This past August marked exactly 70 years since American bombers dropped an uranium gun-type bomb (nicknamed Little Boy) on Hiroshima; this was an event that witnessed the obliteration of a large city in the blink of an eye.[1] Hiroshima did have a military presence, since it contained a naval base and the home of the Second General Army Headquarters. Nonetheless, American strategic planners aimed the bomb not at the army base, but at the very center of the civilian part of the city in order to maximize the bomb’s devastation.[2] On August 6, 1945, Little Boy exploded 1,900 feet above the courtyard of Shima Hospital with a yield equivalent to 12,500 TNT. The temperature at ground zero reached 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit, which immediately created a fireball within half a mile. The absolute devastation roasted many people alive; thousands of charred bundles were strew in the streets, sidewalks, and bridges. The instant destructive power of the bomb also vaporized many others. The bomb, for instance, left only the shadow of one man imprinted onto the granite steps of a bank; he had been waiting for the bank to open before the bomb hit. The blasts that followed the original explosion obliterated thousands of houses. Of 76,000 buildings in the industrial city, 70,000 were destroyed.[3] Altogether, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima killed around 90,000 to 100,000 persons instantly; by the end of 1945, the number of those lost had risen to 145,000 (only about 20,000 of them soldiers).[4]
public history
FACING A HERITAGE OF HATE: The Charleston Church Massacre and its Historical Implications
In response to Dylann Roof’s massacre of nine black Americans attending bible study during the night of June 17, 2015, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina commented, “I just think he was one of these whacked-out kids. I don’t think it’s anything broader than that.” In a similar vein, South Carolina Governor Niki Haley asserted that “we’ll never understand what motivates anyone to enter one of our places of worship and take the life of another.”[1] These comments mistakenly suggest that Roof’s motivations are somehow inscrutable and unknowable. Yet, in several different instances, Roof explicitly expressed his reasons for committing such a heinous act of violence. During the actual massacre, for example, Roof exclaimed to his victims: “You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”[2] As well, in the months leading up to the massacre, Roof posted on several social media outlets pictures of himself proudly displaying the Confederate battle flag in addition to a manifesto that outlined his desire to start a race war in the hopes of reclaiming what he believed to be the rightful domination of white Americans over black Americans.[3]
THE PAST IS NOT DEAD: The Baltimore Riots and Race in America
Rioting is a central part of America’s political tradition. As historian Heather Cox Richardson describes it, “If there is one constant in American history it is rioting.” A prime example of such rioting is the Boston Tea Party of 1773. During this famous incident disgruntled American colonists, disguised as Native Americans, boarded three ships and dumped 90,000 pounds of tea overboard. Today, the valuable cargoes of tea would have been worth about $1.7 million; yet, Americans have often looked back upon this episode of vandalism with a sense of pride.[1]
The Nature of Historical Work and the Art of Teaching History: A Look at the Recent Changes to the AP U.S. History Exam and Framework
I. AP U.S. HISTORY PAST AND PRESENT
Approximately 500,000 students take the AP U.S. History (or APUSH) exam each year.[1] The purpose of the exam is to give high-school students who have displayed a sophisticated level of knowledge in the subject the opportunity to earn college credit. For many years, however, teachers of APUSH complained about the wide-open style of the exam and the course’s framework. According to Trevor Packer, head of the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program, many teachers found it hard to resist the temptation of filling students’ head with every stray fact out of fear that it would be on the test. In response, Packer decided to initiate a review process of the exam and course guidelines with what he described as “an incredibly expensive and exhaustive effort that any business analyst would have deemed insane given the steady, healthy annual growth in AP participation.”[2]
The Fight for Equality Continues: The Problems of Christina Hoff Sommers’s History of Feminism
Recently Bill Frezza of Real Clear Radio Hour interviewed Christina Hoff Sommers about her new book, Freedom Feminism: Its Surprising History and Why it Matters Today.[1] Frezza also wrote a follow-up piece in the opinion section of Forbes magazine.[2] As Frezza describes it, Sommers’s book uncovers the hidden history of feminism and its implications for women today.
To start, Sommers identifies two major strands of feminism that have shaped the struggle for women’s rights: “egalitarian feminism” and “maternal feminism.” (For those familiar with Sommers’s earlier works, she previously labeled these competing strands as “gender feminism” and “equity feminism”).