A comment about the Archives

I think what's really cool about this course is that we got to go to the archives and look through some of what they have down there. I never even knew we had an archives room at Rollins College and I think that some people probably graduate and leave Rollins without ever knowing about it. It's definitely a different take on looking a history when you're holding history in your hands and looking at actual documents. More classes should incorporate the archives into their curriculum or at least have it as a bonus assignment so that some students would be inclined to go and check it out!

A Big Purchase

When President Jefferson bought Louisiana from Napolean, he doubled the size of the United States and thought that this purchase would be enough land for a long time. What I think is interesting that is taught about but not emphasized when learning about the Louisiana purchase, is the fact that many Indians were kicked out of their homes and forced to move. The trail of tears was a devastating and horrible moment in history and it seems that it is never discussed with enough seriousness with which is should be.

Corporal Punishment

Being an elementary education major made it interesting for me to do the webpage on Professor Hartmann and corporal punishment. Even though Carl Hartmann was a college professor and corporal punishment in the 19th century was more directed towards younger students, as a future educator, it was interesting to learn about. It's sad to think that even though it is part of the past, it is still something that some students deal with when they go to school. There was a case not too long ago where a special education teacher was abusing her students because they weren't paying attention to her. We are supposed to learn from history, and we've learned that corporal punishment doesn't accomplish anything and yet, we see it still being used sometimes.

Mary E. Brown

One of my webpages that I did was on the diary of Mary Brown, one of the early settlers of Winter Park. This was pretty interesting, because it was the first assignment that required me to go to the winter park library, which was pretty cool to see. I had never been there and didn't realize how close it was to school! Learning about Mary Brown was also interesting because she was never married and lived with her best friend/companion. They contributed to Winter Park and Mary's diary gives insight to her life and what life was like in the time period. I think it's great to learn about history, but it's always interesting to read about something from one person's point of view and get information from a person's diary since it is their most intimate thoughts.

Eveybody is important

One of the most important things I learned this semester is that history is not the exclusive account of those powerful men and women who shape the fates of millions. In reality, history is everyday life for George Bush as much as it is for me. Learning about the early surveyors in Florida made me realize two important things: First of all, every job is important when it comes to history; secondly, most of the time we don't realize how much our actions affect the development of history in our communities, our nations, and our world in general. It was thanks to the surveyors that the conquest of Florida was so quick and well organized. As I said, the impact on history of the smallest of men is comparable to the effect Napoleons and Bismarcks have on their nations.

The Dunning School

I'm sure most of us hate the opinion of Dunning in regard to Reconstruction. His views created an inaccurate and biased ideology that persisted for several decades after his death. Even though the racial prejudice and hate is evident in Dunnings account, it's important to point out that he was as much of an active participant in Reconstruction as anyone else. Dunnings "academic" research demonstrates how Reconstruction not only affected the South and the North politically, but it went as far as to pervade the minds of scholars who were supposed to be neutral.

An experiment

This is a little experiment to see if anyone actually reads other peoples blog entries on this thread.

Since the historiography of Reconstruction has gone through many different phases-- the racist views supported by the movie we watched, "A Birth of a Nation", The Dunning School, the revisionist view (emphasis on economic success), and now to neoabolition views (like Foner's)-- I wonder what other period in time has been looked at in so many lights. Will the history of our president day's war be as hotly debated in 150 years? The conspiracy theory has risen, but how long will that last until a new interpretation takes the forefront?

If anyone has any insights or answers that'd be great.

