Phi Alpha Theta Initiation

Yesterday Emily Kayes, Arin Liszka, and Carley Doyle were initiated into Phi Alpha Theta, the National History Honor Society.  Karen Robbins, the Phi Alpha Theta adviser, organized a very nice ceremony at the University Ministries.

History Club Meeting!

The History Club will have its first meeting of the year at 7 p.m. this coming Thursday, September 11. It will meet in the first floor Plassmann Lounge. All majors are welcome. You need to like history! Help decide what trips and activities the club will engage in this year. Last fall, the club went to the Teddy Roosevelt Inaugural site in Buffalo, followed by the Anchor Bar for wings. In the spring, the club went to the Eldred WWII museum with lunch at Red and Trudy's. Where will the club go this year? Come and find out.

SBU History Alum Matt Zaros Discusses His Senior Thesis

Matt with Dr. Horowitz at graduation

In the fall of 2013, I was enrolled in Dr. Robbins's Colonial American history class. One of the required books was Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia's Eastern Shore, 1640—1676 by T.H. Breen and Stephen Innes. It's an absolute must read for anyone interested in early American history. The book depicts the lives of freed and enslaved Africans in Virginia up until 1676, which was the start of Bacon's Rebellion. Before 1676, Africans could buy their freedom, just like their white servant counterparts. Some freed Africans even became extremely prosperous citizens. I remember finishing the book in bewilderment. Why did Bacon's Rebellion change all that? Why did the process of freeing slaves halt after Bacon's Rebellion? It was these questions that I took with me into my final semester at Bonaventure. I decided that I would investigate how Bacon's Rebellion changed slave culture in America.

After countless hours in the library reading and writing, I finally got my answer. Before Bacon's Rebellion, slaves were given limited liberties. One of these limited liberties was the ability to have free time. With this free time slaves were able to gain skills such as: shoe-making, tool making, carpentry and hunting. Products made by the slaves were sold to slave owners. The money slaves made would go to purchasing their freedom.  Another liberty was the ability to associate with whites. Whites and Blacks worked in the fields together and they formed a common bond, just like any other group of workers.  

It was this common bond and the promise of freedom that unified blacks and whites under Nathanial Bacon to join together to overthrow the Virginia government in 1676 (this is a simplified explanation of the Rebellion).  Unfortunately for the Rebellion, Bacon died of dysentery and soon his Rebellion died too. With fresh troops from England and no leader the unified blacks and whites could not defeat the Government.  In order to make sure a Rebellion would not happen again the slave owners decided to racially separate whites and blacks. This ensured that  the two races could not communicate with one another. They also made slavery more brutal. Taking away the chance of freedom that they slaves once had. It was Bacon's Rebellion that caused slavery in America to fundamentally change.  

This whole project started with a simple question I had in a class. And I ran with it until I got the answers. Besides now having extensive knowledge of slavery in early America, the other thing I learned is if you have a question just keep going until you have your answer.

My Time as a History Major at Bonaventure by Max Schneller

My decision to choose history as my major in college was a relatively easy one. I grew up in Hurley, New York, a town that was established by the Dutch in 1662. Many of the old stone houses of the Dutch colony still exist along Main Street. This historic site along with many others is where I grew up and, ever since I was young, my parents told me about my area's history. Because of this constant exposure to history I quickly grew to love it.

My decision to choose Saint Bonaventure was also in large part because of young exposure. My grandfather and uncle both went to Bonas and so throughout my childhood and high school career I heard stories of Bonaventure. I truly knew that Bonaventure was where I was going to spend my college career, however, when I first visited the school and saw the history section of Friedsam Library. As a high school senior, I had never seen so many books devoted to history in one place. Even now, in my senior year at Bonaventure, I enjoy going down to the History section and simply skimming through the books.

Perhaps my favorite part of being a history major at Saint Bonaventure has been the way that I have expanded my knowledge of the histories of many regions and countries that previously I had no exposure to. These regions include the Middle East, Latin America, and East Asia. Before coming to Saint Bonaventure, I took many classes on European and American history, both of which I have learned a lot about at Bonaventure. However, once at Bonaventure, I immediately decided to take classes on Asian and Latin American history to broaden my historical knowledge. By my sophomore year, I was also taking Middle Eastern history classes. These classes offered a new challenge and were particularly interesting because of the way that all of the information was new. For truly expanding my knowledge in history and changing the way I look at the world I have to thank Dr. Horowitz, Dr. Zabad from the Political Science Department, Dr. Robbins and many other professors throughout this wonderful school.

Exciting News from Dr. Robbins!

Hi everyone,

I'm extremely excited this week, because a book that I have been working on for many years has finally been published! If you haven't seen it in the History Department hall display, check it out on Amazon.com! It's titled James McHenry, Forgotten Federalist and the University of Georgia Press (a very good academic publishing house) has done a wonderful job. If you would like to know more about what the book is about, here is the text from the press. Enjoy!

Karen E. Robbins, James McHenry, Forgotten Federalist (Studies in the Legal History of the South; University of Georgia Press)

A long overdue chapter in the history of America’s Founders

"Karen E. Robbins’s James McHenry, Forgotten Federalist is a welcome addition to the literature on the Revolution and early American republic, rescuing a misunderstood patriot from undeserved obscurity. Her fresh and fair-minded account of McHenry’s career as John Adams’s secretary of war is a particularly notable contribution to our understanding of these critically important years."—Peter S. Onuf, author of Jefferson’s Empire: The Language of American Nationhood

A Scots-Irish immigrant, James McHenry determined to make something of his life. Trained as a physician, he joined the American Revolution when war broke out. He then switched to a more military role, serving on the staffs of George Washington and Lafayette. He entered government after the war and served in the Maryland Senate and in the Continental Congress. As Maryland’s representative at the Constitutional Convention, McHenry helped to add the ex post facto clause to the Constitution and worked to increase free trade among the states.