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Bruce Dearstyne

Bruce W. Dearstyne is a historian in Guilderland. He was formerly on the staff of the Office of State History and the State Archives as well as a professor at the University of Maryland. A revised edition of his book The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State’s History and his newest book, The Crucible of Public Policy: New York Courts in the Progressive Era, are being published in 2022 by SUNY Press.

The 25th Annual NYS History Month Presents Challenges, Opportunities

September 19, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne 1 Comment

new york state history monthNext month, October, is New York State History Month. As usual, the State Museum is planning several activities and offers suggestions for commemorations. Other public history organizations are gearing up for events to “celebrate the history of New York State and recognize the contributions of state and local historians,” in the words of Section 52.02 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, which established State History Month by statute. [Read more…] about The 25th Annual NYS History Month Presents Challenges, Opportunities

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: New York State History Month, Public History

Albany’s Philip Schuyler Statue, Slavery and History Reconsidered

July 21, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne 5 Comments

Statue of Philip Schuyler in front of Albany City HallA statue of Albany’s Philip Schuyler (1733-1804) has stood in front of City Hall since its dedication by Mayor William S. Hackett on June 25, 1925. The statue was a gift to the city from George C. Hawley, a beer baron whose family owned the Dobler Brewery in Albany, in memory of his wife Theodora M. Hawley.

In 2020, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan ordered it removed because Schuyler was a slaveholder. As Mayor Sheehan noted, removing the statue is one way of acknowledging the enduring legacy of slavery. [Read more…] about Albany’s Philip Schuyler Statue, Slavery and History Reconsidered

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Albany, Albany County, American Revolution, Black History, Military History, Monuments, Philip Schuyler, Political History, sculpture, Slavery

Alton B. Parker: New York’s Neglected Statesman

June 8, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne 2 Comments

Alton B Parker and Henry G Davis 1904 Democratic Party candidates for President and Vice President of the United States campaign posterThe History Channel’s new special on Theodore Roosevelt describes his victory in the 1904 presidential election but doesn’t even mention his Democratic opponent.

That was New York Court of Appeals’ former Chief Judge Alton B. Parker (1852-1926), probably the most neglected major party presidential candidate in U.S. history. Yet at the time of the election Parker was the leader of one of the nation’s two major political parties and one of the nation’s foremost judicial statesmen. [Read more…] about Alton B. Parker: New York’s Neglected Statesman

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills Tagged With: Alton B. Parker, David B. Hill, Esopus, Historical Society of the New York Courts, Legal History, Political History, politics, Theodore Roosevelt, Ulster County

Bruce Dearstyne On Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary

May 5, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne Leave a Comment

revolutionary new yorkPlanning has begun for commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary, to be officially called the “Semiquincentennial.” The federal government has established America 250. A number of states, including Virginia have established state commissions. In Massachusetts it is called Revolution 250. [Read more…] about Bruce Dearstyne On Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary

Filed Under: History Tagged With: America's 250th Anniversary, America250 Foundation, American Revolution, Public History

We Should Celebrate New York State’s Birthday on April 20th

March 3, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne 1 Comment

Secretary of the 1777 Convention Robert Benson reading NYS's new constitution in KingstonNew Yorkers, and New York’s historical community in particular, should be gearing up to commemorate and promote New York State’s birthday on April 20th.

That was the date in 1777 when the Convention of Representatives of the State of New York, an ad hoc group elected the previous year to guide New York’s Revolutionary War efforts and develop its first constitution, completed its work. [Read more…] about We Should Celebrate New York State’s Birthday on April 20th

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City Tagged With: American Revolution, John Jay, Kingston, Legal History, NYS Constitution, Political History, Poughkeepsie

Syracuse Hero Jermain Loguen, Abolition & The Jerry Rescue

February 13, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne 5 Comments

During Black History Month, it is useful to recall well-known Black Americans and also some not-so-well known. Jermain Loguen (1813-1872) fits a category of those who deserve more recognition and attention.

