Blogs > July 7, 2008

Jul 6, 2008

July 7, 2008

CAMPAIGN 2008 WATCH:

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 2008 WATCH:

  • NEW BLOG: : A complete roundup of what Historians are saying about the campaign this week.

BIGGEST STORIES:

BIGGEST STORIES: Jess Helm's Legacy

  • David Goldfield on"Historians Disagree About Helms' Legacy":"The Republican Party co-opted and took over George Wallace's program," said David Goldfield, a professor of Southern history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte."Jesse Helms was probably one of the leaders in doing this. George Wallace was a little bit raw in his appeal. Republicans cleaned it up and used code words like busing and welfare queens. But everyone knew what was being talked about.".... But Goldfield, the professor at UNC-Charlotte, argues that Helms helped sweep away the myths and shed a more realistic light on the state."North Carolina is more progressive the further way you get away from it," Goldfield said."Jesse Helms helped place North Carolina squarely in the South, rather than this idea of North Carolina as a progressive oasis in a sea of reaction. Jesse Helms' prominence had that kind of impact on our image nationally." - The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 7-5-08

  • Lee Edwards on"Historians Disagree About Helms' Legacy":"Jesse Helms was absolutely indispensable," said Lee Edwards, a historian at the Heritage Foundation who has written about the conservative movement...."It was fractured," said Edwards, the author of"The Conservative Revolution: The Movement that Remade America.""It's looking around for alternatives. It's talking about a third party. Who is going to be our standard bearer? They needed someone here in Washington, D.C. Jesse Helms always took a point position. No pale pastels for Jesse. It was all bright, primary colors."..."If he had lost, that would have been the end of it," Edwards said."Jesse Helms and his organization were absolutely key.""At that point, Jesse Helms became somebody who was going to make sure we (conservatives) didn't slip back," Edwards said,"that we would not compromise too much in search for a majority. He still played a role, but not as public as he played before." - The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 7-5-08

  • Julian Pleasants on"Historians Disagree About Helms' Legacy":"He understood the climate was changing," said Julian Pleasants, a historian now living in Chapel Hill, N.C., who has written extensively about Tar Heel politics."It was never a liberal state, despite people like Terry Sanford and Frank Graham. It was always conservative, and he knew that." - The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 7-5-08

  • Ernest Furgurson on"Historians Disagree About Helms' Legacy": Ernest Furgurson, Helms biographer and a Civil War historian in Washington, D.C., said Helms emerged as other Southern demagogues such as Bilbo, the Talmadges and Wallace were disappearing. But Helms brought modern political techniques to the galluses-snapping crowd."It was an overlap of their last days and his first days on the national scene," Furgurson said."Instead of fading along with them, he continued the tradition. He didn't use the N-word like Wallace, but he didn't have to. Everyone understood it." - The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 7-5-08

  • George Tindall on"Historians Disagree About Helms' Legacy": The late George Tindall of Chapel Hill, the dean of Southern historians, compared Helms to Thurmond and I. Beverly Lake Sr., the two-time gubernatorial candidate who ran on a segregationist platform in the sixties."I don't think it was just race," Tindall said."He spoke a blunt straightforward language that would have broad appeal among working people." Tindall said Helms' success distorted North Carolina's image, making the state appear more conservative than it was. Tindall said Helms was a fortunate politician, winning races in 1972 and 1984 because of Republican landslides, beating a weak opponent in 1978 and twice defeating an African-American in a time when no black was elected to the Senate."Jesse Helms is one of the luckiest politicians of his generation," Tindall said. - The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 7-5-08

BIGGEST STORIES:

BIGGEST STORIES: Lincoln Bicentennial

BIGGEST STORIES:

BIGGEST STORIES: Independence Day

HNN STATS THIS WEEK:

HNN STATS THIS WEEK:

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY:

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY:

    On This Day in History....

  • 07-07-1456 - Twenty-five years after her execution, Pope Calixtus III annulled the heresy charges brought against Joan of Arc.

  • 07-07-1846 - Commodore John D. Sloat occupied Monterey and declared California annexed to the United States.

  • 07-07-1898 - The United States annexed Hawaii.

  • 07-07-1946 - Italian-born Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini was canonized, becoming the first American saint.

  • 07-07-1981 - President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor for the Supreme Court.

  • 07-07-2005 - 52 people were killed and hundreds injured in London when terrorists bombed subways and a bus.52 people were killed and hundreds injured in London when terrorists bombed subways and a bus.

  • 07-08-1776 - The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence was given in Philadelphia, Pa.

  • 07-08-1777 - Vermont became the first colony to abolish slavery.

  • 07-08-1889 - The Wall Street Journal began publication.

  • 07-08-1950 - General Douglas MacArthur was named commander-in-chief of the United Nations forces in Korea.

  • 07-08-1958 - The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) awarded the first official gold album. It was for the Oklahoma soundtrack.

  • 07-09-1816 - Argentina formally declared independence from Spain.

  • 07-09-1850 - Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the U.S., died after only 16 months in office.

  • 07-09-1872 - The doughnut cutter was patented by John F. Blondel of Thomaston, Me.

