Preserving the past

Something that is becoming more and more difficult to do is preserving histories around our country.  The public school system doesn't help, giving our youth the highlights in the K-12 system.  Historic sites and buildings are being lost to strip malls, parking garages, resorts, office buildings, etc.  In 50 years whats going to be left?  I mean they almost put an Islamic mosque up at the site of the 9-11 attacks at Ground Zero.  It's all become about money and US history is becoming the victim.

So who's to blame?  Well there's the obvious in politicians; damn Reagan and his right winged agenda.  You could point to the school systems.  History isn't a stressed subject anymore and children don't care.  About a month ago, Los Angeles Laker star, Kobe Bryant, took his  team out for a movie night to watch the new movie, Lincoln.  After the movie, Kobe decided to put a tweet out.  It read along the lines of, "I was real surprised to see that some of the younger guys were shocked to see him get shot at the end."  If that's not a major problem in our society, then count me out I don't want to live on this planet anymore.  While politicians have cut funding and school districts have lost the passion, I believe the history preservation movement itself should shoulder some of this blame.

Professor Farnsworth from Futurama.  Courtesy of Memesters.

Don't get me wrong, in their early years they did some very good work.  The New Deal era was an incredibly important time for history preservation.  The WPA, CCC, HAPS and other groups like them served a great duty to this country.  They created our National and State Parks, created historical guide books that covered the entire nation, and preserved thousands of historical sites from east to west and north to south.  The problem i have with them is how they let the success go to their head.  Instead of providing a much needed service to our people as they did through the 50's and 60's, they switched drastically once it was realized there was money to be made.  They went from non-profit to big business (same thing i believe the NCAA is doing now, but that's for another time).  They began marking areas as historical districts in cities, skyrocketing the property values.  A lot of these districts were poor areas of the cities, and a lot of these people (many minorities) were forced out of the place they had called home for their entire lives because they couldn't afford it anymore.  What this is telling me is that in order to make a place historical you need to make it so the people responsible for the areas history can't afford to live there.  Something's wrong with that picture.  In doing so they made it more about the money than the history.  Manhattan is a great example of this forced migration.  Once a poorer part of New York City, it was dubbed a historical district and, much like in New Orleans French Quarter, its poor inhabitants were forced out to make room for the high class citizens who would pay top dollar for property. This movement lost it's morals and in the depressions of the 70's and 80's did what they could to support themselves and along with budget cuts in our government have put pieces of our history at risk.

Manhattan circa 1929.  Courtesy of New Construction Manhattan.

The movement did make some good decisions in the 90's, that has reclaimed some if its integrity.  For example teaming with environmental preservationists.  They are beginning to get back their roots, which I would like to see, not only for history itself but also for our current recession (and coming soon, my job hunt).  It did it once in the 30's, getting back to preserving our past could create thousands of jobs for historians, environmentalists, teachers, architects, English majors, and contractors.

In his essay "Interpreters and Museum Educators: Beyond the Blue Hairs," Mark Howell brings up an interesting topic.  It's a part of history preservation that seems to be a bit lost in the mix of things.  Howell is an interpreter for a museum; he's the one who gives the tours and puts the exhibits into context.  This may be the most important part of history preservation.  Ok, so you have the building it's been marked as a historical site, what now?  This is only half the battle; the other half will be achieved through the sites years of operations, through historians like Mark Howell who put it all in perspective.  They tell the public what  the big deal is about this venue; without them it's just an old building with a plaque somewhere saying it's important.  They are an irreplaceable part of history preservation and there is not nearly enough funding or jobs for these people.

I want to close with a quote from Howell's essay by historian G.M. Trevelyan, that to me explains the importance of history:

The poetry of history lies in the quasi-miraculous fact that once on this earth, on this familiar spot of ground walked other men and women as actual as we are today, thinking their own thoughts, swayed by their own passions but now all gone, vanishing after another, gone as utterly as we ourselves shall be gone like ghosts at cockcrow.

George Macaulay Trevelyan.  Courtesy of First World War.

