Sessions I attended at History Camp Boston
History Camp Boston exceeded my expectations.
It was incredible. I had such a great time, met so many fabulous people, and hope to continue going back. There’s no way I could share everything I learned. Instead, I’m sharing a few doodles brought to mind in the various sessions I attended. (Let me tell you, it was not easy to pick which to go to. Loads of fascinating speakers and talks to chose from.)
Once the presentations are online I’ll add links here, too.
The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created A President
Edward F. O’Keefe
When O’Keefe added to the schedule, I was ecstatic. (Even more ecstatic when I learned that I wasn’t speaking at the same time.)
I didn’t prioritize this book when it came out because I’ve already read three about Theodore Roosevelt. But I’ve read two books about a guy who was president for a month, that’s no excuse. I took pages of notes during this session but realized I needed to just read (and doodle!) this book soon so I’m not going to bother to get too far into it here. In fact, my goal is to finish my current book (about Lincoln) in time to start The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created A President by Theodore’s birthday — October 27.
Wish me luck.
Let’s get to it.
Check out this first slide! [squeals]
Not to make this about me, but I also have some Roosevelt family trees, including this one. I used it for a collection of unanswerable questions titled What if Alice Roosevelt was a boy?
Disregard that I misspelled Mittie
I didn’t really know much about Theodore’s mom. I knew she was a Confederate. And that when he felt “wronged by maternal discipline” he would pray that the Union would “grind the Southern troops to a powder.” And that she died on the same day as her daughter-in-law.
Sunshine
Ever since I learned he didn’t like the name “Teddy”, I make an effort to avoid referring to him that way. (It’s not always easy.) I didn’t realize he didn’t like it because that’s what his wife Alice (and only Alice!) called him and it reminded him of her. She also called him “Teddykins” which is nothing short of amazing.
He called her Sunshine…
… which gives extra meaning to his journal entry the day she (and his mother) died:
“The light has gone out of my life.”
Drooping sexily
Many of my Theodore Roosevelt doodles were inspired by The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris. I had a few beefs about this book, including a weird description of sexy drooping skirts. However, when O’Keefe shared the story behind an early photo of Alice, Theodore, and one of his sisters… ok, I get it.
President Bamie
Eleanor Roosevelt said if Theodore’s sister Anna (AKA Bamie) was a man, she’d have been president.
This doodle was in my presentation. Theodore wrote to Anna/Bamie that “political affairs are kaleidoscopic.” When I read this in An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, I didn’t know Anna was his key political strategist.
First-born and last to die
Alice Roosevelt was TR’s first born. She was also the last to die — in 1980! O’Keefe mentioned that she knew every president from TR to Ford, which gives me the chance to reuse this doodle… though I thought it was Benjamin Harrison through Gerald Ford.
The Women
For more on the women in Theodore’s life — and some gorgeous photos! — check out O’Keefe’s website.
“… A Very Sudden & Rapid Attack of the Enemy”: Exploring the Battle of Saratoga through Battlefield Archaeology
Ben Powers, MA
I picked this session because I live close enough to visit Saratoga Battlefield and yet I never have. (I need to fix that!)
In any case, Powers mentioned the Campaign of 1777 and Howe and Clinton. I wasn’t sure if he was referring to “Black Dick” or his brother.
You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington, by Alexis Coe
He was talking about Black Dick’s brother — General William Howe.
The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington, by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch
As for Clinton, he wasn’t talking about any of these Clintons. He was referring to Henry Clinton.
John Brown’s Body in Boston
Jake Sconyers
I thought this session was be about John Brown John Brown. THEE John Brown. The most hated man in America. The Abolitionist who was executed for treason.
The Humanity Archive: Recovering the Soul of Black History from a Whitewashed American Myth, by Jermaine Fowler;
America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History, by Ariel Aberg-Riger
Kinda. But also about a different John Brown entirely. And more specifically, a song called John Brown’s Body.
There are several variations and funny verses, but my favorite is: “We'll feed Jeff Davis sour apples 'til he gets the diarhee.”
Listen to this HUB History podcast for more.
