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.

 

Syria, Disruption and Life

     After reading a article in The Economist on Syria, I have to wonder what it would be like to be a teacher in such an unpredictable strife ridden environment.  The struggle between a secular government and those that want a theocracy, the struggle between sects of the same faith, groups getting their vengeance on each other among the chaos, the strient efforts of the government to gain control, etc.  Those are just the rumblings of political and religious power.
     What about the daily lives of people?  Meals, work, shelter, hope.... Such a daily struggle is mysterious to most American and as foreign as the country itself.  Just musing.

The "Van Buren Effect"

Martin Van Buren is the only vice president to be elected directly into the office of president in the history of the United States.  That is the primary cause for the name of this blog since my intent is to become the foremost authority on the history of the office.  I think the field of experts is small and I am very interested in the institutional office of our government, this one is perfect to study from its inception as part of the electoral college process to the modern office with its myriad of roles and responsibilities in the modern time.

Michelle Rhee, Radical

     I just saw the interview of Michelle Rhee on Charlie Rose touting her new book, Radical.  While I do appreciate her passion and willingness to push reform I do not like her methods or the fact that she has only three years of classroom experience from a Teach for America assignment.  The following ten years she spent as a "reformer" before becoming chancellor of the D.C> schools from which she has a disputed record.

     She is currently the founder and CEO of StudentsFirst.  I will probably read her book to see what agenda she is pushing.  In the end she is Princeton trained politician with education as her policy specialty.  There has to be a balanced approach that will work, of course, not everyone will be happy.

   She did frankly admit to some mistakes, like firing a principal on camera.  She is a polarizing figure whether you like her or not.

Foreign Affairs, was worth it

    I do love this periodical but I have to cut costs and I find myself not being able to devote the time and thought in reading it that it requires.  Foreign Affairs over the years has been the sources for many seminal articles explaining, directing or suggesting policy for American foreign relations and for this reason was on my subscription list.  However, we all have to make sacrifices.  I will have to stick to two more popularly written magazines, American History and Military History to keep my brain stimulated.  Another reason to keep these two, I plan to publish in them.                          
                                                                                                                  

Edmund Morris, Biographer and Historian

Mr. Morris has authored what I consider the definitive biographical series on Theodore Roosevelt which really forms a trilogy.  They are The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Rex and Colonel Roosevelt.  There is an excellent interview of Mr. Morris by Charlie Rose which is easily accessible on YouTube, well maybe.  I just did a search but I know it is out there as I used it in a powerpoint with my college survey course.  His writing is very accessible and I found myself easily following the narrative pace that Mr. Morris set without much difficulty.  Which I can honestly say is not achieve very often as I try to struggle through some presidential biographies.

May be copyrighted
 taken from  www.register citizen.com

So thank you, Mr. Morris, for such find work.. You so richly deserved the Pulitzer Prize for the first Roosevelt bio that you completed and all of the praise that you have received for Colonel Roosevelt.  While your other biographical subjects do not interest me, your Roosevelt trilogy holds a high honor on my presidential biography bookshelf.  

The Economist

Time to get back into writing on this thing.  I have to get back into a habit of writing everyday and this could be the part of a good start.  So, today, I wanted to share that for the past several years I have had a subscription to The Economist and I enjoy it very much.  The news may be a bit dated since I have a billion news apps on my iPad2 but the viewpoint, which is not American, is refreshing to me.  In addition, it is intellectually stimulating which is harder to find in daily or weekly newspapers.  Since I am trying to improve my knowledge of economica and economic history, this newspaper really serves me well.

   Dan, since you are the only follower, do you read The Economist? In the infamous words of Katie Kouric, what newspapers do you read to stay informed and help shape your world view?

Edmodo

    If you are a teacher and you are not using Edmodo, well, you are just  clueless.  It is the quickest, easiest way to share with students and allow the students to collaborate or share with each other.  It operates like Facebook so the learning curve for use with regards to the students could not be shorter.  I can not say it is the same for teachers.
   
