Bethlehem, the City of David

This week, our Sunday School lesson was from the beautiful account given by Luke in Chapter 2 of his Gospel. I had a thought--Bethlehem was the city of a shepherd who would become a king; and a King who would become a Shepherd.

Merry Christmas!

A Beautiful Card from 1942

Men of the 20th Century

I have come to believe that the 20th Century was defined (in human terms) by these two men. Imperfect men, with sometimes flawed judgment, they nevertheless led the effort that saved the world from the evil forces that brought about World War II.  I am pleased to note that the students in the Era of the World Wars course became captivated by both of these men, especially by Churchill. Whatever your politics, you have to see FDR as a great wartime President. Together, these two waged war against a common enemy, forged an uncomfortable but necessary peace with another enemy ("Uncle Joe") and unwittingly laid the groundwork for a dramtically different world order.

This 1941 picture was taken well before FDR's dramatic decline in health  in 1944, and they seem to be as two old seadogs  recollecting grander days.  The Lord watches over this earth and places men in their own peculiar destinies for the good of us all.

Repatriating

History has long been a field dominated by those with a liberal agenda. In my years in graduate school, Marxist historians, women's history and "social history" began to replace traditional approaches. But it wasn't enough to ignore George Washington and the great battles that secured our independence and later our freedom. Historians have taken their desire to prove how liberal they are to a new low.  In today's typical college history textbook, America is chastised for her greatness, and authors are apologetic for her successes.  Recently, as I read through a section regarding American expansion in the years preceding the Civil War, I was appalled to note how the author of this text "trashed" John L. O'Sullivan's phrase, "Manifest Destiny." He labeled this belief that God had given us the land as "arrogance" that troubled American diplomatic policies from that point forward. Oh my! Needless to say, we do not use this text in our classes. 

I shared with my husband that I feel as obsolete as a card catalog in a library today. (I love the old card catalog and shelf list system, by the way). I sometimes feel my values are not traditional, but arcane compared to the current social mileu of our nation and to the mood of academics.  But I refuse to change! Instead, I will teach my students the greatness as well as the flaws within our country's past and present.  I will challenge them to repatriate--to once again be proud to be proud of our nation!  The United States has enjoyed some of God's greatest blessings, and it is time we return to Him in thankfulness.

Thoughts About the Summer Reading Courses

For the past two summers, I have been given the privilege of developing History "readings" courses. In these courses, students are required to read an ambitious number of books and complete writing assignments unique to each one.  In many ways, this approach provides an early introduction to the Graduate seminar method. They are also taught much like an honors class would be taught, and the requirements are demanding.   I have tried to offer classes which continue a theme from the previous year or introduce the coming fall semester's offerings in some way.  In the Fall 2011 term, the Medieval course will roll around again.  With this in mind, my goal is to develop a course in the history within the mythology of King Arthur. I don't want this to be only a history of the myth, but a look at the HISTORY of Arthur. Who was he (and when was he) underneath all of the Malory glamour? I have several books in mind that we might use, and there seems to already be some positive interest in the course. We'll see . . .

Giving Thanks for Those Who Went Before Us

The Tea Party

"Oyez, Oyez, Oyez . . ."

This is my "Supreme Court and Other Favorites" shelf.  Here, I have some of Dr. Hall's works, some bios of Geroge HW Bush and Clarence Thomas and a two-volume set on John Marshall. The ornament you see on the far left is actually a small piece of one of the "retired" drapes from the Court's chambers encased in the lovely frame. In the middle is a little model of the Supreme Court building, and watching over all of these treasures in Will Taft. He would be most pleased that I placed him here rather than on the President's shelf!
Thanks for visiting!

In Remembrance, Kermit L. Hall (1944-2006)

Dr. Kermit L. Hall taught at the University of Florida during my years there. He was such a profound influence on my life that I changed  plans mid-stream and decided to pursue a career teaching History. I always loved History, but because of my classes with him, I wanted to make it the center of my academic and professional life.  All of his students felt that way about him.

