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Freedmen and Southern Society Project

In a discussion group focused on John Dewey, we’ve been reading Eddie S. Glaude, Jr’s 2007 book, In a shade of blue: Pragmatism and the politics of Black America. It’s an excellent application of Deweyan pragmatism to the current challenges facing African Americans today.

Last week, we discussed Glaude’s chapters 3 and 4, including a section on Ira Berlin (pp. 99-105). What Glaude has to say about Berlin was fine on its own, but it seems abstract and narrowly focused on only one, albeit important, issue: forced conversion to Christianity.

Freedmen and Southern Society Project

Glaude missed a great opportunity to talk about the Freedmen and Southern Society Project (FSSP). Leslie Rowland and Ira Berlin started the FSSP in 1976.

A central aim of the project was edit a documentary history of the transition from slavery to freedom in the US South. The documents include letters, affidavits, testimony, reports, petitions, legal proceedings, and other material by slaves and former slaves, slaveholders and former slaveholders, military officers and soldiers, agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau, and other participants in the drama of emancipation. The project built a social history of emancipation during the time when four million people gained their freedom (paraphrasing text from FSSP).

Pragmatism as a tool for inquiry

In contrast to the section in Glaude’s book, the FSSP offers an amazingly comprehensive look at slavery in the US, Emancipation, Reconstruction, and the after-effects. It documents the experience through the words of slaves and ex-slaves themselves, as well as others, making a compelling case for Glaude’s theory of African-American agency in a time of unconscionable institutional oppression.

Along the way, though probably without intending to do so, FSSP demonstrates Glaude’s goal of showing the value of Deweyan pragmatism—considering the whole situation and grounding conclusions in ordinary experience.

Additional reading

Note that four volumes for general readers and classroom use have also been published by the Project:

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After the storm

Wellfleet experienced a devastating storm in February this year. We’re still coping with the aftermath, including fallen trees everywhere.

You can see a sample of the destruction below. We saw these on a walk near Slough Pond to the house of Marcel Breuer, which was recently restored by the Cape Cod Modern House Trust. The house itself came through unscathed.

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America Last: The destruction of our country

The buffoon pretending to lead our Nation adopted “America First” as a slogan for his foreign policy.

A focus on nationalism and economic protectionism?

“America First” emphasizes the current focus on nationalism and economic protectionism. It also draws on a long history, including that of the nativist American Party, Woodrow Wilson’s attempt during WWI to define the loyalty of immigrant communities, Warren G. Harding’s focus on isolationism and protectionism, and the isolationism promoted by “America First Committee” during WWII. The Ku Klux Klan also adopted the slogan.

DJT has managed to retain all of the negative aspects of “America First.” He has destroyed foreign alliances and instigated wars in ways that hurt, not help, the US. He’s taken away health care and labor rights; he’s attacked immigrants who keep the country going; he’s damaged democracy, our courts and legislatures; he’s celebrated corruption at all levels; and he’s destroyed our natural environment.

In an alternate history, one could imagine America First calling on us to address problems at home. It might suggest acting so as to benefit the US over other countries, in a selfish, but at least understandable way. That is not what’s happening.

Mining in the BWCA

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) wilderness in northern Minnesota is an international treasure whose value cannot be measured in conventional economic terms. It’s part of a huge wilderness area spanning Canada and the US. There are thousands of lakes and streams, Indian pictographs, diverse species of plants and animals, dark skies with views of the Milky Way and the Aurora Borealis. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that it supports 17,000 jobs and over $1Bin economic activity each year.

The US Senate, with DJT’s support, passed House Joint Resolution 140 this week. The vote permits mining near and upstream of the BWCA. The end of the ban opens the door for Twin Metals Minnesota, a Chilean mining operator, to move forward with a long-planned copper-nickel sulfide project near Birch Lake, within the watershed of the Boundary Waters. The copper mined there will most likely be sold to China. Wikipedia has a good summary of the issues around the plans to build the mine.

America Last

Less than a year ago, I posted (Permanent destruction of a precious wilderness) about this possibility. If there were any positive meaning to “America First” it would be that we should seek to preserve precious wilderness rather than sell it off to DJT’s billionaire buddy, Jean-Paul Luksic Fontbona, chairman of Antofagasta PLC.

