A review of “Reconstruction: America After the Civil War”

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

– Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution (ratified 1865)

The first episode covers events in Reconstruction under President Andrew Johnson

In 2004, PBS released a three-hour film called “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War” (not to be confused with this film). As far as I know, “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War” was PBS’s first attempt to cover this unknown (but still important) subject. This prior 2004 film used a more traditional delineation of when Reconstruction began, and when it ultimately ended. PBS’s “Reconstruction: America After the Civil War” came out in 2019 – fifteen years after the prior film. Both films start their story in roughly the same place. That is, major combat in the American Civil War was now ending with the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865. We can only guess as to how Abraham Lincoln would have handled the complicated issues of postwar Reconstruction. This is because Abraham Lincoln was soon murdered by an assassin’s bullet in 1865. This meant that the task of Reconstruction would now be passed to his Southern-born successor Andrew Johnson. Andrew Johnson had remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War, but he was still a committed racist. This would have important consequences for his policies regarding the former slaves, and how they were to be treated. The first episode of this film focuses on the Andrew Johnson portion of Reconstruction. Andrew Johnson served for nearly four years, finishing the term that he had inherited from Abraham Lincoln. (He had been Lincoln’s vice president for roughly a month before that.) But Andrew Johnson soon became the first president to be impeached. For these and other reasons (too complicated to detail here), Andrew Johnson thus failed to be elected in 1868. More about the reasons for this well-deserved failure here.

Freed blacks voting in New Orleans, 1867

Is it better for hobbies to be broader or deeper?

Is it better to be a generalist or a specialist? I did another post tackling this question somewhat, in the context of both professional development and formal educational settings. As I said in that post, there are advantages and disadvantages to using both approaches. But, today, I’d like to focus on how this might work with one’s hobbies – at least, when those hobbies are distinguished somewhat from professional development. That is, one of the most important aspects of a hobby is just to have fun, particularly when one’s job is stressful and demanding. And, for present purposes, being a full-time student or a stay-at-home parent would count as a job. For purposes of simplicity, I am assuming with this answer that one wants to learn something while they’re engaging in their hobbies. That is, I am assuming that, if you’re reading this particular post, you’re the kind of person who enjoys learning things of one sort or another. It’s all right if you don’t want to learn very much, but I will address this particular post to those who do. (More for those who don’t in other posts.) Being a generalist and being a specialist both involve learning some new things. Moreover, both can require some minimum aptitude and intelligence (in at least one or two particular areas) to get these things right. Thus, with that said, let me now dive into the question of whether a broader approach or a deeper approach (or perhaps some combination of the two) will give you more fulfillment in your hobbies.

The gold funerary mask of Tutankhamun, a symbol of Egyptology and Ancient Egypt

What undergraduate major(s) should I choose to become a lawyer?

“The ABA [or ‘American Bar Association’] does not recommend any undergraduate majors or group of courses to prepare for a legal education. Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic discipline. You may choose to major in subjects that are considered to be traditional preparation for law school, such as history, English, philosophy, political science, economics or business, or you may focus your undergraduate studies in areas as diverse as art, music, science and mathematics, computer science, engineering, nursing or education.”

– Website of the American Bar Association – and, specifically, their page on “Pre-Law”

I once thought about going to law school. Moreover, I got a bachelor’s degree in business, which is one of the more traditional routes for entering the legal profession. But I have never so much as applied to a law school, let alone gotten in or out of one. Thus, I freely admit that I am not an expert on this topic. But it is a topic that I have thought about often over the years. I’ve read some legal classics, such as the Federalist Papers – or Sir William Blackstone’s “Commentaries on the Laws of England.” Thus, I have some experience (after a fashion) with the law, at least in a narrow sense. Thus, I would like to offer my perspective on what kinds of undergraduate majors would be most helpful for law school.