On a personal note, after Michael and I were married, he told me that Dr. Hall had been instrumental in bringing him to UF.  So, thanks to Dr. Hall, I found a career I love more than I can say, and a husband who means everything to me.  The Lord works through people in our lives in ways we can never imagine. I am so grateful for what He has done in our lives, and particularly grateful to have crossed paths with Kermit Hall. Today is his birthday, and I wanted to post some small remembrance of this great man.

Barbara Tuchman, 1912-1989

One of my favorite historians was Mrs. Barbara Tuchman. She began her career as a journalist and then put those talents to work writing history.  Having earned only a Bachelor's degree, she nevertheless competed in a man's field (history) in a man's world.   Moreover, she did not write about women's history. She wrote about such diverse topics as the Trojan War, the close of the Medieval era and the American Revolution.  She won her first Pulitzer for The Guns of August (1962), a fascinating account of the events leading up to the Great War.  I have used her books as sources for several of my courses, and they have added so much color and detail to my lectures.  History, at its best, tells a true account of events and lives past, a true STORY. Mrs. Tuchman was particularly gifted at telling the stories behind the events of human history.

Yes, this is a picture of me at the First Ladies National Historc Site. We love National Parks, the National Park Service and the First Ladies. I loved seeing the displays they had put together here at the home of William and Ida McKinley.  The refurbishment of the home was done so lovingly and beautifully!

My only disappointment was with the docents and their presentations of the material.  These two ladies dressed in what was to pass for "period" dresses and they adopted historical personas:  Harriet Lane, the hostess for our only bachelor President, James Buchannan, and of all people, Alice Roosevelt.  Alice was certainly an historic figure, but also a very tragic and controversial figure.  The docent portraying Alice told unflattering stories about her character and about Ida McKinley.  She also tried to tell me that all of the Presidents in the post-Lincoln era were unfaithful to their wives.  I nearly fainted.  Rather than historical research to enrich their characterizations, these ladies apparently used some tell-all books with very questionable accuracy. Virginia, rather than hearing about how these women struggled to find their places or how they adopted certain causes to the benefit of the country, learned about the "dirt" on these ladies.

I hope that this doesn't represent what the Park Service believes to be the interests of the populace.

The Classical Past

This lovely painting, A View of Ancient Rome, by Samuel  Palmer (1805-1881), captures the Mediterranean beauty of this great city of Antiquity.  Rome, once the seat of the world's most powerful empire, was toppled by a gentle Shepherd.

For more glimpses into the Classical Past from this perspective, please visit my blog, A Love of the Classical Past.

http://www.classicsinthewillows.blogspot.com/

We Cannot Forget . . . .

God in His graciousness has given this country so many blessings, the most important of which is the freedom to love and worship Him freely. Any "rights" that we may have actually are gifts from Him.  Men and women have courageously fought and died throughout our History to defend these freedoms and gifts.

I am worried about this wonderful country that He has given us, not because of the economy, the terrible oil spill, the positioning of yet another radical abortion rights supporter on the Supreme Court, but because we seem to be pushing Him out of our culture, our laws and our lives  with more haste and determination than ever before.

We cannot forget that we are "One Nation Under God."

Is Anyone Paying Attention?

A Different Fourth Estate

This summer in our Readings Course on the Pacific Theater of World War II, my students were assigned Guadalcanal Diary by Richard Tregaskis.  Tregaskis, a Harvard-educated journalist, was an "embedded" reporter with US Marines as they embarked on one of the first major amphimbious landings of the War. The prize was an airstrip the Japanese were building in the Solomon Islands.

My students were struck by a number of interesting aspects of the narrative--each sharp contrasts with today's print media.  The curse words were each represented by the first letter and then a series of dashes. We all had a good laugh at that!

 Another major departure from today's writings was the absence of political correctness. The Japanese were consisitently referred to as the "Japs." The Americans hated the enemy, not because they were Japanese, but because they were the enemy; they were the enemy because they bombed Pearl Harbor. There were no apologetic passages about name-calling or racism.

