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
Category: Class Notes
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
Class Notes on the State of Virginia
I am a Virginian and proud of my roots. I was raised in Fairfax Country in the heart of Mosby’s Confederacy. I fell in love with history in Mrs. Owen’s fourth grade class. She captured my attention with stories of the Gray Fox and Stonewall Jackson, but also of the great Virginian George Washington. … Continue reading Class Notes on the State of Virginia
Class Notes
Class Notes I am saddened by the events of the past couple weeks and the treatment that Black Americans have had to deal with. I have an article coming out on Monday dealing with that. Yet as an historian I am also saddened by the treatment of our physical history. I am emotional seeing monuments … Continue reading Class Notes
