A Year Concludes, and a New One Begins. Happy 2013!

One-hundred and fifty years ago the following appeared in the cover page of The Friend, a monthly intelligencer published in Honolulu by Rev. Samuel C. Damon:

We most heartily wish our donors, subscribers and readers, a Happy New Year. 

Through the liberality of our donors and the prompt payment of our subscribers, we are enabled to pay our printer, and commence a new volume of the Friend, hopeful and buoyant. 

Although the number of our readers may have essentially diminished with the decline of the whale-fishery in the North Pacific, yet there are still many hundreds of seamen afloat in this ocean whose visits to our shores encourage us to send forth a monthly sheet for their perusal. The number of our readers ashore is certainly not diminished. From many of them resident upon these islands, and on other islands of the Pacific, we are frequently receiving the most gratifying assurances that the Friend is a welcome visitor. 

A correspondent at Tahiti thus writes us: "The Friend improves in interest as it advances in age, and that is saying much, when we remember its vigorous and fascinating youth." This number commences the XXth volume. In regard to the future, we have no extravagant promises to make, but hope to keep along the even tenor of our way; our readers will always find us most strenuously advocating. 

"Whatsover things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report."

We wish all of our friends, supporters, history teachers, students, historians and history buffs the best aloha and for a prosperous 2013. As the New Year dawns you can be assured that you "will always find us most strenuously advocating" historical literacy, for our history teachers across Hawaii, and beyond. 

Happy New Year! HEH Holiday Hours

Happy New Year! Hau'oli Makahiki Hou from History Education Hawaii! HEH will be open on Monday, December 31 until noon. We will be closed on Tuesday, January 1, 2013 and re-open Wednesday, January 3.

We wish all of our members, supporters and friends across the world an enjoyable, safe and prosperous 2013. Cheers and aloha!

America in Class: Winter/Spring 2013 Schedule from the National Humanities Center

This past week's email brought news from the National Humanities Center. This regards its 'America in Class' program of online seminars -perfect for history teachers and historians in Hawaii! 

No need to travel! Just register from the selections you can choose from here!  The first of these seminars starts January 8, just nine days from now! 

HEH News-blog Updates

Have you been enjoying your holidays? We at History Education Hawaii (HEH) certainly hope so!

During this period when schools, colleges and universities are not in session we have been making some changes to the HEH news-blog. Particularly, we are checking and updating our links. We are increasing the number of links to historic associations and groups of all kinds and interests.

Presently, we are one-third of the way through this process. When our work for you is completed we will provide here on the news-blog a list of new links. We are anticipating that the number of links will be expanded by at least 50%. You'll have access to more choices and interests than ever before!

We encourage you to check the individual links from our list. Many have already posted news of conferences, workshops and calls-for-papers and proposals. The news-blog is open and available to all worldwide free of charge to visitors. Calabash donations to History Education Hawaii are always welcomed!

75th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre of 1937

This past week marked the 75th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre of 1937, a six-week period of pass murder and destruction following the capture of the city of Nanjing (Nanking) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. On December 13, the 6th and 16th Divisions of the Japanese Army entered the city' s Zhongshan and Pacific Gates. 

Hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed Chinese soldiers were murdered by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army. This included widespread rape and looting. Historians estimate that 250,000 to 300,000 were killed. Key leaders of the atrocities were tried and found guilty at the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal. 

We feature a number of learning resources all can access online. 

Modern History Sourcebook Fordham University: Nanking Massacre. 

The Nanking Massacre project of Yale University. A digital archive of documents and photographs.

Online Documentary: The Nanking Atrocities

Genderside Watch: Case Study: The Nanjing Massacre, 1937-1938.

The Straits Times of Singapore: China Marks Nanjing Massacre. 

BBC: Scarred by history: The Rape of Nanjing

China Daily USA: 'We must never forget the history'


Nanjing Massacre book to be released: China Daily USA. Bu Ping, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said their endeavor is important. "The Nanjing Massacre is now deeply associated with politics, people's emotions and different academic views. But this compilation has revealed the must-know basics. Their efforts are much appreciated," Bu said.


*We offer this item, the first story to appear to Hawaii's citizens and residents:

Honolulu Advertiser: December 24, 1937

Tell Horrors of Nanking Conquest

(United Press by Radio)

HANKOW, Saturday, Dec. 25- An official Chinese statement today confirmed Nanking reports of mass killings of civilians following the occupation of the city by Nipponese troops. 

