Ranking Several Rebels

Okay, folks … in order of performance as a general rank from highest to lowest …

Joseph E. Johnston, Braxton Bragg, and Pierre G. T. Beauregard.

Rain delay …

The Western Theater, 1861-1863: A Discussion, Part Two

Did the Confederacy pursue the right strategy in defending this region?  What offensive strategy might have borne more fruit for the Union?

The Western Theater, 1861-1863: A Discussion, Part One

Most accounts of the Civil War concentrate on events in the Eastern Theater.  Yet a case could be made (and some historians have made it) that the Civil War was won (and lost) in the West (no, not the trans-Mississippi West … that’s a topic for another time).  So over the next few days I’m going to pose some questions for discussion by all of you.  I’m going to limit this discussion to the years 1861-63; we’ll talk about 1864-65 later.

Today’s question: what was the most decision made/not made in the theater and why?

 

 

A Slow News Day?

So it would seem, from the continuing interest in the decision of one South Carolinian to continue to fly the Confederate battle flag in the front yard of her house in Brownsville, South Carolina.  It’s not the first time this resident’s actions have been the subject of attention.

The Sunday Question: Sherman or Thomas?

Who do you think was the better commander: William T. Sherman or George H. Thomas?

A Simple Question: Paying College Athletes?

And now for something completely different …

Famed Civil Rights Movement historian Taylor Branch has made the news again, this time with an article about the exploitation of student athletes by institutions of higher education.  He’s been interviewed about it, and Frank Deford has offered a pointed commentary on it.

As you might suspect, in the end most of this discussion is about college football and men’s basketball.  There have been various incidents in other sports, but these are the biggies.  The debate seems to be about paying the athletes.

I have a simpler solution.  Change the tie between athletics and higher education.  It’s as simple as that.  Create a more powerful minor league development system financed by the professional leagues, who should demonstrate their awareness of their social responsibility by providing educational opportunities for athletes.  Oh, keep the scholarship system open for those athletes who want to go to college; have the professional leagues draft them at eighteen, just like they do in hockey and baseball, and tell the professional leagues to take care of the finances down the road.  I note no one is calling for baseball players or hockey players to be paid.  That may be because they get to choose what they want to do.

I’ve had scholar athletes in the classroom.  Some were very good students, and I enjoyed their presence and participation in class (I highlighted one last month in this blog).  Others were not.  My relationship with coaches and athletic departments suggested that too many coaches saw the academic side of things as an obstacle to their success, as if we were in a hostile relationship.  Not all coaches, mind you, shared this attitude, but too many did: too often athletic departments call upon faculty to act as baby sitters for their players, and I for one don’t do that.  Once, when I served as an informal advisor for a certain college basketball team (not ASU), the team GPA increased by half a point, but the coach really didn’t want someone else around (except when it came to working the officials’ table, as I did several times): a proposal to formalize the position failed, despite the demonstrated success of the idea.

For some players, college is a good idea, and they should make that choice, complete with scholarships as compensation.  But it is time for colleges and universities to stop serving as developmental leagues for professional sports.  You want to pay these guys?  Fine.  I see the merit in that argument.  Better still, I maintain, to simply take this argument to its logical conclusion: tell the NFL and NBA to develop their own players.  Let the player decide which route he wants to pursue.

The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

Today marks the 149th anniversary of the issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.  The significance of this document (and its details) are sometimes overlooked (and it must be set in context alongside Lincoln’s December 1862 annual message, as well as the ebb and flow of the war and the political situation, including the midterm elections).

I’ll have more to say about this document soon (including my belief that it is best to see the document as one of reconstruction).  What do you make of it?

Oh, Really? Really?

Seen on a Civil War discussion group that has had trouble getting going:

“… the overwhelming majority of Southern citizens believed slavery secondary to Southern independence, that slavery was negotiable and disposable but that independence was not.”

Discuss.  I find the wording interesting and a key to challenging the accuracy of the assessment.

Presenting History II

Say you’ve been charged by a museum with developing a display that would discuss the African American experience within the Union.  What would your display look like?  What would it feature?  How would you address various questions?

The floor is open.

Presenting History

Say you’ve been charged by a museum with developing a display that would discuss the African American experience within the Confederacy.  What would your display look like?  What would it feature?  How would you address various questions?

 

The floor is open.