Since Indiana joined the Union in 1816, residents and visitors alike have pondered the essential question: "What is a Hoosier?" The final answer may never be determined, but there are, at least, ways to understand the Hoosier character. It was African American pilots taking a stand for equal rights. It was a speech by a presidential candidate that helped keep peace on a tragic night. It was the triumph and near tragedy involving a Mercury Seven astronaut. And it was a sacrifice that ensured a crucial American victory in the Pacific during World War II. As Kurt Vonnegut once said, "I don't know what it is about Hoosiers, but wherever you go there is always a Hoosier doing something very important there." Award-winning biographer Ray E. Boomhower tells us why.
The story of this Midwestern state and its people, past and present: “An entertaining and fast read.” ―Indianapolis Star Who are the people called Hoosiers? What are their stories? Two centuries ago, on the Indiana frontier, they were settlers who created a way of life they passed to later generations. They came to value individual freedom and distrusted government, even as they demanded that government remove Indians, sell them land, and bring democracy. Down to the present, Hoosiers have remained wary of government power and have taken care to guard their tax dollars and their personal independence. Yet the people of Indiana have always accommodated change, exchanging log cabins and spinning wheels for railroads, cities, and factories in the nineteenth century, automobiles, suburbs, and foreign investment in the twentieth. The present has brought new issues and challenges, as Indiana’s citizens respond to a rapidly changing world. James H. Madison’s sparkling new history tells the stories of these Hoosiers, offering an invigorating view of one of America’s distinctive states and the long and fascinating journey of its people.
“Lots of people have dreams, but C. Vivian Stringer is the dream—a coalminer’s daughter who believed when her Poppa told her there was no obstacle she could not surmount. And she lives that dream, teaching others to rise up to meet challenges, turning underdogs into champions again and again—on and off the court. This is the quintessential American story, of a woman and of a family pulling together against the odds. Standing Tall offers an important message of hope to so many.” —John Chaney, Hall of Fame college basketball coach At a time when heroes are too rare, C. Vivian Stringer sets a shining example. She has time and again shown character, fortitude, and heart, both on and off the hardwood, and in the face of unbearable loss. In Standing Tall, she shares her remarkable life story, inspiring us to find this fortitude within ourselves. “Work hard, and don’t look for excuses,” Stringer’s parents told her, “and you can achieve anything.” But her faith and perseverance would be tested many times. A gifted athlete, she had to fight for a place on an all-white cheerleading squad in the sixties. In 1981, just as her coaching career was taking off, her fourteen-month-old daughter, Nina, was stricken with spinal meningitis. Nina would never walk or talk again. Still grieving, Stringer brought a small, poor, historically black college to the national championships—a triumph hailed as “Hoosiers with an all-female cast.” In 1991, her husband, Bill—her staunchest supporter, the father of her children, and the love of her life—fell dead of a sudden heart attack, but that same year, she led yet another young team to the Final Four. Through these dark times and others—including her bout with cancer, shared here for the first time—Stringer has carried her burdens with grace. Given her history, it was no surprise that she led her team to respond to Don Imus’s slurs with dignity and courage. Standing Tall is a story of quiet strength in the face of punishing odds. Above all, it is an extraordinary love story—love for the game, for the players she has coached, for her close-knit family, and for the husband she lost far too soon. It will resonate long after the last page.
"Enough To Make Angels Weep" takes an objective, in-depth look at the Civil War service history of the Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, a regiment originally raised from local militia groups in counties across southern Indiana in 1861. This narrative focuses specifically upon the activities of the common "western" soldier within the Thirty-eighth's ranks, including camp life, adventures on the march, and the extreme hardships they suffered during active campaigns. Nicknamed "the double-backboned Hoosiers" in early 1862 because of their ability to endure long, arduous marches, the men of the Thirty-eighth Indiana also participated in some of the most vicious and bloody battles and campaigns of the Civil War's western theatre. From the carnage wrought upon the rolling hills north of Perryville, KY in October 1862 to General William T. Sherman's decisive onslaught through the deep South in 1864-65 during the battles for Atlanta, the March to the Sea, and the Carolinas Campaign, the fighting spirit and determination of the Thirty-eighth Indiana endured, despite the regiment leaving its honored dead in 10 states spanning 33 different skirmishes and major engagements. The resilience and fortitude of these men, most straight from the farm fields of southern Indiana, clearly resonates to the reader as this narrative follows their transition from shiny, new recruits at the outbreak of war to grizzled, hardened veterans by wars' end. Many years of genealogical research by the author culminates into a detailed soldier bio section at the end of the narrative as well, providing detailed glimpses into the pre- and post-war lives of nearly three-quarters of the regiments' 1,715 veterans.