The statement also confirmed reports that the Japanese invaded the refugee zone.

"The story of Japanese fury after their occupation of Nanking now slowly being pieced together from authentic foreign and Chinese sources, reveals a record of horror and shame which will remain one of the darkest and bloodiest pages in the history of Japanese aggression," the official statement declared. 

The Chinese statement said incidents in connection with the occupation of Nanking were only a repetition of the devastation wreaked on the area between Shanghai and Sungkiang.

In denouncing the invader's actions the statement declared "Japan seeks to establish its new Chinese rulers in power by murdering their brethren." 

Holidays Hours and Schedule

History Education Hawaii (HEH) will be open for business the remainder of this week. We will be closed for Christmas Monday, December 24 and Tuesday, December 25. 

We will be open again on Wednesday, December 26. Wishing all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

Winter 2012 Issue of The Concord Review Now Available

Will Fitzhugh has announced that the Winter 2012 Issue of The Concord Review (#95) is now available. 

This latest edition features exemplary high school history research papers from students in Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario, and Pennsylvania.

The topics include Caesar Augustus, Boss Tweed, the Mughal Empire, Eugenics in Massachusetts, Children's Literature, and others.

Workshops for School Teachers: The Hudson River in the Nineteenth Century and the Modernization of America

Workshops for School Teachers: “The Hudson River in the Nineteenth Century and the Modernization of America.”


Location: Ramapo College of New Jersey, Mahwah, NJ: July 7–12 or July 14–19, 2013.

This NEH workshop will focus on the Hudson River in the nineteenth century, when the river was simultaneously a commercial thoroughfare, a tourist destination, and the scene of dramatic technological, industrial, and environmental changes.  In our study we examine works of art, architecture, literature, and popular culture by figures such as Thomas Cole and Washington Irving.


Site visits and trips along the river are complemented by lectures and workshops by expert scholars. 

Participants will have a chance to develop lesson plans and work with facilitators to apply what we learn to their own classroom needs.

Other Information: This program is open to K-12 educators who will receive a $1200 stipend for participating as well as the possibility of earning professional development credits.


Please see our website for a full description of the workshop, campus facilities and faculty profiles, as well as a link to application instructions and materials.

Applications must be postmarked by March 4, 2013.

U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye Has Passed Away

U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii has passed away. President Obama just released a statement from The White House:

"Tonight, our country has lost a true American hero with the passing of Senator Daniel Inouye. The second-longest serving Senator in the history of the chamber, Danny represented the people of Hawaii in Congress from the moment they joined the Union."

Tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut

Our heartfelt aloha, hopes and prayers go out to the students, parents, teachers and the community of Newtown, Connecticut in light of today's tragic events.

Words are inadequate to encapsulate the horrific murder of 27, including students. Our hearts are broken as we absorb today's shocking news.

We urge all near and far to find ways to mourn today's loss. Light a candle for those who have senselessly perished. A light against the darkness is a first step in the defeat of evil.

Jeffrey Bingham Mead
President, History Education Hawaii, Inc.

Library of Congress: 2013 Summer Teacher Institutes

The Library of Congress is now accepting applications for its 2013 Summer Teacher Institutes in Washington, D.C. The five-day institutes will provide educators with tools and resources to effectively integrate primary sources into classroom teaching.

Application Deadline: February 4, 2013

In the institutes, Library of Congress education specialists will instruct participants in best practices for using primary sources in the K-12 classroom, while helping them explore some of the millions of digitized primary sources available on the Library's Web site. All sessions will expose participants to a wide variety of primary sources from the Library's collections. Participants will be able to work with teachers from around the country to explore methods for effectively integrating primary sources into classroom activities.

After participating in the Summer Teacher Institutes, participants will:

• Know how to access primary sources from the Library of Congress.
• Become skilled at analyzing primary sources of different formats.
• Learn various teaching strategies for using primary sources in the classroom.
• Be able to successfully facilitate a primary source-based activity with students.
• Gain knowledge of how to use primary sources to enable students to be engaged, think critically and construct knowledge.
• Develop a Primary Source Activity Plan that will be implemented in the participant's instructional setting.

As follow up to the Summer Teacher Institutes, participants will:

• Continue to refine their Primary Source Activity Plan.
• Implement a Primary Source Activity with students in their instructional setting.
• Report to Library education staff on implementation's successes and/or challenges.
• Have the option of completing additional work to obtain three graduate credits (for a fee) from George Mason University.