How to Get Excommunicated in Puritan New England
Lori Rogers-Stokes, PhD
I didn’t take notes in this session — nor do I have any relevant doodles. But it was riveting! Lots to think about with how our justice system works. Rogers-Stokes spoke right before I did. Here she is talking to people after, while I set up … too nervous about my talk to introduce myself.
We Haven’t Had a President with Facial Hair in More than a Century (and Other Trivial Observations)
Heather Rogers
That’s me!
I pulled together a companion to my presentation — it has everything from a chocolate éclair to some facial hair.
Trying the Japanese as War Criminals in WWII
Michel Paradis
OK, I have to admit. Having just finished my presentation, I was … spent. It was not easy for me to focus on anything afterward. Paradis discussed his book Last Mission to Tokyo: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raiders and Their Final Fight for Justice and shared some incredible WWII video clips.
My notes are incoherent and sparse.
Douglas MacArthur was mentioned though; I remember that much. I’m using that as an opportunity to share a doodle of MacArthur and his parents. His dad was Arthur MacArthur and his mom was Pinky. Not the Pinky who looked up to Brain. This Pinky looked up to Robert E. Lee.
I didn’t know until Douglas MacArthur that the corncob pipe in Frosty the Snowman is a literal corncob pipe. A pipe made out of a corncob. MacArthur’s pipe was gigantic.
Same Bed Different Dreams: A Novel, by Ed Park
When Eleanor Roosevelt visited the Pacific Front, MacArthur denied her request to visit Port Moresby. Eleanor wasn’t pleased, particularly since five senators had just visited. She thought he was “too busy to bother with a lady.”
The First Lady of World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt’s Daring Journey to the Frontlines and Back, by Shannon McKenna Schmidt
On the Road with the Virginia Presidents
Heather S Cole, MA
I wrapped up the day with more presidents. I swear I was planning to include this slide in my presentation before I found out what my new friend Heather Cole was presenting on this topic. In any case, she dug farther into the eight presidents born in Virginia (where John Adams said “all geese are swans”).
All but one enslaved people.
And all but one needed the slaves to be president (to keep their plantations running while they were away).
That one was Woodrow Wilson.
Not exactly squeaky clean:
His father’s side included Union generals. Hooray!
His mother’s side included the Chief Chemist for the Confederate Armies.
And his parents were provided with enslaved people … through their church. Yikes.
His father, Reverend Dr. Wilson, split with his family and didn’t patch things up after the war.
Woodrow Wilson: A Biography, by John Milton Cooper, Jr.
George Washington’s teeth
Cole mentioned Washington’s non-wooden teeth, which means I can share this gross doodle. Washington had tooth transplants. The going rate was 42 shillings, but he paid 122 shillings for nine teeth (a fraction of the regular rate!) to some “Negroes.” Probably enslaved.
The “tooth surgeon” would remove the patient’s bad tooth
Then he’d take the same tooth from a donor and try it out. If it didn’t fit, he’d take from the next one, and so on… even if it worked, it only lasted for one, maybe up to five years.
Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, by Nathaniel Philbrick
William & Mary were mentioned
…which means I can share a doodle of them AND Virginia! (Learn more about them in this post.)
Full disclosure: I think it was William & Mary the place not William & Mary the people, but I’m not going to let that get in the way of sharing this doodle inspired by Becoming Queen Victoria: The Unexpected Rise of Britain’s Greatest Monarch, by Kate Williams
PS
Daniel Webster miscalculated
In my presentation, I shared that Webster twice turned down opportunities that could have led to his presidency. I totally forgot that I have a Venn diagram from years ago showing both of the guys he turned down — William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor! They had some similarities and were:
the only Whigs elected president
war heroes and beloved generals
60+ years old
enslavers
Their successors (John Tyler/Millard FIllmore) were both failures, but very different:
One wealthy/one poor
One well-educated/one poorly educated and self-taught
One known and experienced/one unknown
One impressive resume/one meh resume
One became a Confederate officeholder buried under a Confederate flag/one ran on a platform of bigotry
I’m curious to know what would have happened with a little Daniel Webster instead.
Maybe Webster would be so full of compromise that things wouldn’t have been so different. That sounds like a question for another day.
HISTORY CAMP BOSTON
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It. Was. Amazing.