Class ends

I am very excited that I have taken my first history course, and last since i am graduating on Friday, that i actually enjoyed. I must say, Dr. Chambliss, you are a very intriguiging teacher with alot of knowledge in the field. I enjoyed the class and actually at first couldn't believe that we had so many assignments for the winter park historic program. i thought those were going to be very difficult, BUT i actually enjoyed doing the research. Plus i can say that i have actually been to the Rollins College library archives, put on little white gloves, and sifted through artifacts! pretty cool! thanks Dr. Chambliss

Reconstruction

i found it very interesting that Foner points out that the so called Radical Republicans were idealistic reformers committed to equal rights. The core belief of the north was to free all blacks in the United States from suppression and slavery. The Radical Republicans took control of government after the assignation of President Lincoln. Foner explains how the Radicals greatly opposed moderate republicans plan for Reconstruction. They believed that the south should be strictly and/or forcefully controlled by government to ensure the safety and right to freedom of African Americans. The south, after the civil war, slowly began to take steps to end slavery, but the hatred of black and discrimination would prove to be an obstacle to social change

An outsider's perspective of the Reconstruction

The benefit that the majority of American students in our class have regarding our final exam is that they have been been taught American history before, and therefore have a predisposition of the time period. Being a British student I have never studied in detail American history. As I read the book I was learning for the first time about the America post Civil War. I think that not knowing anything about Reconstruction before reading the book has helped me with my paper. I was able to read the book without any previous knowledge of the subject meaning I was able to only use the information presented to me by Eric Foner to write my paper. I would go on to state my opinion of the book but we have another couple of days until they are due in! But I will conclude by saying that his book contains a variety of context regarding the Reconstruction that is accessible to readers with little or much historical background on the matter at hand.

There is a reason Andrew Johnson is not on the 5 dollar bill...

Andrew Johnson was a wolf in sheep clothing. As the vice president to Lincoln people generally thought that he would act similar or have similar polices. When Johnson become president he became the champion of the South. Johnson's 1st proclamation conferred amnesty and pardon, including all restoration of all property, except slaves. By 1866 he had pardoned over 7000 former confederate officials and wealthy supporters. Johnson single handily slowed and ruined reconstruction. Johnson allowed his appointed Governors the most unpresidented patronage ever, for every state and local office stood empty. This allowed several former confederate supporters (sometimes officers) to reenter the political scene, thus Johnson's reconstruction empowered prominate whites to shape the transiton from slavery to freedom and define blacks civil rights. Johnson was terrible for the reconstruction period and should be ashamed to serve as vice president as the same time that Lincoln did.

Spanish Florida

Sometimes is hard for me to picture Florida as a former Spanish colony. Now that Orlando and Miami, with their lights and agitated life are the most representative images of this state. Nonetheless, it was a gratifying experience to dig out a piece of history I didn't know anything about, and I think is been irresponsibly erased from Spanish historical annals. I really felt connected to my subject, a family of Spaniards that voluntarily decided to stay in America after the peninsula was sold to the U.S. In a way, I would have enjoyed spending more time on this topic, the little information I found about this family, specially the eldest son, Eusebio Maria Gomez, mean more to me than the thousands of pages I had to read for the tests. In a way, I was able to connect with their conflicting loyalties, their harassed culture, and their legacy. In a way, it's funny how I have lived in 3 different continents, yet I always lived in "Spanish" territory.

Foner's Account of Reconstruction

Prior to reading Foner's publication I was for the most part unaware of the many aspects of American society that Reconstruction affected. Foner's account drew on the influences American politics had on the economic instability and inequality African Americans suffered in the decades following the end of the American Civil War. It is a wide topic of debate among many modern historians as to when Reconstruction finally came to an end. This is primarily due to, Foner argues, the inability of southern idealist presidents and congressional majorities to properly deal with reconstructive issues in the decades immediately following the declaration of peace at Appomattox Courthouse.

Another View of the Southern Population

When we think of the Civil War, we generally see it as an ideological conflict between North and South. Oversimplifying the conflict, we tend to forget the economic and political motives that sparked the conflict. Similarly, we generally tend to see the war as free northern, hardworking men fighting southern plantation owners. However, this is an inaccurate reflection, as we can see when we read Eric Foner's A Short History of Reconstruction.
The book shows that the actual fighting on the side of the Confederacy happened by the lower, southern class, mostly small independent farmers. These farmers often did not even own slaves since they did not have the economic means to do so. Nevertheless, they found themselves defending an upper class Southern institution. Given that they had never really benefited from slavery, they started to question this ideology and threatened the upper class by demanding greater political and economic self-determination.
I found it refreshing that the author of the book made a point to stress this fact since that is often something the general public seems to forget.