Sessions will take place on the following dates:

• Session 1: June 10-14, 2013
• Session 2: June 17-21, 2013
• Session 3: July 22-26, 2013
• Session 4: July 29-August 2, 2013
• Session 5: August 5-9, 2013

Hawaii History Blog Profiles: Brig Thaddeus (Hawaiian Mission Houses)

The Hawaiian Mission Houses Historical Site and Archives presents public programs that include historic house tours, lectures, family days, workshops, backpacks, teas, exhibitions, and special events. 

In 2010 a blog was created taking visitors day by day on the journey aboard the brig Thaddeus to the Sandwich Islands with the first group of Protestant missionaries to Hawai`i. It was part of a program entitled Coming to Hawai`i: A Trunk Show. The program commemorated the 190th anniversary of the arrival of the Thaddeus in Hawai`i. 

The trip on board of the Thaddeus took around six months to bring the first company of New England missionaries and Christian Native Hawaiians to Hawai`i.  That journey began on October 23, 1819. It was, as one writer has observed, "…the voyage was a time for forging new relationships between husbands and wive, with fellow members of the mission and between the newly covenanted church and its God." 

"We will share each day's log entry as it was entered.  Hopefully, we will then enjoy some interesting and thought-provoking discussions - from how a word's meaning has changed between the 19th and 21st centuries to how people passed the time on board ship to discussions of who does what on the ship.  At journey's end, we hope everyone who participates will come away with a better understanding of these people who hoped to make a difference in their world." Members of the pioneer missionary company left  Boston along with four Hawaiian youths:  Thomas Hopu, William. Kanui, John Honolii, George Tamori.

Click here for a link to the Thaddeus Journal Blog. It is also listed on the Hawaii History Blog Project's list.  

We also invite our visitors to this article featured in the Honolulu Advertiser, dated Thursday, April 15, 2010. 

Hawaii History Blog Profiles: July 4 in Hawaii

It is said that Americans living or visiting Hawaii have been celebrating America's tumultuous beginning since 1814. How has the Fourth of July, the national independence day of the United States of America, been observed and celebrated in Hawaii? July 4 in Hawaii seeks to provide answers to this question. 

Most of the blog postings consist of press accounts directly transcribed from original source materials. Many are eyewitness accounts of July 4 celebrations on all the main islands of the Hawaiian archipelago. Some postings consist of full published texts of speeches delivered in various location. Members of the Hawaiian royal family, sailors and seamen, military personnel, American missionaries, businessmen and others from around the world attended many of the celebrations. 

The blog provides opportunities for visitors to use word and name searches where research may be involved. All texts are transcribed and proofread by volunteers. 

"At the outset," wrote historian Gordon S. Wood, "Americans saw their Revolution as a heroic moral struggle  for liberty against the evils of British tyranny, with the participants being larger-than-life heroes or villains. Then through much of the nineteenth century, largely through the work of George Bancroft, the Revolution lost some of its highly personal character and became the providential fulfillment of the American people's democratic destiny, something preordained from the very beginning of the seventeenth century colonial settlements." 

July 4 in Hawaii is one of the featured blogs in the Hawaii History Blogs Project that is part of the Hawaii Lyceum of History, a unique online-based program originating from and sponsored by History Education Hawaii, Inc., the official council in Hawaii of the National Council for History Education. 

History Doctoral Programs in USA and Canada

The American Historical Association's web site features one of the most comprehensive informational sources on history doctoral programs in the USA and Canada. Click here. 


From the Introduction page:

This site gathers the most comprehensive information available on the state of doctoral education in history—including annually-updated information on history Ph.D. programs in the United States and Canada, a database of doctoral dissertations completed and in progress, and a wide array of advice to prospective doctoral students.

We hope this site will provide a useful starting point for prospective doctoral candidates, offering insights into the kinds of issues they should consider in applying to and selecting a program. Keep in mind that the average history doctoral student spends about 8.5 years pursuing the Ph.D., so this should be undertaken with a clear-eyed awareness.

Listings are organized by name, state (USA), province (Canada),  and specializations. 

Hawaii Teachers Invited! Professional Development at Historic Deerfield

Living on the Edge of Empire:  Alliance, Conflict and Captivity in Colonial New England is a professional development workshop for teachers at Historic Deerfield, Massachusetts.

