Keep Calm and Carry On! http://voicethread.com/share/3281634/

Countrfactuals for History Geeks

How the Canadians see the War of 1812--they knocked us over big time, like a hard check to the boards---Old Time Hockey, Coach!

Battle Sounds!

This is one of the most amazing---and tragic graphs you will ever see, all in French. It tracks the size and fate of Napoleon's Grande Armee of over 600,000 men as he invaded Russia in 1812, and the tiny fragment of 30,000 who crawled back home in 1813.

The Economist's take on the US Navy during the War of 1812:

"I have the whitest pantaloons in the regiment!"

The War of 1812---sort of. And the Canadian side: (Thanks to Abby my follower!)

Every wonder why West Point cadets wear 1812 gray uniforms?  In 1814, Gen. Winfield Scott organized and trained several battalions of US Regulars to fight along the Niagara front against the British.  Many state militia units wore gray jackets among other colors as they fought the British, who held such untrained troops in low regard.  Scott tried but failed to secure a supply of blue cloth for his men, so he used gray instead.  On July 5th, 1814, US and British forces fought the Battle of Chippewa, and when the British commander saw the long gray line of US troops marching steadily under fire, coming ever closer towards his men, he shouted in surprise: "Those are Regulars, by God!"  This became the new motto of the US Infantry, and the source of a new West Point tradition.

Watch 1812 Long Tease on PBS. See more from The War of 1812.

Mr. History LIVES!

I'm at an edtechteacher workshop at Harvard. My table neighbor Dessie (and fellow TC resident has a great blog--check it out!

Running to the Past

Today's History Question:  What separates "civilized" societies from "uncivilized" ones?  For example--how did the British or the Americans justify colonizing India or the Philippines?  Were the two societies that far apart in moral terms, or was it merely a question of military and economic might?

Today's History Question:  Counter-factuals as History.  If you could, which fact, choice or detail would you change in an historical event?   A classic example would be the 18 inches between Adolf Hitler's heart and the bullet that killed the Nazi next to him during the shootout that ended the Munich Putsch in 1923.  So what would you change? Here's a cool video about ships traveling the world's oceans based on the logs filed for different nations---watch the huge number of British and Dutch ships.

I put this out to my World History students today---make a list of countries that were NOT colonies first--at least not by 1500---who have not tried to have colonies themselves.

I was just in Flint yesterday--what's left of it. It's a painful place to drive around if your childhood memories are of a busy city, full of nice houses, open businesses, new cars and most folks with a "good job" or hopes of one. Downtown Flint is neat, clean and almost all owned by U of M Flint--lots of green space and trees. But the rest of the town is mostly an empty wreck. The "good jobs" left, and the blight took over. Of course there are patches of open business and tidy houses, but those aren't what you see on a driving tour--burned out, stripped, and trashed buildings are what sticks out. Coming home to living towns like Big Rapids or Traverse City really shows what a disaster zone like Flint has become today. Without the assembly lines, Flint and other factory towns fell apart. If you have read Ben Hamper's work about Life on the Line, Rivethead, you know just how numbing factory life could be for many of those who were trapped inside the plants, building countless Chevys and Buicks.  But we need to think about the wreckage left in the wake of exodus of the "good jobs". Most of you don't want to live in a place without hope--and only occupied by the hopeless or those who feed off them--the criminals, the exploiters, etc. As I drove around U of M shiny downtown campus, I wondered how many of its graduates will want to stay there to help rebuild it--or if it is worth it?

Better than "Blog"?

It's a blog.  I don't like that word--the concept is fine, but like so much of the new digital world, its language is ugly and inelegant.  But it's the proper term for this new venture, so "blog" it is.  Once I get going, I'll learn to live with it---unless?

My First Post Question:  What's a better name for what we now call a blog?