Book Review: Visions from a Foxhole

I just finished reading a book written by a World War II veteran, and found it fascinating enough to share and encourage others to check it out and read it.

I always like the ‘grunts’ view of war – not the huge strategic plans moving armies and tens of thousands of men hither and yon. I like to read and share somewhat the experiences of the man in the trenches (World War I) or the foxhole (World War II) or the trenches again (Korea) or the fortified hamlets and firebases (Vietnam). These are men who did not know the whole scope of the war – their focus was on surviving day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.

Visions from a Foxhole: A Rifleman in Patton’s Ghost Corps was written by 94th Infantry Division veteran William A. Foley Jr. – who was eighteen years old when he joined with the division in January 1945.

In his book Foley graphically describes the infantryman’s view of war – the shelling, the mines, the snipers, and the intense combat that, even in the last stages of World War II in Europe, was up close and personal.

What really stirred me with this book was the artistry of the author. He drew during the war, fleshed out the images, and now presents a selection of them in his book.

The author readily admits a lack of ability to remember names – I can relate to that – and some of the flow of events (though not the experiences) have faded over the years since the war ended. Combining his experiences with research on the 94th Division, Foley has created a credible story of survival during his five months ‘over there’.

Foley is was interviewed for the Library of Congress Veteran’s Project, and four of his drawings are posted there. It might be helpful to read the Amazon reviews as well.

Our local Citrus County library has this book available.

Essential Question: How could a resource like this book be used in a Social Studies classroom?

PHOTO SOURCES:

Library of Congress Veteran’s Project
Amazon

-

The 45 Goals of Communism in America: 1963... and Today?

After posting an earlier blog on a Russian’s view of America’s path, I remembered something I heard when I was at a conference in May. There I heard one speaker refer to ‘the 45 Goals of Communism’ and how they were being fulfilled. Curious about this, I looked them up.

Florida Congressman Albert S. Herlong, Jr read the now-famous ‘45 Goals of Communism’ into the Congressional Record on January 10, 1963. Herlong served in Congress from 1949 to 1969.

This list was derived from a book titled “The Naked Communist”, by Willard Cleon Skousen.

The list is interesting both historically, and as application to events that have occurred during the last forty-six years. To read all of them, go here.

Below are just two or three highlights from the list that are particular to our discipline:

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

I find of particular interest how many of these are either fulfilled or in the process of being fulfilled. I’d encourage readers to look at these claims for themselves, and see what they think. I know there are a few claims I’d like to find out more about, and how it will influence my country.

Essential Question: In a world where the term ‘Communism’ is not really known nor frequently studied in American classrooms, what use would a document like the one above have for applying the concept of history and historical trends to our students?

PHOTO SOURCES:

Albert S. Herlong portrait, Florida Memory
Albert S. Herlong talking, Florida Memory
-

Cross of Gold

One hundred thirteen years ago, on July 9, 1896, William Jennings Bryan stepped to the podium at the Democratic National Convention and made what was to become one of the most famous speeches in American History.

The Democratic National Convention was debating the issue of bimetallism – the keeping of silver and gold as backing for the economic system versus following the trend of many European countries and use only a gold standard. The idea of bimetallism was popular with the common man – and was a standard for the Populist Party – but it was unpopular with big business and banking interests. The issues centered on helping those who were in debt by making money more available or protecting those who loaned money – the business and banking interests. A similar argument seems to be going on today – as well as the trend toward following others versus leading others on the international scene.

There was a reason for the debate: The People’s Party (popularly known as the Populists Party) was a popular third party. Traditionally in America when the issues backed by third parties become too popular, one of the two major parties adopt them, thus taking the steam from the upstart newcomer. Hence we’ve remained primarily a two-party system. The Populists had several popular issues that the Democrats were addressing in their platform in 1896.

Bryan – thirty-six years old – stepped to the podium and gave a speech that rocked the convention and rocketed him into the limelight.

His speech was so well received that he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for President the next day. He would lose the election, and gold would become the monetary standard for the United States from 1900 until 1975, when the dollar became our ‘fiat’ money (money with no intrinsic value other than the faith and credit placed on it).

You can here Jennings recreation of the speech for a recording twenty-five years after his original speech here. YouTube has an interesting 3-minute presentation here. You can read the entire speech here. Finally, a lesson plan on bimetallism can be found here. This lesson includes an excellent video explaining the issue of bimetallism - click here to see it.

While the Cross of Gold speech is not often studied today, perhaps it is one we should take a look at again – with 113 years of perspective.