It will be held twice in the summer of 2013:  July 7 to July 12 and July 28 to August 2. Historic Deerfield is hoping to receive applications from teachers working across the country. 

Hawaii educators are strongly encouraged to apply! 

Presented by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, the Living on the Edge of Empire workshop places the Deerfield Raid of 1704 in the broader context of the history of colonial New England.

For a century from 1660 to 1760 the bucolic New England village of Deerfield was a crossroads where differing visions and ambitions of diverse Native American Nations and European colonial empires interacted peacefully and clashed violently. During a memorable three-hour span in the early 1700s, the town stood at the center of the struggle to control the continent. 

To travel back in time early on the morning of February 29, 1704 would be to encounter the flicker of flames and smell of smoke and gun powder; the air would be filled with a cacophony of French, English, and Native voices mixed with battle sounds, cries of despair, and cries of triumph. French, English, Native Americans, Africans, men, women, children, soldiers, ministers, farmers, and traders….all were there on that fateful day.  By mid-day over 70 residents and attackers were dead; while 112 men, women, and children were being hurried out of the burning village by their French and Native captors.  

The 1704 Raid on Deerfield is a doorway to a fascinating and important part of American history.  It was an event rooted in religious conflicts, personal and family retribution, alliance and kinship ties.  The Raid on Deerfield and the colonial world that produced it, helped to create a distinctive American identity and world view that became a backdrop for the American Revolution.

Workshop scholars will explore global issues while also considering ways in which this history can offer a compelling entry point for teaching the complexities of the early American colonial period and the many cultural groups who comprised it –Native nations, enslaved Africans, the French and English settlers.

PVMA’s Deerfield Teachers’ Center has delivered high-caliber American history and humanities content to over 900 educators.  Our programs delve into topics presented by leading scholars in combination with sessions assisting teachers to integrate historical and cultural understandings into engaging and meaningful K-12 lessons.  We invite you to come to Deerfield, Massachusetts, to explore the rich colonial history of the region through interactions with landscape, objects, images, documents, and Living History. Join us as we study together the shared experiences of “living on the edge of empire” and consider the role those experiences played in helping to forge a distinctly American identity and, ultimately, a new nation.  To learn more please visit the Living on the Edge of Empire website.

USS Panay Attacked 1937: 75th Anniversary

Seventy-five years ago, in 1937, the American navy gunboat USS Panay was attacked without warning in Chinese waters by Japanese aircraft during the Sino-Japanese War. 

The Panay was escorting American evacuees and three Standard Oil barges from Nanjing (Nanking), the capitol of the Chinese Republic on the Yantze River. After the attack the Panay was sunk "Japanese fighters machine-gunned lifeboats and survivors huddling on the shore of the Yangtze. Two U.S. sailors and a civilian passenger were killed and 11 personnel seriously wounded, setting off a major crisis in U.S.-Japanese relations."   

The Panay's position had been reported to the Japanese beforehand, and it was clear that the vessel was a neutral party in the conflict. Additionally, two British vessels were also attacked. Japanese authorities maintained that the attack was unintentional, agreeing to pay $2 million in reparations. 

Norman Alley photographed the attack as it happened, along with Eric Mayell of Movietone News. Both men were on board the Panay as the attack occurred. Go to this link on archive.org for the 22-minute-long newsreel. You may also go to this link on YouTube. 

"When President Roosevelt and other government officials saw the entire footage, they were gravely concerned about its impact on the American people.  As a result, Norman Alley and Universal agreed to remove thirty incriminating feet of coverage from the film.  In doing so, they may have helped to avert war - at that time - with Japan." 

Among those aboard the USS Panay was Norman Soong, a special correspondent with the New York Times from Hawaii. 

News of the attack on and sinking of the USS Panay was prominently featured on the front pages and elsewhere in the Honolulu Advertiser. On December 14, 1937 the following editorial was published:

Bomb Us and Bow

Profuse apologies and "profound regrets" have already been tendered by Japan to America because of the "incident" near Nanking-and incident that sent four American vessels to the bottom of the river. Vessels that went down after repeated bombing attacks by Japanese planes, some of the attacks being power drives. Reports say 96 people were killed, or are missing, and among these undoubtedly are Americans

It is the most serious problem the United States has been called upon to face since Japan started waging an undeclared war on China. What is America's policy toward Japan going to be now? President Roosevelt has already conveyed word to Japan's Emperor that he is "deeply shocked" by the attack on American vessels, adding that he is concerned by indiscriminate Japanese bombing attacked on foreign vessels.

