Stuff You Missed in History Class

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SYMHC Classics: Pig War Mar 30, 2024

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This 2014 episode covers the story of how in 1859, the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over an American settler shooting a Canadian pig that was rooting around his garden.

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Wrong Photo and the Rules Mar 29, 2024

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Holly and Tracy ponder why the wrong photo has become used so frequently in mentions of Margaret E. Knight. Tracy shares the reasons she almost didn't cover Henry Martyn Robert on the show.

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Henry Martyn Robert’s Rules of Order Mar 27, 2024

Show notes

Henry Martyn Robert was connected to multiple historical events, but his most lasting legacy is the set of guidelines he created that offered a standardized way to run meetings.

Research:

"Henry Martyn Robert." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 21, Gale, 2001. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631007677/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=a6a24976. Accessed 12 Mar. 2024.
Doyle, Don H. “Rules of Order: Henry Martyn Robert and the Popularization of American Parliamentary Law.” American Quarterly , Spring, 1980, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Spring, 1980). https://www.jstor.org/stable/2712493
Fishman, Donald. “The Elusive Henry Martyn Robert: A Historical Problem.” National Parliamentarian. Second Quarter 2012.
Hansen, Brett. “Weathering the Storm: the Galveston Seawall and Grade Raising.” Civil Engineering. April 2007.
Hendricks, George Brian, "Rules of Order: A Biography of Henry Martyn Robert, Soldier, Engineer, Churchman, Parliamentarian" (1998). Legacy ETDs. 755. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd_legacy/755
Kline, Charles R. “Robert, Henry Martyn.” Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas. 6/1/1995. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/robert-henry-martyn
, Ben and Clio Admin. "Henry Martyn Robert Historical Marker." Clio: Your Guide to History. January 18, 2023. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://theclio.com/entry/163000
National Park Service. “Henry Martyn Robert.” https://www.nps.gov/people/henry-martyn-robert.htm
National Park Service. “The Redoubt.” https://www.nps.gov/sajh/planyourvisit/the-redoubt.htm
Pillsbury, Avis Miller and Mildred E Hatch. “The genealogy of the First Baptist Church of New Bedford, Massachusetts.” Reynolds-DeWalt Printing, Inc. 1979. https://archive.org/details/genealogyoffirst00avis/
Robert, Henry M. “Robert’s Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies.” Chicago: S. C. Griggs & Company. 1876. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/9097/pg9097-images.html
Saunders, R. Frank, and George A. Rogers. “Joseph Thomas Robert and the Wages of Conscience.” The Georgia Historical Quarterly, vol. 88, no. 1, 2004, pp. 1–24. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40584703. Accessed 14 Mar. 2024.
Smedley, Ralph C. “The Great Peacemaker.” Toastmasters International. 1955, 1993. https://archive.org/details/greatpeacemaker0000ralp/
S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Historical Vignette 038 - An Army Engineer Brought Order to Church Meetings and Revolutionized Parliamentary Procedure.” 11/2001. https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Historical-Vignettes/General-History/038-Church-Meetings/

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The Inventive Mind of Margaret E. Knight Mar 25, 2024

Show notes

Margaret E. Knight was an ingenious woman. She started tinkering with things when she was still just a tiny child, and the first invention that really improved the lives of those around her came about at the age of 12.

Research:

