Category: Uncategorized Page 3 of 6

Link to the timeline of commencement speeches: Timeline

Information about the timeline:

The goal of this timeline is to explore the changes of commencement orations throughout the history of Dickinson College. With information the Dickinson College Archives website, I was able to find dates from almost all of the commencement’s at Dickinson College. The website also listed as to whether or not student orations were given at the ceremonies or not. After looking at all of the entries from 1787 into the 1800’s a pattern grew.  Out of the first seven entries in the archives, about commencement ceremonies, only one showed a commencement ceremony that did not have every student give an oration. However, from 1850 until 1919 there was only one ceremony in which every student  gave a speech. The trend showed that student orations happened at all commencements, just not every student gave one. There were five dates that stood out as particular examples of what commencement speeches looked like at Dickinson College.

Wednesday, September 26, 1787

This was the first commencement at Dickinson College. Student orations were a large part of this graduation process as eight of the nine graduates performed orations.

Thursday, July 8, 1852

The Commencement of 1852 shows an example as to what these ceremonies looked like. Of the 21 graduates, 10 students gave orations. The topic of said speeches covered a wide range of  topics but mostly focused on examining social issues of the time  period such as the economic class divide and political justice.

Thursday, June 25, 1863

The Commencement of 1863 was the first ceremony, in the Dickinson College Archives, that does not have record of a student oration. There was a heighten concern about the Confederate involvement in the area so the ceremony was shortened.

Friday, Jun. 20, 1919

Celebrating the end of World War One, this commencement ceremony was coined the “Victory Commencement”. This was also the first time since the Civil War that a graduating student did not give a speech at the ceremony. The tradition of student orations ended here as from this point onward the outside people have the speeches at Dickinson College Commencements.

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The most recent graduation showed that student orations did not make a comeback. The speaker was Governor Thomas Wolf.

Works Cited:

Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections. Timeline. Dickinson College. http://archives.dickinson.edu/college_history/browse_timeline

Overview:

Over the years Dickinson College Commencement Ceremonies have been celebrated with the presence of student speeches. This practice is one that was heavily practiced during the 18th and 19th century. In fact, all students at one point were required to give a speech at commencement. By examining the Dickinson Class of 1852 it became clear that these speeches focused on topics of social injustices. They provide information about what the students were learning and issues to of what they were concerned with.

Student orations from the class of 1852 are examined in more detail here.

There is a timeline of commencement ceremonies at Dickinson here.

If you are interested, there are more historical thinking ideas found here.

About me:

The purpose of this post is to examine the commencement process throughout the history of Dickinson College. The target audience is anyone who is interested in learning about Dickinson’s history or commencement ceremony’s of the past. I am currently a sophomore at Dickinson College, with a history minor.

This gallery consists of photographs from various primary sources including a letter, newspaper articles, and a commencement speech.

These photographs exhibit Henry Harman’s letter to his father in which he discusses academics and his enjoyment of Dickinson’s academic benefits. (Photographer- Greg Parker, at the Dickinson College Archives)

The above photograph displays an article in the Carlisle Herald and Expositor. This article examines the reflections of the Southern students at Dickinson after it became known that the police arrested a professor, John McClintock, for participation in the 1847 slave riot. (Photographer- Greg Parker, at the Waidner Spahr Library)

This photograph of an article in the Carlisle Herald and Expositor reveals continuation in the efforts to create a treaty to end the Mexican-American War. (Photographer- Greg Parker, at the Waidner Spahr Library)

This screenshot of a portion of John Andrew Jackson Creswell’s 1848 commencement speech demonstrates his knowledge of international politics. (Photographer- Greg Parker, on the Dickinson College Archives online website)

