Watergate

The history of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum has been more complicated than that of many presidential libraries, owing to the controversial legacy of its namesake. Nixon's personal and political papers themselves were left in turmoil following his resignation, with troves split among National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) repositories in Laguna Niguel, California and College Park, Maryland and in a collection held privately at the Nixon Library until fairly recently. Now, the papers are reunited at the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda and under the administration of NARA.

Originally, the Nixon Library and Museum was built using private funds and administered by the Nixon Foundation, which now serves in an advisory role. During the Library's tenure as a private entity, the question of how to address the Watergate period of Nixon's presidency was answered with a display that, while long on data and physically sizable, was not a welcoming space. Indeed, it resembled nothing so much as a long, dark tunnel through which there was considerable motivation to move as quickly as possible. Images of the original exhibit are available here. Information contained within the exhibit minimized the president's involvement in the affair and included references to the investigation as a "coup."

At the end of March, the Nixon Library opened a new exhibit on Watergate, with extensive background, access to oral history interviews and documents available online here. As the AP reported on March 31, the new exhibit has encountered criticism from Nixon loyalists. The Nixon Foundation, for example, filed a lengthy series of objections, although its statement upon the opening of the exhibit was quite measured and rightly points out that examination of the Museum's exhibits in their entirety will provide the most complete view of a "long and consequential career."

I was struck, however, by the comments of one conservative activist, a man named Steve Frank who worked on Nixon's 1968 presidential campaign in California. "I thought it was improper of them not to provide the whole substance of Watergate" in the original exhibit, he told the AP. "When you try to hide the facts, it makes it look worse than it is."

As a historian, I would hope that perhaps we are ready to enter a new period in Nixon scholarship, and indeed, in the scholarship of the 1960s and 1970s as a whole. This may have been the era when the "personal" became the "political," but it is time to move on into a world tinged not by emotion, but by historical analysis--of all points along the political spectrum. Facts may remain subject to interpretation, but more facts are going to lead to more informed, more scholarly, more measured interpretations. The distance of time and generation offers beneficial opportunities to take a cue from the Nixon Library and undertake broader examinations of these tumultuous years. We will likely find that the "whole substance," as Frank put it, moves us into a more integrated world of understanding.

And now, the news

On this day in 1902, the first full-time movie theater opened, in, fittingly, Los Angeles, California. In an age when movie theaters have become almost exclusively a source of entertainment, it is easy to forget just how large a role theaters in the United States played throughout the twentieth century in creating a broad "American" identity, forged around shared experiences, ideals and--perhaps most important--increasingly universal access to national and international news. Yes, there were always important exceptions to the ideal of a universal "American" identity, and well there should have been, but we cannot underestimate the significance of an emergent world where citizens in San Diego, Portland, Boston and Charlotte could all see, hear and absorb a single presentation of the news.

Newsreels could inspire (World War II scrap metal recycling) and amuse: Stan Laurel at swim meet. They helped encourage a world of style that crossed international boundaries: 1954 Dior fashions. They brought news from around the world to American cities and towns (D-Day 1944), and unfortunately, they could sometimes present interpretations of events that, while arresting in their footage, omitted important context: Watts riots in 1965.

In the 1950s, television began to supersede newsreels as a source of news and information, and today, of course, we face an inundation of information from myriad sources. In some ways, our world may never be as universal again, even as the society portrayed by newsreels remained far more complex than the silver screen would ever show.

Not (quite) a fool

I found this funny and am posting this on March 31 so it will not be wrongly misinterpreted as a hoax of a hoax. I must admit I am not a very big fan of April Fool's Day. It seems cruel to have an entire day devoted to attempting to cuckold other people. Isn't life stressful enough without having to spend 1/365th of each year (barring leap years) desperately attempting to avoid humiliation? I spend enough of my time doing that already; no need to introduce intentional additions.

That said: seems that in 1957, BBC's "Panorama" ran an entire episode on the spaghetti industry in, of all places, Switzerland, including extensive footage of women carefully removing strands of spaghetti from trees and spreading them out to dry. Now that's pretty funny -- and entirely harmless (unless, I suppose, one then booked a trip specifically to go harvest spaghetti and encountered disappointment upon arrival).

Here's the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/1/newsid_2819000/2819261.stm.

Know of a great, harmless hoax article or news story that was shared on April 1? Post a link in the comments!

The Vote

From this morning's paper (a McClatchy-Tribune wire story in the Oregonian), and addressing the vote in Egypt yesterday regarding proposed changes to the Egyptian constitution:

"Whether for or against the proposed amendments, Egyptians were overjoyed at what they considered their first real vote, discounting the decades of rigged polls under Mubarak. Some voters sobbed with happiness, and passers-by offered water and sweets to people standing in lines that stretched for blocks. Families brought children to witness the historic day." *

It is so easy to take our votes for granted. We become frustrated--and with good reason--about the deficiencies in our own system. But Americans, too, have fought and demonstrated and faced hardship to enjoy this privilege. In an era of vote-by-mail it is harder to share with our children the feeling of "going to vote," and I find myself wishing I could share with my daughter the impressions I received when going with Mom to vote at the high school I would one day attend. I marveled at the BIG hallways and the bust of James Madison in the foyer; the gravity of stepping into a polling booth impressed upon me the importance of the affair. My living room may not be as grand as a high school foyer, but Egypt provides me with a reminder never to trivialize the project of filling out a ballot... and next time, I'll be sure to share the experience with my own child.

* Hannah Allam, "Millions turn out for Egypt vote" (Sunday Oregonian, 20 March 2011, p. A8)

My daughter would agree with Bucky on this one

In honor of all the lectures I've had to write on the Mongol Empire for the world history class I'm finishing up at Western Oregon:



More content-driven postings to come.

Congratulations, Egypt!

Congratulations, Egypt!

As I drove across town listening to NPR's special coverage yesterday I couldn't help smiling, repeatedly, as I heard the joy and sense of accomplishment in protesters' voices. I was especially struck by the comments of one observer -- he noted that events in Egypt provided the world with proof that peaceful protest really could effect change. Terror wasn't necessary; therefore, oppressed peoples needn't feel terror is their only option. I hope this is an idea that spreads.

Here's hoping Egyptians are able to successfully make their way through the tricky process of establishing a government that will meet the needs of all its people.

Editing the past?

David Sarasohn of the Oregonian had some very perceptive things to say today about the current understanding of black history and slavery in the United States:

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/david_sarasohn/index.ssf/2011/02/black_history_month_as_we_rewr.html

Well worth a read. Sarasohn holds a Ph.D. in American history from UCLA.