Magna Carta replica and display, in the rotunda of the United States Capitol

To be clear, this is not intended to replace studying the ABA webpage on this subject, which is simply entitled “Pre-Law.” Indeed, I plan to quote from this page often in this particular post. This is just intended to supplement their most definitive webpage with some brief commentary of my own. I will here be focusing on the six majors that are considered to be traditional preparation for law school. This is because, with one exception, these are the relevant areas about which I personally know the most. As the quotation above shows, there are six traditional law school preparation majors. In their words, these are “history, English, philosophy, political science, economics, [and] business.” I will start with English, the only one of these subjects with which I lack any substantial personal experience. Otherwise, I will adhere to the sequence in which they mention these six subjects, giving my commentary on each of them in turn. So let’s dive into the English major first.

United States Constitution, which is still the supreme law of the land in this country

Historiography: A fancy word for the “history of history” (among other things)

It’s long been believed by the public that Marie Antoinette said the famous (or rather, infamous) line: “Let them eat cakes.” Modern historians have questioned the authenticity of this claim, and it is not at all certain that she actually said it – the debate is still ongoing. Even for those of us who do question this account, though, the claim that she said it is still a part of the history. This is because it’s been told for so long that generations of schoolchildren have grown up with the story. Therefore, the issue of whether it happened must still be grappled with, whenever the history is taught to each succeeding generation. It is part of what historians call the “historiography” of Marie Antoinette. This basically means how the story has been told ever since the original events happened – both by academics, and by popular sources. I should note that not all of these retellings have been so bad.

Marie Antoinette

A review of “Stock Frauds, Manipulations, and Insider Trading” (audiobook)

So I was recently listening to some additional presentations from an audio series about investment. This particular installment was called “Stock Frauds, Manipulations, and Insider Trading.” I found out that it was actually two presentations: one about “Famous Frauds and Stock Manipulations,” and one about “The Story of Insider Trading.” Both were as interesting as I expected them to be, and brought back fond memories of my days as a business major.

A review of Ken Burns’ “Country Music” (PBS)

Back in 2001, Ken Burns released a television history of jazz music. I was a big fan of that series when it first came out. I never imagined then that Mr. Burns would later be doing a television history of country music. But, in 2019, the series “Country Music” was released on PBS. Ken Burns’ “Country Music” is actually 16 hours long. This isn’t as long as his “Jazz” series, which was 19 hours long. Nonetheless, one can certainly learn something about the music’s history in 16 hours. There are some kinds of history that could probably be better explored in books. This seems to be because books can go into greater depth than even the longest of television histories. But you’d have to be pretty good at reading sheet music, to get much out of a book on this subject. And, even then, there’s no substitute for carefully listening to the period musical recordings. The visuals can certainly help, too, and Ken Burns is a master at finding period visuals – such as photographs and film footage from the time. But, in an inherently audio-centered subject like music, the advantages of the television medium seem to outweigh the disadvantages. The chief drawback of a television history like this one is usually its relative brevity. But, with a series that’s a full 16 hours long, this seems to be less of a problem here. You can see and hear the musical history in all its glory, and also learn something about the nation as a whole in the process.

How the Great Northern War facilitated the rise of Russia

The Renaissance and the Enlightenment both saw some major wars in Northern Europe

The Renaissance and the Enlightenment both saw some major wars in Northern Europe. They have gone down in history simply as the “Northern Wars.” I should acknowledge here that this is an international topic. Perhaps partially because of this, there is actually some controversy about what to include here in the simple term “Northern Wars.” There is even a significant controversy about the very names of these conflicts. Because of this, I will try to avoid controversial terminology like the “First” Northern War, or the “Second” Northern War. These are not internationally accepted, since there is no international standard for the nomenclature here. Thus, I will try to use neutral terms which are clearer, in an effort to avoid names that will be interpreted differently by different groups. Regardless, they would ultimately culminate in the “Great Northern War.” This was one of the greatest conflicts of the eighteenth century. In this case, the name is accepted much more widely. And it is also acknowledged that this was the largest (and last) in this great series of wars.

Peter the Great assaults Nöteborg, part of the Great Northern War (circa 1702)