“A Lady in a Machine Shop.” Woman’s Journal, December 21, 1872. Accessed online: https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:48852547$409i
Bedi, Joyce. “Margaret Knight.” Lemelson Center, Smithsonian. March 22, 2021. https://invention.si.edu/node/28532/p/609-margaret-knight
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Margaret E. Knight". Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-E-Knight
“Gained Fame as Inventor.” The Boston Globe. Oct. 13, 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/image/430883835/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1
“The Inspiring Story of Margaret E. Knight.” National Inventors Hall of Fame. https://www.invent.org/blog/inventors/margaret-e-knight-paper-pag
Knight, M.E. “Clasp.” U.S. Patent Office. Oct. 14, 1884. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/1d/93/e6/029e560778fcd4/US306692.pdf
Knight, Margaret E. “Bag Machine.” U.S. Patent Office. July 11, 1871. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/8b/67/0a/1fa1f5f32874bc/US116842.pdf
Knight, M.E. “Improvement in Paper Bag Machine.” U.S. Patent Office. Oct. 28, 1879. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/bb/4b/1a/218335d174188c/US220925.pdf
Knight, M.E. “Rotary Engine.” U.S. Patent Office. January 6, 1903. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/de/9a/87/cea123cb8ba55a/US717869.pdf
Knight, M.E. “Skirt Protector.” U.S. Patent Office. Aug. 7, 1883. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/3a/cc/e8/cf6943b96a868f/US282646.pdf
Knight, Margaret E. “Sole Cutting Machine.” U.S Patent Office. Sept. 16, 1890. https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/19/16/34/0c57840da89f4c/US436358.pdf
“Margaret E. Knight, ‘Woman Edison,’ Dead.” The Sun. Oct. 15, 1914. https://www.newspapers.com/image/145292345/?clipping_id=31861882
“Patent Model for Paper Bag Machine.” Smithsonian – National Museum of American History. https://www.si.edu/object/patent-model-paper-bag-machine%3Anmah_214303
“Patented By Women.” Pittsburgh Dispatch. April 10, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image/76571393/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1
PETROSKI, HENRY. “The Evolution of the Grocery Bag.” The American Scholar, vol. 72, no. 4, 2003, pp. 99–111. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41221195
Sisson, Mary, and Doris Simonis, ed. “Inventors and Inventions.” Marshall Cavendish. 2007.
Smith, Ryan P. “Meet the Female Inventor Behind Mass-Market Paper Bags.” Smithsonian. March 15, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/meet-female-inventor-behind-mass-market-paper-bags-180968469/
“The Ames Manufacturing Company … “ Boston Evening Transcript. Oct. 17, 1873. https://www.newspapers.com/image/734890555/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1
“Women As Inventors.” The Philadelphia Times. April 10, 1892. https://www.newspapers.com/image/52506300/?terms=%22margaret%20e.%20knight%22%20&match=1
“Women Who Are Inventors.” New York Times. October 19, 1913. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/10/19/100654443.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0

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SYMHC Classics: James G. Fair Mar 23, 2024

Show notes

This 2019 episode covers James G. Fair, known as the Silver King. But though Fair often appears on lists of the richest men in U.S. history, his image was also tainted by scandal.

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Divorce, Marriage, and Manners Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

Holly and Tracy talk about there not being a national divorce law in the U.S. and how to pronounce Nevada. Tracy talks about the ways social rules are necessary but can be used in ways that are exclusionary.

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Six Impossible Episodes: Etiquette Manuals Mar 20, 2024

Show notes

Books on etiquette don’t necessarily reflect rules everyone is actually following – they’re more like what the author thinks the ideal standard of behavior should be. This episode looks at six such books from history.

Research:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Giovanni Della Casa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-Della-Casa. Accessed 29 February 2024.
Dukes, Hunter. “The Age of Impoliteness: Galateo: or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners (1774 edition).” The Public Domain Review. 2/27/2024. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/galateo/
Della Casa, Giovanni. “Galateo: Or, A Treatise on Politeness and Delicacy of Manners.” Printed for J. Dodsley. 1774.
Stanhope, Philip Dormer, Earl of Chesterfield. “Letters to His Son, 1746-47.” Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/3351/pg3351-images.html
Eyebright, Daisy. “A Manual of Etiquette with Hints of Politeness and Good Breeding.” https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/eyebright/etiquette/etiquette.html
Green, Edward S. “National Capital Code of Etiquette.” Washington, D.C. : Austin Jenkins. 1920. https://archive.org/details/nationalcapitalc00greerich
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Emily Post". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sep. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emily-Post. Accessed 4 March 2024.
Post, Emily. “Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home.” Funk & Wagnalls. New York and London. 1922. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14314/14314-h/14314-h.htm#Page_1

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Divorce Ranches Mar 18, 2024

Show notes

Divorce ranches sprung up in the 1930s when Nevada relaxed its divorce laws. This unique and controversial style of resort was incredibly popular for several decades before becoming obsolete.

