MakingHistory

Lyman Ranney writes the first of several letters to Henry from the South. He includes observations on slavery. 

A short letter from Henry's nephew, Frederick T. Ranney, writing to collect a debt.

Thinking about how the stories of radicals in the past can be useful in the present, with a 201-year old quote from Richard Carlile. 

I originally joined the PhD program in History at UMass because I wanted to write about Englishmen Charles Bradlaugh -- but I'm still not sure whether that writing is going to be history or historical fiction!

Using a (slightly inaccurate) story from recent history to explain why Tesla underpromises and overdelivers on new technology disruptions. H/T to Gali Russell of Hyperchange. 

A second letter from Jasper Bement, on a business and political trip to western New York and Detroit.

The creepy story of why we once used lead in our cars, rather than ethanol.

To a great extent, the fight over Thomas Paine's legacy = United States History.

Robert Owen was an early textile mill owner in England, who inspired the men who built the New England textile industry. He was also a socialist who worked to insure the health and welfare of his community of workers.  

Chapter Six of my Modern World History course for Bemidji State University, Fall 2020. This one focuses on the changing nature of imperialism, which never really goes away, but shifts from military and political to economic neo-imperialism. 

Henry's friend and fellow abolitionist, Jasper Bement, writes from a trip west where he conducted both business and "Liberty" politics. 

I like to talk about the environments of cities when I teach Environmental History. Here are a couple of things about water and stray pigs in 19th-century New York City.

I've reached the place in my Modern World History course where I talk about socialism. Here are some thoughts about talking to students about this contentious topic.

How did the Aztecs feed the 200,000 people living in their capital, Tenochtitlán? Using floating gardens called chinampas , which still exist today -- but just barely.

Lewis writes to Henry on his return home to Florence, Michigan.

Revisiting my impressions of Eric Foner's foundational book on the post Civil War period. 

A surprising story from Chinese history -- and one of those moments when everything could have turned out quite differently.

I read this classic on the Civil War over a decade ago. I wonder if my opinion of it would be different now?

When Napoleon was finally defeated for good in 1815, the Europeans fried to reset the clock. That failed, partly due to the Industrial Revolution.

Lewis Ranney writes to Henry on his return to Florence, Michigan.

Looking at a variety of applications to help me work more efficiently and thinking about connecting with work I've done in the past. 

An example from history of why monopolies (and even corporations) aren't necessarily the best way to solve some public needs. 

The number of people passing through cities in the nineteenth century was an order of magnitude greater than the change in population from one census to the next. 

Did you know that natives of the Americas invented three of today's top five staple crops? 

Another letter from Lucius to Henry Ranney, telling of a new farm and advising his brother to marry.