Victim's of the New York Draft Riots

What began as an opposition to the conscription office (and consequently the Republican Party and the Civil War) turned into a bloody showcase of racism.

Some of the damage (either attacked or burned down; 50 buildings in total)
-The Colored Orphan Asylum
-Office of The New York Tribune
-Bull's Head Hotel (refused to provide alcohol to rioters)

Death Toll-
100 Civilians. Mostly black. One small girl from the orphanage

A disgusting example of things getting out of hand

Reconstruction & Eric Foner

For as long as I can remember I have been taught that the reconstruction of the south was corrupt and mishandled. It truly surprised me to learn that the history of this period had been misrepresented. A short history of reconstruction by Eric Foner was quite the enlightening read. So I decided to do some background research on Foner. He has been a faculty member in the department of history at Columbia University since 1982 and writes extensively on political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African American biography, Reconstruction, and historiography. Foner is considered the leading contemporary historian of the post-Civil War Reconstruction period. I really enjoyed the alternative view to the Reconstruction period that Foner offered. 

a short history of reconstruction

i really enjoyed the book! i thought it gave a great contradictory view of how history can be miswritten and misinterpreted. i want to watch a birth of a nation, or read the book.

Glorifiied Heroes?

History classes tend to glorify historical figures such as President Abraham Lincoln. They attribute black rights to his proposal of the emancipation proclamation, which was a direct result of the Civil War. Yet, according to Eric Foner's A Short History of Reconstruction, these figures should be anything but glorified. Lincoln, being the past owner of slaves, was not necessarily mindful of black rights. His concern was mainly with regaining the Southern confederate states back into the Union. He would then propose pardons to those southern states if they would oblige to no slavery. Though in order to get Southern states back into the Union, he allowed the Southerners to create new systems of black labor that would not involve slavery. This alone shows that Lincoln's main priority was not to liberate these slaves but to unify the nation and gain power through government. Pretty sad...

Winter Park History

In doing my third history engine, I got to learn a little more about the history of Winter Park. Once Winter Park was established in 1881, it was developed as a winter resort for northerners fleeing from the cold winters. The town became a main attraction because of its beautiful landscape and crystal clear lakes. It's population growth resulted in a higher economy, which hotels began profiting from. In order to keep Winter Park as a main attraction for northerners, the Town Improvement Association was established in 1887. The TIAWP was an organization whose main purpose was to conserve the natural habitat of the town. Members would plant trees as well as ornament any broken down streets or sidewalks. Pretty intereseting since Winter Park's beauty is still seen today!

Reconstruction

As I continue to read about the reconstruction period, it seems almost appalling of the course of events taking place, yet not mentioned much in our history books. What struck me the most was the uproar of violence due to racism after the emancipation of slavery. Records show that freed slaves who would attempt on leaving the plantation would be murdered. Also, a man who failed to take his hat off in the presence of a white would be murdered. These, along with a multitude of other murders show just how much racial tension there was in the South after the Civil War. The nation didn't willingly give up slavery and unify itself, rather it created greater issues revolving around blacks equal rights.

Equality?

In the reconstruction reading it was interesting to learn that all of the issues were focused on the freedmen. The policy makers did not learn anything about equality for all people. Some of the policies excluded Indians and women. What was even more amazing was how long it took for the women to realize that they were fighting for similar rights as the freedmen, and support each other in their causes. I got the impression that most of the women before believed that they should have more rights but not necessarily the freedmen. I'm sure some women still did believe that once the two groups realized their cause was similar; another example of tainted intentions and simply using the freedmen as a "poster cause".

Eric Foner

A Short History of Reconstruction was difficult for me to read. Foner jumps ideas when he talks about the policies created after the reconstruction. When I was reading it was difficult for me to understand when Foner was still talking about the same policy or when he was discussing the details of a new policy. It might have been so confusing because of all the names he was relating to the policies. What I did pick up from the reading was how corrupt this time was. Whether a person was pro-slavery or anti-slavery, their intentions were never pure. When the North supports the freedmen it is for reasons that benefit themselves.

