Category Archives: Retirement

Changing Views of the Removal of the Cherokees from Georgia (In Pursuit of Dead Georgians, 25)

[NOTE:  Over the past several years, while researching Rancorous Enmities and Blind Partialities: Factions and Parties in Georgia, 1807-1845 (2015), I read a lot of books on Cherokee removal and the “Trail of Tears,” key events during the years covered in that volume.  These … Continue reading

Posted in "Cherokee Phoenix" (newspaper), American History, Books, Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Removal, Chief John Ross (Cherokees), Civil War, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Form, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blues Masters from the Delta (Blues Stories, 21)

 A Review of Ted Gioia, Delta Blues: The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008. [NOTE: Once upon a time,  I hoped to write a book on the origins … Continue reading

Posted in "Charley Patton", Age of Jim Crow, Alan Lomax, American History, B.B. King, Bessie Smith, Books, Chicago Blues, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Delta Blues, History, Howlin' Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Popular Culture, Retirement, Robert Johnson, Son House, Southern History, The "Great Migration", The Blues, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The “Brutus Letters” (1784)–and a Note on Purchasers of Confiscated Property: Historical Problem, 3

[NOTE:  Beginning in the summer of 1784, Chief Justice George Walton, apparently with aid from his Revolutionary associate, Richard Howley, launched a series of letters in the Georgia Gazette attacking the administration of Governor John Houstoun for being, essentially, “soft on Tories.”  … Continue reading

Posted in American History, American Revolution, Education, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Growing Up White in the Jim Crow South: Two Perspectives from Georgia (Teaching Civil Rights, 3)

A Review of: Hamilton Jordan, A Boy from Georgia: Coming of Age in the Segregated South (edited by Kathleen Jordan). Athens, Ga., and London:  The University of Georgia Press, 2015.                                             Jim Auchmutey, The Class of ’65: A Student, A … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, Books, Civil Rights Movement, Current Events, Dr. Martin Luther King, Education, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Popular Culture, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Historical Problem, “Who Was ‘A Citizen'” (Georgia, 1783-1788), Part 2: Debut of “A Citizen” (1783)

[NOTE:  Last month, I introduced an “historical problem” about the writings of an angry Georgian after the American Revolution who called himself “A Citizen.” Although “A Citizen’s” pamphlet, Cursory Remarks on Men and Measures in Georgia (1784), is the focus of … Continue reading

Posted in American History, American Revolution, Education, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tales from the George Troup vs. John Clark Era in Georgia Politics (In Pursuit of Dead Georgians, 24)

[NOTE: A while ago, I offered a post about a frequently overlooked family memoir from antebellum Georgia that offered keen insights into the links between politics and religion during the bitterest era of factional politics in the state’s history. Even … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Books, Education, George M. Troup, George R. Gilmer, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, John Clark, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Uncategorized, Wilson Lumpkin | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Historical Problem: Who Was “A Citizen”? (Georgia,1783-1788)–Part 1: Introduction

  One thing that made historical research bearable, even fun for me at times,  was how I ran into interesting characters during my studies in Georgia history, people about whom I wished to learn more; began storing references to their activities; and, … Continue reading

Posted in American History, American Revolution, Education, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Remembering Arnold Shankman (1945-1983)

[NOTE:  A couple of months ago, I did an online search because I was curious about the legacy of Arnold Michael Shankman, my best friend from graduate school, who died on March 1, 1983, after a lengthy battle with lymphatic cancer, at the age of … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Arnold M. Shankman, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History graduate school, Research, Retirement, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Alive and Still Bloggin’: “Retired But Not Shy” at Five

A little over a year ago, I posted an account of the evolution of this blog as it reached its fourth birthday. It’s now time to provide an update, a few months after the fifth anniversary of “Retired But Not Shy,” and the appearance … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American "republicanism", American Revolution, Books, Cherokee Indians, Civil Rights Movement, George R. Gilmer, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, History graduate school, Martin Luther King, Mississippi John Hurt, Muddy Waters, Newark (Del.) High School Class of 1962, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Rick Lamplugh, Ronald Reagan, Son House, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Uncategorized, Wilson Lumpkin, Wolves | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Guitar Guru (Blues Stories, 20)

A Review of Ian Zack, Say No to the Devil: The Life and Musical Genius of Rev. Gary Davis.  The University of Chicago Press, 2015. “I done come this far, I don’t find no fault, well I feel just like … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, Alan Lomax, American History, Books, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, Piedmont Blues, Research, Retirement, Southern History, The Blues, Uncategorized, WP Long Form, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment