Category Archives: Southern (Georgia) History

On the Trail of Blind Willie McTell (Blues Stories, 24)

A Review of:                      Michael Gray, Hand Me My Travelin’ Shoes:  In Search of Blind Willie McTell.  Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2009.   [NOTE:  For a  new project, I’ve decided to revisit a number of works on the Blues and the men and … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Blind Willie McTell, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History of Rock and Roll, Piedmont Blues, Popular Culture, Research, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, The Blues, Uncategorized, Urban Blues, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , | 2 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

“Who Was A Citizen?” Historical Problem, 8: A Solution

[NOTE:  This is the final installment in the long-running “historical problem” aimed at identifying the author of Cursory Remarks on Men and Measures in Georgia, by “A Citizen,” which was published in Savannah in 1784. “A Citizen” first appeared on the … Continue reading

Posted in American Revolution, 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

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

William McIntosh, Jr. v. Seth John Cuthbert (1788): Historical Problem, 6

[NOTE:  The response to “A Citizen’s” 1784 pamphlet, Cursory Remarks on Men and Measures in Georgia, by the Sheftall family in 1785, criticizing the author as an anti-Semite, seemed at first to have ended the controversy.  Yet, the dispute was resurrected three years later, in … Continue reading

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

“The Flags, Daddy, the Flags!”: “Retired But Not Shy” at Six

[NOTE:  I launched Retired But Not Shy: Doing History After Leaving the Classroom a couple of weeks following my retirement, in May 2010, from nearly four decades teaching History in an Atlanta prep school.  I really didn’t know what I was doing, but, as the … Continue reading

Posted in American "republicanism", American History, Arnold M. Shankman, Cherokee Indians, Cherokee Removal, Civil Rights Movement, Creek Indians, Delta Blues, Dr. Martin Luther King, Education, Elias Boudinot, George R. Gilmer, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, Martin Luther King, Mississippi John Hurt, Newark (Del.) High School Class of 1962, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Uncategorized, Wilson Lumpkin, WP Long Read | Tagged , | 4 Comments

The Sheftalls Strike Back: “Mr. Printer” (Two versions, 1785)–Historical Problem, 5

[NOTE:  Parts of “A Citizen’s” pamphlet, which was scattered about the streets of Savannah, Georgia, late in 1784, reeked of anti-Semitism.  Thus, it was no surprise that, early in 1785, the Sheftalls, one of Savannah’s leading Jewish families, responded.  Thanks … Continue reading

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

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