Reconstruction

I never understood how much turmoil between the North and South still existed after the Civil War, or what a horrible president Johnson seemed to make. It is annoying to read how President Johnson was stuck in his ways; completely ignorant to other's opinions. I wonder if the reconstruction period would have been smoother if President Lincoln was still in control. Although it was interesting to find out from all the readings that President Lincoln was not the hero he was made out to be. I never knew that Lincoln's only reason for freeing the slaves was because he thought it would reunite the North and South; otherwise he would not have done it.

Issues of Resolving Slavery

Slavery is not an issue which one can resolve easily. Instead of it taking one law dictating everyone to show equal respect to men of all color, it will take more of a transition. There was the emancipation proclamation, Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan, etc. Although after these were issued, there were still going to be areas of discrimination. In Louisiana, the New Orleans Tribune demanded suffrage for the former slaves, so that they could be created equal. When such an issue as universal suffrage was resolved, that meant that the problems of slavery and discrimination would finally be resolved.

Civil War Meds

I couldn't image fighting in any war but especially the Civil War. The brutal Civil War saw many advances in medicine but also the most deaths of any American war. In class when we discussed how soldiers were amputated and saved, it seemed painful. The decision to die or cut of limbs must have been incredible to deal with. In prior wars if you got shot in most places you slowly died and there wasn't much that doctors could do. Now, in the Civil War there was hope for shot soldiers and led to a new found importance for battle Field doctors for the saving of lives. I think the hardest thing to imagine is not having real powerful pain killers during the procedures to amputate arms and legs. The pain that these people had to experience must have been so excruciating that the choice to live or die may have been thought about. The Civil War was powerful for its growth in medicine advances but also as a growth of a united country. Its hard to think about our country if the Confederates were able to separate from the United States. Were would we be now? Were would Florida be now?

Effects of Civil War on South and North

The effects of the civil war for the south were much different for the north. This difference is interesting because it shows how different the two regions are from each other. In the South, there was economic devastation and with the issue of abolishing slavery, people start to wonder what will happen with the cotton industry, as that is the leading economic drive for the south. On the other hand, in the North, the Civil War is more of a time for economic prosperity. The meat-packing industry grew, the woolen mills were producing more blankets and uniforms for the military, etc. This all just shows how the Civil War was a positive war for the north and negative for the south.

Library Reserch

Going down to the library archives was at first daunting but soon became enjoyable. I loved going down to the achieves, putting on the white gloves and soon investigating history from a first hand account. To often in school facts are just pushed in front of students without any primary research or accounts. I liked interrupting the primary documents and contextualizing them into a format that I felt relevant. I think I speak for the class when I say how helpful the staff of the archivists were in the pursuit of episodes and for pure helpfulness. I feel a new found comfort with this area of the library and would use it again for another classes primary research. I would like to know what other documents I could find and would also like to investigate more Rollins history. I learned so many things about my school and state by simply keeping an open mind and reading primary documents.

Seminole Indians Displacement

Its hard to believe in this day and age that the land we live on in Central Florida and Western Florida was once the land of the Seminole Indians. In fact, most of the state of Florida was populated by Seminole Indian tribes until the United States purchased the land in the 1820's. The relationship between the Indians and the Americans was hostile and lead to thousands of deaths and the displacement of the Indians. The Seminoles were forced westward and eventually into small controlled reservations. The United States continued its brutal history with natives in Florida and continued to disrespect the land that was controlled for thousands of years by these people. Its interesting to think if we were to fast forward the clock and these events happened today what would happen. With so many activists and discrimination groups I believe the United States wouldn't be able to take such land and displace whole tribes of Indians. Displacement is so linked with American History and should be seen as one of worst traits of early American development. The United States could have arranged treaties and land deals to more fairly involve the Indians for the fate of their native land.

