How the historian George Fort Milton, who earned his keep as a newspaper publisher and editor, did history is especially interesting because his was a career different from that of the usual scholar-teacher. His life is discussed. (RM)

This article looks at two modern institutions designed to discipline and control urban bodies--the school and the asylum--and the records they produced and the young people whose moral and cognitive capacities they tended. Both institutions are the sites of past childhood stories, yet the lives experienced in them are essentially anonymous. The…

Recounts the life and writings of noted U. S. historian, Carl Becker. Provides an analysis of his influence on the academic study of European history in the United States. (JDH)

Carl Becker's contribution to the philosophy of historical relativism is presented. Three ideas central to historical relativism are: 1) the subjectivity of historical facts, 2) history as a product of the historian's imagination, and 3) the influence of the contemporary "climate of opinion" in shaping the historian's view of the past.…

James Harvey Robinson, founder of the New School for Social Research, writer of popular history, and adult education leader, believed that history taught how the present evolved from the past and could be used to shape the future. From this view, Robinson developed a rationale and content for adult education as an instrument of social change. (SK)

"Maine appears out of the woods," the editor of the "Lewiston Evening Journal" opined, after President Jimmy Carter signed the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act in 1980. That sigh of relief was heartfelt. During the 1970s, two Native American tribes, the Passamaquoddies and Penobscots, had sparked a long, statewide nightmare…

Examines the rhetorical role of several twentieth century historians who were opinion leaders on behalf of the American way of achieving success: by emulating the earlier qualities of our frontier and founding fathers. Discusses the role of Frederick Turner Jackson, Charles A. Beard, Carl Becker, Allan Nevins, and others. (PD)

Clive comments on the literary power of Karl Marx (The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon), Alexis de Tocqueville (The Old Regime and the Revolution), Thomas Carlyle (French Revolution), and Jakob Burkhardt (The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy); and notes Macaulay's sensitivity to the "public mind" (History of England). (SJL)

Presents a history of information science and examines research problems that confront information science historians. Concludes that information science researchers need to draw on a range of related historical studies such as the history of science and technology, printing and publishing, and information institutions such as libraries, archives,…

Contends that perceived weaknesses in the history profession and historical writing also are manifested by dissatisfaction with history textbooks. Describes the immediate and long-range impact of "The Rise of American Civilization," a college level textbook by Charles and Mary Beard. Contends that the book was comprehensive, well…

The 500th anniversary of the Columbian discovery of America is upon us, and with it the obligation to assess existing interpretations of the significance of the voyage and establishment of permanent links between the Old and New Worlds. The traditional, or bardic, version of the Columbian voyages and their consequences was the product of narrative…

Examines Charles A. Beard's contribution to how scholars interpret the framing of the Constitution and other events of U.S. history. Describes his work in some detail and includes a transcript of a 1926 conference at which Beard spoke in 1926. (RKM)

Controlling "literacy processes" was a concern of members of the dominant culture during the Progressive Era (about 1890-1917). Educators wanted to set students on the "right" course before formal schooling was over. Four history textbooks from the era share a general sense of what is required for public literacy, but they…

Questions why historians of education have been so reluctant to link their work more firmly to social history. As partial answers, suggests that one reason is their discomfort with current models of the development of modern society and the fact that most historians of education pursue their work with an institutional focus rather than a social…

Discusses social studies' evolution as a discipline from its 1890s origins through the twentieth century. Examines the objectives of historians, sociologists, and "super patriots" (proponents of the Americanism movement) in advancing citizenship training. Concludes that the failure to achieve some of the original goals of social studies…