Teddy Roosevelt may be debated about when it comes to good or bad presidents, but there is no debate on his importance. He is the president who bridged the gap between the weak presidents of the 19th Century and the strong ones in the 20th. He was the first of the Progressive presidents and did … 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
Its election day, the day where we are supposed to celebrate living in a democracy. However, this year my fear is that will be the most violent day since 9/11. I hope those living in cities have some precautions in place in case you need to hunker down for a few days. Make sure you … Continue reading Class Notes
National Unity
With the election this week, I want to address an issue I have heard from both sides but which has been much more prominent with Joe Biden. Biden claims that if elected he can unite Americans whereas Trump is dividing us. What Biden and all politicians do not understand is that they can only unite … Continue reading National Unity
Class Notes
One interesting thing about the new nations that emerged in the Middle East after WWI is that the Arabs who fought with the Allies were left without independent nations. Yet the Turks, who formed the Ottoman Empire and sided with the losing Central Powers walked away with a free and independent Turkey.
Class Notes
One of the side effects of the Progressive movement was our involvement in international affairs. Progressives felt they could fix the nation’s problems if they made everyone like them, so why not the rest of the world as well? This will be played out with our involvement in the 1895 Cuban Revolution. Cubans wanted to … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
The Gilded Age believed in a very limited government. All that changed during the Progressive Era. It was the Progressives belief that Government did have a role and could help change people’s lives for the better. What was good about the Progressives is that they believed they could make every life better and for many … Continue reading Class Notes
Supreme Court Nominations
As if 2020 has not been bad enough, with just a few weeks before the presidential election, the beloved Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away. Not only did we lose a judicial icon, but her death caused a vacancy on the high court that is turning into one of the biggest fights of … Continue reading Supreme Court Nominations
Class Notes
Literature helped bridge the gap between the Gilded Age and the Progressive Age. Many authors came out with novels showing the divide between rich and poor and ways to create equality. One such author was Edward Bellamy, who wrote, “Looking Backwards.” Bellamy’s book was a Utopian novel where the protagonist Julian West fell asleep in … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
I think most Americans know little of Middle Eastern history. One of the biggest surprises is that the nations of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel are now only 100 years old. Israel is even younger; it was created in 1948. Before WWI these nations did not exist, they were part of one large Ottoman … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
The Populists Party was the most important 3rd party in American history. Even though their platform was incredibly radical and shocked people at the time, later movements like the Progressives, will pick up their issues and turn them into law. It was like the Populists were needed to shock the people and dull them so … Continue reading Class Notes