Another key difference between this brave journalist and today's reporters was that Mr. Tregaskis seemed to be on America's side!!!  Imagine that!  He didn't seem determined to report every misstep or mistake; he didn't show sympathy for the enemy and he certainly didn't reveal secrets that compromised the security of the war effort or the nation.  Where is that Fourth Estate today?

A Beautiful Princess and Some Thoughts

This lovely painting is of none other than the marvelous Queen Elizabeth II.  We spent about 5 months in England in 1995, and I fell madly in love with the English people and their culture.  When we were there, Michael and I made of point of trying to be as positive and enthusiastic about all things British as we could. After all, we were guests in their splendid country. Some of the others in our group sadly fulfilled the stereotypical "ugly American" role by criticizing as much as possible. I was embarassed by their behavior.  We found the English people to be very kind, and we realized that there in Lincolnshire, we were the ones with the hard-to-undestand accents!

I was disappointed and hurt recently by the inappropriate and untrue remarks made by my once-favorite Beatle.  As a guest in the White House, Paul McCartney  used a very public occasion to blast President George W. Bush. If Sir Paul had made similar remarks about the current President, I would have felt just as incensed. I think that the Hollywood/Music Industry community believes that to trash a politically conservative American politician is to increase their own popularity. Sadly, this is all too true of the academic community as well.

Sir Paul will never be troubled one minute by this irate American's opinion, and he'll never realize that he is teaching a generation how not to act when visiting abroad! But at least I know this commoner from the American South had more manners when visiting "across the pond."

First Ladies

Today marked the last day of lectures in the First Ladies course; the students have quite a bit of reading and research  yet to do for their final project. We had a great discussion this afternoon  about the First Ladies of the 20th Century.  I came away with the feeling that the role of First Lady has not changed so very much since Martha Washington's era.  The President's wife remains primarily a hostess, unofficial advisor to the President and wearer of beautiful inagural gowns!  We have seen that the most controversial First Ladies have been those who  took their unoffical advisory roles into the public eye: from Abigail Adams to Hillary Clinton, the women who had high profile political roles received the  harshest criticisms.

Most of the First Ladies of my lifetime are in this lovely picture. My heart is tender for the physically frail Pat Nixon.  Mrs. Nixon was really something very special, and I hope History will recognize that about her.  She had such a difficult time with the ups and downs of her husband's political career. But the same must be said for all of the ladies married to the Presidents of the United States.  Abigail Adams once stated, "when my husband is wounded, I bleed."  Surely that simple statement captures the heartaches of these special women.

I have enjoyed exploring this topic with my students, and we have all learned more about our Nation's First Ladies.

Plutarch

An approach to History that has fallen out of favor with contemporary historians is the study of "great men."

Revisionists want to cast all of history as a product of class conflict and economic catalysts.  I prefer the "great man" approach and have taught this way throughout my academic experiences.

In the History of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome courses, we use the writings of the Greek biographer, Plutarch (c. 46-122).  He wrote biographies of the great Greeks and Romans. These character studies are not like Parson Weems' accounts of George Washington, but include the unflattering along with the praise.

Plutarch is not easy to read, and  has proven quite a challenge to my students in past semesters. But, they persevered, and felt a great sense of accomplishment in so doing.  This fall, we will return to Plutarch in the History of Amcient Greece, and I am looking forward to watching the students grow in patience and historical knowledge as they walk back in time with this great Greek biographer.

The Beautiful Lucy Hayes (1831-1889)

Reflecting on years of reading and teaching American History, I  realize that I give very little attention to the Rutherford B. Hayes Administration. The genuine character of this honest American patriot was overshadowed by the tainted election of 1876.  In my lectures, his wife was distinguished only by the fact that she served Lemonade rather than alcohol in the White House. A closer look at Lucy and her time in the White House reveals a marvelous wife, mother, First Lady and Christian influence. Raised in a Methodist home, she took a pledge quite early to abstain from alcohol.  Lucy's parents and her future-in-laws, the parents of "Ruddie" Hayes, felt that marriage between the two would bring out the best in the young man. And it did! Rutherford Hayes was a gentleman, a scholar, a war hero and a fine President who was unfortunately caught up in the deal-making era of the "Gilded Age."  During the War Between the States, Lucy went to be with her husband in the war zone as often as possible.  Like the beloved Martha Washington, Lucy would sew for the men, mending tattered uniforms and lifting spirits with her  kind disposition.