The eighteen forties were a tumultuous time for the United States. Different events affected the Union. These events ranged from James Polk’s inauguration, to the Mormons’ conflict in Illinois, to Texas’ admittance into the Union, to the Mexican-American War, to slave riots. Did these issues have any affect on college students from that era, specifically students at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania? To answer that question, this post examines the Mexican-American War through a wide lens, while analyzing slave riots through the zoomed in lens of an 1847 slave riot in Carlisle.
This post contains various interactive links to examine the affects of those events. Special features of this post include:

• Discussion of perspective with relevance to how and why historians “zoom” and the possibility of student ignorance to national events
• Comparative timeline with national events side by side with Dickinson events
• Photo gallery of various primary sources used in this project

The ability to zoom in and out of different historical topics to understand their effects seems to convincingly argue that the political climate of 1845-1848 had an effect on Dickinson students of that era.  However, not every student was interested in the politics of the United States.  Henry Harman penned a letter to his father less than a month after Texas sent its constitution to the United States Congress.  In this letter, he discusses his successes in the classroom in his first semester at Dickinson.  He continues to discuss his enjoyment of reading the vast array of books in the library, including the Koran and pieces of literature by Hume.  He concludes with a request that his father send him his compass and scales from home (Harman, 1846).  Seemingly far from his mind is the state of the Union, especially the trials and tribulations of Texas’ quest for statehood.

Furthermore, the 90 students from the South who gave their approval and support to Professor McClintock in the midst of his run in with the law, created an interesting news story.  These students, most of whom presumably came from slaveholding households, were faced with a predicament in McClintock.  Immediately following news of his arrest, there was a false report (made false by the Carlisle Herald and Expositor) of Southern students creating demands directed towards the college and Professor McClintock (“The Slave Riot,” 2;3-4).  These 90 students wanted to set the record straight and demonstrate their affection of Professor McClintock.

Thus, it appears that national issues only affected Dickinson students if they had personal stake in the topic.  Henry Harman presumably did not have any personal stake over the admittance of Texas into the Union.  However, the 90 students who expressed their support to Professor McClintock wanted to exhibit their thoughts of him and their support of the greater Dickinson community.

Bibliography:

Harman, Henry Martyn, to Andrew Harman, Carlisle, 3 January, 1846, Edwards Collection, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.

“The Slave Riot.” Carlisle Herald and Expositor, June 16, 1847, 2;3-4.

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1wdacjweX6V-729RYzY_yNODLgMigafePYf50AxrZ790&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650’%20width=’100%’%20height=’650’%20frameborder=’0

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1dTXexFRikfq8Oab2jwKPoK-xZE0zdXzLKQvXjVLH0Z4&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650’%20width=’100%’%20height=’650’%20frameborder=’0

Objective

A doodle from Dickinson, 1852 (Dickinson Archives)

This sample offers a rough guideline for how Multi-Media projects can be organized within the course site.  It provides a simple model for an easy-to-follow navigation, built by connecting standard WordPress posts.

By Benjamin Rush, a patriot

Audience:  AP US History classes and introductory level undergraduate history surveys and methods courses

Project Elements

• Background —Class of 1845
• Background —Dickinson College

• Featured exhibit –Henry W. Spradley, Citizen (12 min. documentary film)

• Historical Thinking —Assignment Details

Credits & Acknowledgements: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Guide to Further Reading

Since the moment I started this research on the Class of 1845 of Dickinson College there were two students that got my attention. These students were Spencer F. Baird and Alexander Ramsey. The main objective of this research is to learn more about the life of Spencer F. Baird, and his work at the Smithsonian Institution. Regarding Ramsey, the objectives are to find sources that show his relationship with Lincoln, Lincoln’s involvement in the Dakota War, the Sioux’s tribe perspective, and Ramsey’s life. To accomplish these objectives, I researched in the library catalog, jumpstart, google books, jstor, and the America: History and Life database.

Allard, Dean C. “Spencer Baird and Support for American Marine Science, 1871-1887.” Earth Sciences History 19, no. 1 (2000): 44-57. [America: History and Life] 

Dean C. Allard, archivist and historian, shows in his article Spencer Baird’s work in the Smithsonian Institution while also showing his work and importance in the US Commission of Fish and Fisheries. This article was chosen for the research because it does not only portray Baird working in the Smithsonian but it also shows his more important works outside the Smithsonian.

