History and Current Events

For last thirteen years I worked as a history museum professional. A few months ago I switched from museum work to teaching American history and I found my true passion. Talking about history gets me going.

As I have followed this new road in my discipline I have begun to connect American history with current events. It happened almost immediately. In August 2008, the beginning of Fall semester saw Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama heading into the home election stretch no one was sure who was going to come out as President elect but as the semester progressed other events took place that intersected. For example, by the time I got to lecturing on the Great Depression of the 1930s, the stock market was crashing and I had good fodder to bring up during class. As I continued into through the mid-20th century the connections between historical and current events became even clearer to me and I continuously pointed these out. I ended the Fall semester with a lecture on the Nixon administration and Watergate. I utilized a statement from the textbook which I found to be profound and very applicable. The statement was that no president since Dwight D. Eisenhower had left the office of the presidency with his honor in tact.

My class this semester began the day after the Barack Obama inauguration, and another opportunity presented itself. I began with the Reconstruction era and it was an amazing lead into a reflection on how far we have come in 150 years. Like last semester I believe there will be other teachable opportunities along this line.