Meantime, Ambassador Saito has referred to the "incident" as having been accidental and a great mistake. The affair has stirred up a tempest in Congress, as was natural. Some solons are demanding anew that we run away from China, while others, representing no doubt majority American sentiment, are saying: "We do not subscribe to the doctrine that American citizens be shot down indiscriminately" This group is demanding "full satisfaction from Japan," in lieu of profuse regrets and apologies. They would demand that Japan refrain from repetition of the incident, or "take the consequences."

The United States and Great Britain will undoubtedly work in close harmony in making representations to the Nipponese. The vessels of both nations were bombed. The vessels of both nations were not in the Yangtze on a war-like mission. They were there on a peaceful duty, and at the moment of bombing. they were humanely transporting refugees from the war zone.

Some authorities, both in London and in Washington, are forecasting that strong pressure from the United States and Great Britain may serve to end the Sino-Japanese hostilities. It is easily seen that the Japanese are perturbed. Their apologies came quickly on the heels of the incident. Their willingness to take the blame, without offering explanations, is significant. Momentous decisions on the part of the three great powers must be made-and that soon. The sinking of the Panay or the bombing of the British gunboat Ladybird are incidents that cannot be dismissed with perfunctory apologies. 

Free Online Course for Secondary Educators: Teaching about Pre-modern Japan: Heian and Medieval Society and Culture

We received news via Facebook of a free online course for secondary educators. Hawaii teachers and urged to enroll!

The Center for Asian Studies (CAS) at the University off Colorado Boulder is offering 'Teaching about Pre-modern Japan: Heian and Medieval Society and Culture, January 14-April 6, 2013. 

This is a FREE online course. It is funded by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. 

Priority is being given to teachers from states west of the Mississippi. This course is offered in cooperation with the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington. 

For more information click this link to the pdf application form. Good luck!

Hawaii History Blog Profiles: The Founding Fathers and Chinese Civilization

China's history is one of a proud, mysterious and ancient civilization. Over the past 150 years this nation's history has been marked by war, turmoil, famine, a decadent imperial ruling site, foreign conquerors, native warlords, a feudal past that has quickly transformed itself into a modern, global society. 

Among the historical mysteries of China something few on either side of the Pacific Ocean have realized until recently: the influence of Chinese civilization on the Founder of the United States of America in the 1700's. 

Dr. Dave Wang set out to explore and share his discoveries though his blog site The Founding Fathers and Chinese Civilization. 

His blog site explores "the cultural influence of traditional Chinese civilization on colonial North American and the early development of the United States." 

In 2012 Dr. Wang joined the Board of Directors of History Education Hawaii, Inc. 

Born and raised in Northeast China, Dr. Wang earned his MA and Ph.D in the United States. 

"So far some papers in the project have been published at home and abroad," says Dr. Wang, "including Benjamin Franklin and the Great Wall of China, Benjamin Franklin and Chinese Civilization, and Benjamin Franklin and China: A Survey of Benjamin Franklin’s Efforts at Drawing Positive Elements from Chinese Civilization during the Formative Age of the United States." 

Dr. Wang's pioneering research has earned him a distinguished international reputation. Selected published papers have been translated into international languages including Italian and Chinese. He is often invited to present his research findings to audiences around the world. 

"Certain Chinese products, such as tea, had become deeply involved in the colonies and became an indispensable element of colonists’ daily life. The British control of tea and the colonists’ struggle against this control changed the historical course of the colonies. The tax on tea and the resentment with the tea monopoly by the East Indian Company was one of the factors that led the colonists to rebel. Immediately before the successful 1784 sailing of the Empress of China, the first American commercial ship to reach China, the President of Yale College told George Washington, "Navigation will carry the America flag around the globe itself, and display the thirteen stripes and new constellation, at Bengal and Canton, on the Indus and Ganges, on the Whang-ho and the Yang-ti-king; and with commerce will import the wisdom and literature of the East."  

Hawaii History Blog Profiles: Ho‘okuleana

Last month we announced the Hawaii History Blog Project here on our news blog. These history blogs are freely accessible to anyone around the world with online access. From time to time we will be featuring profiles of these blogs and those who provide content, all for your enjoyment and for the cause of increasing historical literacy.

