Tariffs, Once Essential Revenue, Now Job Creator?
A neon bridge light near Trenton, N.J., boasts, “Trenton Makes, the World Takes.” Ironically, Trenton’s industrial glory is long gone, and as N.J.’s capitol, Trenton’s biggest employer is the industry of government. American manufacturers have responded to foreign competition by automating and by offshoring plants to find cheaper labor. Protectionism and tariffs haven’t been on the table in decades. But American….Read more
The Yugely Teachable Moment Provided by Donald Trump
As 2017 begins, it looks as if the ship of state will tack in a totally different direction. An historic moment that’s also a potent opportunity for American history and other humanities teachers to capitalize on the teachable moments offered by the upcoming presidency of Donald Trump. Theoretical issues come alive It was always challenging to teach political abstractions. Some….Read more
VIDEO: Grading Hacks for Better Teaching
Grading papers doesn’t have to be a demoralizing task that takes over your teaching and home life. In another grading post, I explain how representative sampling in grading can help you take a kid’s temperature, academically. Here I offer more general grading hacks. Here are five tips that have helped me to improve….Read more
Grading Papers: Scaling Down the Mountain
The History Dr knows what it’s like to face a mountain of paperwork that never seems to go down. Yet grading papers doesn’t have to weigh you down. Here’s why. Sometimes Less Can be More Some of your assumptions about the right way to grade papers may not necessarily be accurate. I’ve created this video to explain some useful sampling strategies….Read more
Hamilton Redefined Libel Laws Trump Wishes to “Loosen”
“One of the things I’m going to do if I win is…to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money…. We’re going to open up those libel laws. So when The New York Times…writes a hit piece, we can sue them….Read more
Hamilton Redux: Now It’s Faithless Electors
What would Alexander Hamilton think were he alive today? I doubt he ever dreamed he’d be the subject of a musical whose ticket price could rival a car payment, and that his Federalist papers would fuel a national movement of electors to upend the results of an….Read more
A Grading Dilemma: Answering Kevin C.
Imagine that you teach Advanced Placement History at Monticello High School in suburbia, USA. It is your third year on the faculty. Kevin C. is a senior in your class, and he is a bright, strong and healthy young man. But as a student, he has poor habits. His concentration is weak, he doesn’t take notes in class and….Read more
Trump Encounters the Ghost of Abraham Lincoln
Good evening Mr. Trump, welcome to the White House. You are the latest person to take on the biggest responsibility in the world. It’s Abe Lincoln. I’ve been around for a while. May I share something with you, president to president, one Republican to another? A young lawyer needs work It comes in the form….Read more
US Constitution Contest Answers
The History Dr is proud to announce the astute winner of our first U.S. Constitution Quiz and Contest that was announced before Thanksgiving. The Constitution has seven articles and a Bill of Rights, which Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, among other founding fathers, disputed for years. That debate is alive and well. Although many people are quite familiar with the amendments, particularly the First….Read more
(VIDEO) How an Unprepared President from Another Century Fared in Office
Imagine a president with no training for the job. No political experience. Never held a government job. Could he succeed? In 1881, Chester Arthur was quaking in his boots at the thought of becoming the president, as President James Garfield valiantly struggled to recover from an assassin’s bullet in his chest. Even Alexander Graham Bell, using his prototype for….Read more