As the Middle East moved into the 20th Century, they were inspired by the West to start to reform and modernize.  What stopped most of their reform efforts were European nations that felt better when the Ottoman Empire was united and stagnant.  The last thing they wanted was the Ottomans to fall and separate nations … Continue reading Class Notes →

I was listening to a duet this morning and thought to myself this must be the most famous country duet ever.  Of course that sparked my interest and so I came up with my Mount Rushmore of country duets.  This is history right? 4. Whiskey Lullaby by Allison Krauss and Brad Paisley.  The song I … Continue reading Class Notes →

The largest and longest lasting Muslim empire was the Ottomans.  During their reign, they divided their subjects up into religious communities called Millits.  Each of these Millits had autonomy over their own people.  They had their own schools, looked out for their own needs, and most importantly followed their own laws.  In other words, Sharia … Continue reading Class Notes →

When it comes to the history of American music possibly the most forgotten name is James Reese Europe.  Born in 1881 to freed slaves, Reese is one of the founders of what we call American music.  Before this time period we had American literature and art, but not really anything uniquely American in music for … Continue reading Class Notes →

Sharia law for Muslims is made up of four parts. First the Quran, which is the word of God as spoken by the Prophet Muhammad.  Second are the Hadiths, the saying of the Prophet.  These come from different men who knew him.  Not all Muslims agree with the same Hadiths.  Think of them like books … Continue reading Class Notes →

If you want to understand how hard life was in the Gilded Age think about this. When the government finally passed child labor laws for factory workers it said children younger than 12 could not work and children over 12 can only work for 10 hours a day.  If these laws were meant to help, … Continue reading Class Note →

First, I want to say thank you for the service of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.  She served with honor.  She was only the second female justice on the Supreme Court and championed the causes of women and all Americans.  What I will remember the most about her was her pop star status.  Few justices become famous.  … Continue reading Supreme Court →

With race issues being so complicated right now, it is important to understand the meaning of race historically.  Race is a social construct.  Where we use the word race today, we should use ethnicity.  Ethnicity is biological.  If you use DNA today to trace your history it will tell you percentages of different ethnicities, not … Continue reading Class Notes →

For years now I have been saying that we have seen worse times in our nation’s history and we are not as divided now as we have been in the past.  I always say that we are not yet to 1860 and not even to 1968.  As I think about this now, I finally believe … Continue reading Class Notes →