Bone Key?

The Florida Keys is one of the most interesting areas in all of the United States. Key West has not always been known as the tourist destination that we think of it today. For my second episode I was able to research the early history and reputation for Key West. In the mid-1800's Key West was known primarily as a post to disband piracy in the Gulf of Mexico. The island was also had the highest population in all of Florida for a period of time, a fact that is hard to believe considering its small size. Key West became a strong military importance for the United States because it is the "southernmost" land. Key West has transformed in the last 150 years to one of the most sought after tourist destinations in the whole country. The unique island boasts miles of beaches and a history that includes treasure and pirates. It was interesting to research Key West because of the range of uses its had over the years, from trade post to cruise ship post and everything in between.

Rollins Baseball History

For my first episode I was able to explore the Rollins Baseball team history. Though it seemed a safe choice for an episode it was truly a meaningful experience. Flipping through the early pictures and documents I came to realize that being apart of Rollins Baseball was a privilege that linked me to this history. Every athlete should learn the history of their programs, especially in college. It makes you appreciate the time you spend on the Field and the players before you. My episode focused on the first Rollins Baseball game against Stetson in 1895. I never realized the struggle to simply travel to games. In these days teams had to travel by train and were often forced to end games early due to the trains departure. This was the case with Rollins who took a late lead in the eight inning and then was forced to leave back to Rollins on the train. This late game departure lead to a rivalry with Stetson who felt like they were cheated from a fair game. Rollins Baseball history was important for me to research and instilled a new found appreciation.

It's all over...almost!

And so we had our last history class yesterday morning and I am sure I speak on behalf of everyone in class in saying that it was unique!! But seriously I feel as though I am more of a historian having had to study the primary sources and linking the events in these sources to larger historical events and how realizing that everything in history is connected. I say almost because we have our papers due on Thursday. This paper, I feel, is giving me the opportunity to express my own opinion on the material we have studied in class and that is what makes a historian a historian; studying the sources and implementing your own opinion.

I didn't know that

Before this class I didn't even know there was a time period called reconstruction. I didn't know that racist southerners thought that they were just, in creating the KKK. I just thought they were evil resentful men, who had no souls. No wait, I was right they were. I just don't understand how a group of people think they are right in harming or killing another group of people just because they look different. I didn't know there were people that weren't members of the KKK that glorified them. I can't believe they made a movie about it and made it seem as though they were the good guys. I know in war which side is good and which side is bad all depends on who you ask. This wasn't a war it was just manslaughter. Silly me, using the word was like it doesn't exist. I guess it's kind of ironic how things work out. We as a nation were shocked that terrorist will just harm or kill an American just for being an American. We did it for years. I wonder when they'll stop. I guess this is just history repeating itself.

Isn't life grand when you understand it

So I finally figured out how I was suppose to approach my episodes. At least I thought I did. I had already read the history engine episodes for my former episodes and they were no help. I went to the writing center and forgot my assignment. I didn't exactly know what I was suppose to be doing, so I couldn't explain it well to the writing consultant. Finally with the help of a friend and re-reading over the comments left on my episodes by professor Chambers, I reached some clarity. I spent three and a half hours rewriting a two hundred word episode. I did actual research and made my episode drier, and less whimsical. I stuck to the cold hard facts. I though to myself, "I am not going to do badly this time". I cut out every style I thought would help me and adapted to a completely different one. A style that I had never used before. Then finally after all the research and rewriting, I was done. I was ready, I tucked the episode away in my folder and hoped that it was what it was suppose to look like. I gave my episode to Professor Chambers, so he could read it. I waited impatiently while he decided whether or not I waisted all my time. I thought to myself "If it was a bad episode this time I don't know what I'd do". Then finally he said "it's good". I didn't want good anymore, I wanted great. So I worked even harder when I revised my other two episodes. I finally knew what I was doing. Finally it all made sense.

