With America still in a difficult situation in 1876, not being far removed from the Civil War and in the midst of Reconstruction, Grant put it out there that he was willing to run for a third term, so America could have stable leadership. The problem was the economy had taken a turn for the … Continue reading Class Notes
Author: James Finck
Dr. James W. Finck was raised in the shadows of history in the great state of Virginia. Growing up it was difficult to travel too far without running into a monument or battlefield from the Revolutionary or Civil War. In this environment, Finck developed a love for studying the past and from his youth knew that he wanted to make it his life’s work. Finck received a B.A. from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He then studied under James I. Robertson and William C. Davis at Virginia Tech, while earning a Master’s degree. Finally, he received his Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas, under the direction of Daniel Sutherland. For five years, Finck taught at the University of Texas-Pan American before accepting his current position as American Historian at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in 2011. At a small liberal arts institution, Finck considers himself a generalist in history, but his specialties are the Civil War and American Politics. Finck has established himself in Oklahoma with the creation of the Oklahoma Civil War Symposium, which has brought in leading Civil War scholars for the past eight years, and he has spoken at many venues around Oklahoma, especially working with the Honey Spring Battlefield. Finck is the author of Divided Loyalties: Kentucky’s Struggle for Armed Neutrality in the Civil War, as well as Images of America: Chickasha. Finck is also the author of the syndicated newspaper column “Historically Speaking.”
Class Notes
The Netherlands was different than other European nations in the 17th Century. Most nations were fighting religious wars while the Dutch allowed for religious freedom, the reason the Pilgrims went there originally. They practiced a form a democracy where each town was basically independent and would come together when needed under the House of Orange. … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
Even though we associate the witch trials with the Puritans, witches were being tried in all thirteen colonies. The Puritans just did it better. There were also around 344 people accused of witchcraft in the colonies and about 80% of them were women. Of the males, most were accused because of association with a female … Continue reading Class Notes
Cultural Appropriation
In the current environment of race sensitivity, I think it is necessary to ask certain questions. I think the best way to move forward as a nation is to have a dialoged. With Halloween approaching I am reminded of a situation last year where children were criticized for dressing up as characters not of their … Continue reading Cultural Appropriation
Class Notes
Even though in the years after the Civil War the Republican Party dominated, they did begin to see few cracks in the 1872 election. Some of the liberal Republicans did not support Grant for a second term. They feared the corruption in the Grant administration and Republican corruption in the South with Reconstruction. These Republicans … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
Puritan theology came from two covenants. The Covenant of Work came from Adam. Adam was promised he would live forever if he kept God’s law. Adam broke the covenant when he ate the fruit and was expelled. All of Adam's children are under the same covenant and would now all die because of sin. However, … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
During Reconstruction the thing that scared white southerners the most and pushed them towards secession happened anyway; the Republican Party got a foothold in the South. Districts with a White majority still voted Democrat, but with the army in the South protecting the Black vote, districts with Black majorities voted Republican, often times Black Republicans. … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
The Puritans who settled in Massachusetts were a religious sect of the Church of England. When Henry VIII died his young son Edward took over the crown and ruled as a Protestant. After his young death, his older sister Mary (Bloody Mary) took over and switched England back to Catholicism. When she died after a … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
Like all elections the 1868 Election must be understood in the context of the events of the time. 1868 was in the middle of Reconstruction and so how to handle the states in rebellion was the primary question. Republicans wanted to safeguard the rights and protections of the new freedmen, while the Democrats did not … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
Most people know that Massachusetts was founded for religious reasons, however, what most do not know is that Maryland was also a religious colony. In 1632, the King gave Lord Baltimore a charter for land on the Chesapeake as a heaven for Catholics. Catholics had been persecuted in England in the past, but King James … Continue reading Class Notes
