Recently in History Category

Update: the interview with John McManus is now available in its entirety online.

We just got word that our resident World War II expert, John C. McManus, will be talking about D-Day Saturday morning on the C-SPAN program Washington Journal. Saturday marks the 65th anniversary of the Allied Forces' invasion of Normandy.

Mcmanus is scheduled to be interviewed on the program from 7:10-8:05 a.m. CDT on Saturday. Check your local listings to find C-SPAN on your local cable or satellite system.

McManus is a military historian and an associate professor of history at Missouri S&T. He is the author of several books about the United States' involvement in the European Theater of World War II, including a two-volume series on the American role in the Battle of Normandy. The first book, The Americans at D-Day: The American Experience at the Normandy Invasion, was released in June 2004, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of D-Day. The second book, The Americans at Normandy: The Summer of 1944, the American War from the Beaches to Falaise, was published in November 2004.

We'll try to post video of McManus' interview on this blog, once we find that C-SPAN provides it online. 

Stan Musial biographer Dr. James Giglio (who is also a John F. Kennedy Scholar) will be lecturing at Missouri S&T this year as the 2008 Maxwell C. Weiner Professor of Humanities.

This spring might be a good time to revist the Cardinals past and remember Stan the Man's greatness. The 2008 Cardinals, after all, aren't going to be very talented or exciting. But at least they'll be injury-prone.

Adam Bussman of Moro, Ill., a sophomore in history at UMR, and his advisor, Patrick Huber, associate professor of history and political science, are researching national Prohibition as part of an Opportunities for Undergraduate Research Experiences (OURE) project. Here's how Adam describes the work:

The era of National Prohibition has been studied since the anti-drinking law was repealed in 1933. However, most of these studies are limited to the organized crime activity that took place in New York City and Chicago. Dr. Huber and I decided to research another aspect of this era. We chose to focus on the economic impact prohibition had on St. Louis breweries and how the problems these breweries faced helped to shape the economic climate of the region.

Both my professor and I are soon to complete the research process of this project and are eagerly working toward a informative and successful finished product.

Photo courtesy of The Authenic History Center

Next week marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, the Soviet satellite that shocked America into a cold war battle for space supremacy. Already, the news media are examining the anniversary from all angles. I typed "sputnik" into A Google News' search engine and retrieved 327 articles and blog posts. Expect to read even more about Sputnik 1 (pictured) and the golden anniversary this weekend.

Several of the articles I skimmed look back at the Sputnik launch on Oct. 4, 1957, as a pivotal moment in U.S. history, perhaps as defining a moment for the space race as Pearl Harbor was for U.S. involvement in World War II.

The fact that the Soviets beat us into space was a blow to our collective ego. But it -- as Pearl Harbor 16 years earlier -- was a clarion call for us to get our act together and rally around the cause of beating our cold war adversaries to the moon. It was, as The New York Times puts it, a time When Science Suddenly Mattered, in Space and in Class. Times reporter Cornelia Dean writes:

For many, Sputnik was proof that American education, particularly in science, had fallen behind. Scientists and engineers warned Congress that the cold war was being fought with slide rules, not rifles. In response Congress passed the National Defense Education Act in 1958, providing, among other things, college scholarships and other help for aspiring scientists, engineers and mathematicians. Meanwhile, some of the nation’s eminent scientists were collaborating on new ways to teach high school physics, biology and chemistry.

These days, the cold war is ancient history, the U.S. is not investing in science and technology as it should, and the head of NASA thinks China will be on the moon before we ever return. But if the 50th anniversary of Sputnik 1 teaches us anything, it is that, given the right cause, vision and national leadership, we can pull together and achieve something great.

When I was in junior high school, my idea of a tragedy was a bad hairdo or a failing grade on an algebra quiz. A triumph? That probably would have involved either a boy or a new pair of shoes. But the group of kids visiting UMR today share a much broader definition of those two words.

They're here for Region 8 History Day , presenting papers, exhibitions, documentaries, websites and performances that all address this year's theme Triumph and Tragedy in History. They'll look at things like The first lunar landing. Or the sinking of the Titanic. You know, important stuff.

What happens when a 26-year-old major, fresh out of Georgetown, is asked to lead a few hundred American soldiers against a massive onslaught of enemy forces?

It's one of many stories told in a new book by UMR historian John McManus. The book gives an account of Dec. 16-20, 1944, before the legendary 101st Airborne Division arrived. "Alamo in the Ardennes: The Untold Story of the American Soldiers Who Made the Defense of Bastogne Possible" hits bookstores March 5.

Pick up the book or read more about the story in World War II magazine here.

Today, 65 years after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, my dad can tell you exactly where he was when he heard the news. Visions asked UMR military historian John C. McManus to give us a little perspective on the event as the U.S. remembers:

The morning of Dec. 7, 1941 appeared to be like most other mornings at Pearl Harbor. But under strict secrecy, a Japanese fleet of six aircraft carriers sailed to within 300 miles of the Hawaiian Islands. On that sleepy Sunday morning, they launched their planes.