The Jeds

In one of my summer courses, we hve been reading through books dealing with the espionage and "shadow warfare" of World War II. Today we concluded our look at Colin Beaven's Operation Jedburgh. The author took us back in time to occupied France on the eve of and the weeks following D-Day. The Jeds were teams of three men each, an American officer, an European officer and a radio operator. These teams were dropped into France and other occupied territories, their mission being to organize and train indigenous resistance forces.

We were all amazed at the bravery and determination of these men in completing their mission. We also came to understand that the success of Operation Overlord rested largely on what these extraordinary soldiers were able to do.

This book also provided unvarnished glimpses into the horrors of war. Unless we are there on the battlefields with our soldiers, we can never understand what they experience. If you have the opportunity to express appreciation to someone who has defended or is currently defending our nation, please do so.

The American West

Our entire family loves westerns. But I often wonder if we really have any idea how life was in the trans-Mississippi West after the Civil War.

I took a class many years ago with Dr. Julian Pleasants about the American West. Dr. Pleasants routinely challenged the modern view of the Old West. Violence and lawlessness prevailed and savage range wars and battles between Latter Day Saints and Native Americans splashed the landscape in blood and death.

How then did we get such a marvelous wealth of art, literature and music celebrating the west?

The West of the past appeals to our spirit of adventure, and so many artists and authors capture that in their paintings and books.

Perhaps the real beauty of the American West is in the pioneer spirit demonstrated by Americans as they moved in search of a place to build their homes and make a place for their families.

A Child of the King

A challenge in the Medieval course is "where to begin?" To begin with the collapse of Rome in 476 seems to miss the mark. What events really ushered in this very unique era? This year, I have decided to begin with Constantine. He was the first Christian Emperor of Rome. He seized power at a time when Christians were experiencing some of their worst persecution under the Emperor Diocletian and his temporary successor, Galerius. Constantine was quite the underdog when he defeated Maxentius and his troops at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. This victory resulted in Constantine becoming the Emperor of the western portion of the Roman Empire (Europe). In 324, Constantine became the sole Emperor over the entireity of the Empire.



The Battle of the Milvian Bridge should have been a demoralizing defeat for Constantine, but he had experienced his own "Damascus Road" encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ. Constantine's heart and future changed in an instant. Many accounts have been written about this encounter, and probably embelished for the sake of interesting posterity. Christ may have spoken to Constantine in a cloud formation dramatically splayed across the heavens, but my guess is that He spoke with this man in that "still, small voice."

Skeptics (read: secular historians, who dominate this field) have always tried to portray this conversion as contrived and opportunistic. But they're ignoring facts. To be an open Christian in
312 was not exactly "running with the big dogs." Constantine stood nothing to gain in worldly terms by becoming a follower of Christ.

During his reign as Emperor of the western Empire and then the entire Roman Empire, Constantine used his influence to strengthen the Church and to unify it against the threat of heretical doctrines that were "creeping into" the teachings of the day. Costantine knew his reign was temporal, but that the God he served is eternal. I am grateful for this warrior King who became
"A Child of the King."

Yellow Roses for Ima Virginia

A sweet memory from the past: when Virginia was a newborn, she was in our room. Because we didn't learn what she would be before she was born, we bought lots of beautiful yellow baby things. One day a few months after she was born, Michael brought me some yellow roses--they just seemed to be perfect in our room with our little girl's things. Now, she is 10, and she remains the sweetest rose I have ever seen. I love you, Ima Virginia!

Medieval History

A class I really enjoy teaching rolls around again this fall--History of the Medieval Era.
In this class, I spend much of the semester attempting to disprove Francesco Petrarch's characterization of the Middle Ages as "one thousand years of gothic gloom." Petrarch managed to set the tone for History books by labeling this era "the Dark Ages." Oh, dear. He was so very wrong.

The Medieval Era witnessed some of Europe's most profound intellectual and spiritual leaps. The University as we know it came into existence (the Universities of Paris and Bologna were among the first). Early Medieval scholars such as Boethius, Cassiodorus and Isidore of Seville composed their own works which rivaled those of the much-touted Ancient Greek philosophers.

Christianity continued to spread, not only amongst the population but also into intellectual circles. The result was the marvelous approach to learning called "scholasticism." The scholastics, notably Peter Abelard and St. Thomas Aquinas, believed that faith and science were naturally compatible. They knew that learning was a gift of God, and rather than marginalizing God and His Son, they praised Them! The faith of these men was the beginning of their wisdom.

Certainly, there were bleak periods within this thousand-year era; however, don't be misled by Petrarch's short-sided summation.

I look forward to teaching this class for many reasons. I love Scholasticism and the students love our study of the Templars (and the Templars were everyone's favorite topic well before Hollywood took its shot at telling their story).

Mary I (1516-1558)

Never has an earthly monarch faced such difficulty, but never has a monarch possessed such strong faith. Mary's faith brought her through the terrible separation from and loss of her beloved mother, Catherine of Aragon. Her faith sustained her when she was stripped of her legitimacy by her father, Henry VIII. Her faith sustained her as she lived in constant fear for her life, and her faith sustained her in a most painful marriage to the heir to the Spanish throne. Mary remained faithful to her country, to her Church and to her Lord Jesus Christ.

John Marshall

John Marshall was actually the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Because he had such a long tenure in this office (1801-1835) and led with such character and intelligence, many mistakenly think of him as the first Chief Justice. I teach my students that he was the first "Great" Chief Justice.

His possessed an intellect that might best be characterized as pragmatic. He felt that the Constitution represented the best of American ideas and that the Supreme Court should protect those ideas by becoming the final interpreter of that great document.