Third time is not the charm

Yes I finally got it. I knew what I was going to do well. I was going to combine all of the different writing styles I acquired freshmen year, and use them to make an amazing episode. I went to the Winter Park library and I found something that deeply interested me. An advertisement that was guaranteed to gyp anybody that bought into it. I used my Art History style to write about the picture at the top of the article, and what the artist was trying to accomplish by putting it in the advertisement. I used my Darkness Visible writing skills to make it whimsical and entertaining. Then finally I used my writing about movies style to interconnect the episode with one outside theme. Yes I thought to myself, "this episode is going to be amazing". "Finally I will get a good grade on my episode". If you read the title you know how this turns out. Not to be anti-climatic, but I didn't receive that grade I thought I was going to receive. As a matter of fact I received a grade on this episode worse then I did on the other two. I was a sad, confused student that day.

Second time around

After writing about a boring episode, I decided to go back to the archives and find something interesting. Like a fight, or the diary of two lovers having to hide their love, or the diary of a women overcoming oppression. Nothing. So instead I settled and wrote about a letter written by a former Rollins College student. I took a different approach to the assignment. Instead of writing the episode the way I would for an Art History class (describing what I saw and then writing theories on why the picture is the way it is), I wrote it the way I would for my Darkness Visible Class. I also wrote it like I would for my Writing about movies class. I took the theme of the letter and connected it to some major outside theme. So I talked about the letter and then referenced it to children's school environments now a days. I thought it was better than the first. The episode didn't go over that well. So it was back to work.

This is Her story not His

The first Episode was truly difficult for me, I didn't know how to approach it. My first episode was a picture of Rollins College in 1886. It was interesting. I thought it be fun to write about Rollins in it's earliest state. The assignment sounded cool. I was going to re-create history. I was going to bring an artifact to life. Then when I finally sat down it got really confusing. I re-read the directions and took the word episode literally. I took it as a story not a narrative. So I started writing an episode. I tried to describe the picture the best I could so that the readers could use their imagination and visualize it. Therefore, they would know exactly what I was talking about. After I started writing the episode instead of the artifact being a connection between now and the past, it was just an old picture. So I looked at more pictures, and finally I found something that interested me, fire. It turns out Knowles Hall was burned down in 1909. I started looking through pro-quest to find out how the building burned down. However that offered me no help. So instead I took the burning down as something that nobody knew about. I began writing an episode filled with mystery, twist and theories. I thought I was perfectly fine by doing so because Dr. Chambliss told us to complete the assignment to the best of our knowledge. To the best of my Knowledge meant, only the people that burned down the building knew what happened. I started writing the story, but somehow I got carried away. Then I revised my episode made it a little more concrete and was ready to turn it in. Then tragedy struck, I looked at the picture's date and saw that the building burned down in 1909. So I began writing about the boring, old picture again. Then half-way through the episode I started writing about the building again. Needless to say I didn't do so well on my first episode.

Final Thoughts

In all honesty, I really did not want to take this class.

Great way to start a blog. I have never been interested in history. I never retained any information from any of the history classes I took in high school. It was all memorization, regurgitation, and then forgetting. Not to suck up, but this is the first history class I was legitimately interested in and walked away from actually remembering things.

I put random stars in my notes by things I wanted to know more about. I never realized how much history could help me understand things within my major (English). Taking an American History class right before my American Literature class definitely worked in my favor. I can actually name the first 16 presidents now. I know when the Civil War started and ended (I definitely did not know that before). I found everything leading up to the Civil War to be fascinating (secession of states, Missouri Compromise, Bleeding Kansas, etc.). I finally appreciate history and why it is important to understanding where we are today in our government.

Class Today

Before class today, it had never occurred to me that historians would warp stories in history so readers would see it their way. In my American Literature class we had studied the story of Amistad (the slave ship on which the slaves rebelled) we talked about in class today. When we discussed it in my American Lit class, it was made out to be this story of bravery and courage, and I never thought that years before people could have been teaching it in a completely different perspective. This also became apparent to me earlier in the semester when we were talking about Thomas Jefferson. He is always made out to be this upstanding man and great leader and president. While that may be true, it is also true that he strongly opposed having slave in his political campaign, but he owned slaves. This is extremely contradictory and not the president I had studied in middle and high school. This is a bizarre comparison, but it is like the game telephone. One person says a sentence and whispers it to the person beside them, and they whisper it to the person, etc. until it goes all the way around the circle and usually, the last person says a completely different sentence from the original. Historical stories are similar. As they are passed down, they become different depending on the view of the person telling them. It makes me think twice about what historical stories I am reading...

