Comments for The Roots of Modern America Blog http://railroads.unl.edu/blog History and How We Became Who We Are Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:15:29 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 Comment on The British View of Lincoln and the American War by Jason http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=42&cpage=1#comment-91 Jason Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:15:29 +0000 http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=42#comment-91 I was writing an article for my college project on Lincoln, there I tried to focus on the unknown views from the people around the world. While searching the google I found this article. I have to say that this article is helping me a lot. Also I knew that they were not ready to accept the American war of independence as after that the Americans are becoming free. It is also a great eye sore for them. I was writing an article for my college project on Lincoln, there I tried to focus on the unknown views from the people around the world. While searching the google I found this article. I have to say that this article is helping me a lot. Also I knew that they were not ready to accept the American war of independence as after that the Americans are becoming free. It is also a great eye sore for them.

]]> Comment on Re-examining South Carolina’s Secession–the story of the Blue Ridge Railroad by Tattoo Ed http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=52&cpage=1#comment-90 Tattoo Ed Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:55:21 +0000 http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=52#comment-90 Being from South Carolina myself, I can appreciate the reasons why our ancestors made the decision they did. Being from South Carolina myself, I can appreciate the reasons why our ancestors made the decision they did.

]]> Comment on Race and Violence: A Conversation Comparing the Post-Civil War West and South by ARGraybill http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=35&cpage=1#comment-72 ARGraybill Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:25:42 +0000 http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=35#comment-72 As it happens, there is little good secondary literature on the Baker (Marias) Massacre, all the more surprising given the fact that the slaughter belongs in the same breath with those at Sand Creek (Colorado, 1864), Washita (Oklahoma, 1868), and Wounded Knee (South Dakota, 1890). I'm not entirely sure why it's been overlooked, but it will get more attention in my book and in another just underway by a historian of the Blackfeet. For now, the best two sources are: Robert Ege, STRIKE THEM HARD (Bellevue, NE, 1970), and Ben Bennett, DEATH, TOO, FOR THE HEAVY RUNNER (Missoula, MT, 1982). Ege's book is the standard account, and it's very well researched (Ege even visited the supposed site of the massacre with a metal detector and turned up shell casings, etc.). But it's also deeply sympathetic to the US Army, so it's better for getting a grasp of the events rather than a good interpretation of why they occurred. Hope this helps. AG As it happens, there is little good secondary literature on the Baker (Marias) Massacre, all the more surprising given the fact that the slaughter belongs in the same breath with those at Sand Creek (Colorado, 1864), Washita (Oklahoma, 1868), and Wounded Knee (South Dakota, 1890). I’m not entirely sure why it’s been overlooked, but it will get more attention in my book and in another just underway by a historian of the Blackfeet.

For now, the best two sources are:

Robert Ege, STRIKE THEM HARD (Bellevue, NE, 1970), and Ben Bennett, DEATH, TOO, FOR THE HEAVY RUNNER (Missoula, MT, 1982).

Ege’s book is the standard account, and it’s very well researched (Ege even visited the supposed site of the massacre with a metal detector and turned up shell casings, etc.). But it’s also deeply sympathetic to the US Army, so it’s better for getting a grasp of the events rather than a good interpretation of why they occurred.

Hope this helps.

AG

]]> Comment on Race and Violence: A Conversation Comparing the Post-Civil War West and South by wvonmayer http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=35&cpage=1#comment-70 wvonmayer Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:59:56 +0000 http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=35#comment-70 Do you know of any other books that are related to the Marias Massacre? I am doing a paper on that subject but have not had much luck finding materials thanks Bill Do you know of any other books that are related to the Marias Massacre?
I am doing a paper on that subject but have not had much luck finding materials
thanks

Bill

]]> Comment on Moby Dick and the Problem of Slavery by Wendy http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=6&cpage=1#comment-6 Wendy Thu, 08 May 2008 14:54:39 +0000 http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=6#comment-6 As Laura White maybe argues (I'm kind of mixing up her point here), the whale is a kind of ship itself (Jonah), but a terrifying (in the sense of the sublime) one because it eats men; the human ship of modern industrial/scientific technology too becomes a cannibal that eats slave and human cargo. As Laura White maybe argues (I’m kind of mixing up her point here), the whale is a kind of ship itself (Jonah), but a terrifying (in the sense of the sublime) one because it eats men; the human ship of modern industrial/scientific technology too becomes a cannibal that eats slave and human cargo.

]]> Comment on “Killing Time” in the Civil War by Wendy http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=7&cpage=1#comment-5 Wendy Thu, 08 May 2008 14:51:46 +0000 http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=7#comment-5 I probably misunderstand your point or at best am on some sort of tangent to it--but your comments make me think of E.P. Thompson. Time becomes constraining once it (thanks to the requirements of the railroad et al) becomes standardized or rather, set by someone else. Killing time is what you do when free from others' determining your time and disciplining you accordingly, but it seems interesting that the metaphor arises when external agents now have ownership of time. I probably misunderstand your point or at best am on some sort of tangent to it–but your comments make me think of E.P. Thompson. Time becomes constraining once it (thanks to the requirements of the railroad et al) becomes standardized or rather, set by someone else. Killing time is what you do when free from others’ determining your time and disciplining you accordingly, but it seems interesting that the metaphor arises when external agents now have ownership of time.

]]> Comment on Moby Dick and the Problem of Slavery by Aaron Sheehan-Dean http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=6&cpage=1#comment-2 Aaron Sheehan-Dean Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:05:33 +0000 http://railroads.unl.edu/blog/?p=6#comment-2 Will, Great post. One of the things that Melville is anticipating here is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. If I remember my physics accurately (unlikely really), it says that we can know either the location or the speed of an object but not both because our observations to measure one aspect upset the other. I've always thought this had bearing in history - when we try to "fix" something like class position, we destroy the dynamism that is essential to its historical importance. It seems to me that Melville is telling us about the indeterminancy of the modern world: capitalism, the nation, etc. In this respect, he sees the future more clearly (but with less direct influence perhaps) than Whitney, who knows exactly what the effect of his actions will be and knows they will be good. There's an important transition going on here that the contrast of these two figures helps us see - Whitney controls a technology that will bring massive, unanticipated changes to the country with perfect confidence while Melville observes the fundamentally uncontrollable and even unknowable nature of the modern world through the novel. Will,
Great post. One of the things that Melville is anticipating here is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. If I remember my physics accurately (unlikely really), it says that we can know either the location or the speed of an object but not both because our observations to measure one aspect upset the other. I’ve always thought this had bearing in history – when we try to “fix” something like class position, we destroy the dynamism that is essential to its historical importance. It seems to me that Melville is telling us about the indeterminancy of the modern world: capitalism, the nation, etc. In this respect, he sees the future more clearly (but with less direct influence perhaps) than Whitney, who knows exactly what the effect of his actions will be and knows they will be good. There’s an important transition going on here that the contrast of these two figures helps us see – Whitney controls a technology that will bring massive, unanticipated changes to the country with perfect confidence while Melville observes the fundamentally uncontrollable and even unknowable nature of the modern world through the novel.

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