She took bold stands on issues important to her, most notably, the temperance movement.  The author of our textbook, however, criticizes Mrs. Hayes for not being bolder still in using her platform as First Lady to demand action on her issues.  Our author does not understand Mrs. Hayes or her times  at all. Although temperance and womens' rights were extremely important to Lucy, her husband was more important still. She would never presume upon him to advance her own personal agenda. In fact, Hayes himself declared that the no-alcohol policy was his policy, not her's  She was given the title of "Lemonade Lucy" by those criticizing her effectiveness as White House Hostess.  In reality, Lucy was wildly popular as a First Lady: she was thrifty, yet elegant. Her parties, gatherings and State dinners were successes. A hostile Congress refused monies for White House improvements, so Lucy scavanged the attic and basement and auctions to bring "new" pieces of furniture to the mansion. She loved the White House and learned its History. She often gave tours herself to guests, regaling them with stories of the House's illustrious past.

 She became known for her lovely flower gardens and arrangements. She often presented flowers as "calling cards"--flowers she had grown in her gardens. The yellow rose you in this lovely portrait became her signature flower.

To me, her most endearing qualities were her faith and her devotion to her husband and children.  She and Rutherford had 8 children, 7 boys and 1 girl (lovingly named for her sister-in-law, Fanny Rutherford). But these qualities don't seem to be important to those who pen the biographies and histories of the office of First Lady. How sad.

Take time to look at the life of Mrs. Hayes--you will be thrilled to know a woman of such character occupied the White House.

May We Ever Honor

Fearless

The Era of the World Wars

I am looking forward to "The Era of the World Wars" course this fall. The amount of material to cover in sixteen weeks is daunting, but I think I will try an approach that has proven successful in other courses. I want to do a "year-by-year" series of lectures.  Each year of each war would be covered in depth (with of course, in-depth discussion of the events leading up to each war as well as the aftermath in the following years). As many of our students want to teach History themselves, my goal is to give them material upon which they can build their own lectures and courses. 

Rather than a 20-page research paper, I think I am going to require them to construct a notebook, a collection of chronologically-arranged notes, scholarly articles, pictures and other resources.  At the end of the course, they would something other than a research paper to show for what they had done all semester! In this age of readily available information, the students shouldn't have too much difficulty in getting materials for their project.

Do you all have thoughts or suggestions about this approach?

The Travail of Mary Todd Lincoln

Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of the 16th President, was the subject of our class discussion today. This beautiful and intelligent Kentucky belle no doubt brought a spark into the melancholy life of Abraham; yet, her mercurial temper and all-consuming need for attention robbed their marriage (and her position as First Lady) of so much potential.

Each of us in the class searched for sympathy for her: she buried three sons, and the surviving son had her institutionalized in a facility for the insane (which she was clearly was not). She witnessed the assassination of her husband on that fateful night at Ford's Theatre in April of 1865, and she was denied entrance to his bedside at the time of impending death.  To add insult to the injury of a broken heart, a life-time enemy, William Herndon, told  demoralizing stories of Lincoln's affection for Anne Rutledge. Herndon, Lincoln's one-time law-partner, asserted that the President had never really loved Mary, but had accepted his fate with her after the death of Miss Rutledge. Herndon went on the national circuit telling these stories--they were not confined to an intimate group of friends. 

With all of these sad stories, we still had difficulty feeling sorry for Mary. She was her own worst enemy.  I was appalled to read that when Abraham's favorite son Willie died (while they were in the White House), Mary spent large sums of money buying mourning clothes and jewelry!

I had hoped that learning more about her would lead me to see her as someone mistreated and misrepresented by historians, but the evidence overshadows any sympathetic interpretation of her life.

