Rollins Golf?

Friday was an interesting day in the library as I continued my research on the Winter Park Country Club. I was able to uncover a whole folder dedicated a part of Rollins history many people are unaware of. This folder contained pictures and the lay out of the Rollins College golf course, on campus! The course started on the banks of Lake Virginia in the area now home to Elizabeth Hall and went all the way up Park Avenue. Students and faculty alike played the course which was played in the late 1800's into the start of the 1900's. The pictures show the course which seems well kept for the time and included a glimpse of early Rollins style for students. This small bit of Rollins history shows the diversity of our campus and the numerous changes that have occurred over the years.

The American Revolution

One thing that I thought was really important to remember when studying the American Revolution and the events leading up to independence, is that the disassociation and alienation from the British was gradual rather than immediate. When you visit museums or hear people talk about the American independence it often seems like something that "just happened overnight". However, when you study the subject deeper we can take into account all the different events such as the different acts and embargoes inhibiting the colonies commerce, as well as Parliaments unresponsiveness in dealing with the dissatisfaction among the colonists.
Additionally, we often also forget that not all colonists were in favor of of the Revolution. In fact only about a third of the colonial population openly advocated breaking ties with Britain, while the rest sided with the British or remained indifferent. I also found it very interesting to learn that although the Second Continental Congress originally formed to organize against the British, it actually almost made another effort at reconciling with the British crown by passing the Olive Branch Petition, asking the king to convince Parliament to cooperate with the colonies.
These are things we often forget when we falsely think of the American Revolution as a process that formed as an immediate response and included the entire colonial population.

American Independence

One thing that shocked me was how the colonists were not ready for independence, yet they were determined to defy British rule, due to misrepresentation in Parliament. I think that the colonists only thought that they were not ready as they depended on British trade for wealth, since they were economically weak. However, when the French alliances with the Americans, I think that they colonists were fully prepared and devoted to the idea of independence from Great Britain with the support of other countries.

Well I was just checking out the Winter Park Historical website. It's functional, but pretty bland. It has a lot of information about what they do (tours, events, educational outreach etc.) and how to find out about the city. This is helpful, but it really lacks saying anything about Winter Park itself. I'm excited that we are going to throw some life back into this organization that really just gives all the time.
Does anyone think we should we brainstorm some ideas on how to keep the pages somewhat consistent from group to group? I personally think it would be more interesting if every page was different, but can see the merit to some coherence (for example: one group with 10 pictures compared to another's 2).

Economic influence on the colonies

While reading Chapter 5, I found it quite interesting to observe how much American history was actually influenced by British economic policy. Reading about how much the colonies' economy suffered from the many taxes and duties the British Parliament enacted on the colonies during that time period, really showed how dependent the colonial economy still was on oversea goods. Additionally, I found it very interesting that the book actually went into some detail of the British perspective and the British reasoning behind acts such as the Stamp Acts, the enumerated articles etc. This is a side of the story that is often less looked at, and after reading that the British were in large debt after the war of 1812 and desperately needed tax revenue to pay interest makes it more plausible why these acts were passed by Parliament.
In general Chapter 5 of the book reaffirmed me that there is often a strong tie between economic factors or policies and political action - two things that ultimately also determine history. In this case, Britain took political action (passing the acts) to fix an economic condition (large national debt). On the colonies' side, the 13 colonies first each took steps such as protest and boycott, and then organized under the Articles of Confederation (a political action) to protest amongst other things against the economic damage inflicted upon them by the British Parliament. The correlation between economic and politics has been present throughout history, and is something we can continue to witness today, e.g. in regards to securing oil reserves and its influence on foreign policy. That shows that it is an important factor of history.

Rollins History

Today we as a class got a to view a unique side of Rollins that most don't get to see. Rollins College history is mostly unappreciated and unknown by undergraduate students. Just like how American history is important to every American, Rollins history should be important to every student. It was truly fascinating to hold one of the first course books today and read the variety of changes that have occurred over the years. History not only teaches the past but also how to preserve the future. These documents, cared for for decades, are the backbone of the college and its past. I would advocate every student to take an hour and experience first hand the history of Rollins. One of the most memorable documents was the letter noting the rules of the campus in the 1800's. I found it most remarkable the control put on my the college on its students. The school was run more like a boarding school then a college in the terms of how we understand it today. This was more a sign of the times then the administration. This time in history focused on students dedication to their studies rather then the joys of adolescent freedoms which are sometimes over enjoyed on our campus today. Today was an eye opener for our history as a school community and how far we have come.

Discussion in class today

Today in class we were talking about popular Puritan literature. I am also in an American Literature class this semester, and we just read Mary Rowlandson's capture narrative. I didn't realize how popular these narratives were during this time until we discussed it in class. After reading Rowlandson's narrative I can understand why. She was writing about something they all feared and it was like their version of a thriller novel. It was also funny to see how she almost preached to the other Puritans saying that God was punishing them for not behaving by capturing her.

yo chambliss

whats up with these puritans? why they got to be so Xtreme?!

Most of us believe history to be a purely academic and irrelevant science; nonetheless, history is an important part of our daily life, our whole life is actually part of history. We're so used to study history from a universalistic perspective that we sometimes forget that so much has happened at the local level. By doing this project we're going to go beyond the American History book and study the history that surrounds us. I think this will ultimately help us to understand better how and why this country has developed in the way it did since a closer look into local history will ultimately provide a better picture of the common American.