The Hawaiian word Ho‘okuleana translates "to take responsibility." Peter T. Young of Kailua, Hawai`i is a lifetime resident, descendant of the Rev. Hiram Bingham, and whose career has included 30 years in the private sector, two years in county administration and four and a half years in state administrative roles, most notably as the head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). 

Young is today associated with Ho‘okuleana LLC, "a planning and consulting firm assisting property owners with land use planning efforts, including environmental review, entitlement process, permitting, community outreach, etc." 

We first learned about Peter Young's interest in blogging local Hawaii history via his Facebook postings on various subjects. His blog, entitled Ho‘okuleana can be accessed here. 

Lastly, we share these words from his history blog site:

"We view it as our individual and collective responsibility to: Participate … rather than ignore; Prevent … rather than react and Preserve … rather than degrade. This is not really a program, it is an attitude we want people to share. The world is changing; let’s work together to change it for the better." 

We could not agree more! Thank you, Peter Young. 

Society of Early Americanists: 2013 Biennial Conference

The 2013 8th biennial conference of the Society of Early Americanists is scheduled for February 28-March 2, 2013 in Savannah, Georgia. 

Its mission "shall be to further the exchange of ideas and information among scholars of various disciplines who study the literature and culture of America to approximately 1800. The Society shall promote the exchange of ideas and information among its members through a newsletter, which serves as the primary forum for members' concerns, through an electronic bulletin board and a Website, and through meetings, joint research projects, and any other means SEA might deem appropriate." 

Click this link to learn about the history of the SEA. 

Click here for the draft program of the conference. Click here to register. 

'Not just 4 texting: 1 in 3 middle-schoolers uses smart phones for homework'

The Christian Science Monitor has published this insightful article about the use of smart phones by, yes, middle school students: 

"A new survey finds that about a third of middle-schoolers now use smart phones or tablets not just for entertainment and communication, but also for homework.

"Paired with young people’s interest in science, math, and technology, it’s another sign of the potential for digital learning that educators are slowly beginning to tap." 

and this:

The national survey of 1,000 students in Grades 6 through 8 found that:

• 39 percent use smartphones for homework.
• 26 percent use smartphones at least weekly for homework.
• 31 percent use tablets for homework.
• 29 percent of those with household incomes under $25,000 use smartphones for homework.
• Hispanics and African-Americans are more likely than whites to use smartphones for homework, at 49 percent, 42 percent, and 36 percent, respectively.

Go to this link to read the article, the survey by Verizon Foundation and further things to contemplate. :) 

Geo-Illiteracy, a 'must-read' by NCHE Board Member William E. White

We received news this morning that an must-read article by NCHE board member William E. White has been published by Huffington Post. The subject? Geo-Illiteracy:

"Today we live in a "flat world" with lightning-fast communications, with international travel calculated in hours, with decreasing restrictions on international trade and commercial transactions, and in which the United States is the world power. 

"Even as the United States' international role grows, however, our knowledge of the world we live in lags behind. Since 1994, geographic literacy -- understanding of places and cultures of the world -- declined among American twelfth-graders, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Even educated adult Americans are uninformed and unsophisticated about geography." 

Read the full article with its accompanying links by clicking here. 

Yankee Magazine Features David McCullough on the Future of History

Yankee Magazine recently featured an interview with America's Historian, David McCullough. The question posed by Ian Aldrich: What's the future of History?

Any one of us concerned about historical literacy wonders about this, too. Go to this link and read McCullough's thoughts about an issue very important to all of us.

PBS: Enter The 2012 Teacher Innovator Awards

Did you know that America's teachers innovate every day? It's true! We've heard that PBS LearningMedia and The Henry Ford are sponsoring the third annual Teacher Innovator Awards. The awards recognize innovative PreK-12 classroom educators, media specialists, technology coordinators and homeschool educators who use digital media to enhance student learning. 

There's no doubt in our minds that there are some talented history teachers in Hawaii whose inventive thinking and use of technology fuels, inspires and engages young minds. You deserve to be recognized!

Enter here to tell how you have innovated with digital media to enhance student learning. You can send the sponsors a short video or PDF with text and images that showcases your work. Your entry can be a demonstration of a unique teaching technique or the outcome of your influence in a student work. See frequently asked questions and contest rules for more details.