                  

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Mickey Mouse history, what is it?  It's a term that defines trivial history.  History you knew as a young, wide eyed 4th grader.  It's the good, not the bad.  It focuses on our heroes and not the people our heroes had to overcome.  One of the best examples of Mickey Mouse history is the belief that Christopher Columbus discovered North America.  Walt Disney may very well be the father of Mickey Mouse history.  At Disneyland and Disney World he created his own version of historical exhibits.  He wanted Americans to remember their past, but focused on the good, not bad.  From his historical views and empowered by his celebrity, Walt has been able to push a certain view of US History to our youth.

One of Disney's first exhibits was his Hall of Presidents.  Disney uses the best available technology of the time.  He shows an informational video before revealing the exhibits main attractions.  Once the video ends, a group of robots appears on stage, all resembling one of the US Presidents.  Walt originally had this vision in 1957-58, but lacked the technology to bring it to life.  It wasn't until 1970 that the Hall of Presidents became a permanent attraction at Disney parks; although it made an appearance in the 1964 World's Fair.  Abe Lincoln becomes it's centerpiece.  They focus on George Washington and Andrew Jackson putting down rebellions and denying evil intentions toward society, yet a mention of both being slaveholders is never mentioned.  Walt Disney decided to only focus on what people wanted to hear; he leaves out anything unadmirable and aims for entertainment value.

Hall of Presidents today.  Courtesy of Talk Disney. 

Perhaps Walt Disney's greatest vision was the EPCOT Center in Orlando.  Originally it was not meant to deal with history.  It was supposed to be an artificial community in which 20,000 people would live and serve as Disney's own utopia.  He soon gained corporate sponsorships and the project became about remembering our past, while looking toward the future.  The major sponsors were Kraft, General Motors, Kodak, AT&T, and Exxon.  Each company takes it's expertise and takes a look at where we've come from and where we will go.  GM takes transportation, AT&T takes communications, Exxon takes energy, etc.  Each corporation travels through the history of man, making stops at different eras along the way.  For example when GM hits the Renaissance there is a robot Leonardo mulling over a new flying machine.  The time table continues and GM brings us to today showing improvements in transportation like carriages, bikes, trains, cars, and airplanes.  Each corporation becomes the focal point of a certain aspect of advancement.  The EPCOT Center is Disney's way of showing us that we must look at our past to find clues of where we are going in the future.

The EPCOT Center in Orlando.  Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Even after his death, Walt Disney's love of history remained alive in the Disney corporation.  In 1993, Michael Eisner attempted to build a Disney park in Virginia called Disney's America.  The park was intended to focus strictly on US history.  Due to political disagreements and financial problems the project was unfortunately scrapped.  Disney America was hoping to show Americans of all ages about our past, present and future, through videos, exhibits and rides.  The plan was to have visitors enter the park in a Civil War era town and have the option to to travel on the timeline into the past or toward the present.  Some of the attractions included replicas of a native American village, Civil War fort, a Muppets interpretation in Ellis Island, a State fair, a Dust Bowl farm, and World War II era airfield.  Part of the reason the project fell through was because of the proposed sites proximity to the Manassas Battlefield National Park.  Although Eisner's dream of the park never came to fruition parts of it were incorporated into other Disney parks around the nation.

Proposed site of Disney America.  Courtesy of The Disney Drawing Board.

The Disney name and US History have gone hand in hand since the 1950's.  Starting with Walt Disney's love for the past, the Disney corporation has made history a part of its view.  Their view of history may not agree with leading historians but Disney's contribution to public history is undeniable.  They sought out to make history fun and interesting for all ages and that can't be replaced.  Some find Mickey Mouse history childish and simplistic but Disney has used it to teach civilians in a fun and unique way.

   
  

History of American History

Mike Wallace's Mickey Mouse History: And Other Essays on American Memory can essentially be called a history of American History.  He takes a look into how we as a culture have remembered our beginnings through the years.  From the small historical houses of the late 19th century to the historical villages created by corporate moguls in the 1920's.  Wallace gives an in depth history of the museum culture in our country.  He has an opinion on every venue he mentions and most include advice on how to improve the experience.  Wallace actually comes across as quite condescending in most sections.

