American History   

William Bartram called it the Great Alachua Savanna. We know it as Paynes Prairie. On this chapter of our "Bartram's Florida" series, we'll take a 3 mile stroll onto the wetland savanna made famous by the young explorer in 1774. The talk will include a brief overview of the prairie's rich history from Lars Andersen, author of "Paynes Prairie: A History and Guide."

Note: Meeting time at park is 9 AM; There is a $5 Park Fee payable at the entrance day of trip. The trip duration is 1.5 - 2 hours long. Difficulty: Easy, two mile stroll on easy (mostly flat) terrain. Since this is an out-and-back hike, participants who can't do the entire hike are welcome to turn back at any time.
Skill level: Good for beginners.

This class will provide overviews of the reasons Japan and the U.S. went to war, Japan's decision to attack Pearl Harbor and the mistakes by the U.S. that exacerbated the disaster. This is an updated, abbreviated, less detailed version of an earlier MTP class.

Join Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park Ranger Walter Young in learning about South Carolina delegate Charles Pinckney. Pinckney was a South Carolina delegate to the Constitutional Convention. One of the plantations he owned is now a National Park Service site in Mount Pleasant. Come hear Park Ranger Young speak about Pinckney's contributions to the Constitution, and his role in shaping American history through it. Ranger Young will be presenting remote from South Carolina.

Why did Spanish ships refuse to land on this tropical paradise for almost 200 years? How did a resident of Key West become Florida's first millionaire? Even if you have visited Key West, this presentation offers many surprises and amusing anecdotes.

This program tells the story of perhaps the greatest code breaker in World History! From a farm in Indiana to the Nation's Capital as Cryptographer-in-Charge, she led the way in solving one code after another. WW I German codes, prohibition codes; prohibition kingpins, mobsters and gangsters, drug lords, all fell before her uncanny ability to crack even the cleverest codes and ciphers. She broke three German Enigma codes, not with a computerized machine, but with a paper and pencil.

After the War of 1812 ended, the United States emerged and grew. Although this time period was called the Era of Good Feelings, sectionalism issues kept coming up. Why was there only one political party? Why did nobody oppose President Monroe? And, was there a corrupt bargain against Andrew Jackson in 1824? Each course may be registered for independently.

 

Who is Andrew Jackson fighting now? Jackson wins the election of 1828 and transforms the United States in a number of ways. However, his actions made enemies. Some think this time period should actually be called the Age of Henry Clay? Each course may be registered for independently.

The JFK assassination has been a 60-year-old mystery of history. Did Oswald do it? Did he act alone? If not, who else was involved? What led up to the murder and who were the people involved? Was it a single mastermind or the work of a cabal? Was it the first attempt on this President's life? Was it a foolproof operation, or were there mistakes and coverups that occurred? Were there any warnings or indications?  If so, who knew and when? Was the Warren Commission Report factual or part of the cover up?  Come learn the truth about this shameful murder of an American President on US soil.

The United States expanded in the mid-1800s and many felt the United States was destined to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. What conflicts and growing pains would the country encounter as it grew? Each course may be registered for independently.

Clarence Darrow is still recognized as one of America's most famous defense attorneys. From the late 19th century to his two most famous cases in the 1920s, he was the most sought after personage to defend the most controversial and sensational topics that American jurisprudence would adjudicate. We will examine Darrow's early and middle career, but, focus on his two most famous cases, the Scopes Monkey Trial and "The Crime of the Century," the case against Leopold and Loeb.

As the United States grew politically and economically, what was the reaction to all these changes socially? The 2nd Great Awakening begins a period of social change in the United States. Each course may be registered for independently.

A rewarding opportunity to hold a civil and honest discussion on mutual interactions on racial issues. Gorham L. Black, III, a retired US Army Colonel will lead this lively "Learn and Grow" conversation. Two independent sessions will offer informed historical and personal experiences of black history. Listen, learn, share, and grow.

After the Mexican War ends, the United States unofficially divides. A dozen years later, the country will officially split and cause the Civil War.
What caused this divide and how did it continue to split? Could the secession of the southern states been stopped?

General George Washington was America's first Spymaster. Elizabeth Van Lew was America's second. This Virginia born aristocrat, educated in Philadelphia, abhorred slavery and when the war broke out, she hated to see the Union broken apart. She followed all the protocols that a CIA Case Officer does today, but did it 150 years ago, all in a courageous effort to bring resolution to this bloody, tumultuous page in American history. To honor her, she is enshrined in the United States Military Intelligence Hall of Fame for her many deeds in this fratricidal war.

A look at the American Civil War without going too deep into military strategy. What was the basic plan for both sides, and why did the Union eventually defeat the Confederate forces? Warning- this is a very quick overview that will not go very deep into topics.

On the eve of the Civil War in the state of Alabama, a ship carrying over one hundred captive humans was smuggled into the United States from Africa. While slavery was still legal, the overseas slave trade had been outlawed in 1807, however, the demand for cheap labor was increasing throughout the cotton producing southern states and this drove the trade in illegal human trafficking. The remnants of the last known slave ship to bring people to the United States, the Clotilda, has been recently recovered by archaeologists.  Using archival and archaeological evidence as well as testimony from oral histories passed down from the descendants still living in the area, we can recreate the events of this period and tell the story of the last slave ship in America.

As the nation tries to come back together in the years after the Civil War, what were the successes and failures of this rebuilding effort?

