Category Archives: Teaching

A Scrappy Fourth of July! (In Pursuit of Dead Georgians, 18)

[NOTE: John Adams predicted that the colonial declaration of independence in the summer of 1776 “would be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. . . . It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parades, with Shews … Continue reading

Posted in 4th of July, American History, Education, George M. Troup, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, James Gunn, John Clark, John Cuthbert, Nullification, Research, Retirement, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Early Blues Divas (Blues Stories, 19)

[NOTE:  A different take on an earlier post, “20th –Century Blues Women,” this time emphasizing the decade of the 1920s.] * * * * * 2003 was designated by Congress as “The Year of the Blues” to commemorate W.C. Handy’s first encounter with that music, … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thornton, Blues Women, Books, Chicago Blues, Historical Reflection, History, Interdisciplinary Work, Ma Rainey, Mamie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Memphis Minnie, Popular Culture, Research, Retirement, Sippie Wallace and Bonnie Raitt, Southern History, Teaching, The Blues, Uncategorized, WP Long Form, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

American Republicanism, III: Battle for the Soul of the Republic, 1789-1800 (History Lesson Plan, 10)

[NOTE:  This is the penultimate post in the series on the history of Early American Republicanism.  For earlier posts, go here and here.]   * * * * * Whether the new government created by the Constitution of 1787 was … Continue reading

Posted in American "republicanism", American History, Constitution of 1787, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Research, Retirement, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Form, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

American Republicanism, Part II: “A Republic, if you can keep it,” 1776-1788 (History Lesson Plans, 9)

[This is the second in a series concerning the history of American “republicanism.”  For the previous post, go here.] * * * * *  When the Second Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia in May, 1775, fighting had already broken out … Continue reading

Posted in American "republicanism", American History, American Revolution, Colonial Georgia, Constitution of 1787, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Interdisciplinary Work, Philadelphia Convention (1787), Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Understanding Recent American History–“Nixonland,” or “The Age of Reagan”?

  [NOTE: Historical revisionism occurs when, every generation or so, the scholarly consensus about important events or individuals begins to shift.  Revisionism is not a concept that appeals to neophyte historians, or to “average Americans” trying to understand the past, many … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Books, Cold War, Dr. Martin Luther King, Historical Reflection, History, Martin Luther King, Research, Retirement, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Teaching, Uncategorized, Vietnam War | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

American Republicanism, Part I—The Blueprint (History Lesson Plans, 8)

[NOTE: For a number of years, we had at my school a year-long elective course for seniors that combined elements of American history, American literature, and social outreach. In its last incarnation, this interdisciplinary offering was called “The School for … Continue reading

Posted in American "republicanism", American History, American Revolution, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Interdisciplinary Work, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Research, Retirement, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Read One for the Gipper

A Review of James H. Broussard, Ronald Reagan:  Champion of Conservative America. New York and London:  Routledge, 2015. [NOTE: One of the joys—and curses—of being a professional historian is the lure of “revisionism.”  That’s when, every generation or so, the … Continue reading

Posted in American History, Books, Cold War, Current Events, Education, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Popular Culture, Prep School, Research, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life in the Segregated South–Introduction to a A Panel Discussion,1991 (History Lesson Plans, 7)

[NOTE:  This is the third in a series of posts tracing the long road by which I finally arrived at one of my favorite courses, “The History of the Modern Civil Rights Movement.”  Previously, we have looked at an elective … Continue reading

Posted in Age of Jim Crow, American History, Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Education, Georgia History, Historical Reflection, History, History Curriculum, Martin Luther King, Popular Culture, Prep School, prep school teaching with a PhD, Southern (Georgia) History, Southern History, Teaching, Uncategorized, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Vietnam War–and Welcome to It

I’ve got a long shelf of books about my generation’s war, but none of them presents it as I experienced it.  I served in the Army from 1966 to 1968, but I never left the U.S., so my war was very different from the one … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Cold War, Historical Reflection, History, Research, Teaching, Uncategorized, Vietnam War, WP Long Read | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Factions and Parties in Georgia, 1783-1806 (In Pursuit of Dead Georgians, 17)

[NOTE:  This post carries the story of political factions and parties in Georgia from the end of the American Revolution through the death of the state’s first “party boss,” James Jackson, in 1806 [for earlier posts in the series, see … Continue reading

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