  • 07-09-1896 - William Jennings Bryan delivered his" cross of gold" speech at the Democratic National Convention.

  • 07-09-1900 - The British Parliament proclaimed that as of Jan. 1, 1901, the six Australian colonies would be united at the Commonwealth of Australia.

  • 07-09-1974 - Former U.S. chief justice Earl Warren died in Washington, DC.

  • 07-09-2002 - Baseball's All-Star Game ended in a tie after 11 innings. Both sides had run out of pitchers.

  • 07-10-1890 - Wyoming became the 44th state in the United States.

  • 07-10-1940 - The Battle of Britain began.

  • 07-10-1951 - Armistice talks to end the Korean War began at Kaesong.

  • 07-10-1973 - The Bahamas became independent from Great Britain.

  • 07-10-1985 - The Coca-Cola Company announced that it was bringing back the original Coke and calling it Coca-Cola Classic.

  • 07-10-1991 - President Bush lifted economic sanctions against South Africa.

  • 07-10-1991 - Boris Yeltsin was sworn in as Russia's first elected president.

  • 07-10-2003 - Spain opened its first mosque (in Granada) since the Moors were expelled in 1492.

  • 07-11-1533 - Pope Clement VII excommunicated England's King Henry VIII.

  • 07-11-1804 - Former vice president Aaron Burr fatally wounded former secretary of the treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Hamilton died the following afternoon.

  • 07-11-1864 - Confederate general Jubal A. Early and his troops attacked Washington, DC. They retreated the next day, ending the Confederate threat to occupy the capital.

  • 07-11-1914 - Babe Ruth made his major league baseball debut as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

  • 07-11-1977 - The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work to advance civil rights.

  • 07-11-1995 - The United States and Vietnam established full diplomatic relations.

  • 07-12-1543 - England's King Henry VIII married his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr.

  • 07-12-1690 - Protestant William of Orange defeated Roman Catholic James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland.

  • 07-12-1862 - Congress authorized the Medal of Honor.

  • 07-12-1984 - Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale became the first major-party candidate to choose a woman as a running mate when he announced his choice of Geraldine Ferraro.

  • 07-13-1793 - French revolutionary Jean Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bath by royalist sympathizer Charlotte Corday.

  • 07-13-1863 - The draft riots, protesting unfair conscription in the Civil War, began in New York City.

  • 07-13-1865 - P. T. Barnum's American Museum, which had featured Tom Thumb and the original Siamese twins Chang and Eng, was destroyed by fire.

  • 07-13-1930 - The first World Cup soccer competition began in Montevideo, Uruguay.

  • 07-13-1943 - The Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history—involving some 6,000 tanks, 2,000,000 troops, and 4,000 aircraft—ended in German defeat.

  • 07-13-1977 - A 25-hour blackout hit New York City, engendering widespread rioting and looting.

  • 07-13-2003 - Iraq's interim governing council was inaugurated.

IN THE NEWS:

IN THE NEWS:

REVIEWED AND FIRST CHAPTERS:

REVIEWED AND FIRST CHAPTERS:

  • Paul Fisher: The Dysfunctional Jameses HOUSE OF WITS An Intimate Portrait of the James Family - NYT, 7-6-08

  • Paul Fisher: HOUSE OF WITS An Intimate Portrait of the James Family, First Chapter - NYT, 7-6-08

  • Peter Clarke: Out of the Midday Sun THE LAST THOUSAND DAYS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE Churchill, Roosevelt, and the Birth of the Pax Americana NYT, 7-6-08

  • David M. Kennedy on Ted Widmer: FOREIGN POLICY Restoring America's Ideals A Democrat laments Bush's foreign policy but embraces the goal of spreading liberty ARK OF THE LIBERTIES America and the World - WaPo, 7-6-08

  • Gil Troy: Leading From the Center Leading From the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents - St. Louis Dispatch, 6-4-08

  • Daniel Mark Epstein: The Real Lincoln Bedroom: Love in a Time of Strife - THE LINCOLNS Portrait of a Marriage NYT, 7-3-08

  • George Rippey Stewart's Names on the Land republished - Matt Weiland in Slate, 6-30-08

  • Biographer claims biography is in decline - Kathryn Hughes in the Guardian, 6-28-08

  • John Hatcher: The Black Death was unthinkable The Black Death: an Intimate History - Telegraph, 6-28-08

  • JOHN STEELE GORDON on Walter Nugent: Exploring What Lies Beyond Manifest Destiny HABITS OF EMPIRE A History of American Expansion - NYT, 6-26-08

OP-EDs:

OP-EDs:

  • David Greenberg: How the Republicans Claimed the"Patriotism" Mantle in Presidential Politics - Slate, 7-2-08

  • Jeffrey Herf: Maryland historian links roots of radical Islam with Nazi propaganda - Jerusalem Post, 7-1-08

BLOGS:

BLOGS:

PROFILED:

PROFILED:

INTERVIEWS:

INTERVIEWS:

FEATURES:

FEATURES:

QUOTED:

QUOTED:

