We’re excited to be leading a workshop at the annual Vermont K-12 Edtech Conference at Champlain College in Burlington on May 21st and 22nd! This year’s theme is Dynamic Landscapes: Do, Make, and Create! The two-day conference is sponsored by VITA-Learn, the VSLA (Vermont State Library Association) and the VT AOE (Agency of Education), and is open to Vermont teachers, librarians, administrators, and tech specialists in K-12 schools.
We’ll be speaking on how to use historic newspaper content from Chronicling America in the classroom on Thursday, May 21st at 11 am (D1 Thursday Session 2A). To learn more about our talk and sign-up for our session (if you’re already registered), visit the session website.
For information on the conference and how to register, visit the Dynamic Landscapes website. Hope to see you there!
Visit our For Educators page to download lessons, view tutorials and more!
The Burlington Free Press republished an article on William Miller from the Bennington Banner on February 17, 1843, introducing it with a heavy dose of skepticism:
“It is the latest news from this monomaniac and his whereabouts…This gentleman arrived in this village [Bennington], and commenced a course of lectures on his favorite and celebrated theme–the Destruction of the World by Fire in A.D. 1843…during his first lecture he gave substantially the following description of the MANNER of the Second Advent: ‘A small bright spot will first appear in the east, which will gradually expand as it approaches the earth…At the sound of a trumpet (or some other signal) the bright spot having gradually illuminated the whole heavens, the righteous dead shall rise from their resting places–and the risen and living saints shall together be caught up…the wicked burned up.'”
“The Parson is a large, thick-set personage, something over 60, and stands on his leathers about five feet ten. He has a large head, and a large square full face, with small blue eyes, a small nose, light complexion, and light hair. He is earnest and vehement in his delivery…” -Burlington Free Press, February 17, 1843, page 1.
Vermont transplant, Rev. William Miller (1782-1849), was a notable Baptist preacher during the Second Great Awakening in the first half of the 19th century. Born in Pittsfield, Mass., he moved with his family shortly thereafter at the age of four to Poultney, Vt. In the 1830s he rose in prominence for his views on the impeding Second Advent of Christ (a day in Christian teachings when Christ will return again and take believers up to heaven, leaving all else on earth to burn) nationwide after partnering with Joshua V. Himes, a well-known Boston Baptist minister. Pamphlets, periodicals, speeches, and newspapers largely assisted in the spread of his radical views. Continue reading The End of the World was almost Today in 1843 and 1844: the Failed Prophesies of the Millerites→
Abraham Lincoln’s second term commenced on “a day of gloom and tempest,” ever so near to the close of the bloodiest war in American history: the Civil War. The streets were muddy from a heavy rain, “rendered almost impassable for foot passengers,” but Lincoln’s procession trudged on despite the mucky and wet conditions toward to the Capitol in the late morning, where he was to make his second inaugural speech in the afternoon.
“Crowd at Lincoln’s second inauguration, March 4, 1865.” Photo from the Library of Congress.
By the time he made his way to the stage, the skies had apparently settled to a murky gray color, with the rain desisting. Lincoln’s speech was brief and to the point, and characteristically his own: “In pithy brevity, sagacity and honesty of purpose, the address is Lincolnian all over” (Evening Star, Washington, D.C., March 4, 1865). Two excerpts follow that this author found particularly poignant:
“With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. On the occasion corresponding to this, four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it; all sought to avoid it…Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came…
…With malice toward none, with charity for all, …let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wound, …to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Following his speech, an account of the remaining portion of the ceremony was relayed in the Lamoille Newsdealer:
The New York Tribune offered a hopeful summation of the day’s events: “May the President’s two terms of service together reflect the day of his second inauguration–so dark and angry in the morning–halcyon and radiant in the evening.”
Indeed, the Civil War was soon to end in April of that year. As Lincoln’s inauguration took place, Union troops were enclosing on Richmond, in a “coiling serpent of bayonets.”
Lincoln’s leadership, however, would be tragically cut short, and scarcely a week after the end of the war.
Egbert Stolk examining a wall at New York’s Tenement Museum, while an intern there this summer. Photograph by Alexandra Brown.
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Egbert Stolk writes as a guest blogger for our User Spotlight Series this month. Egbert recently graduated from the University of Vermont’s Historic Preservation Program with a Master of Science. Below he shares his experience of using Chronicling America to research immigrant stories for The Burlington Edible Food Tour.
In my work for the edible food walking tour in Burlington, Vermont, we strive to gather immigrant stories who were working directly or indirectly in the food industry in Burlington. The different ethnic groups that came to America, and in our case specifically Burlington, also brought their food traditions with them. Sometimes traditional food was sold in shops or otherwise immigrants sold American food, while cooking ethnic food at home. In The Burlington Edible Food Tour we try to uncover immigrant and food stories, and places that relate to these stories. We used the online newspaper database Chronicling America to find more stories for the tour. For example: to locate street vendors and restaurants owned by immigrants and events pertaining to those businesses. It was very helpful as history is sometimes lost forever, but with the help of century-old journalism we are able to reconstruct part of Burlington’s immigrant history. Continue reading User Spotlight Series: Egbert Stolk→
We are pleased to announce that we will be offering a webinar and workshop for librarians on Chronicling America through the Vermont Department of Libraries (VTLIB) this winter and spring!
Both are free and open to librarians. As an extra bonus: attending each program provides credits toward VTLIB certification!
Below, a quick description of the webinar and workshop, as well as a link for signing up for each. Many thanks to VTLIB for this opportunity.
Friday, March 6, 2015, 10:00-11:00 am: Chronicling America Webinar with the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project (VTDNP)
If you haven’t heard about Chronicling America before or you want to know more about it, now’s your chance! Chronicling America is an online, searchable database of historic American newspapers from 1836-1922 on the Library of Congress website. It provides free access to over 8.4 million newspaper pages from across the country, including 250,000 pages and 59 titles from Vermont! Learn about how Chronicling America works, gather ideas on how you and your patrons can use it effectively, and find out how VTDNP can help you and your library community utilize this invaluable primary source tool.
Friday, April 17, 2015, 9:30-11:30 am: Chronicling America Workshop with the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project (VDTNP)
In this hands-on workshop explore the opportunities that Chronicling America holds for you and your library patrons. Chronicling America is an online, searchable database of historic American newspapers from 1836-1922 on the Library of Congress website. It provides free access to over 8.4 million newspaper pages from across the country, including 250,000 pages and 59 titles from Vermont! We’ll learn about how Chronicling America works, practice search strategies on Vermont topics, explore online resource guides, and learn about ways to re-purpose and reuse content.
Location: Midstate Library Service Center, Berlin – Conference Room