Reconstruction...Path to destruction??

When thinking about Reconstruction, image of an improving and developing nation come to mind. Yet, Eric Foner describes it differently in his book. The period of time after the civil war, known as the Reconstruction, was marked a time of instability and greater inequalities to the newly "freed" African American. It seems surprising that a nation, specifically in this case the Union, would fight a war to abolish slavery, and then to not truly grant these freedom's to African Americans. For example, African Americans, although free, were not granted the right to vote. In 1863, President Lincoln passed the Ten Percent Plan of Reconstruction which basically admitted Confederate states into the Union if 10 percent of its voters would take an oath of allegiance to the US and abolish slavery for good. Many northern abolitionist were enraged at Lincoln's lenient ways and for not enforcing black suffrage and equal rights. Though, Lincoln's main concern was not of the African Americans, but mostly of getting the Confederate States back into the Union. By administering Black suffrage and equal rights, the Confederate states would not consider signing into the Union. Although the Reconstruction has its good intents, it resulted in creating an even greater issue, the institution of racial inequality.

Today

Our discussion today in class was very interesting. I never really enjoyed history because my history teacher in highschool was very boring, monotone, you know that whole thing. But that is not the case anymore. Another issue has reared its head. That history depends upon the person who is recording it. It is truly hard to get information today, in book, the internet, on tv, anywhere, without hearing the opinion of others inside the information. It is a subliminal, overlooked issue in most of the education today. But then again, it is hard to separate and write somehitng without inforcing your opinion, its a right we have in our society. But then you need to look at the source in which the information was given by, and then read other perspectives to truly make your own interpretation. Just a thought!

Information about the book that The Birth of a Nation was based off of.

The Clansman is a book published in 1905 and a play, part of a trilogy by Thomas F. Dixon, Jr. that also included The Leopard's Spots and The Traitor. It was influential in providing the mythology and ideology inherent in the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), after being filtered through a retelling in the movie The Birth of a Nation. The play made such an impact that many advocates for African American rights associated the film's racism with Dixon rather than director D.W. Griffith.
The play particularly inspired the second half of The Birth of a Nation, being concerned with the KKK and Reconstruction rather than the American Civil War. According to Professor Russell Merritt, key differences between the play and film are said to include the fact that Dixon was more sympathetic to Southerners pursuing education and modern professions, whereas Griffith stressed ownership of the plantation; moreover, Dixon envisioned the KKK as more professional and structured.
Dixon wrote The Clansman as a message to Northerners to maintain racial segregation, as the work claims that blacks when free turn savage.

Wikipedia

African Americans and the Civil War

It seems intriguing to me that all throughout middle school and high school, my history teachers continuously taught that the root cause of the Civil War was the abolition of slavery. It wasn't until my senior year of high school and now that I was shown otherwise. Although the end result of the American Civil War was indeed the abolition of slavery, it was not its main cause. In the Short History of Reconstruction, Eric Fonner explains the root cause of the war was the "restoration of the Union" (3) rather than emancipation. Unlike the Southern views, the Union shared strong anti slavery ideals, and even set out a few provision eliminating its presence in the north. Although Black were "free" in the north, they were hardly treated as equals. Having served in the war efforts, blacks were segregated into their own units under the command of a white officer. They were also paid considerably less than whites were. It seems ironic that a nation that is trying uphold its values of equality and justice for its citizens cannot give fair treatment to a certain group of individuals because they are African American. One thing that Fonner writes in his text shocked me the most when he writes a quote from a rice planter of South Carolina of the Civil War. He stated that he believed the slaves were happy and content in the position that they were in. This seems surprising to me since I could not understand how anyone would be happy being the PROPERTY of someone else, being forced into hard labor, and being treated as an inferior. This just shows how oblivious Southern Plantation owners were to their slaves lives. Their concern was mainly that of economic gains with no respect towards their slaves rights as humans.

