An ongoing project to add to the success of USHistorySite.com, I've recently launched USHistoryQuotes.com.
USHistoryQuotes.com will have more than just quotes from presidents and your cliche Americans, but will also include important and more obscure statesmen, athletes, activists and artists.
Would love to get some suggestions from my readers as to who should be included on the site. In other words... who do you think is quote worthy?
Friday, September 25, 2009
USHistoryQuotes.com
Friday, August 28, 2009
Upcoming Contest on EverythingHistory.com
Starting Monday 8/31, EverythingIsHistory.com will be running a trivia contest on their website.
I've been told it won't be that tough, and they'll actually give you the answers before they ask the questions.
So what's the incentive? CASH and PRIZES!
There will be a prize given away each day, including a grand prize of a $50 gift card to Amazon for one lucky participant!
The rules are simple, it's free to participate, and you can find more details here: http://everythingishistory.
The winner for the day will then be chosen at random from the correct answers and will be announced the following morning. Prizes include the books State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America
, and How the States Got Their Shapes
, and a few others.The blog is pretty cool too... so check it out.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
100 Twitter Feeds That Teach You History
Some people don't understand Twitter. Part of that problem comes with its original intent. But what Twitter has become is so much more. Twitter is a great place to find information... just choose a few good people to follow and suddenly you're inundated with more cool links than you can handle.
Here are some Twitter feeds that offer all sorts of historical facts ranging from American history to European and everything in between. Labeled, the 100 Twitter Feeds that Teach You History.
This blogs feed was included.... now check out the other 99.
http://associatedegree.org/2009/08/19/100-twitter-feeds-that-teach-you-history/
And if you haven't already, sign up for my feed... http://twitter.com/USHistorySite - I post information about cool websites and articles that are appropriate for my audience.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Links to History: World War II Comic Books
I receive great information via email and love to that information with you...
This one comes from the editor of America in WWII magazine... and it reads:
"While preparing the current issue of AMERICA IN WWII magazine (available at Barnes & Noble, Borders), we found two gutsy, fun, high-quality World War II comic books produced by, believe it or not, the US government!
America was desperate for high-octane warplane fuel early in World War II. But sagging morale slowed refinery construction. The US government's Petroleum Administration for War (PAW) searched for a solution and decided the answer was...comic books! PAW published two comic books for petroleum refinery construction workers in 1943.
We ran a photo essay on the comic books in our current issue. But the comic books are so cool that we decided to post both of them in their entirety on our website, www.americainwwii.com, as downloadable PDFs.
Here are the urls for the comic books: http://www.americainwwii.com/
Both comic books are in the public domain. The copies we scanned are housed in the National Archives II in College Park, Maryland.
Please feel free to share the links and pass the comics around. Who knows, they may just raise morale nationwide!"
There... I just did.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
What would Teddy Roosevelt think about Michael Vick?
Many of you may know I live and breathe Philadelphia. I was born and raised in the outskirts of this town and I'm proud to now live within it's boundaries. With that, comes a love for the Philadelphia Eagles.
For the record, I support the franchise and it's signing of Michael Vick. Many outsiders probably don't understand head coach Andy Reid and the problems his two oldest sons have had with drugs and run-ins with the law. To make a long story short, they've made some terrible decisions, and they've been given a second chance. Michael Vick deserves that chance too.
And as it turns out, the day after the Eagles' shocked the world by signing Michael Vick, was a day I was able to look into the past and find out what Teddy Roosevelt might think about what Michael Vick did. Douglas Brinkley's book The Wilderness Warrior, gives us a glimpse of Roosevelt's views on animal cruelty.
Roosevelt, an avid hunter, had no problem defending his seemingly hypocritical beliefs. It would be a difficult task to find someone who loves hunting - and eating game - more than Roosevelt. His defense? Darwinism. Stay with me here... In the wild, the death of the hunted was very violent, where prey were often torn to pieces by their predators. Hunting, if done correctly, was a more human way of killing the animal. Roosevelt insisted that hunters follow an ethical code to make it a true gentleman sport. He didn't like traps or abusive treatment of wild or domestic animals. Even cattle and lambs brought to slaughter should be handled with dignity. The Roosevelt family, firmly believed that animal shelters and sterilization methods needed to be established in major cities. So I think we can conclude that Roosevelt would not have approved of dog fighting.
As a child a horse being flogged or a dog being kicked made Roosevelt sick. President Roosevelt believed that all animals could feel pain, and therefore deliberate infliction of pain had to be stopped. Roosevelt also believed that some animals had emotions and thought similar to humans. To quote him...
