National History Day 2009 Theme: The Individual in History
Welcome to the National History Day resource page brought to you by the La Crosse Public Library and UW-La Crosse Murphy Library. We developed this guide to introduce students and teachers to local topics for use in the 2009 National History Day competition. This list is not exhaustive but gives the reader an idea of local topics and basic resources for a subject.
Generally, materials held in the special collections or archives area of either library do NOT check-out; the items must be used at those libraries.
This year’s theme is The Individual in History. For a complete description of the theme, visit:http://nhd.org/images/uploads/library/IndividualinHistory397019_ThemePage09_R2.pdf.
Politics – Civil War & the Copperheads
Ever heard of the Copperheads? They were generally a group of Democrats during the Civil War who lived in the northern states but who held southern sympathies. Nationally, La Crosse’s own Marcus “Brick” Pomeroy was the most notorious. During this time, he was the editor of the La Crosse Democrat and nicknamed President Lincoln “The Widow-Maker.” This did not sit well with his readers who supported predominately the northern cause.
Secondary Sources
- For a good description of the Copperhead movement and Pomeroy visit: http://wisconsinhistory.org/teachers/lessons/civilwar/pomeroy/pdf/pomeroy_final.pdf
- A mixture of primary
and secondary sources can be found at:
Find at: http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/teachers/lessons/civilwar/pomeroy/ - Life
of Mark M. Pomeroy by Mary Eliza Perine Tucker
Find
at: UW-L Murphy Library has one copy in Special
Collections E664.P77 T8 - Mark
M. Pomeroy: Copperhead Editor: A Study in Transition by Harry F.
Bangsberg
Find
at: La Crosse Public Library Archives 921 P771B 1953
UW-L Murphy Library has one copy in Special Collections E664.P77 B28 - M.M.
"Brick" Pomeroy: Forgotten Man of the Nineteenth Century.
Find
at UW-Murphy Library has one copy in Special Collections
PN 4874.P57 T8 1981. - Newspaper clippings at the La Crosse Public Library Archives: Biography-Pomeroy, Marcus “Brick”
Primary Sources
- Soliloquies
of the Bondholder, the Poor Farmer, the Soldier's Widow, the
Political Preacher, the Poor Mechanic, the Freed Negro, the 'Radical'
Congressman,
the Returned Soldier, the Southerner. And other Political Articles by “Brick” Pomeroy.
Find
at: http://memory.loc.gov; search for Brick Pomeroy or Mark Pomeroy. - Newspapers
on microfilm of the La Crosse Democrat of which Pomeroy was
editor during the civil War.
Find at: La
Crosse Public Library and UW-L Murphy Library on microfilm. - Pomeroy wrote several books which are available online:
- Nonsense, or, Hits and Criticisms on the Follies of the Day by Marcus Mills Pomeroy
- Sense, or, Saturday-night Musings and Thoughtful Papers by Marcus Mills Pomeroy
Also Check other sources at: La Crosse History Unbound
While local sources are noted for each topic, remember to use some other online sources and catalogs such as:
Library of Congress’ American Memory
Wisconsin Historical Society:
- Turning Points
- Archives’ catalog for material belonging to the Wisconsin Historical Society and its affiliated Area Research Centers
- Portal to Various WHS online resources
