How Geography Influences History
"Geography is destiny," the saying goes. There is much truth in those words. In this fascinating interview from Talk Of The Nation with the author of The Revenge Of Geography—Maps And The Fate Of The World, historian Robert Kaplan explains how the geography of Great Britain and the United States allowed freedom to flourish, how the topography of Russia promoted tyranny, how the acquisition of Alaska strengthened the United States, and other fascinating illustrations of the title's premise.
“Invisible
Armies” — Guerrilla Warfare and Insurgency
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| Washington leads his troops across the frosty Delaware River on the morning after Christmas, 1776, for a surprise raid on the Hessian garrison in Trenton, New Jersey. This successful attack changed the course of the war. Note: the famous Emanuel Leutze painting, painted seventy–five years after the battle, is not historically accurate. |
Maps
Of War. This website has some very cool video maps which show the how the
march of history has changed the world map over time. The map “Imperial History of the
Middle East,” for instance, is a ninety–second video map showing the
successive empires that have controlled the Middle East and North Africa over
thousands of years.
Science And Religion Timeline
This timeline helpfully identifies key historical moments in the relationship of science and religion.
Very
cool historical photos
From inkTANK
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| Ethnomusicographer records Blackfoot chief, 1918 |
And this, from another
source ...
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| Workers atop the Woolworth Building, 1926 |
Chances are they were immigrants. Throughout U.S. history, many of the most dangerous jobs have been done by immigrants — blasting through mountains to build the Erie Canal and the tunnels for the Transcontinental Railroad and the B&O Railroad's line through the Appalachians, for example.
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A personal note about the teaching and learning of history ...
A personal note about the teaching and learning of history ...
History’s Thrilling! History’s Boring!
Okay, you can guess which side of this age-old divide the tutor stands on with his B.A. degree in History from UCLA and his oft-proclaimed love of the subject ... of course history’s exciting! And how could it not be! (rhetorical question: more on that below). After all, story is the essence of history, and who doesn’t love stories? Take everything that has ever happened to this very moment, and what do you have? History! So if “history” is boring, the world is boring, and life is boring. Nuh-uh. No way.
Yet kids often say that history is boring. Well, some kids do. In reality, you’d be surprised how many kids display a natural love of history fueled by young imaginations thirsting for knowledge. I see this all the time in my practice. Kids absolutely love hearing the stories that make history cool: the vastly outnumbered Spartans making their heroic stand against the mighty Persian army at Thermopylae ... Harriet Tubman risking her life over and over to lead slaves to freedom in the North ... Abraham Lincoln employing the finest qualities a leader can possess to save a nation and end slavery ... Gandhi leading his people to freedom with a spinning wheel and the inspiration to use the power of non-violent resistance against the power of physical force–an idea tracing back to Thoreau and adopted later by Martin Luther King ... the incredible engineering advances that made the Roman Empire possible ... and on and on and on and on.
Nevertheless ... Sigh. Yes: As taught in the schools, history can be boring. Textbooks in general are dull as beans. Many history teachers lack passion for the subject or in-depth understanding and knowledge of the subject (sorry, but it’s true). In the public schools, test-driven teaching handcuffs even those teachers who know and love the subject by forcing them into a rigid, test-driven teaching approach. In large part, kids who report that “history is boring” are reacting to the boredom they experience in history class, which most of us can relate to.
It is not a reach to surmise that the “boredom” factor is a big part of the explanation for the horrible results just revealed in a survey of the historical knowledge of American students.
Did you hear the ghastly news? See this article from the New York Times: In a nationwide test, only 13% of American students scored “proficient” in U.S. History! I invite you to listen to a wonderful panel discussion of the state of U.S. History teaching and learning on the podcast of the KQED program Forum.
I’d register shock, but I’m not shocked: I’ve known for years how bad we are at teaching history (and guess what? most adults aren’t so hot at history either). Instead I’ll register my usual dismay. How are we supposed to govern ourselves – this is a democracy – if we don’t understand the mistakes we have made in the past so that we can avoid them, or understand the triumphs of the past so that we can model future efforts after them? How can we recognize the warning signs of creeping tyranny to preserve liberty if we don’t understand the rise of the Nazi’s? How can we vote wisely if we don’t recognize the means manipulative leaders have used in the past to deceive the people? How can we pursue peace if we don’t understand the horrible and avoidable mistakes that have led to needless wars in the past?
Friends, our kids must learn history for at least two reasons: first, because they are going to run this world, and they have no chance of driving us forward on the right road if they don’t look in the rearview mirror. Second, because they will be expected to perform well in history classes throughout their school careers. Both reasons matter a lot–but moreso the first.
And I am gonna help your kids learn history! (Yes, dear friends, I did say “gonna.” Tutor’s privilege.).
With kind regards and deep respect,
Jon