"I believe that the higher mammals and birds have reasoning powers, which differ in degree rather than kind from the lower reasoning powers of, for instance, the lower savages."
Roosevelt's grandfather, Cornelius V.S. Roosevelt and his grand-uncle John J. Roosevelt both played integral parts in the establishment and incorporation of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Theodore Roosevelt: The Wilderness Warrior - A Man Before His Time
What's amazing about the quote below, is not the eloquence of the statement, but the idea behind it. A man before his time, often criticized for his desire to preserve land, Theodore Roosevelt's quotes are even more special today. Our new found desire for greenness, and the reality of environmental awareness as a true virtue and the destruction of it as a true problem, make Teddy's words that much more important.
Used as in introduction to the The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America
"Defenders of the short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things sometimes seek to champion them by saying the 'the game belongs to the people.' So it does; and not merely to the people now alive, but to the unborn people. The 'greatest good for the greatest number' applies to the number within the womb of time, compared to which those now alive form but an insignificant fraction. Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wild life and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method."- Theodore Roosevelt, A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open (1916)
The picture here shows Roosevelt hiking Yosemite with Sierra Club founder John Muir. Roosevelt should be commended for setting aside so much land. The land TR saved for the National Forests was greater than France, Belgium and Holland combined.Roosevelt is a gem, and we are very lucky that he took the initiative to make conservation a national endeavor.
A book I'm reviewing now focuses on exactly this...
Roosevelt's role as the "naturalist president". The book, entitled The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America,
I'm enjoying this book so much - you'll probably see several blog entries from me concerning this book... great research, great read.
Click here to check out the book and read some reviews.
More Roosevelt Quotes:
http://ushistoryquotes.com/teddy
http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/life/quotes.htm
John Muir Quotes:
http://ushistoryquotes.com/john_muir_quotes.php
Thursday, August 06, 2009
How to... embed a link into the comment field
First and foremost, thanks to all of those who chimed into the roll call. It's always good to get a sense of who's reading this thing and to find out how I can improve.
I gave you guys the opportunity to promote your blogs and websites - and many of you took advantage of that. However, I noticed that a lot of you with blogs and websites, didn't take the time, or maybe don't know how to actually link to your site.
So I took the time to show you how...
I used a cool tool called Jing to record my computer movements and show you how... Check it out below. The video is embedded, but it's much easier to see if you click the link below the video.
Click this link to see it full screen:
http://www.screencast.com/users/klkatz/folders/Jing/media/7936f538-dbed-4f40-abec-2107fb1900e6
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Roll Call: Who's Reading this blog?
Because of my curiosity and my desire to continuously improve this blog and the sites that accompany it, I'm gathering information. Another call to arms so to speak.
Once again, I'd like my readers to check in - and tell me a little about themselves. When I first did this, about a year ago, I had about 50 RSS subscribers/readers. I now have over 200. I also have close to 30 blog followers and a dozen email subscribers. Thank you all for wanting to receive my information, it's a pleasure providing it.
What I'd like is for some of you to chime in and give all of our readers a quick note about yourself. As a guideline, maybe you can answer the following questions.
- age, occupation - or you can be anonymous
- how you heard about/stumbled upon USHistoryBlog
- what part of history is your favorite
- which features you like about this blog - what else you'd like to see
- and if you have a blog/site of your own, feel free to plug it... this is a community
Thanks in advance for your time. And thank you for reading...
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Government is Like a Baby... Ronald Reagan
With a 7 day old child, haven't found much time to write the things I'd like to write. But I did find this quote, which is appropriate on two levels.
"Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite
at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."
- Ronald Reagan
For more quotes go to USHistoryQuotes.com
Monday, July 20, 2009
Appollo Moon Landing
I just finished watching the original CBS recording of the moon landing on the History Channel.
As a celebration for the event I bought some Tang. I had never had Tang before. I was looking for the original orange flavor, but found orange mixed with strawberry instead. It's pretty good. More about Tang: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_(drink)
There were several things about the CBS telecast that left an impression on me. First, it appeared as if Cronkite and his wing man remained on the air all night. They would regularly show the time in the upper left of the screen and it appeared to start around 9:30 PM and they were still broadcasting at 4 AM when the lunar module left the moon.
For the telecast from the Moon, Armstrong and his associates won the Best Foreign Television award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1969.
Something else I noticed was the pure joy and elation from Cronkite. Much like the emotion he showed during Kennedy's assassination, his feelings let us know that Cronkite is real. And so is the moon landing. But just in case there are some of you out there who like the conspiracy theories behind this event... here's your link... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Moon_Landing_hoax_conspiracy_theories
Below is a video with reflections from Walter Cronkite.