  • Jung Byung-joon on"US wavered over S. Korean executions":"The most important thing is that they did not stop the executions," historian Jung Byung-joon, a member of the 2-year-old commission, said of the Americans."They were at the crime scene, and took pictures and wrote reports." - AP, 7-6-08

  • Richard Brookhiser, Draws Upon Washington To Illuminate Presidency:"We're a very verbal culture," Mr. Brookhiser explained."Maybe Washington falls behind because of that.... He had the confidence to employ smart people." - http://www.thebulletin.us, 6-24-08

HONORED / AWARDED / APPOINTED:

HONORED, AWARDED, APPOINTED:

EXHIBITS / WEBSITES:

EXHIBITS / WEBSITES:

SPOTTED:

SPOTTED:

CALENDAR:

CALENDAR:

  • July 7, 2008: Gil Troy: Monday, July 7, 2008 @ 7:00 PM Free Event: GIL TROY: LEADING FROM THE CENTER, HARVARD CLUB OF NEW YORK CITY - HCNY

  • July 9, 2008: Gil Troy: Wednesday July 9, 2008 @ 10 to 11 PM EST on the Jim Bohannon Show www.jimbotalk.net

  • May-September 2008: Elizabeth Brand Monroe, Deborah A. Lee, Lectures Showcase Leesburg's History for 250th Anniversary - WaPo, 1-18-08

ON TV:

    ON TV: History Listings This Week

  • 'History Detectives' Comes To Hartford For Investigation - Harford, Courant, 6-30-08

  • C-Span2, BookTV: Politics Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents Author: Gil Troy - Sunday, July 13 @ 4:00pm ET - C-Span2, BookTV

  • PBS: History Ditectives, PBS - Monday, July 7, 2008 @ 9pm ET

  • History Channel:"Street Gangs: A Secret History: Street Gangs: A Secret History," Monday, July 7, @ 2pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Making a Buck", Monday, June 23, @ 4pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"History's Mysteries: Five Points Gangs", Monday, July 7, @ 5pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Fort Knox: Secrets Revealed", Monday, July 7, @ 9pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Cities Of The Underworld: 09 - Freemason Underground", Monday, July 7, @ 11pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Crude," Tuesday, July 8, @ 2pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Man, Moment, Machine: Saddam Hussein & The Nerve Gas Atrocity," Tuesday, July 8, @ 4pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Mega Disasters: Glow Train Catastrophe," Tuesday, July 8, @ 11pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Special: An Alien History of Planet Earth," Wednesday, July 9, @ 2pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"UFO Files: The Pacific Bermuda Triangle," Wednesday, July 9, @ 11pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters," Thursday, July 10, @ 2pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Investigating History: Mountain Massacre," Thursday, July 10, @ 11pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Mysteries of the Freemasons," Friday, July 11, @ 2pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Weird U.S.: Weird Underworld," Friday, July 11, @ 4pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Surviving History," Marathon, Saturday, July 12, @ 2-5pm ET/PT

  • History Channel:"Hillbilly: The Real Story," Saturday, July 12, @ 10pm ET/PT

SELLING BIG (NYT):

SELLING BIG (NYT):

  • Douglas A. Blackmon: SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME #16 -- (1 week on list) - 7-13-08

  • Patrick J. Buchanan: CHURCHILL, HITLER, AND"THE UNNECESSARY WAR," #18 - 7-13-08

  • Thurston Clarke: THE LAST CAMPAIGN #27 - 7-13-08

  • Ted Sorensen: COUNSELOR #35 - 7-13-08

FUTURE RELEASES:

FUTURE RELEASES:

  • Lewis Lehrman: Lincoln at Peoria, July 4, 2008

  • Linda Porter: The First Queen of England, July 8, 2008

  • William D. Hart: Black Religion: Malcolm X, Julius Lester, and Jan Willis, July 8, 2008

  • William Marvel: Lincoln's Darkest Year: The War in 1862, July 16, 2008

  • Trevor Royle: Lancaster Against York: The Wars of the Roses and the Foundation of Modern Britain, July 22, 2008

  • Jonathan Harris: The Split in Stalin's Secretariat, 1939-1948, July 28, 2008

  • Noah Andre Trudeau: Southern Storm: Sherman's March to the Sea, August 5, 2008

  • Lorri Glover: The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America, August 5, 2008

  • Fred E. Haynes: The Lions of Iwo Jima: The Story of Combat Team 28 and the Bloodiest Battle in Marine Corps History, August 5, 2008

  • Patrick Desbois: The Holocaust by Bullets, August 19, 2008

  • Robert Dallek: Harry S. Truman (REV), September 2, 2008

  • Mary C. Henderson: The Story of 42nd Street: The Theatres, Shows, Characters, and Scandals of the World's Most Notorious Street (First Edition), September 2, 2008

  • Paul Douglas Lockhart: The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army, September 9, 2008

  • Jeffry D. Wert: Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart, September 23, 2008

  • Harold Holzer: Lincoln: President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Winter of Secession, 1860-1861, October 7, 2008

  • David Hackett Fischer: Champlain's Dream, October 14, 2008

  • Carlo D'Este: Warlord: A Life of Winston Churchill at War, 1874-1945, November 11, 2008

DEPARTED:

DEPARTED:


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