FIVE GREAT HISTORICALLY ACCURATE FILMS: PART FOUR
Reading time: 5 minutes
Most history enthusiasts will eye the release of a new film on a historical topic somewhat sceptically, thinking ‘will they get it right?’ Here are some that did!
18th- and 19th-century Americans of all races, classes and genders looked to the ancient Mediterranean for inspiration
Reading time: 6 minutes
The ancient world of the Mediterranean has long permeated American society, in everything from museum collections to home furnishings. The design of the nation’s public monuments, buildings and universities, as well as its legal system and form of government, show the enduring influence of Mediterranean antiquity on American culture.
Until the late 19th century, Americans encountered the ancient world almost exclusively through reproductions – in books, artwork and even popular plays. Very few could afford to travel abroad to encounter Mediterranean artifacts firsthand.
Sino-Vietnamese War
Reading time: 5 minutes
The Sino-Vietnamese war was a short, nasty conflict fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. Largely forgotten by almost everybody including the belligerents, it was a side plot of the Sino-Soviet split, itself a sideshow to the Cold War. Let’s go over the events before, during and after the war to see what it was all about.
America’s Favourite Fighting Frenchman: Marquis de Lafayette
Reading time: 8 minutes
Hamilton is a smash hit depicting the lives of America’s founding fathers. But, when it comes to Lafayette, it got a few things wrong.
4 Forgotten Historical Events that Shaped The World
Reading time: 7 minutes
The history of our world is filled with forgotten, yet important tales. Dive into some of the most interesting forgotten histories.
The History of Food Delivery
Reading time: 7 minutes
From Ancient Rome to Uber Eats, food delivery has a long history.
Fast food has its roots in Ancient culture. No matter the century, human nature seems to crave convenient, easy access to food prepared and sold by others. In 1911, historians found evidence of one of these ‘fast food’ restaurants in Pompeii. Called a ‘thermopolium,’ these establishments were specifically designed to provide refreshments and hot, prepared food for the working class.
The Moon Landing, Before the First Steps
Reading time: 10 minutes
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” President JFK’s inspiring words sparked the race to the moon.
Blimp Vs U-Boat, WW2 – Video
In July 1943 one of the most remarkable duels of the battle of the Atlantic took place between US Navy Airship K-74 and U-134 off the coast of Florida. Thanks to declassified documents and eye witness accounts we are able to relive this truly one of a kind engagement.
HISTORY AT WEST POINT: TEACHING CRITICAL THINKING TO FUTURE ARMY OFFICERS
Reading time: 8 minutes
A visit to the United States Military Academy confirms that history seeps from the granite foundations of West Point itself, perched high above the Hudson River, 50 miles north of New York City. Statues of Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr., and Douglas MacArthur greet students every morning on the way to their first class at 0730 (that’s 7:30 a.m.). Our most successful recruiting slogan—“Much of the history we teach was made by the people we taught”—explicitly refers to history. No surprise: armies have always wrapped themselves in the glory of the past.
A Cuban Catastrophe: The Bay of Pigs Invasion
Reading time: 11 minutes
The 1959 Cuban Revolution resulted in rule by a communist regime under Fidel Castro. This period also saw counter-revolutionaries forming anti-Castro movements, complicating the already tumultuous political landscape. In 1961 the United States would intervene with a force made up of Cuban exiles, the infamous ‘Bay of Pigs’ invasion.
The Story of the M1 Garand: The Iconic and Influential World War 2 Weapon
Reading time: 7 minutes
Called the “greatest battle implement ever devised”, the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle served the USA well during WW2 and beyond.
The Mafia, The Godfather, and the Hollywood romance
Reading time: 8 minutes
The Godfather. Perhaps one of the greatest films and franchises of all time; March 24, 2022, will mark the 50th anniversary of the film’s theatrical release, which is a number that in ways seems both large and small. Large from the perspective that it has already been five decades since it shook the cinematic world, yet small in that a film of such importance and influence was released in the backyard of our modern history: 1972.
REEL OR UNREAL HISTORY
Reading time: 5 minutes
Long before “fake news” wedged itself into American vernacular, “fake” or “engineered” news on film had a powerful influence on democracy and world regimes. A few years ago, one of my history students observed that a film reel of Teddy Roosevelt from the 1915 Panama–California Exposition was shockingly authentic. After viewing the reel, my student reflected on how useful it was to see the world “exactly” as it was lived in history. This response gave me pause. Had I done enough to introduce the reel and complicate it as a primary source? My student accepted the moving images on the screen as pure historical truth. This reflection helped me realize I was missing an opportunity to use newsreels as a teaching tool to engage critical analysis and media literacy in my history classroom.
