At the turn of the 20th century, the catchphrase of many German nationalists was that their nation deserved its “place in the sun,” its turn in world history to take on a leading role. For example, defending his government’s attempts to expand Germany’s presence in East Asia in 1897, chancellor Bernhard von Bülow vowed that … More Germany’s Place in the Sun
December 2, 1859 – John Brown is hanged I tend to sympathize with the many those historians who dislike slavery and John Brown, in that order. [I’m going to backtrack a bit here — I’m quickly realizing that I’m just an amateur when it comes to this aspect of US history; I ought not to … More This Day in History: John Brown’s Body
In just over four months of blogging here, World War I has been the second most popular tag so far at The Pietist Schoolman, behind only — surprise! — Pietism. That’s mostly because I spent much of the summer reconceiving the January term (“J-term”) class I teach on WWI, converting it into a three-week trip … More Over There: An Update
November 30, 1936 – Crystal Palace burns down “This is the end of an age,” remarked Winston Churchill as he joined tens of thousands of other Londoners to watch the blaze. Though it had long since fallen into disrepair, the Crystal Palace was the crowning achievement of the British Industrial Revolution, built out of cast … More This Day in History: “The End of an Age”
I don’t think my wife reads this blog all that often. But once we get past some self-analysis and a quick review of a terrible chapter in history, know that this post is ultimately a tribute to her and others like her who work with children with developmental delays. I cry pretty easily. At funerals, … More There’s No Crying in History: Teaching the Holocaust
11/28/11 – Just a reminder that this Wednesday is the last day on which to make nominations for the Cliopatria Awards (recognizing excellence in history-related blogging). I’d certainly be honored to be nominated (I think Best New Blog and Best Series of Blog Posts — for my “Over There” series on designing a travel course … More Cliopatria Reminder
Clayton Nans is a War of 1812 reenactor. And if that didn’t get your attention, well, this retired Marine officer wouldn’t be too surprised. As Nans told the New York Times for a story that ran last Friday, “I know people who can go their whole life and will be just as happy not to … More The War of 1812 (un)Remembered
During my Thanksgiving hiatus I’m reprising some older posts: one each from June/July, August, September, and October. This one was originally posted on October 7, when I asked who people used to think of as the “worst person in history” before Adolf Hitler came along to seize that title. If you like what you see, … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: The Worst Person Before Hitler
During my Thanksgiving hiatus I’ll be reprising some older posts: one each from June/July, August, September, and October. The following comes from July 22, near the end of my series taking readers day-by-day through a proposed travel version of my course HIS230L World War I. You can see an overview/index of the whole series here. … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: A War of Words
Last Friday I posted a Wilfred Owen poem, Owen being the greatest poet of World War I and November 11 being the day (a week after Owen’s death) that the fighting on the Western Front ended — and the day that people around the world still commemorate as Remembrance Day (or, in this country, Veterans’ … More Chamberlain and Churchill: Empathy, Judgment, and Hindsight Bias
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