Born into slavery in Tennessee, he escaped to Canada (where slavery was outlawed) in 1834 and moved to Rochester in 1837 and then to Syracuse in 1841.  He became a teacher and then a minister with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.  An eloquent speaker, he used his sermons and public presentations to advocate abolition and resistance to slaveholders and to urge enslaved people to escape. Loguen had an apartment in his Syracuse home for freedom seekers and identified himself as  “Underground Railroad Agent.”  Loguen assisted more than 1,500 enslaved Black people to freedom, earning the informal title “King of the Underground Railroad” in Syracuse. [Read more…] about Syracuse Hero Jermain Loguen, Abolition & The Jerry Rescue

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Abolition, Black History, Canada, Crime and Justice, Jermain Loguen, Legal History, Mexico NY, Onondaga County, Political History, Slavery, Syracuse, Underground Railroad

Crystal Eastman and New York’s Workers’ Compensation Law

January 5, 2022 by Bruce Dearstyne 3 Comments

Crystal Eastman ca 1914 (Library of Congress)Crystal Eastman (1881-1928) deserves more attention from historians. “In the early twentieth century, Crystal Eastman was one of the most conspicuous Progressive reformers in America,” says Amy Aronson, in her biography Crystal Eastman: A Revolutionary Life. “Her militant suffragism, insistent antimilitarism, gregarious internationalism, support of the Russian Revolution, and uncompromising feminism, led some in the press to brand her notorious.” Yet, “today she is less known than might be expected, especially given the rarity of a woman with such wide political influence and her continuing international legacy in so many high-profile struggles.”

This extraordinary progressive activist was a multi-issue advocate, an energetic researcher, a prolific writer, and a talented speaker. Much of her work was aimed at assembling evidence on issues and conditions, persuading others to act on that evidence, and showing them the path forward. Much of what she did was behind-the-scenes, setting up others for success and giving them the credit. Her role in creating New York’s workers’ compensation program, the first such state program in the nation, in 1910, is largely unknown. [Read more…] about Crystal Eastman and New York’s Workers’ Compensation Law

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Industrial History, Labor History, Legal History, Political History, womens history

Bruce Dearstyne: Making Use of New York’s Usable Past

December 1, 2021 by Bruce Dearstyne 1 Comment

Map of the State of New York courtesy Nations Online ProjectNew York, the nation’s historically most important state, has a lot of history worth exploring and sharing more extensively. That history is particularly useful for perspective on current critical public issues.

Many of these are discussed in a historical vacuum, as if they have never been considered before. In fact they have, and history is a good place to start the discussion because it provides parallels, precedents, and perspectives. [Read more…] about Bruce Dearstyne: Making Use of New York’s Usable Past

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City Tagged With: covid, Education, Immigration, Kathy Hochul, Legal History, Medical History, New York State History Month, Public History, Rensselaer County

4-20: New York State’s Forgotten Birthday

April 5, 2020 by Bruce Dearstyne 3 Comments

New York State’s 243rd Birthday is coming up on April 20.

That is the day that the convention of representatives, an outgrowth of the New York Provincial Congress, approved the first state constitution in 1777, at Kingston. (Some people say the appropriate date is actually two days later, April 22. On that day, the convention’s secretary Robert Benson, read the new constitution aloud to Kingston citizens in front of the court house. In effect, Benson’s dramatic reading proclaimed the new state into existence.) [Read more…] about 4-20: New York State’s Forgotten Birthday

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: American Revolution, AmRev, Constitution, Kingston, Political History

Looking Beyond Our Borders For Good Ideas

November 18, 2019 by Bruce Dearstyne Leave a Comment

New York State MapThis New York history blog continues to be our most important source for initiatives and developments in New York’s history community. The blog brings us news every day on historical programs’ exhibits, presentations, and other public events.

Of course, we have some of the strongest and most dynamic history programs in the nation here in New York, good models for each other and for other states. Sometimes, though, it is useful to look beyond New York for examples of things that are happening elsewhere that can provide suggestions for things our programs might consider doing. [Read more…] about Looking Beyond Our Borders For Good Ideas

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Advocacy, Historic Preservation, Historical Societies, New York State, Public History

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