The values, needs, and opinions of ordinary Americans no longer seem to matter. While maintaining all of the noxious aspects of America First, DJT has managed to turn it on its head, effectively implementing America Last.

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Democratic Education: Finding Hope in Challenging Times

My latest book has just been published. It’s Democratic Education: Finding Hope in Challenging Times.

Here’a an excerpt:

This book opens with a quote from John Dewey’s 1938 essay, “Democracy and Education in the World of Today.” In that essay, Dewey calls on us to educate “the youth of the country in freedom for participation in a free society.” He points out that the “anti-democratic states of Europe … take seriously the formation of the thoughts and minds and characters of their population for their aims and ideals.” The same could be said of anti-democratic forces within the United States today. They take seriously, and act, by taking over school boards, regimenting curricula, banning books from school libraries, and even working to fire individual teachers. They operate at multiple levels, from the individual classroom to national test services and educational publishers.

The political action occurs through multiple forms of schooling as well. The charter school movement began as a better way to meet the needs of low-income and minority students, specifically as an alternative to troubled urban schools. It is becoming essentially a mechanism to provide public funding for private schools, often representing residential segregation by class and race. Private and religious schools, which often promote only limited democracy, are flourishing, promoting ideologies that may afford little opportunity for democratic education. The concerted effort to promote anti-democratic ideology also occurs through the public schools, which have become a political battleground as different sides vie to select or control superintendents, curriculum developers, and local curricula. It occurs through informal education, such as 4-H, scouts, museums, and libraries. And, it occurs through colleges and universities, which increasingly are under fire for their programs and how they deal with freedom of speech.

All too often, advocates of democracy fail to, as Dewey advocates, “take as seriously the preparation of the members of our society for the duties and responsibilities of democracy.” Their focus is on national or state politics, not the painstaking work of local democracy. Even at the national level, education seems less urgent than many other issues. But urgency is not the same as importance. As parents know, young people move ever so rapidly into adulthood, with jobs, families, and civic engagement, including voting. Moreover, in the long run, democracy can only be maintained by the young, not by laws, rules, regulations, amendments, hard-fought court appointments, Presidents, or other mechanisms. If we want to keep democracy we must keep democratic education.

In a landmark legal case, a precursor to Watergate, Judge Damon Keith ruled that the Government could not wiretap U.S. citizens without a warrant. He famously wrote, “Democracies die behind closed doors.” In just five words, Keith captured an essential aspect of democratic education: A democracy requires that citizens not be kept in the dark. Education can illuminate that space. The Washington Post adapted Keith’s saying for its motto: “Democracy dies in darkness.”

Democracy is the means to practice intelligent moral inquiry together, bringing light, and seeking solutions to common problems. It enables democratic education while requiring democratic education as its foundation. That education is training for communal life, a democratic way of living. It enables democracy while being dependent upon it. Thus, democracy and democratic education reinforce and shape one another; they are mutually constituted. Even in the darkest times, we can work to make them stronger.

Learning is fundamental to our humanity. It occurs beyond the formal classroom—in the workplace, in the home, online, in libraries and museums. It is essential to our enterprises, whether political, social, or intellectual. There is no reasonable way to separate discussion of democracy from education. We need critical, focused, and compassionate understanding of education, not quibbles about mechanical procedures. That highlights the importance of democratic ed-u cation, especially education with democracy, in which students learn democracy through their work on democratic practice.

Announcements, Reviews

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Storm visions

It’s difficult to capture the feel of the Blizzards of 2026 in a few photos.

There are now hundreds of trucks here, many brought in from other states. There are trucks to plow snow, to restore cable (=internet) service, to repair electric lines. All of the local motels are fully booked with workers, coming from Western Mass, Indiana, and other far-flung places. Local oil and propane companies are stretched thin as customers call to get their heat, well water, and cooking restored.

Tree wells; this one reached dangerous proportions later on
Our driveway
A view out one window showing a rain chain and a Japanese maple covered in snow
Down the hill behind our house
Our deck, with soft snow pillows
Top of our driveway; note the street sign
Downed power, cable, and telephone lines everywhere
Suprising number of pine trees down or with lost branches
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Warming center

The Blizzards of 2026 started for us around January 25.

From inconvenience to danger

We’ve experienced several feet of snow and near-hurricane force winds. That’s led to power outage, loss of internet and cell connectivity, downed trees and fences, impassable driveway and roads, and other problems. 