Old Photos of Rollins College

My third episode dealt with pictures I found of Rollins College when it was first build. Two of the founders of Winter Park made up a brochure advertising the benefits of moving to Winter Park, and one of the things they described was Rollins. They drew a sketch of what Rollins originally looked like, and it was really interesting to see it. There were only four buildings, and you can distinctly make out Pinehurst Cottage in the photo. It looks exactly the same! They had one classroom building, a women's dorm, a men's dorm, and the dining hall. And of course Mills Lawn. Our school has grown so much since then. I sometimes forget how historic Rollins is. It is the oldest private university in Florida and it has come a long way since 1885.

The First Presbyterian Church

Even though I had visited the Flager Memorial Church before, it took until my History Episode Nr.2 for me to fully understand its significance.
Not only did it have a significant impact on St.Augustine as a community in that it significantly enriched the religious, cultural, and social life of the city, it also was of great architectural importance. Built in the style of the Venetian Renaissance, the building unified several architectural styles such as Romanesque, Greek, Gothic and Byzantine in a magnificent way. Additionally, the Church is unique in that it is among the first large-scale mass-concrete constructions in Florida since Roman times.

A Social Event of Mary E. Brown

In one of Mary Brown's journal entries, there was an entry found that described a day when she and Mary McClure were both invited by Colonel Franklin Fairbanks to have dinner with him at the Seminole Hotel. This was such a significant event because Colonel Franklin Fairbanks was a well-known man who first entered his family business when he was 18. He had a lot of money and he was one of the first trustees of Rollins College. The interesting part of this journal entry was that Mary Brown and Mary McClure declined this invitation. There was no mention of why they could not attend.

Thomas, the Slave

I found a Receipt of a transaction of selling a slave in the Olins Library Archives and it was really interesting to see in writing and see that it actually existed. I was astonished to know that they could actually give a man a price, like he was a piece of clothing. George N. Linns, the slave's owner, sold to Thomas, the slave, to the government for military use. Thomas was 5 ft. 5 in. tall, weighs 150 lbs, and his price was $4520. He was meant to fight in the army by the enrollment of the Free Negroes and Slaves.

Sydney and Joshua Chase and Their Contribution To Florida

Sydney and Joshua Chase were both brothers of the Chase family from Germantown, Philadelphia. They moved down to Florida and in 1884, Chase and Company was founded by these brothers. This was such a significant move because it contributed towards the availability of vegetables and citrus fruits in Florida and around the country. Eventually these two brothers took over another company, the Flacal Sales Agency (1924-1936).
There were problems with many of these citrus companies in Florida because when there was a real estate boom in Florida, which led to an expansion of the roads, and thus shipping of the fruits was easier. This led to the market being flooded by citrus fruits and there was a lot of questioning of the quality. The Florida Citrus Exchange in 1909 was in charge of the self-regulation, but the Chase brothers decided to stay independent from this group until 1928.

Episode 3

For my history episode #3, I wrote about the development of the Town Improvement Association of Winter Park whose main purpose was to maintain and preserve the city's natural beauty. Once Winter Park was established in 1881, it was a hot spot for northerners fleeing from their harsh winters. The city was ideal for their establishment since it was full of land, beautiful landscapes and pristine crystal lakes. Due to this natural beauty, the city's growth increased dramatically. Hotels began to establish, profiting greatly. Yet, conservation methods were not taking serious until the development of the Town Improvement Association. This association granted its members awards if they were to plant a tree or to pay a small fee for the year of membership. The organizations goal was to fix any broken sidewalks or streets as well as to ornament them if needed. This becomes interesting since this conservation organization was mainly formulated as a strategic plan to keep Winter Park the tourist hot spot.