Like many Federalists, he was wary of allowing states too much authority in the area of protecting individual rights. After all, the terrible treatment of farmers (and American Revolution veterans) by the Massachusetts government had resulted in a crisis that might have ended our noble foray into nationhood. The very rights for which men had fought, freedom from oppressive taxation, the right to own property and the freedom to protest against the government, were denied by the Massachusetts legislature, resulting in Shays' Rebellion. The national government, at that time defined by the Articles of Confederation, was far too weak to intervene on behalf of the individual.

John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and others came to the rescue in the hot summer months of 1787 at what is now known as the "Constitutional Convention." Once drafted and ratified, it was up to the three branches of government to make this new form of government work. For a time, it seemed that Congress and the Executive would divide up the lion's share of power.

John Marshall changed all of that.

Prior to his appointment to this position, the Supreme Court had little luster and even less appeal to those seeking a role in the new government. Marshall, appointed by one of our truly great presidents, John Adams, led the Court from no man's land to the promised land and established it as the branch of the government charged with overseeing our rights and the preservation of the Constitution.

Marshall believed the Court would earn more respect when it spoke with a single, unanimous voice rather than the seriatim opnions that had become the practice. Like Earl Warren many years later, Marshall, affable and respected by the Brethren, could effectively build a consensus. In the most important case in the history of what Hamilton mistakenly called "The Least Dangerous Branch," Marshall led the Court in a unanimous decision establishing the practice of judicial review. (Marbury v. Madison)

In the next year or two, a number of seats on the Bench will undoubtedly open. Justice Gnsburg faces a grave illness; Justice Stevens, a Ford appointee, is 89 years old. I am very concerned., no--dreadfully concerned. The current President has proven himself to be a friend to abortion on demand; he supports the horrendous late-term abortions. He will no doubt appoint those of like minds who may in fact overturn Roe because it doesn't support abortion rights enough! Justices Scalia, Alito and Thomas and Chief Justice John Roberts may find themselves in a 4:5 minority.

Many years ago, it was said that all controversies ini this nation will eventually end up as Consitutional questions. This has certainly proven to be true. How I wish Chief Justice Marshall were here to shine a bit of light on these dark times.

Maybe . . .

At Florida, I spent almost as much time in the Classics Department as I did the History Department. My courses in Latin were among my very favorite in the MANY years I spent at UF. Our kids have jumped right in with the Wheelock's Latin course and are doing well with it.

There is a good chance that I may be able to teach first-year Latin next year at Truett. I think that would be a dream come true.

These past few years, I have come to realize how much I truly love teaching and studying History. I wouldn't change my career path for anything. So why do I want to teach Latin? Actually, Latin is history itself. All of my Latin professors at Florida incorporated History into the study of the language. So teaching Latin is teaching history!

My mom could never understand why in the world I would take Latin courses. If you or your children have the chance to study Latin, do it! You'll be amazed at what you will learn about the structure of the English language. Our boys have sailed through much of the grammar of the A Beka program this year because they have a background in Latin grammar. They know the parts of speech (in all their guises, no less) from the time we have spent in Latin.

Our founding fathers were educated in the old Classical mold: Latin, Greek and History were among the most important of subjects. Would it be so bad if we went back to this tried and true approach?

The Astronomer

This is Vermeer's The Astronomer (1668). This painting was done in the waning years of what historians now refer to as the "Scientific Revolution." This grand era of progress in scientific knowledge has been grossly misrepresented by modern scholars. Beginning with Copernicus and perhaps ending with Newton, this period (c. 1453-1700) witnessed a new understanding of the structure and motion of the universe and the creation of much-improved tools with which to observe the heavens. All of the men involved, Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galileo and Newton, were Christians who saw nothing in the skies which challenged their faith in the Creator of all things.Unfortunately, psuedo-scientists of the "Enlightenment" era took these great steps forward in scientific knowledge and used them as a spurious basis to separate science and faith. Ignoring the reality that these scientists were men of profound faith in Christ, they cast religion in a role as a stumbling block to intellectualism. Today, our culture retains this mentality that to be a person of faith is to reject science.Science is a gift of God. He is the Creator. I hope that He delights in those that study His Creation and who credit Him for all its beauty and wonder.

Virginia Hall

An unsung heroine of WW II was Maryland-born Virginia Hall. She worked overseas for the State Department in a clerical position in Turkey. She had just resigned and traveled to Paris at the outbreak of the war. Angered by the horrific behavior of the Germans, she wanted to take an active role in their defeat. She became a spy for the British government, and was in fact one of only 40 women sent out by their espionage organization, the SOE (Special Operations Executive).

Virginia aided the French resistance in countless ways, and made life and death decisions that unquestionably altered the course of the War in France. All of this despite the loss of a leg years earlier in a hunting accident.

Note that she was employed by the British goverment, not the American. When she repeatedly applied for a State Department position, she was each time denied. When at last, the higher ups had exhausted all excuses for not hiring her, they came up with a new prohibition: "amputation is a cause for rejection." Why did they reject Virginia? Because, quite simply, she was a woman.

I am NOT a feminist, but am deeply troubled when I see how women in history and in the present age are passed over because of their gender. Because of American short-sightedness in the pre-war years, the State Department lost a valuable asset and a devoted patriot. Fortunately, for America and the Allies, she retained her deep love of the United States and of the freedom we say we offer for all.

Judith L. Pearsn has written an interesting but very poorly documented account of Virginia's adventures in war-torn France entitled Wolves at the Door: the True Story of America's Greatest Female Spy.

After the War, Virginia was in fact, hired by the CIA. At long last, her own country seemed to see what she could do!

The Beginning and End of All History