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!