Having said all of this, I am convinced that she loved Abraham deeply and that she cherished her children. She suffered from the reputation-destroying combination of having a difficult personality in very difficult times.
Maybe research yet to be done will reveal a more positive side to Mary Todd Lincoln.

Truth for the Ages

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife 

and they shall be one flesh. "

Man may change his truths, but His truths never change. God created the institution of marriage. His flawless design is comprised of one man and one woman. No other configuration is worthy of the label, "marriage."

Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue

This will be a post that rambles more than usual, and I apologize here at the outset.  There are so many things I want to say about this beautiful flag. This flag represents so many of our beliefs about the relationship between the government and the governed, as well as so much about our History.

 Teaching Constitutional Law these past years, I have been torn by the Texas v. Johnson  case in which the Supreme Court seemed to unhappily support the Constitutionality of burning the flag as a political protest. I hate this case, but understand their view point. Our Country was born because of political protest. Those colors woven in blood and sacrifice represent those rights of freedom of speech and protest.  But if we are to accept and stand by this painful decision as the "Supreme Law of the Land," then why doesn't the law stand by those who choose to wear the flag as a sign of protest? School children wearing American flag clothing to protest Cinco de Mayo in this country were sent home for their efforts. Where are their rights? Why can a disgruntled man protesting a political party burn an American flag in public and hide behind the First Amendment, but school children expressing thier disconent over the presence of illegal aliens are sent home for WEARING the flag? Where is the logic in this? I think  that the lesson is this: Free Speech is only for the left, only for those who denigrate traditional values. Freedom of Religion is now Freedom from Religion. Freedom of speech exists only for those whose speech is "politically correct."

How long will it be before I am not allowed to make these kinds of posts? How long will it be before the thought police come into our classrooms in private colleges and universities and muzzle conservatives like myself? These questions are not rhetorical--they are real concerns.

Is it Time for Class to Start?

Horace Contemplates an Invitation

To celebrate the August arrival of Latin I at Truett-McConnell College, here is an easy passage for translation from the Wheelock:

Maecenas et Vergilius me hodie vocant. Quid cogitare debeo?  Quid debeo respondere?  Si erro, me saepe monent et culpant; si non erro, me laudant.  Quid hodie cogitare debeo?

Horace was a poet and satirist of the Augustan Age. He counted among his contemporaties none other than Vergil himself.  Maecenas was a wealthy Roman soldier and statesman who used him resources to patronize the arts.  He kept his home open for scholars and poets.

The Most Important Day In History

Every Feminist's Nightmare . . .

I love to learn about the First Ladies of our Nation's history.  The gowns, the china, and the refurbishing from time to time of the White House --these topics, rather than how pillow talk leads to policy and empowerment have drawn me to the First Ladies for years!

Just look at Lady Bird's gown--she truly was the "Yellow Rose of Texas" in this beautiful picture.

This summer, we will be looking at America's First Ladies.  These women had no Constitutional guidelines (or limitations) and without question played dramatic roles in the Chief Exexcutive's decision-making.  We'll look at the backgrounds of these extraordinary ladies and their places in the unfolding of history.

But, we'll also take time to explore their contributions to popular culture as well.

La Liberte' Guidant le Peuple

Chaos

A New Readings Course

Last summer, we had great success with the readings course in Espionage of the World War II era. This summer, we will examine the Pacific Theater of the War. I have to say that I have been planning the course for some time and had no idea that HBO was about to release a series on this subject. I am concerned about the controversy that is swirling up about this particular series, but I want to find out more before I comment further. Having said all of this, I am truly excited to be able to lead this course in June. This is another "readings course" (I will give the book list in another post),
but it should really be called a readings and writing course because we'll be doing so much writing! Last summer, with each assigned book, the students had to complete a different historigraphical writing exercise. We used fascinating subject matter not only to increase knowledge of the era, but to enhance writing and analytical skills as well. I hope this course proves to be as successful. Stay tuned for the reading list.

Tools of the Trade

Salve discipuli et discipulae!  Won't be long!

