Historian of the Week - Dr. Alan Taylor!!!!

Photo taken from mcclurgmuseum,org

I can think of no better way to re-activate this blog than to highlight the fantastic work of Dr. Alan Taylor, UC, Davis.  He has been awarded two Pulitzer Prizes, the Bancroft Prize and a National Book Award.  I have two of his eminent volumes and had the opportunity to hear him speak last night at the Humanities Texas Institute at Texas CHritian Universty that I was not able to get admission to this year.  He was gracious enough to sign both copies that I have.  His lecture was excellent of course, and I only regret that will have not a chance to interact with him more through the institute.

I highly recommend American Colonies and William Cooper's Town.

Parallels with Prohibition

    After viewing Ken Burn's Prohibition documentary, I was struck by some of the parallels to to the movement to legalize marijuana in the United States.  Grassroots campaigns in the states, growing consensus in the country, growing political issue, etc.  Of course, the legalization of marijuana will not involve a constitutional amendment but the parallels are still remarkable.
    Something to think about!

Rasmussen, War of 1812 and Connections

I picked up a new book that looked interesting, Daniel Rasmussen's "American Uprising" about the slave rebellion on the German Coast near New Orleans in 1811.  I knew that there was one but knew little about it.  The connection that I took out of it is the American paranoia about the growth of the United States in the area, the vacuum and legacy of slave empowerment left in the wake of the the successful slave uprising in Haiti and the militia build-up after the slave uprising that helped Jackson in his defense of New Orleans in the War of 1812.  The more that I read the More connections I am making.  This is great!

    Rasmussen did a great job in research and constructing the narrative.  It is an easy read.  I recommend it.


Image taken from amazon.com

Life Happens..then you post.

It does not seem like almost a year since I have posted.  I have learned quit a bit about the vice presidency and have started on the book, though I have hit a few snags, like a new job, a heart attack, just life.

Invention of the Vice Presidency

     The Constitutional Convention created the office to solve several problems.  The first problem would be who would succeed the president should he expire in office or become incapable of fulfilling the duties of the office.  The way the election process was originally designed was that the second most qualified man wanted for the office would be the successor in case of death or incapacity of the candidate elected.  However, the two party system and the shooting death of Alexander Hamilton indicated the need for a change in the electoral system.

     It was assumed that in the case of a vice president assuming the office it would only be until a special election could be held.  This procedure was not included in the written constitution and upon the death of William Henry Harrison, John Tyler assumed the office and fulfilled the term without calling for a special election. This precedent has been followed since as part of the law.  Akhil Amar Reed recently wrote a book called The Unwritten Constitution which addresses assumptions that the founders made without including them in the written law.  I just checked it ut from my local library.  It is a companion volume to an earlier book that he wrote which was a biographical look at the United States Constitution.

   The second issue that the office of vice president fulfilled was the question of leadership in the Senate.  As the office has no assigned duties it was the perfect fit.  If a senator had to serve as a presiding officer in this body it would essentially negate that senator's vote which would leave one state short of a vote.  With the vice president as the presiding officer it not only gives the vice president a job but allows each state its equal representation in the upper house.

   Now the constitutional issue for this office is the question, in which branch of the government does this office belong?  It has legislative responsibility but is designated as successor in the executive.  Looks like more reading....

  Funny quip...those who forget history are doomed to reread it.  Ha! 

The X--Files

     I do not know if it is just a holdover from my Summer of Science Fiction but I have been working through all of the seasons of The X-Files.  I am up to season five and nearing the end of it.  I have always like the television program with the thought of hidden agendas, government conspiracies and all sorts of wild conjecture.  The Lone Gunman has always been my favorite.  There is even a site where you can get Lone Gunman t-shirts.  Whoops, just started season six.
 
     It is also amusing to see '90s technology and think of how far we have come and all of the new possibilites in a similar program set to a current timeframe.  Just think of the Chinese army unit that was hacking American businesses and government servers.  The possibilites are endless.  Oh, another, the new start-up companies intent on mining asteroids.....

     Hey, season six is after the movie.  

Texas State Historical Association Convention

    The Texas State Historical Association Convention took place in Forth Worth from Thursday to Saturday this past weekend.  This was my first convention and I learned a few things.  The moderator of the session has nothing to do with the subject of the session or the quality of the papers presented.  In the first session, the papers had little to do with the subject listed.  The following sessions that I attended were better as far as relevant to the topic of the session.  

    I was disappointed in that there was no printed program in the registration packet.  Since I had to teach Thursday and got to registration at opening in Friday morning there were no printed programs!  I thought it might be included in the packet for those like me that had pre-registered.  Luckily, a pdf version was available from the website.

    While the deliveries of the papers were dry, the questions presented to the panel were lively and informative.  The level of expertise and knowledge of the audience members is intimidating.  I saw a few of the "superstar" historians that I expected but was unable to network very much.  I was not disappointed in that fact as it was my first convention and I was becoming familiar with how these events operate.  

   I did come away with a determination to be published soon. It seems to be the next step to my development and the only way to get recognition among my peers. The book exhibitors was excellent and I even bought a book due to the discount, The Legation Paper of Texas by Kenneth Stevens, a professor at TCU.

     In all, I learned quite a bit and had a good time. Lunch at the Cabo Taco was great and Sundance Square was a great place to people watch on Friday.  I was able to pray at St. Patrick's Cathedral, browse in the old Barber's Bookshop, learn some Fort Worth geography and quite a bit about parking.  There are times when you just have to get out of your classroom into the world.  It is so easy to get caught up in the struggles of your students in the four walls of your classroom that everything else just fades.