Steve Goddard's History Wire

Sick of the Beach?

America at war has heightened the awareness of the changing role of women in wartime throughout our history. For those already sunburned and waterlogged from the beach and pool, a welcome diversion presents itself on Aug. 20 and 21, when the Massachusetts Historical Society presents a conference for historians on the subject.

Historians have frequently pointed out that the debates that continue today about women and the military obscure the very active roles that American women played both in the country's defense and in its peace movements. The focus of "Women/War/Work" recovers the last century of that history—the period during which issues of civil rights and labor became particularly pronounced. We will bring together researchers from a range of fields, sociologists as well as historians, literary critics as well as political scientists, to generate a discussion that can elucidate the past to inform and consider future directions for policy development.

Presenters will not be reading papers aloud at the conference. Papers will be available for download from this website beginning in June. Anyone wishing to have print-outs mailed to them USPS will pay an increased registration fee: $120 for full and $80 for student.

If you do not wish to register online, please contact Ondine Le Blanc for a registration form: oleblanc@masshist.org
Tel. (617)646-0524

Ondine Le Blanc
Massachusetts Historical Society
1154 Boylston St.
Boston MA 02215

Going Dutch?

Revisionism on the role of early Dutch settlers in shaping the new America continues this fall with a bilingual conference on 19th and 20th century developments. On September 29-30, 2004, the Free University of Amsterdam will organize a bilingual symposium entitled: Morsels in the Melting Pot: The Persistence of Isolated Dutch Communities in North America, 1800-2000.

Dutch immigrants in North America are said to be easily assimilated. Yet a number of small Dutch immigrant groups tried to maintain their distinct identity in the past two centuries, usually supported by strong religious convictions. The process of assimilation can be followed in the two most substantive Dutch-American denominations: the Reformed Church in America (RCA) en de Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA).

For more information concerning the program, please, contact:

Dr. Hans Krabbendam
Roosevelt Study Center
PO Box 6001
4330 LA Middelburg, the Netherlands
tel. 31 (0)118-631590
fax 31 (0)118-631593
email jl.krabbendam@zeeland.nl
www.roosevelt.nl

Tapping the Supremes

Red meat for George Bush-haters is the likelihood that if re-elected, the President would pobably be called on to name a couple -- if not several -- new members to the Supreme Court. The conventional assumption has been that those nominees would share the president's political views -- a wisdom called into question by President Eisenhower tapping William Brennan and Earl Warren for the high court, justices who turned out to be anything but conservative. In a new book, David Alistair Yalof identifies nearly a dozen factors shaping presidential choices. Some are obvious, such as the Supreme Court's increasing visibility in the governing process. Others are less so, such as the growth and bureaucratization of the Department of Justice and the White House, divided party government, and the increasing ease of access to information about potential nominees. Pursuit of Justices: Presidential Politics and the Selection of Supreme Court Nominees. By David Alistair Yalof. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. x, 296 pp. $27.50, ISBN 0-226-94545-6.)

Debunking the Myth

The great irony surrounding Dwight D. Eisenhower has been that while his determination and strength on the field of battle saved the Allies during World War II, he was a most reluctant candidate for the Presidency, one who had to be wheedled and coaxed to run. William B. Pickett and Travis Beal Jacobs challenge this assumption head on in a new study of the Supreme Allied Commander published by New Brunswick. According to conventional wisdom, Eisenhower did not seek the office; it sought him. Pickett thoroughly debunks this notion that Eisenhower was "drafted"—or compelled by popular demand against his wishes—to run for the presidency. He persuasively demonstrates that as early as 1943 Eisenhower was "deeply involved in promoting his presidential fortunes." Eisenhower Decides to Run: Presidential Politics and Cold War Strategy. By William B. Pickett. (Chicago: Dee, 2000. xviii, 269 pp. $27.50, ISBN 1-56663-325-7.)