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record began publication in 1873. Debates for sessions prior to 1873 are recorded in The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (1789-1824), the Register of Debates in Congress (1824-1837), and the Congressional Globe (1833-1873)
Across the country, in the middle of busy city squares and hidden on quiet streets, there are nearly 200 statues erected in memory of Abraham Lincoln. No other American has ever been so widely commemorated. A few years ago, anticipating the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth in 2009, Jim Percoco, a history teacher with a passion for both Lincoln and public sculpture, set off to see what he might learn about some of these monuments--what they meant when they were unveiled, and what they mean to us today. The result is this captivating book, a fascinating chronicle of four summers on the road looking for Lincoln stories in statues of marble and bronze. Of all the monuments, Percoco selects seven emblematic ones. He begins and ends the journey in Washington, starting with Thomas Ball's Emancipation Group, erected east of the Capitol in 1876 with private funds from African Americans, and dedicated by Frederick Douglass. Here, Percoco and his multi-ethnic band of teenage historians explore the impact of this Freedman's Monument showing Lincoln and a kneeling freed bondsperson. What does the statute say about race and freedom to today's Americans? What did Ball--and his sponsors--want it to say? From Augustus Saint-Gaudens's majestic Standing Lincoln of 1887 in Chicago, which helped move our image of Lincoln from great emancipator to that of statesman to Paul Manship's 1932 Lincoln the Hoosier Youth, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which glows with an art deco sleekness, Percoco mines a wealth of Lincoln legacies--and our reactions to them expressed across generations. Here are controversial gems like Barnard's 1917 tribute in Cincinnati and Borglum's Seated Lincoln, struggling with the pain of leadership, beckoning visitors to sit next to him on his metal bench in Newark, New Jersey. At each stop, Percoco chronicles the history of each monument, spotlighting its artistic, social, political, and cultural origins. His descriptions of works so often seen as clichés tease fresh meaning from mute stone and cold metal--raising provocative questions not just about who Lincoln might have been, but also about what we've wanted him to be in the monuments we've built.
For educators, practitioners, researchers, and everyone striving for personal growth and a fulfilling life! This completely revised edition of a classic in the field provides a unique way to learn about positive psychology and what is right and best about human beings. Positive Psychology at the Movies now reviews nearly 1,500 movies, includes dozens of evocative film images, and is replete with practical aids to learning. Positive psychology is one of the most important modern developments in psychology. Films brilliantly illustrate character strengths and other positive psychology concepts and inspire new ways of thinking about human potential. Positive Psychology at the Movies uses movies to introduce the latest research, practices, and concepts in this field of psychology. This book systematically discusses each of the 24 character strengths, balancing film discussion, related psychological research, and practical applications. Practical resources include a syllabus for a positive psychology course using movies, films suitable for children, adolescents, and families, and questions likely to inspire classroom and therapy discussions. Positive Psychology at the Movies was written for educators, students, practitioners, and researchers, but anyone who loves movies and wants to change his or her life will find it inspiring and relevant. Watching the movies recommended in this book will help the reader practice the skill of strengths-spotting in themselves and others and support personal growth and self-improvement. Read this book to learn more about positive psychology – and watch these films to become a better person!
Hope is hard to come by in the hard-luck town of Willow Creek. Sam Pickett and five young men are about to change that. Sam Pickett never expected to settle in this dried-up shell of a town on the western edge of the world. He's come here to hide from the violence and madness that have shattered his life, but what he finds is what he least expects. There's a spirit that endures in Willow Creek, Montana. It seems that every inhabitant of this forgotten outpost has a story, a reason for taking a detour to this place--or a reason for staying. As the coach of the hapless high school basketball team (zero wins, ninety-three losses), Sam can't help but be moved by the bravery he witnesses in the everyday lives of people--including his own young players--bearing their sorrows and broken dreams. How do they carry on, believing in a future that seems to be based on the flimsiest of promises? Drawing on the strength of the boys on the team, sharing the hope they display despite insurmountable odds, Sam finally begins to see a future worth living. Author Stanley Gordon West has filled the town of Willow Creek with characters so vividly cast that they become real as relatives, and their stories--so full of humor and passion, loss and determination--illuminate a path into the human heart.
