ASHP Podcast

Gerald Markowitz, John Jay College and The Graduate Center, CUNY“FDR, The Depression, and the New Deal: What Was New?”The Graduate Center, CUNYOctober 23, 2007In this presentation to New York City teachers, historian Gerald Markowitz discusses Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. He begins by focusing on what was new about the New Deal, including the government’s response to the Great Depression, the relationship of the government to the people, and changes in the definition of freedom. Markowitz continues by discussing the limitations of the New Deal, which he describes as an innovative and unstable reform coalition that faced constraints when confronting agricultural, southern, and civil rights policies. Limitation, Markowitz concludes, is a consistent theme in U.S. history, and what is left undone in one era is often the basis for change and reform in the next.Images used in this presentation:

Kevin Kenny, Boston College“Irish Americans and the Meaning of Race in the Mid-Nineteenth Century”The Graduate Center, CUNYDecember 13, 2007Speaking before an audience of New York City teachers, historian Kevin Kenny describes the profound impact of the first great wave of Irish immigration to the U.S. in the mid-nineteenth century. Swelling the populations of major U.S. cities in a way that no previous immigrant group had ever done, the Irish played a central role in the growth of cities in the nineteenth century U.S., notably in New York City’s Five Points neighborhood. Like other immigrant groups, they experienced some prejudice from the native-born population; unlike other groups, however, such discrimination was never written into law.In Part 1 of this podcast, Kenny outlines the demographic impact of Irish immigration on Ireland and the United States and discusses how Irish immigrants were both perpetrators of racism and victims of prejudice. In Part 2, starting at 44:47, he interprets a series of images that reflect the negative stereotypes that influenced the way native-born Americans viewed the new arrivals.Selected images from this presentation: Download full presentation here: [[{"fid":"3821","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default"},"type":"media","link_text":"KennyLecture.pptx","attributes":{"class":"file media-element file-default"}}]]

Martha Hodes, New York University“Land and Labor in the Era of Reconstruction: Conflict, Compromise, Violence”The Graduate Center, CUNYFebruary 15, 2007Historian Martha Hodes explores the many meanings of freedom that emerged at the end of the Civil War. Although the war was over, new conflict erupted between freed slaves and former slave owners over what form emancipation would take. Freedpeople viewed land ownership as essential to their independence, while former slave owners sought to establish a new system of rural wage labor. This essential struggle would shape the fate of Reconstruction. In this podcast, Martha Hodes speaks to New York City teachers about how to present the era of Reconstruction in the classroom, and provides a close reading of testimony from the 1871 Congressional Investigation into Ku Klux Klan violence and discusses its impact on teaching Reconstruction.1871 Congressional Testimony Excerpt:Testimony about Klan violence, U.S. Congress, 1871

Matthew Jacobson, Yale University“Immigration and Conceptions of ‘Fit’ Citizenship, 1790-1924″The Graduate Center, CUNYApril 14, 2008In this talk to New York City schoolteachers, historian Matthew Jacobson challenges conventional notions about America’s immigrant past. First, Jacobson discusses immigration from Europe to the United States within the larger context of global migration set off by the rise of industrial capitalism. Jacobson then examines the cultural and political responses of native-born Americans to new immigrants, and the long-lasting effects of the 1790 Naturalization Act. Finally, he discusses the strategies used by immigrants to survive in new surroundings while also preserving their ethnic identities.