NOTE: Entries for the 2012 Teacher Innovator Awards are from September 26, 2012 to December 12, 2012. Winners will be notified by March 31, 2013. 

America In Class: Winter/Spring 2012-2013 Seminars Announced

The National Humanities Center has announced its Winter/Spring 2012-2013 online seminar schedule.

Each seminar is led by a distinguished scholar who provides a live, interactive experience that focuses on teaching with primary resources. This includes the use of historical documents, literary texts, visual images and audio. 

All seminars emphasize critical analysis, close reading addressing skills of the Common Core State Standards. Participants will be immersed in an engaging, useful and convenient professional development seminar offering new pedagogical approaches and FREE online resources.

Here is list of the seminar offerings:

Winslow Homer's Civil War Art

The Civil War in Global Context

Teaching Through Close Reading: Poetry and Fiction

Teaching Through Close Reading: Historical and Informational Texts

The Struggle for Woman Suffrage

Economic Development of the West in the Late Nineteenth Century

The American Business Revolution: Corporate Consolidation in the Nineteenth Century

Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar

The Business of America and the Consumer Economy of the 1920s

The Causes of the Great Depression

The Causes and Consequences of Indian Removal

The Emergence of Jim Crow

Click here for the NHC's list with links to more information and registration. Hawaii teachers, historians, students and all others and encouraged to register and participate! 

HawaiiNewsNow Reports: New documentary details Date of Infamy

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -

The film is a frame-by-frame account that took a year to create.

A new documentary called "Pearl Harbor Declassified" offers a fresh look at the sequence of events that started at 7:52 a.m. on December 7, 1941. The main focus is the sinking of the battleship USS Arizona.

"They were able to go back and get the best copy of the footage of the Arizona exploding and replicate it in high-definition," National Parks Historian Daniel Martinez said.

A company called Creative Differences pieced together film with photographs from the National Archive and the Naval Historical Center into the 60-minute documentary that captures the first 15 minutes of the attack.

It includes rarely seen military footage from Japan and a home movie taken by U.S. Navy Dr. Eric Haakenson. Mixed in are underwater shots of the sunken vessel and first-hand accounts from attack survivors.

Martinez said the movie is the best documentation to date of the date that will live in infamy.

"I've worked with these images since 1991, and to see it in this clarity was remarkable," he said.

A free screening will be held Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center theaters.

"Pearl Harbor Declassified" debuts on the Military Channel on December 7, the 71st anniversary of the attack.

Common Core State Standards

You've heard a great deal about the Common Core State Standards. But do you know what they are? 

According to the official web site, "The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy."

Click this link to download the standards for English language education and learning. History teachers will find these very useful in planning their lessons and assignments. 

Thanksgiving Wishes from History Education Hawaii, Inc.

The officers and directors of History Education Hawaii, Inc., wish all of our members, friends, colleagues, partners a supporters a joyful and bountiful Thanksgiving holiday. 

Thanksgiving is a special time in which we pause to express to you our sincerest appreciation and aloha for your confidence and support for our efforts to improve and promote historical literacy in Hawaii. 

We are deeply thankful for our island history teachers and all their efforts in and outside the classroom. Our thoughts also turn to our historians, history buffs and students with warmest appreciation, too. 

Safe travels to all who are visiting family and friends in distant places. May your holiday be abundant and joy-filled. 

Aloha,

Jeffrey Bingham Mead, President and Co-founder. 

"Thanksgiving Day First Observed Here in 1838"

Thanksgiving Day First Observed Here in 1838

Instigated by Missionaries

Source: Honolulu Advertiser. Wednesday, November 24, 1948. 5:1.

Thanksgiving Day came early in Hawaii.

Hawaii's first Thanksgiving Day was observed 110 years ago, records of the Territorial archives show. According to a passage from Frear's 'Lowell and Abigail,' Dec. 6, 1838, was the date.

The Chronicle notes: "This day has been observed by us missionaries as a day of Thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God. Something new for this nation. The people turned out pretty well to meetings and they dined in small groups and in a few instances large groups. WE missionaries all dined at Dr. Judd's and sipped at Brother Bingham's."

ON NOV. 23, 1849, just 99 years ago, King Kamehameha III issued this now-famous proclamation:

"In accordance with the laws of this kingdom and the excellent usage of Christian nations, it has pleased His Majesty, in council, to appoint the 31st day of December next as a day of public thanksgiving to God for His unnumbered mercies and blessings to this nation.

