Author Archives: michaeljdouma
No, there is no “s” at the end of “New Netherland”
by Michael J. Douma Like many nineteenth-century New Yorkers of Dutch-descent, the historical scholar John Romeyn Brodhead was bothered by the poor treatment the Dutch had received in the written histories of colonial America. In these histories, there was one “vulgar error” in particular that drew his ire. This was, he said, the “absurd use […]
“Where did all the Slaves go?”
A Presentation for the Schenectady Historical Society, March 23, 2023.
Sietze Buning’s “War and Peace”
Coming to the house for breakfast after milking, I asked, “What star is that in the southwest, Dad, still so bright with the sun coming up?” That’s no star, Sietze. It’s moving and it’s coming this way.” In minutes, a floating contraption hovered above our farm. A machine growled and ground out a leaflet which […]
Venture Capitalists and Venture Academics
Some academics spend their whole lives focused on just one topic, but others branch out in many directions. Here is my attempt to coin the term “venture academics” to explain the growing phenomenon of academics who invest in many, and varied higher-risk, higher-reward research topics.
How old? Claims for Superannutated, Centenarian, and Super-Centenarian Ex-Slaves
If you search for articles on “ex-slave centenarians” you will discover many claims of formerly enslaved people who lived not only to 100, but much longer. In 1981, William Pinckey of Prince George’s County, Maryland, claimed to be 118, and had been born a slave. Not to be outdone, Philadelphia’s Mary McDonla claimed to be 135 […]
On the Success of the Teach-to-Mastery Approach
My students’ essays this semester are, on average, better written than the average published op-ed or academic journal article. You might joke that academic journals set a low bar, and some of them do, that’s true, but the writing in most major journals in the field of history is pretty good (the American Historical Review […]
Michael J Douma 