B.C. FRANKLIN AND THE TULSA MASSACRE
Reading time: 5 minutes
On May 31, 1921, Buck Colbert Franklin peered up at the Tulsa, Oklahoma, sky and saw planes dropping turpentine bombs onto the roofs of nearby homes and businesses. On the street around him, he watched Black women, men, and children being felled by the guns of their white neighbors. Under the guise of extracting retribution for a Black teenager’s supposed assault on a white woman a day before, white Tulsans strategically destroyed the physical manifestations of their Black neighbors’ success.
Why January 6 Was Not Like a Banana Republic
Reading time: 5 minutes
After the January 6 insurrection, many observers, including former US presidents, current legislators, pundits, journalists, and editorial writers invoked the mob violence and bloody mayhem as the usual political culture of so-called “banana republics.” Although it is an easy comparison to make, Latin Americanists found this galling, because the term refers to a specific economic and political trope created by and in service to US interests. Using the phrase banana republic to describe any attempted coup or insurrection draws on a century of stereotypes about Latin America created by the US to serve US interests. As a description of the events of January 6, the comparison lacked both subtlety and accuracy.
Humans domesticated horses – new tech could help archaeologists figure out where and when
Reading time: 8 minutes
In the increasingly urbanized world, few people still ride horses for reasons beyond sport or leisure. However, on horseback, people, goods and ideas moved across vast distances, shaping the power structures and social systems of the premechanized era. From the trade routes of the Silk Road or the great Mongol Empire to the equestrian nations of the American Great Plains, horses were the engines of the ancient world.
A SNAPSHOT OF THE PUBLIC’S VIEWS ON HISTORY
Reading time: 7 minutes
The teaching of history has become a political football in recent years, resulting in efforts by those on both ends of the political spectrum to regulate what appears in classrooms across the country. Lost in this legislation, grandstanding, and punditry is how the American public understands the past, a measurement that was last taken systematically by historians Roy Rosenzweig and David Thelen in their 1998 landmark study, The Presence of the Past.
US prep schools held student exchanges with elite Nazi academies
Reading time: 7 minutes
In the summer of 1935, the Nazi government hijacked a student exchange program between leading American and German schools.
The International Schoolboy Fellowship, as it was known, was first set up by Walter Huston Lillard, the headmaster of Tabor Academy in Massachusetts, in 1927 to foster better relations between all nations through schoolboy exchange. Participating countries included the U.S., Germany, France and Great Britain.
That time private US media companies stepped in to silence the falsehoods and incitements of a major public figure … in 1938
Reading time: 6 minutes
In speeches filled with hatred and falsehoods, a public figure attacks his enemies and calls for marches on Washington. Then, after one particularly virulent address, private media companies close down his channels of communication, prompting consternation from his supporters and calls for a code of conduct to filter out violent rhetoric.
The Chatterley Trial 60 years on: a court case that secured free expression in 1960s Britain
Reading time: 6 minutes
The paperback copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover pictured above is of great cultural significance. Leafing through the pages one discovers hidden gems: pencil markings, underlinings, marginal annotations. Accompanying the book are sheets of headed stationery from the Old Bailey, containing handwritten notes relating to the novel along with a clumsily hand-stitched fabric bag – apparently made not to protect the book but rather the person carrying it by obscuring its title.
Domino Theory and U.S. Foreign Policy
Reading time: 4 minutes
When looking at the cold war and the way the United States went about its foreign policy, you can’t escape the influence of the so-called domino theory. This belief, a common one in American’s halls of power, stated that if one country fell to communism, the surrounding ones would, too. Was there any truth in this theory, though, or was it more scare mongering?
PEARL HARBOR AND AMERICA’s ENTRY TO WAR
Reading time: 6 minutes
The commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor also marks the United States’ entrance into the Second World War, forever changing the course of the ultimate conflict.
I asked historians what find made them go ‘wait, wut?’ Here’s a taste of the hundreds of replies
Reading time: 6 minutes
Often when historians visit an archive or conduct research, we are not sure what we’ll find. With the help of archivists and librarians, we may know broadly what is contained in an archival record or a database, but we never know what may or may not be useful to us. Approaching our research material with a particular set of questions or analytical framework, what we actually find may leave us surprised, confused or taken aback in another way.
When France extorted Haiti – the greatest heist in history
Reading time: 7 minutes
Much of the reparations debate has revolved around whether the United States and the United Kingdom should finally compensate some of their citizens for the economic and social costs of slavery that still linger today.
But to me, there’s never been a more clear-cut case for reparations than that of Haiti.