History, History Curriculum, Research, Retirement, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Form, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

A “Founding Mother” on Political Partisanship—Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson, August 18, 1804

[NOTE:  As a rule, I do not post at this blog about current American politics (for an exception, go here).  I usually limit that sort of thing to my Facebook timeline, when I “say something” about an article that I’m … Continue reading

Posted in American "republicanism", American History, American Revolution, Books, Current Events, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Retirement, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Mississippi Delta Today, Maybe. . . . (Blues Stories, 22)

A Review of: Richard Grant, Dispatches from Pluto:  Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta (Simon & Schuster, 2015) You’re Richard Grant, a native of Great Britain and a journalist whose writing and documentary film work have shed light on cultures … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Books, Delta Blues, Historical Reflection, History, Popular Culture, Southern History, The Blues, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Portrait of “A Citizen of Georgia” (1783-1788): Historical Problem, 7

[NOTE:  With this “historical problem” winding down, let’s see what information we’ve found that might help identify the author of the letters and the pamphlet signed by “A Citizen” between 1783 and 1785.  “A Citizen’s” identity was still a matter of contention as late as the … Continue reading

Posted in American History, American Revolution, Colonial Georgia, Georgia History, Historical Problem, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Form, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life–and Death–on A Cherokee Plantation (In Pursuit of Dead Georgians, 26)

A Review of Tiya Miles, The House on Diamond Hill: A Cherokee Plantation Story. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2010. [Note:  Those interested in the history of the Cherokee Nation in Georgia know about the Vann House, or think … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Books, Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Removal, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments