Famous Individuals Research Articles

Prejudice and Pronunciation

PERSONAL NAMES, being verbal forms by which we identify ourselves to others, have more value than the mere communicative function that is common to all words. Since a name represents the individual to whom it refers, it is intimately and indissolubly associated with all his other characteristics. Thus it is virtually impossible to consider any personal name objectively, for the myriad associations of the name intervene to produce a subjective bias.' The connotations of a name are greatest when it refers to an individual who is known to us. For example, Richard Nixon, Fidel Castro, and Raquel Welch immediately evoke a field of associated images and connotations. Such values may adhere even to the constituent parts of a proper name; thus, Fidel,2 Raquel, Nixon, all of which as individual names potentially apply to numerous individuals, continue to carry with them the associations derived from their application to well-known persons. The most common given names in a language acquire their connotations, not from famous individuals, however, but from persons bearing these names with whom speakers have everyday contact. A number of recent studies bear witness to the semantic potential of given names;3 and each individual has, perhaps only implicitly, formed his own value judgments and connotations for frequently occurring first names, at least superficially without reference to

History of the Santee Sioux: United States Indian Policy on Trial

'This is a lucid and detailed account of the tragic effects of frontier expansion upon the native inhabitants of Minnesota. It depicts the condition of the eastern in the era of fur trading, considers the treaties that exchanged land for annuities, interprets the uprising of 1862, and traces Santee history' - Midcontinent American Studies Journal. 'A remarkably comprehensive study...[Meyer] makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of American Indian policy...The documentation is exceptionally full...The tone throughout is judicious and moderate, yet the author's deep sympathy for his subject is evident' - Francis Paul Prucha, Minnesota History.'This volume adds immeasurably to our historical knowledge about the fate of the Mdewakatons, Wahpekutes, Wahpetons, and Sissetons, the bands or divisions that constitute the Santee Sioux...Meyer joins the few historians...who continue their studies beyond the military subjugation of the American Indian' - Donald J. Berthrong, Historical Society of Southern California. 'One of the most substantial additions to our knowledge of the Dakota to appear' - Ethnohistory. 'The book adds insight to the motivations of such famous individuals as Little Crow and Wabasha as well as the influential white men such as Taliaferro, Galbraith, and Bishop Whipple...[It] not only brings the story of the Santee to its immediacy but offers the opportunity for this nation to learn something from history and profit from it' - Royal B. Hassrick, Colorado Magazine.'The first real effort to deal with the history of this eastern division of the Nation...it is all well written and rings true' - Choice. Since its original publication by the University of Nebraska Press in 1967, History of the Santee Sioux has become known as the definitive work on its subject. Now, in a revised edition, Roy W. Meyer brings the story of the Santees up to date. Roy W. Meyer is a professor emeritus of English at Mankato State University. His works include Village Indians of the Upper Missouri: The Mandans, Hidatsas, and Arikaras, also published by the University of Nebraska Press.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Abstract Family records have been kept from the earliest times. In the Bible, in Homer, in ancient Egypt no less than in Norse sagas, it is frequently stated who was the son of whom. (By contrast, few documents to-day tell us who a man's father was.) In those far-off times genealogy was the main interest; a descent was traced from a famous individual, and the exact connections between great houses were kept in family archives. Heralds, lawyers and antiquaries later were concerned with the rights of bearing arms, with entails of an estate, or were driven by a simple love of the past. More recently, ancient family records have been used as case histories by social historians, but they may well not be representative of all the families of their time. For not only are the families with available records drawn from the upper classes, but the very keeping of records tells us that they were unrepresentative in some respects. They were likely to be long living, making splendid marriages, having large families and much in the social whirl. Their counterparts who were consumptive, unsocial and relatively infertile must have been obscure and their records often lost.

The Confederacy (review)

214CIVIL WA R HISTORY vogue; but in 1877 a commercial publisher, anxious to sell the same set of books to Northerner and Southerner, developed an appealing interpretation of the war. In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, former Union and Confederate leaders were nobly heroic, the causes of both sides were just, and Americans could unite in common praise for the men and ideals of their tragic war. This collection of personal narratives, tall stories, and legends continues the noble and heroic tradition of the Civil War era. Both Lincoln and Davis are sincere, kindhearted executives; Northern and Southern generals are humane , gentìe leaders; nurses of the North and South are sympathetic, understanding women; Negroes are simple, pathetic souls; and even deserters are to be pitied rather than condemned. Editor Botkin, however, is a master at collecting and presenting folklore. Beginning with different accounts of Lincoln 's trip to Washington in 1861, the editor presents a year-by-year chronology of stories and anecdotes witii the gleanings for each year arranged under subject tides. The selections for 1862 total more than those of any other year and the "Aftermath" or "A Good War Dies Hard" is the smallest section of the book. In these stories famous individuals walk the stage side by side with character actors to portray samplings of almost every phase of the war years. Lincoln has difficulty in raising a flag, grants the wish of a "Fair Rebel," exposes himself to danger on the battlefield, visits Richmond, and becomes immortal in death. Davis is inaugurated, quells a bread riot, and is captured and imprisoned . Lee shares the spotlight with Grant; "Stonewall" Jackson fights, prays, and dies; and cavalry officers dart on and off the scene. Nameless soldiers at the front and their women at home tell of problems and of their adjustments to wartime conditions. Slaves react to the Emancipation Proclamation , Mother Bickerdyke demonstrates her influence as a nurse, and spy Belle Boyd aids General Jackson. There is pathos in many of these accounts and most of the anecdotes bring smiles rather than hearty laughter. The more than diree hundred selections range in length from one-fourth to many pages. Many compilations of Civil War stories exist but the distinction of this volume lies in the refreshing authenticity of contemporary sources and the wide sampling of various types of narratives and folklore. One can spend a few minutes or an evening with these interesting tales. Rembert W. Patrick University of Florida The Confederacy. By Charles P. Roland. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960. Pp. ix, 218. $3.95.) This little book, a volume in the Chicago History of American Civilization series, presents the whole life of the Confederacy on a small slate and dots the background with considerable detail. Here one sees the interplay of Confederate strength and weakness—nationalism and localism, sobriety and frivol- Book Reviews215 ity, boldness and timidity, vision and blindness. The knack of treating somany facets without confusion of detail, and at the same time retaining a clear picture ofthe whole, is the author's main success and the book's main strength. On the other hand this book adds little if anything to our knowledge of the Confederacy. Nor does it supersede Coulter's Confederate States (1950) or Eaton's Southern Confederacy (1956). It is no more interesting than either of these works, and not nearly as comprehensive and original. Because of its affinity to these books it invites further comparison with them. Coulter's book is a much fuller, more original, more exciting treatment of Confederate life. Roland's book is better balanced, mostly because it gives a better relative treatment of Confederate military and diplomatic activities. Still, if one wishes to read about Confederate social, political, and economic life, he will choose Coulter. Eaton's book is more nearly the size and scope of Roland's. Yet Eaton is much more original, more keenly interpretative, with fresher material and more perceptive insights. He has the balance of Roland and is more entertaining to read. The book at hand, for its size, has adequate maps and illustrations. The bibliography is highly selected and very useful. It is competently done...