Research:

Brean, Henry. “The rise and fall of Reno's quickie divorce industry.” Reno Gazette Journal. Sept. 18, 2017. https://www.rgj.com/story/life/2017/09/18/rise-and-fall-renos-quickie-divorce-industry/677065001/
Bromley, John. “Two ‘Divorce Ranches’ Still Thriving.” Nevada State Journal. April 27, 1969. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010901428/?terms=divorce%20ranch&match=1
Miller, Wendy. “Divorce Ranch Owners Take Issue With Magazine Story.” Nevada State Journal. July 8, 1965. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010619253/?terms=divorce%20ranch&match=1
“Editor’s Comment – Not New.” Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. June 5, 1931. https://www.newspapers.com/image/683040112/?terms=nevada%20divorce&match=1
Flat Rate Divorce Ranch Neely’s Latest Venture.” Shamokin News-Dispatch. January 7, 1932. https://www.newspapers.com/image/68323301/?terms=divorce%20ranch&match=1
“High Society.” Reno Divorce History. https://renodivorcehistory.org/themes/the-rich-and-famous/high-society/
Holmes, A.S. (1999). “Don’t Frighten the Horses”: the Russell Divorce Case. In: Robb, G., Erber, N. (eds) Disorder in the Court. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403934314_8
Jain, Priya. “Betty Goes Reno.” Slate. July 21, 2010. https://slate.com/culture/2010/07/a-visit-to-the-glamorous-divorce-ranches-of-the-mad-men-era.html
“Mrs. Corey Gets a Divorce in Four Hours.” Reno Gazette-Journal. July 30, 1906. https://www.newspapers.com/image/147027965/?terms=Laura%20Corey&match=1
“Nevada Divorces Invalid.” Fort Worth Star Telegram. Aug. 10, 1931. https://www.newspapers.com/image/635854363/?terms=nevada%20divorce&match=1
Nevada State Legislature. “CHAPTER 125 - DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE.” https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-125.html
“Nevada;s Easy Divorces O.K. in Other States.” Evansville Press. June 9, 1931. https://www.newspapers.com/image/764481281/?terms=nevada%20divorce&match=1
“Reno Divorce History.” University of Nevada, Reno Libraries. https://renodivorcehistory.org/
Salisbury, Vanita. “Welcome to Splitsville: How Reno Became the Divorce Capital of the World.” Thrillist. July 22, 2022. https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/nevada-divorce-ranches-history
Savanapridi, Shane. “Las Vegas Divorce Ranches.” City of Las Vegas. Feb. 14, 2020. https://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/News/Blog/Detail/las-vegas-divorce-ranches#:~:text=The%20divorce%20ranch%20was%20the,bills%20to%20spur%20economic%20growth.
“Sisters Tell Tales From The 'Divorce Ranch.’” StoryCorps. NPR. July 16, 2010. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128545233
Wernick, Robert. “Where You Went if You Really Had to Get Unhitched.” Smithsonian. June 1996. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/where-you-went-if-you-really-had-to-get-unhitched-1-41543097/
Vlosky, Denese Ashbaugh, and Pamela A. Monroe. “The Effective Dates of No-Fault Divorce Laws in the 50 States.” Family Relations, vol. 51, no. 4, 2002, pp. 317–24. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3700329

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SYMHC Classics: Ambroise Paré Mar 16, 2024

Show notes

This 2021 episode covers sixteenth-century barber surgeon Ambroise Paré, who has been called everything from “the gentle surgeon” to “the father of modern surgery.”

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Behind the Scenes Minis: Arsenic and Arm Prosthetics Mar 15, 2024

Show notes

Holly talks about the various theories about events in Charles Francis Hall's life. Tracy discusses some of the troubling sources she came across while researching Götz von Berlichingen.

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