And finally, in response to recent events I bring you the second man to moonwalk...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Walter Cronkite Dies at 92
Though not the voice of my generation, he was the voice for many. He was the news.
He was invited into the living rooms of millions of Americans and reported the news. Unlike today's biased networks who purposely leave out all the facts and all the information, Cronkite would tell you what he knew.
Consider the clip below.
Clearly shaken by the sudden death of JFK, you can hear a crack in his voice. A crack that signified that he, like the rest of the world, was effected by the news of Kennedy's death. You can see it in the video at about the 5:15-5:20 mark. Cronkite's professionalism soon takes over and he reports the news as he knows it to be.
And that's the way it is.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Mister James K. Polk, our 11th President
There are many of us who find the presidency of James K. Polk to be interesting. After all, he did accomplish a lot in his one and only term. He also adds to the allure of his legacy by opting not to run for a second term.
Most notably famous for his successful foreign policy. First he acquired lots of land in the Pacific Northwest by threatening to go to war with Britain, essentially taking what we know of as the Oregon Territory. Next, he was president during the Mexican–American War which resulted in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, where the United States took land from Mexico. James K. Polk is manifest destiny at it's finest, in all Polk was able to secure over 900,000 square miles for the expansion of the United States.
For a history teacher, this is pretty cool stuff. But for a student....? Aahh, maybe not so interesting. So how about teaching about James K. Polk through song. The band They Might be Giants (TMBG) makes it easy for you.
Click the play button below, and read the lyric and I'm sure you'll agree that they've got the facts straight. Then go to TMBG's page below for an annotated version of their lyrics.
James K. Polk Lyrics
Artist: They Might Be Giants
Album: Factory Showroom
In 1844, the Democrats were split
The three nominees for the presidential candidate
Were Martin Van Buren, a former president and an abolitionist
James Buchanan, a moderate
Louis Cass, a general and expansionist
From Nashville came a dark horse riding up
He was James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump
Austere, severe, he held few people dear
His oratory filled his foes with fear
The factions soon agreed
He's just the man we need
To bring about victory
Fulfill our manifest destiny
And annex the land the Mexicans command
And when the votes were cast the winner was
Mister James K. Polk, Napoleon of the Stump
In four short years he met his every goal
He seized the whole southwest from Mexico
Made sure the tarriffs fell
And made the English sell the Oregon territory
He built an independent treasury
Having done all this he sought no second term
But precious few have mourned the passing of
Mister James K. Polk, our eleventh president
Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump
Here's a link to TMBG's site and some explanations of the lyrics.
http://www.tmbg.org/learning/jameskpolk/
Kudos to TMBG for making it easy for teachers to use their song in class.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Happy 4th of July
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. "
- John Adams
Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.
- Thomas Jefferson
Hey guys... 233 Years and Counting...
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
What Makes a Good US History Textbook?
I recently received an email from a US History teacher in Hawaii, who inquired about a text book that accurately portrays "the other side" as it deals with America's dealings with the American Indian and the annexation of Hawaii.
At a loss, I figured I'd post his request to see if anyone out there can give him some guidance. Please comment below or email me directly at USHistorySite at gmail dot com.
This also begs the question, What makes a good American History textbook?
His request below. Thanks in advance for your help.
Aloha,
I teach in a small (only 40 students grades K-12) Public Charter School in Hawai'i whose students are all Hawaiian and who all come from families from the privately-owned island of Ni'ihau. Most of our students speak Hawaiian as their first language, and those who don't have chosen our school because part of the mission of the school is to help strengthen and perpetuate the Ni'ihau dialect among this small community who are the only speakers of this dialect in the entire world.
So far we have been doing project-based or topic-based lessons in US history, but I've been wondering if there exists a good high school textbook (or other book) that presents all the great things in US history but which also deals fairly with the not-so-admirable topics by presenting "the other side," especially when dealing with American Indians and even the annexation of Hawai'i.
Hawaiian students are more than aware of the injustice of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, and the sovereignty movement is definitely a live issue here, so sometimes it's a fine line between acknowledging past wrongs and still appreciating the good side of the US, especially for these students.
I've searched the Internet and asked other teachers here on Kaua'i, but no one seems to know if such a book exists. I've never even entered a blog site before, but I started wondering if this is a way to find what I'm looking for. On thing to consider is that for most of our students, English is their second language, so the difficulty of the language in a text must be considered.
To whomever reads this: Is this a way to help me in my search, or do you have any other suggestions?
Mahalo (thank you),
Hokulani Cleeland
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