This program tells the story of perhaps the greatest code breaker in World History! From a farm in Indiana to the Nation's Capital as Cryptographer-in-Charge, she led the way in solving one code after another. WW I German codes, prohibition codes; prohibition kingpins, mobsters and gangsters, drug lords, all fell before her uncanny ability to crack even the cleverest codes and ciphers. She broke three German Enigma codes, not with a computerized machine, but with a paper and pencil.

By the early nineteen hundreds, Baseball was clearly established as America's national pastime. With the great influx of immigrants around the turn of the 19th century, pundits would tell the new citizens, "if you want to learn about America, understand baseball."  They did! Baseball was widely popular people and became dedicated to their "Home" teams. In 1919, there was a great team, the Chicago White Sox. (Unlike today) They ran away with the American League pennant and  the World Series loomed against the Cincinnati Red Legs. The White Sox were highly favored but, there were rumors of gambling surrounding the series. We will delve into the times, the game itself, all the individual stories {And there are many}, and all the strange consequences of this unfortunate incident.

A period of weak Presidents, Political Machines, and corruption. But the reaction will increase the government's power and set up the reforms of the Progressive Era in the early 1900s.

The history, traditions, music and mayhem of Mardi Gras from Ancient Rome's naughty carnivals to present day Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). Discover the evolution of Mardi Gras from hedonistic feast to religious ritual to the wild celebrations in New Orleans.

In just a few decades the United States will emerge from the Civil War to become the Industrial giant of the 1900s. How did we make so many changes so fast? Who were the leaders of this catalyst? What were some of the effects?

The raid on March 10, 1865 was the only Civil War military action in Marion County. Misrepresented and inaccurately portrayed, this risky raid came only weeks before the war's end. A unit of mostly Black combatants, led by a Black Sergeant Major, traveled 100 miles behind enemy lines to conduct the raid, and then had to walk 80 miles to safety, knowing that a crack Confederate cavalry unit would be hot on their trail. A gripping adventure awaits.

The devastation of the Civil War necessitated a reconstruction of our nation. It was a contentious effort, but it moved the ball of the Founders' vision "toward a more perfect union" closer to reality. Reconstruction was historically undermined by the Dunning School who supported the South's "lost cause."  Today, historical scholars deem it as "the second American Revolution," primarily because it enshrined the 13, 14, and 15th amendments into our constitution.  

This PowerPoint presentation reveals the depth and types of skills needed by CIA personnel to use clandestine operations to collect intelligence in difficult - to near-impossible - situations in foreign countries.  All this while under 24-hour surveillance by anti-espionage professionals.  It also reveals a variety of those secret (now unclassified) successes that were accomplished against all odds by the clever use of tradecraft, imagination and creativity.

Florida played an interesting role in the Civil War.  The instructor, dressed in a Marion County uniform, tells that story, not only about the armies, navies, and battles, but also of the civilian life.  The people not only dealt with shortages, but with the death and destruction the war bought to Florida's sparsely populated towns, from Fernandina to Key West.

The Founding Fathers' fatal flaw was allowing slavery; they couldn't condemn or condone it. Sadly, most had inadequate teaching of a subject foundational to America. Our domestic tranquility today is affected by the Founders indecision. Understanding the past is a prelude to the future.  "A nation cannot choose its past; it can only choose its future."

Why do so many horses in major races across the U.S. have a connection to our county? Learn how Marion County became the Horse Capital of the World® thanks to a little horse named Needles in 1956 and how he changed the trajectory of the Florida thoroughbred industry, making it one of the world's leading breeding, sales and racing centers.

William Bartram called it the Great Alachua Savanna. We know it as Paynes Prairie. On this chapter of our "Bartram's Florida" series, we'll take a 3 mile stroll onto the wetland savanna made famous by the young explorer in 1774. The talk will include a brief overview of the prairie's rich history from Lars Andersen, author of "Paynes Prairie: A History and Guide."

Note: Meeting time at park is 9 AM; There is a $5 Park Fee payable at the entrance day of trip. The trip duration is 1.5 - 2 hours long. Difficulty: Easy, two mile stroll on easy (mostly flat) terrain. Since this is an out-and-back hike, participants who can't do the entire hike are welcome to turn back at any time.
Skill level: Good for beginners.

This course will give a brief overview of these fascinating times. The glitz and glamour of the Jazz Age were followed by the unprecedented disaster of the Great Depression. This presentation will look at the events and currents of the 1920's; foreign and domestic, the good, the bad and the ugly and then do the same in the 30s. What a contrast between "Blue Skies, nothing but blue skies do I see" to "Brother can you spare a dime."

Florida historically was a refugee for enslaved people, escaping the slave states to be welcomed by native people here and eventually the Spanish. Florida entered the Union as a slave state, 1845, and the last state to be infamously designated. Currently, descendants of slaveholders and enslaved people in Marion County often share the same surname of residents in Marion County today.

The 1790 Naturalization Act allowed any free white person to become a citizen of the new republic; all others need not apply. Since then, there was a protracted effort to keep America white. This session examines the many efforts to maintain a white America despite the diversity of its immigrants. How does one interpret "e pluribus unum?"

The rise of a militant white supremacy today is not new. It was present throughout our history. As it undermined domestic tranquility in the past, so it does today. Join this class to discuss how to become a diverse society and overcome white supremacy.