The first part of remembering our history started in the mid to late 19th century.  Before there were any large Smithsonian Museums, there were historical sites.  Most quite small, like houses founding fathers grew up in, but some were of a larger variety, like Civil War battlefields.  George Washington's revolutionary headquarters became the first historical house in the US, in 1850.  Three years later Washington's residence of Mount Vernon followed.  The movement to preserve these historical sites was lead (maybe surprisingly) by the women of the country (I say surprisingly due to the time era).  During her efforts to save Mount Vernon, Ann Pamela Cunningham formed the Mount Vernon Ladies Association as a support group for the cause.  Other groups formed, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Mayflower Decedents, all aimed at preserving America's past.  It wasn't until the turn of the 20th century however that things really got rolling.

The new century brought with it an economic boom and an increase in leisure time.  Part of this was due in large part to the personal automobile.  Henry Ford had more money than he knew what to do with and after World War 1, a desire to return to the "good ole days".  Ford began to collect pieces of Americana from across the country and soon had quite the collection.  He decided to put it on display and created the first open air museum in our country, Greenfield Village.  Ford flew in parts of his collection, as well old style shops and buildings, and created his own "utopia".  Greenfield Village was a 19th century small town that paid homage to the working class.  Ford loved this place so much that it became his get away from a world he had learned to despise.  The attraction still exists and information can be found on their website.

Greenfield Village layout today.  Courtesy of  Clear Graphics

Another corporate big shot to get in on historical preservation was John D. Rockefeller Jr.  He matched Ford's village with a village of his own, Colonial Wiliamsburg.  A Wiliamsburg civilian came to Rockefeller hoping he could help preserve the rich history of the former Virginia capital.  Rockefeller had helped fund similar projects outside the country, including several sites in France.  In the late 1920's he began reconstructing the village as it was during the days Washington, Jefferson, Madison, etc walked it's streets.  Currently Colonial Wiliamsburg is one of the most popular historical attractions in our country. 

The Governor's Palace in Colonial Wiliamsburg.  Courtesy of Wikipedia .

The Great Depression brought on a new era of preservation.  With FDR's New Deal in place a couple new agencies were set to work searching for history across the country.  The Historic American Building Survey (HABS) was a collection of architects sent out to find any building in America with historical importance and mark it as such.  The HABS surveyed 6389 historical sites that varied from churches, taverns, schoolhouses, and barns.  Another agency created in the New Deal was the Works Progress Administration (WPA).  This was a group of writers and historians that documented these new historical sites and created guide books and travel guides for them.  Other groups included the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Historical Records Survey.  Much of this work however came to end with the impending World War on the horizon.

America's greatest historical city has to be New York.  Its the economic capital of the US and many influencial people and places have called it home.  From the Harlem Renessiance to Tamany Hall to the New York Yankees (Man, that hurt to say).  Organizations, like the New York Historical Society and Parks Service, have preserved much of this cities past and displays it in extravagant exhibits.  Most notably is the venue of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.  For generations America has been known as the World's melting pot.  Cultures come from far and wide all searching for the same thing, the American Dream.  The symbolic center of this phenomena is Ellis Island.  Millions of people has passed through it's doors and stood in awe at the beauty of MS. Liberty. The island has since been shut down and turned into a museum...well several museums.  The venue contains three museums, one upstairs, one downstairs, and one on the main floor.  The upstairs and main floor are the most popular, containing your stereotypical museum exhibits (artifacts, pictures, and instructional videos).  The downstairs, however, contains in my opinion (and Wallace's) the most intriguing of the three.  Downstairs you'll find a history of the "Peopling" in our country.  It contains the history of the people that came and helped make New York become what it is today.  From Africans to Europeans to Puerto Ricans, the Peopling exhibit delves into how each group that immigrated here (even the forced immigrations) made their mark on our society.  Throughout the decades, Ellis Island has been the scene of a few historical society battles (the Parks Service is always fighting someone) and has been built up, torn down, and built up again. Of all the places Mike Wallace discusses New York and Ellis Island are the most intriguing and controversial historical stops to make in the US.

Ellis Island and the Statute of Liberty.  Courtesy of Vacation Homes

Mickey Mouse History: And Other Essays on American Memory is a great guide book to some of America's most historic museums.  Mike Wallace does a good job of depicting the history of each location, as well as gives a literary tour of some venues. It's a bit outdated and gets off topic at points, I could do without his jabs at Reagan and facination with robots and virtual reality.  At times, Wallace seems more critic than historian, but nontheless offers great insight on how Americans have remembered their past through Public History.