People of every class are respectfully requested to assemble in their several houses of worship on that day to render united praise to the Father of nations, and to implore His favor in time to come upon all who dwell upon these shores, as individuals, as families and as a nation."

The authority for annual Thanksgiving proclamations was provided under the statute laws of 1845, which added: "When thus promulgated, they shall be obligatory according to their general spirit and intent upon all persons, provided that they shall have no sectarian tendency, and not be calculated by favoring one sect to injure another." 

One of the best-known Thanksgiving messages in Hawaiian annals is that in which the Hawaiian Evangelical Assn. recommended Thursday, Nov. 28, 1861 as a day of general thanksgiving.

This message, signed by E.W. Clark and E. Corwin, recounted the Biblical quotation: "Let all His people, then on the day appointed, enter His courts with thanksgiving and His gates with praise." 

It cited the "manifold blessings" which had been bestowed upon the islands: "new and becoming avenues of industry have been opened…the necessities of life have been supplied to all…industry and enterprise have been duly rewarded…a free press and an equitable representation of public opinion in matters pertaining to the public welfare as secured…religious toleration is enjoyed…no pestilence has desolated the islands…institutions of learning and religion abound." 

2014 OAH Annual Meeting Information

It's never too early to starting thinking about history conference plans, is it? With that in mind we're pleased to notify our members and friends that the Organization of American Historians has posted its 2014 annual conference information. 

The theme for the 2014 OAH Annual Meeting will be Crossing Borders. 

"The history of the United States is a product of migrations – internal and international. Along with people, goods and ideas crossed these borders, reshaping the composition and character of the American people. Sometimes the borders and boundaries were physical, as when international migrants crossed oceans and continents, or when large numbers of individuals migrated from one region of the country to another, or when the lure of wealth and influence led to foreign invasions and conquests. Those on the move were accompanied by bacteria or viruses, microorganisms whose migration across borders also shaped human experience. Borders were also framed by culture – racial, ethnic, class, and gender differences that perennially redefined our population and social order. The theme for the 2014 conference seeks to examine, in all their complexity, a broad array of border crossings and “encounters” in US history, highlighting the contributions and challenges presented by those who transcended borders to redefine their lives or flee the constraints of their pasts."

The annual conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia at the Hilton Atlanta, April 10-13, 2014.

Historians and history educators please note! Proposal submissions will be accepted starting January 1, 2013. The submission deadline is February 15, 2013. 

For complete conference information go to this link today. 

2013 Organization of American Historians Annual Meeting

In April, 2013 the Organization of American Historians will be holding its annual meeting in San Francisco, California. Hawaii history educators, historians and students are encouraged to attend. 

The theme for the 2013 OAH Annual Meeting is Entangled Histories: Connections, Crossings, and Constraints in U.S. History.

"The history of the United States is one of entanglement: trans-Atlantic, trans-Pacific, and cross-border interactions; conflicts and collaborations based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, and class; intersections and crossings at all scales from the global to the intimate. The conference theme seeks to examine and complicate a broad range of “entanglements” in US history, paying attention to both the possibilities as well as the limitations of these interactions."

To register for the conference go to this link.

The annual meeting will be held at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square. Go to this link for lodging information for conference attendees. 

Go to this link for the conference program. 

'The Civil War and American Art' at Smithsonian American Art Museum

This morning's Washington Times featured this article about a new Civil War exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum:


The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s new exhibition, “The Civil War and American Art,” which opens today, has two stars. One is the enslaved black American; the other is Winslow Homer.
The issues of emancipation and racial equality – Frederick Douglass‘ “great, paramount, imperative and all commanding question” – are addressed in some of the exhibition’s most moving paintings.

The exhibit "examines how America’s artists represented the impact of the Civil War and its aftermath. The exhibition follows the conflict from palpable unease on the eve of war, to heady optimism that it would be over with a single battle, to a growing realization that this conflict would not end quickly and a deepening awareness of issues surrounding emancipation and the need for reconciliation. Genre and landscape painting captured the transformative impact of the war, not traditional history painting." 

Hawaii's distance from this exhibit is not necessarily an issue for those of you interested! 

Go to this link for a slideshow of selected works. This link on Flickr features photos of the opening of the exhibit. 

Click this link for a presentation delivered by Eleanor Jones Harvey on six featured paintings.

For educators there is a Teacher's Guide available via download free of charge.