Essential Question: What relationship do the famous historic speeches of the past have on the world we live in today?

PHOTO SOURCES:

William Jennings Bryan portrait, Library of Congress ID cph 3a00786
William Jennings Bryan at the Convention, Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities
Opposing cartoon, Wikipedia
-

“American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper”

An article appeared in the April 27, 2009 online issue of Pravda that could engender some conversation in the classroom – teaching the students to move from thoughts based on opinion to thoughts based on facts.

I like to look at news articles from a variety of national sources when I have the time (the only one I regularly peruse is the BBC Minute News online, but I have a couple of other sites that I check on occasion) as it gives an interesting and sometimes disturbing perspective that is not presented in the American news media for a variety of reasons. Sometimes I find articles on other blogs I read. This article came via The Examiner.

The title of the article is “American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper”, and is attributed to Stanislav Mishin. While the article is in the opinion section of Pravda, it must be remembered that Pravda is the newspaper representing the State. Hence, is it incorrect to assume that articles published represent the view of the State, or at least of the individuals of influence in the State?

While his article is not something most American’s want to hear or think about, it does have some interesting points. It’s basic premise is that the United States is rapidly and inexplicably moving toward Marxism – and he presents his evidence. I’d encourage you to read it and see what you think.

Essential Question: What is the value of using the perspective from other nations – so readily available on the Web today – in the classroom?

PHOTO RESOURCE: Pravda

-

Library of Congress: Teacher Site

I was reading through the Library of Congress blog last week and came across an entry of interest.

We have been emphasizing the use of primary resources in the classroom recently, and the Library of Congress is one of the primary resources that we used in our trainings. This LOC offering is an excellent tool for teachers – and students – to use in learning how to utilize the LOC as a powerful resource for the classroom.

The article was titled “New Teachers Site Is All Class”, and is one that is worth reading. If you click here you will go to a LOC page called “Resources for Teachers”, which lists classroom materials the teacher can access and use, as well as the professional development available. If you click on TPS Direct you will link to the first of six self-paced professional development modules: Introduction to the Library of Congress. The other modules will be added

As you go through the module, take your time – even if you ‘know’ what it’s talking about. First, it’s a good refresher and second, it doesn’t take all that long. I went through the “Getting Started” portion of the module prior to beginning the program.

I’ve started the initial course – am on Chapter 4 of 7 chapters - and am finding the material engaging, informative, and useful. I believe at the end the participant receives a certificate – which you can use to get inservice hours in our District’s Professional Development plan.

Just heed this bit of advice… don’t skip anything as you go through.

Essential question: How could the use of Primary Resources be used to enhance a student’s reading and analytical skills?

How the FBI Broke Saddam: The Whole Series

James Gordon Meek has completed his series on How the FBI Broke Saddam in the New York Daily News “Mouth of the Potomac” blog.

If you have a chance, it would be worthwhile to read this engaging and interesting story which provides insight into Saddam, the war, and the FBI. The links are:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

There are also links to the FBI interrogation reports.

These articles could be a powerful tool in teaching this era of our history.

Essential Question: What type of classroom discussions could you foresee based on this (and the future 'to be published') articles?

Photo Resource:Saddam Hussein, Wikipedia

A Civics Question from the Past Still Relevant Today

My hobby is collecting old time radio shows (OTR). Recently I was listening to the March 18, 1939 broadcast of Information Please, hosted by Clifton Fadiman. The show has a panel of four noted and wise individuals, and the premise of the show is that it gives the public a chance to stump the experts.

These experts, including regulars such as writer, actor, pianist Oscar Levant as well as newspaper editor, columnist and intellectual Franklin P. Adams and sports columnist and intellectual John Kieran, along with guests such as playwright Moss Hart and mystery author Rex Stout (who created the fictional crime fighter Nero Wolfe) who would field an amazing array of questions, and – in the midst of fun and entertainment – answer a significant number of them correctly. After all, they were the experts.

One that stumped three of the four of the very intelligent members in the March 18th episode was one that every American should know.

Having said that, I need to come down off of my high horse and admit that I did not know the complete answer either.

Can you, without using outside resources, answer this question from the show?

From Information Please, 3/28/1939: This question has three parts.

1. Name of your Congressman.

2. Name the Congressional District you live in.

3. Name your Congressman’s political party.

What is yours?

If you are stumped on the complete answer, as I was, check here.

Essential Question: Why is political awareness a valuable and essential attibute for American citizens to have?

PHOTO RESOURCE:

Information Please Panel, from Old Time Radio Catalog.

-