   File sharing is probably the best feature for me so far.  Since I am trying the flipped classroom the students have easy access to power points, screencasts, podcasts, documents and links to webpages and videos.  After a little practice it is so easy.  You can even administer quizzes and it not only grades it for you but will break down the most missed, etc.  Just amazing!!

   

Flipped Classroom

I am trying on experiment this year.  It is going well in some classes but not in others.  Advanced students seem to be able to keep pace and access the technology outside of the classroom more consistently and successfully.  I am have not tried video yet, I think I will try voice over a powerpoint. then maybe a video in the classroom.  I have had some medical difficulties but I will try to post here more frequently now.

A successful flipped classroom serves students so well in today's connected world.  Wish me luck. I will keep you posted.

Historian Rock Star - Walter Borneman

The next great up...Walter Borneman!!!!  He has quietly, well not so lately, been writing excellent readable narrative history for years.  I am proud to day that I own several of his works and am currently reviewing The French and Indan War, Deciding the Fate of North America.  It sits proudly on the shelf next to Dr. Fred Anderson's The War That Made America and Parkman's book on Wolfe and Montcalm.  Check out Borneman's latest on the only four men to make the rank of fleet admiral in Admirals.  Thank you for all of your great work!  I just your Polk volume on my Amazon wish list!

The Cleveland Tumor

   Just the motivation of a president to take such personal risk for the sake of the country.  Cleveland decided to make the surgery secret, which increased the risk exponentially, to keep the confidence of the people steady after the Panic of 1893.  The surgery was a secret long after the Panic and the president were gone.  If a modern president made such a gamble, would we even know?  Even twenty years later?  Read Matthew Algeo's The President Is A Sick Man, about the surgery, the coverage, the doctors, etc.  It is a wonderful read about an interesting subchapter of American presidential history.

Dr. Don Fehrenbacher, Historian of the Week

This week's historian of the week is Don Fehrenbacher.  Dr. Fehrenbacher is the author of The Dred Scott Case: Its Signifiance is American Law and Politics which won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1979.  In the same year, Dr. Fehrenbacher won the distinguished Lincoln Prize from the Gettysburg College which is the highest annual award for Civil War Studies in the nation.  He held many distinguished visiting chairs at several universities including Oxford, LSU and the College of William and Mary.

   His work is remarkable.  He was working on a constitutional history of slavery when he died in 1997.       His influence still lives in a generation of American history scholars and his work graces the bookshelves of many more, including mine. 

Historian Rock Star of the Week (okay sometimes monthly). Edward Larson!

Edward Larson is best know for his book Summer of the Gods: The Scopes Trail and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion which won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1998.  He is currently a visiting professor at Stanford University.  He holds the Darling Chair in Law at Pepperdine University and recently held a similar chair at the University of Georgia.  I have the pleasure of owning his effort at on the 1800 presidential campaign, A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential Campaign.  It is a great narrative piece illustrating the importance of the first partisan campaigning which results in the peaceful change of government from one political party to another.  A testament to our democracy.  If you want the facts in a clear written narrative with insight from a keen mind, this is the book.  Great, work Dr. Larson!  I look forward to your next publication.

Photo taken from University of Arkansas press release.

The Presidential Office

After the Rose Garden interruption of the president's speech I felt compelled to say something.  I have no memory of other presidents receiving the absurd lack of respect as the current president.  From the "You lie!", to Jan Brewer's finger, to the O'Riley interview to the Rose Garden. Come on!!  I know that many Americans do not like the president and that is fine.  But like it or not, he is the president.  And even if you do not respect the man, you should respect the office.  There is a certain level of decorum which is not present.  The real truth lies under and is only hinted at...so...I will go ahead and say it.  It is because he is black?  Black, orange, purple, or pink the president should receive the level of respect that his office commands.  And that does not include finger pointing.