Provides an interpretation of survey results of historians by an Italian scholar of American studies. Maintains that U.S. historians and historiography are changing the way Italian and other European scholars view history and its societal role. Concludes that cultural and intellectual pluralism is deeply rooted in U.S. political culture. (CFR)

Contends that history is a nearly "sense-less" profession because reading is almost the only source of historical understanding. Reviews content related to sensory experiences in college history textbooks. Argues that including language about the senses in historical writing and instruction will enlarge the audience and the field of…

Using a 1976 study as a benchmark, the data on Black women in eight encyclopedias for children were examined. Many omissions and limitations, and little updating or revision of entries over the past ten years were found. Findings are presented in a chart, and three references are listed. (MES)

The photographs of Margaret Bourke-White and Lewis Wickes Hine are graphic accounts of the urban industrial United States during the Depression of the 1930s. Hine was a sociologist who initially used his camera to promote social reform and is best remembered for his photographs of immigrants at Ellis Island, New York, and of children laboring in…

Contends that the results of a survey of historians indicate a profession divided within itself. Maintains that cultural diversity was considered one of the "best" and "worst" attributes of contemporary U.S. society. Discusses the concept of progress and its current historical interpretations. (CFR)

Presents results of a study of student attitudes toward United States history 10-week minicourses. Course titles include America's West, Roaring Twenties and Desperate Thirties, Nuclear Age, and Popular American Image. Concludes that minicourses allow students to choose among a variety of offerings and to determine which subjects are relevant and…

Discusses the sparse coverage of religion in United States history textbooks. Presents four such textbooks' explanations of the stories of Christopher Columbus and the Massachusetts Bay Colonies. Underscores the relative absence of detail about the religious underpinnings of the two historical situations. Identifies other U.S. historical events…

Two books that use documentary photography to examine social problems--"You Have Seen Their Faces," a 1937 study of Southern sharecroppers by Margaret Bourke-White and Erskine Caldwell, and "An American Exodus," a 1939 examination of the migration of farm families by Dorothea Lange and Paul S. Taylor--are compared in this…

Using various primary data sources regarding the character of judiciary activities since the early 1800s, this article examines the charge that the U. S. Supreme Court has become increasingly "imperial," with judges despotically usurping and exercising power. Data analysis fails to support this claim. (JDH)

Surveys textbooks to examine how the deposing of the monarchy in Hawaii is treated. Suggests that teachers present three questions: (1) was the United States responsible for the overthrow of the monarchy; (2) how was the overthrow treated in textbooks; and (3) is it correct for the United States to deny responsibility? Argues that textbooks…

Examines the need for a comprehensive study of Black societies in the Americas. Attributes paucity of research to geographic, economic, and language issues as well as ethnocentrism among Black scholars in the United States, and the lack of cooperation with Carribean and Latin American scholars. (JCD)

State juvenile codes and census records in the United States in the 19th century are analyzed. The establishment of reformatories was a necessary precondition for changes in the legal status of children. Groups demanded a specialized legal arena for children which stressed prevention and rehabilitation. (Author/KC)

The fields of Southern Studies and Appalachian Studies have developed along two separate tracks, due largely to perceptions within the fields, perpetuated by the media, that racism is more prevalent in the non-Appalachian South. However, polls of over 13,000 Southerners indicate that Appalachians harbor racist sentiments at least as much as…

Surveys U.S. history texts to determine the coverage given to eastern European immigrants. Reports that Poland is most extensively covered and that the amount of coverage of other eastern European peoples increases with Polish coverage. Suggests a correlation between the frequency an ethnic group is cited and the size of its population in the…

Through an analysis of the products of the radical press, this paper presents the rhetorical outlines of a cultural history of the 1930s. Following an overview of the "reportage" of the radical press, the paper focuses on that medium's rhetoric, specifically its conscious and unconscious use of religious symbolism. Among the publications…