What you believe about Creation and the beginning of time reveals much about your beliefs regarding Jesus Christ and the Bible.  Scientists, historians, geologists, philosophers and even ministers often feel that they have to distance themselves from Scripture to be taken seriously in the "intellectual" community. They compromise their understanding of Scripture in order to address the conflict between their "science" and God's account of the Creation. They fall back on what they are sure is sound empirical evidence. But in so doing, they fall into the Enemy's trap--fooling them with their own egos and vanities.
"For the customs of the people are vain."
                              (Jeremiah 10:3)
Time and time again, science is replaced by new theories, new agenda as man foolishly seeks to outsmart God.

"By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
                              (Hebrews 11:3)

We must examine what we believe and why we believe it. Are we led astray by what we find to be intellectually satisfying, relying on our own faulty wisdom, or do we turn to the Word of God, infallible, timeless and everlasting?

It's a Go!

Fall 2010: Latin I

Thomas a' Becket

Yesterday in the History of England class, we were able to talk about King Henry II and his once-friend, Thomas Becket.  The story of these two great men ended so tragically--the death of one brought about by careless angry words of another.  Becket's death and the King's determination to be free from the authority of the Church certainly foreshadows future events, doesn't it? What is it about these Kings named Henry?

There was at least . . .

one man in the room.

"Deja vu All Over Again!"

Oh, dear.  History is repeating itself.  I am no fan of BIG business or banks that trifle with the lives of working men and women or with  the great heroes of this country--the independent small businessman (to me, they are the best of the best ). Having said this, I know enough from the history of our country that to fool around with the banks in the guise of making them accountable to the "people" is to guarantee an economic catastrophe. 

Andrew Jackson,  a man who made and threw away multiple fortunes, hated banks, blaming them for his own lack of business acumen.  He made it his goal to destroy the Bank of Banks, the Hamiltonian Bank of the United States.  Ordering his Secretaries of the Treasury to withdraw monies from the Bank to redeposit in his small state "pet banks", he effectively killed the Bank of the United States.  In its death throws,   the Bank tried to remain alive by calling in outstanding loans.  The result was a dead bank and a collapsed economy. Lives were destroyed, not just at the corporate level, but honest working men who had put all they had into their small businesses.  But when asked what he was proudest of  in his tenure as President, Jackson responded, "killing the Bank." Did it mean anything to him that he caused so much pain in the lives of the common man?

Important to add here is that Jackson had to appoint three Secretaries of the Treasury before he could find one to do his "dirty work."  The last nominee, Roger Brooks Taney, went along with Jackson's scheme, and withdrew the monies from the Bank before he was even confirmed.  As it would happen, the Senate refused to confirm him and he did not become Secretary of the Treasury.  However, in probably the most blatant example of "spoilsmen" politics, Jackson bided his time and then nominated Taney as Chief  Justice of the United State Supreme Court--a  great place to have a "yes man."  Jackson had treated the previous Chief Justice, John Marshall, and his brethren with complete contempt. 

Is the current President intentionally emulating Jackson? If so, has he read how the story ended? Or does he want to lay this economy to waste and rebuild it in his true socialist image?  Punishing the banks, openly rebuking the Court for policies contrary to his own--it's "deja vu all over again."

My President

What Are They All Talking About?

Dante, Petrarch and the gang are all excited about the new additions to the Historie blog. If you will click on the little widgits on the right of the template, you can now access some interesting sites.  As did Cassiodorus, I am trying to create my own little "vivarium."

Blessings to you this week--hope everyone is staying warm and safe.

A Reading Journal

In the History of Tudor/Stuart England, we will be taking a bit of a different approach to reading.  The students are required to read (in addition to their text) Alison Wier's The Children of Henry VIII. Rather than write a book review as my students did  with their books last semester, I want them to keep a "reading journal."  This will be a collection of observations, synopses and critical evaluations of each of the book's chapters.  The students will be allowed to write in first person as they would in a diary. I will also complete this assignment.  At the end of the semester, we can all "compare notes," literally and figuratively. 

This class is quite full for an upper division course, and it is at 8:00 am!  I am already proud of them and have the highest of expectations for their work!