From the Editor

Celebrating Lives, and a Milestone

Byrne

Anniversaries—those most human of celebrations—help us mark the passage of time and maintain a sense of chronology, however basic. So this month, for instance, we celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Ben Franklin, a figure whose biography many teachers have used to enliven their explorations of early American history. As it happens, this issue of the OAH Magazine of History, on the theme of teaching with biography, also marks the celebration of a milestone at OAH.

The Anniversary
With this edition, we celebrate the beginning of the Magazine’s twentieth year of publication. And what a difference those intervening years have made! A complete collection of back issues sits on bookshelves in the Magazine office. Perusing them, one discovers that for several years the covers were without illustration; the grade of paper was relatively inexpensive; the printing often had the look of photocopied pages; and all images appeared in black-and-white. The first full-color cover did not appear until April 2003. Compare that description with the magazine currently in your hands. Production quality—measured in terms of higher grade paper, the presence of color for illustrations and covers, and high quality printing—has improved markedly. From the standpoint of production, the Magazine has surely come a long way.

What these observations overlook, of course, concerns the quality of the articles, which is really what the Magazine is all about. For this publication has remained true to its mission for twenty years, providing teachers with articles that inform, use accessible language, provide practical approaches to teaching, and stimulate thought for the classroom. In this regard, the Magazine has been remarkably consistent. But we are now able to accomplish these goals in a form that is more eye-catching and easier to read. As the Magazine enters its third decade, we will maintain our fidelity to its mission and continue to improve the product in every way we can.

Teaching with Biography
Given the outpouring of new material on some subjects, our main themes occasionally revisit topics covered before. Not so with our current theme, "Teaching with Biography," a subject we explore in these pages for the first time. That realization may be surprising, because biography certainly is one of the most popular sub-fields in U.S. history, at least if judged by the choices made by the general reading and viewing public. And it may also be the case if one calculates (as publishers surely do) the number of biographies assigned each year in classrooms across the country. Examining people's lives, as guest editor Robert H. Ferrell observes, is at the heart of the historical enterprise, and it is largely responsible for the enduring popularity of our field.

The case for the usefulness of biography comes across convincingly in Shirley Leckie's essay, "Why Biographies Matter in the Classroom." An experienced teacher, Leckie notes several ways in which these studies have rejuvenated her own classes, because a well-presented biography "breathes life into dry census data and puts faces on demographic tables." Chuck Chalberg's article complements Leckie's. Searching for a quintessential character to represent the 1920s, he presents his candidate, a choice who is both intellectually engaging and entertaining and who embodied "The Spirit of the 1920s."

Approaching the theme from a different direction, Julie Des Jardins reminds us that biography can also give voice to society’s "inarticulate." Des Jardins writes about a group of African American women who helped broaden the realm of evidence historians use. Her investigation of "Black Librarians and the Search for Women’s Biography during the New Negro History Movement" shows us that oral history—now a staple when researching biographies and other historical studies—was once a highly suspect source. Similarly, Stephen Kneeshaw calls attention to three women who were clearly articulate in one sense, but whose names are unknown to most students. In considering "Biography as Environmental 'Herstory,' " Kneeshaw suggests opportunities to use the lives of three women while integrating environmental history into any consideration of twentieth-century America.

Two lesson plans expand upon the main theme. Rita Koman and the National Park Service’s Teaching with Historic Places staff have developed an extensive plan based on comparative biography. Focusing on the lives of Madam C. J. Walker and J. C. Penney, it examines the development of two highly successful businesses, affording multiple teaching opportunities. Similarly, Karen Cobb Carroll presents a timely lesson plan centered on Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. She describes assignments that encourage students to think about life in eighteenth-century colonial America, as seen through Franklin’s eyes.

Tim Thurber's review of the hour-long documentary February One: The Story of the Greensboro Four recapitulates the point that not only "famous" people make history. In this case, four young men in North Carolina made a difference in 1960 by acting on their beliefs, calling national attention to the practice of segregation in that city. On the other hand, Harold Holzer contextualizes a letter written by a very famous individual--Abraham Lincoln--to a lesser-known one. His examination of this document from the Gilder Lehrman collection provides an instance of how biography, even in microcosm, can help us glimpse the human element in the past.

The "America on the World Stage" article happens to connect to Lincoln, as historian Edward L. Ayers analyzes "The American Civil War, Emancipation, and Reconstruction on the World Stage." Ayers's essay reminds us that American history does not occur in a vacuum, but both influences and is influenced by actions in the rest of the world.

An article "On Teaching," written by Diana Turk, educates us about "What a Hot Comb Can Tell Us about History: Material Culture in the Classroom" and reintroduces us to Madam C. J. Walker, whose entrepreneurial efforts utilized the hot comb. Turk provides a guide for using material objects to pique student interest in history. And the issue concludes with information on four National Park Service sites—only a fraction of the possibilities—devoted to places associated with individuals.

Biography, written by a knowledgeable historian, can indeed be an extraordinary tool for engaging our students in studying the past. We should celebrate that fact. --Kevin B. Byrne