We live in the digital age. You can try to deny it, but I know you bought those books on Amazon. And don’t even try telling me those shoes weren’t delivered straight to your door from Zappos, or that you magically remembered the name of that actor from the obscure 1950’s movie that somehow came up during dinner and was driving everybody crazy. (But really, where would we all be without IMDb?)
I think most people probably would agree that one of the greatest things the Internet has done is to make learning easy and accessible to everyone. With virtually all of the information in the world at your fingertips, it’s easier than ever before to research almost anything you can think of without ever leaving your home/couch/bed; and what’s better than midnight web-surfing and stumbling upon a YouTube video teaching step-by-step procedures for how to properly bottle feed a baby chipmunk? That’s right. Nothing.
But squirrels and virtual guitar lessons aside, there’s one subject in particular that is relevant to absolutely everyone on this planet, of every age and every heritage, and all you need to learn about it is a little curiosity and some decent Wi-Fi.
History binds us all on our most basic level as human beings. It can connect us in endless ways—from shared familial pasts, to the neighbors you grew up with down the street, and often even to Kevin Bacon. History is about shared experience, because even something that had nothing to do with you personally and happened over one hundred years ago still affects the world you live in today, and therefore still affects you.
The year 2015 marks 150 years since the end of the Civil War. In honor of this sesquicentennial, the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) is in the process of making its newspapers from that era available online. Exploring these relics of the past is remarkable because you never know what jewels you’re going to find.
Case in point: the February 20, 1861, edition of The Tuscaloosa Observer. I didn’t even have to look hard for this one—it was on the front page.
The Fall of Yankee Doodle.
Yankee Doodle took a saw
With patriot devotion
To trim the tree of Liberty
According to his notion.
CHORUS—Yankee Doodle yankee day
Yankee doodle dandy
We’ll throw the Yankee all alway,
And keep the doodle Dandy.
Yankee Doodle on a limb
Like another noodle
Cut between the tree and him
And down came Yankee Doodle
CHORUS—Yankee Doodle all so trim,
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
We’ll spare the Yankee and the limb,
And whistle Doodle Dandy.
Yankee Doodle broke his neck
Every bone about him
And then the tree of Liberty
Did very well without him.
CHORUS—Yankee Doodle—ugly elf
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
We’ll keep the tune but not yourself,
Yankee Doodle Dandy.
To explore other Alabama Civil War newspapers from this collection, and find hidden jewels of your own, follow this link:
http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/landingpage/collection/cwnp
But squirrels and virtual guitar lessons aside, there’s one subject in particular that is relevant to absolutely everyone on this planet, of every age and every heritage, and all you need to learn about it is a little curiosity and some decent Wi-Fi.
History binds us all on our most basic level as human beings. It can connect us in endless ways—from shared familial pasts, to the neighbors you grew up with down the street, and often even to Kevin Bacon. History is about shared experience, because even something that had nothing to do with you personally and happened over one hundred years ago still affects the world you live in today, and therefore still affects you.
The year 2015 marks 150 years since the end of the Civil War. In honor of this sesquicentennial, the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) is in the process of making its newspapers from that era available online. Exploring these relics of the past is remarkable because you never know what jewels you’re going to find.
Case in point: the February 20, 1861, edition of The Tuscaloosa Observer. I didn’t even have to look hard for this one—it was on the front page.
The Fall of Yankee Doodle.
Yankee Doodle took a saw
With patriot devotion
To trim the tree of Liberty
According to his notion.
CHORUS—Yankee Doodle yankee day
Yankee doodle dandy
We’ll throw the Yankee all alway,
And keep the doodle Dandy.
Yankee Doodle on a limb
Like another noodle
Cut between the tree and him
And down came Yankee Doodle
CHORUS—Yankee Doodle all so trim,
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
We’ll spare the Yankee and the limb,
And whistle Doodle Dandy.
Yankee Doodle broke his neck
Every bone about him
And then the tree of Liberty
Did very well without him.
CHORUS—Yankee Doodle—ugly elf
Yankee Doodle Dandy,
We’ll keep the tune but not yourself,
Yankee Doodle Dandy.
To explore other Alabama Civil War newspapers from this collection, and find hidden jewels of your own, follow this link:
http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/landingpage/collection/cwnp
Caroline Morrison (Mill Valley, California)
Caroline Morrison is a senior at the University of Alabama, majoring in English and minoring in creative writing. She was born and raised across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco in Marin County, and despite having maternal roots in the Heart of Dixie still feels ambivalent about her attempts at properly pulling off a well-placed “bless her heart.” She is usually an excellent baker and a mostly terrible cook, and above all else a writer who believes in middle of the night great ideas and the power of storytelling strong enough to make even her generation look up from their phones.
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