In George W. Bush’s book Decision Points, he said his greatest regret was the mission accomplished banner on the USS Abraham Lincoln. It was something that has haunted him ever since. Bush’s mistake is reminiscent of President Johnson trying to calm America’s fears over the Vietnam War, telling them they were winning and the war … 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
Ho Chi Mihn has a more complicated history than most know. He was in France and became a supporter of President Wilson after WWI. He particularly liked Wilson’s self-determination, or the concept that all people should govern themselves. He later fought alongside the US in World War II against the Japanese. He became disillusioned with … Continue reading Class Notes
Domestic Military Acation
If you read this column, then you know my goal is not to persuade to a particular belief but to merely inform with historical knowledge. Such is the case with many online comments I have read over the past few weeks. With protest marches widespread, President Trump has threatened to use military action to … Continue reading Domestic Military Acation
Class Notes
Tomorrow marks a holiday that this year has taken on new meaning and I have been asked by a reader to clear up a misconception. Juneteenth celebrates the day when slaves in Texas, June 19th, 1865, heard about emancipation and the end of the Civil War. Most sources talk about how Texas was too far … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
One of the things that helped get the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed was the death of Kennedy. Kennedy would have struggled to get southern Democrats on board with the Bill, but no one was going to stand against it as the dying wish of a popular president. Instead it passed 289 to 126, … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
I don’t know what the future will hold, but for right now the death of George Floyd is reminiscent of the death of Emmett Till. Like with Floyd, there were many other deaths of young Black men in the 1940s and 1950s, but there was something about Till and news coverage of the funeral that … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
When JFK was running in 1960 he said, “Freedom and Communism are in a deadly embrace; the world cannot exist half slave and half free.” He later went on to say that the US was suffering from a “missile gap,” in other words the Russians had more nuclear weapons than we did and we need … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
American foreign policy during the Cold War revolved around the idea of Containment. Containment was the brainchild of George Kennan, who believed that Stalin was more interested in security at home than advancement of Communism. The Soviets wanted to spread Communism, but not if it threatened them at home. So, in order for America to … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
What we need is another election of 1952. The winner was a lock even before the parties announced their candidates. Both parties in '52 were hoping to nominate Dwight D. Eisenhower, the hero of WWII. The only issue was no one knew what party he supported. When he announced he was a Republican the 20-year … Continue reading Class Notes
Class Notes
During WWII in order to convince Americans it was OK to support the Russians in the War we began calling Stalin Uncle Joe. We played him off as a stern but fair leader. We knew better, but we needed his help to win the war. We quickly found out he was really the ruthless leader … Continue reading Class Notes
Historically Speaking 