Christgau, John. Birch Coulie: The Epic Battle of the Dakota War. Lincoln: Nebraska Press, 2012. [LIRARY CATALOG] 

Writer, John Christgau, shows in his book the consequences of the violent Dakota War, which included the proposed hanging of 300 Native Americans and the influences the war had on the population. The reason why this book was chosen for the research is because it does not only give an insight of the Dakota War influences, but also the injustice that the Native Americans had to go through after the end of the War.

Egerton, Frank N. “History of ecological Sciences, Part 38B: Naturalists Explore North America, 1838-1850s.” Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 92, no. 2 (2011): 153-184. [JSTOR] 

In his article, historian, Frank N. Egerton, shows the beginning of the naturalists’ explorations in North America while also mentioning Baird and other important naturalists. Egerton talked about Baird’s job and contribution as a naturalist in the Smithsonian Institution, his writings as a naturalist, and the specimens he studied. This article is essential towards the research because it gives a glimpse of Baird’s contributions to the Smithsonian.

Haugland, John C. “Alexander Ramsey and the Birth of Party Politics in Minnesota.” Minnesota History 39, no. 2 (1964): 37-48. [America: History and Life] 

Historian, John C. Haugland, shows in his book Ramsey’s political life and his involvement in the Whig Party. The reason why this article was chosen is because it gives a glimpse of Ramsey’s political life which led him to become the governor of Minnesota when it was a territory and how he tried to spread his political party in Minnesota.

Haymond, John A. The Infamous Dakota War Trials of 1862: Revenge, Military Law and the Judgement of History. North Carolina: McFarland, 2016. [GOOGLE BOOKS]

In his book, conflict historian, John A. Haymond, talks about the end of the Dakota War when 300 Native Americans from the Sioux Tribe were sentenced to death. Haymond also demonstrates how the decision of executing the Native Americans was made and how this dark moment in American history is portrayed today. The importance of this book towards the research is that it gives a glimpse of the trials that the Sioux Tribe had to go through after the Dakota War which concludes with the hanging of thirty-eight Native Americans.

Myers, Susan H. “The Smithsonian Institution and American Glass Manufacturers, 1886-1896.” Journal of Glass Studies, 49 (2007): 207-230. [JSTOR]

In her article, curator, Susan H. Myers, gives a small background of how the Smithsonian Institution was founded and then continues to describe Spencer Baird’s vision for the museum. She shows that Baird’s focus as the secretary of Smithsonian was to expand the collections and exhibitions that the museum had. The article also shows that Baird was not only interested in incrementing the natural collection but he also wanted to expand others such as acquiring glass.

Niebuhr, Gustav. Lincoln’s bishop: a president, a priest, and the fate of 300 Dakota Sioux warriors. New York: HarperOne, 2014. [LIBRARY CATALOG] 

In his book Lincoln’s bishop: a president, a priest, and the fate of 300 Dakota Sioux warriors, Gustav Niebuhr, associate professor of Syracuse University shows a new side of the Dakota War that is not often seen. Here it can be seen how bishop, Henry Bejamin, influenced President Lincoln to intervene in what was going to be the execution of 300 Native Americans. Niebur’s book is important for the research because it shows a new variable in the complicated Dakota War while at the same time showing Lincoln’s role at the end of the Dakota War when he saved 265 Native Americans.

Rivinus, Edward F., and E. M Youseff. Spencer Baird of the Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution press, 1992. [LIBRARY CATALOG]

This biography written by E.F Rivinus and E.M Youseff shows Baird’s life as a professor, naturalist, and as secretary of the Smithsonian. This biography was selected for the research because of the insight it gives of Baird’s life before he went to work to the Smithsonian and his work while he was there.