We have a wood stove and plenty of firewood, plus a propane-powered generator that keeps some essential services going, such as the well pump. But others are not so fortunate. An acquaintance is home bound with a terminal illness. His visiting nurse can’t get to him because the roads are blocked.

In our case, a small problem has been that we couldn’t call for help because our cell service went from feeble to non-existent and the internet connection was out. 

The local superette is one of the few places open with food. They have no power, so shopping means to walk around with a flashlight to find something edible. We bag the item and write down its price in a notebook, On checkout, we report what we find. There’s no working cash register or scanner. Transactions are cash only.

Eastham Public Library

Enter the warming center

One bright spot in all of this are the warming centers. We enjoyed one at the Eastham library. It’s yet another reminder of the wonderful things that a library can do. It meets community needs and is open to everyone,

In the Eastham center, there’s plenty of water, hot coffee, and half & half. Library staff brought in food–green salad, turkey salad, and pizza. There are newspapers and power chargers. A couple are working on jigsaw puzzles. A parent is playing cards with a seven year-old. People see old friends and acquaintances. They learn about weather, road conditions, and specialty health services.

Other warming centers are at churches, the fire department, the high school, and other public places (with generators). Some have cots and blankets.

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Mosquitoes

Aedes aegypti, the main vector of yellow fever (Wikipedia)

The Guardian has a recent article: Good news for Trump before midterms: he’s still more popular than cockroaches.

A YouGov poll had asked Americans about their least favorite insects (or small arthropods). 86% had a “very or somewhat negative” reaction to mosquitoes; cockroaches, 84%; wasps, 76%.

Trump’s disapproval rating is currently 61%, meaning that he’s not as unpopular as wasps, cockroaches, and mosquitoes, but is disliked more than spiders (57%) and ants (52%).

Mosquitoes in our ecosystem

I was saddened to see mosquitoes being judged less popular than Trump. Unlike Trump, they serve essential ecological roles, being a major food source for fish, aquatic insects such as dragonflies, and birds. Adult mosquitoes are eaten by bats, spiders, birds, and dragonflies.

Both male and female mosquitoes feed on flower nectar, serving as pollinators for many plant species. Larval mosquitoes live in water and consume organic matter, such as detritus, leaves, and microbes, which helps filter the water and break down nutrients.

While mosquitoes do transmit diseases such as malaria, Zika, and dengue, only a small percentage of the 3,500+ species feed on humans. As a result of that small percentage, over 120 people die from West Nile virus each year in the US. During a year I spent in Paris, I was unable to donate blood for a month because of fear that I might bring that virus from the US. Deaths from other mosquito-borne diseases are rare, but do happen, and are of course tragic for individuals and families. These are serious concerns.

Bottom line

In comparison, looking just at health, Trump’s significant cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, could result in not a few, but over 50,000 preventable deaths annually. One study estimates over 14 million additional deaths by 2030 due to the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development and millions more due to other cuts to global health programs.

So, while mosquitoes can be annoying, and even dangerous, I hardly think they are more deserving of disapproval than Trump. The same could be said for cockroaches and wasps.

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Happy birthday, ENIAC

There are two epochs in computer history: Before ENIAC and After ENIAC. The first practical, all-electronic computer was unveiled on Feb. 14, 1946, at the U. of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electronics. ––Alexander Randall 5th

ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was a programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer. It was the first to have all of these features in a generally useable machine.

The photo shows four mathematicians/programmers for ENIAC, from L to R, Patsy Simmers (ENIAC), Gail Taylor (EDVAC), Milly Beck (ORDVAC), and Norma Stec (BRLESC-I). The original “computers,” also women, were soon to be replaced by an electronic computer.

The women in the photo above are holding circuit boards from the first four Army electronic computers, illustrating the rapid evolution and miniaturization of computing technology. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

ENIAC’s 80th birthday is significant to me because it comes during a year when most of my classmates are also turning 80. We’ve shaped and been shaped by the digital world that ENIAC helped to spawn.

It’s appalling to see how that digital world is being used to oppress ordinary people. Regimes from Teheran to Washington, DC are using the technologies of ENIAC’s spawn to spy upon, categorize, track down, deport, and otherwise persecute people who are simply asserting their rights, or often just quietly trying to live their lives.

References

“ENIAC,” Wikipedia, February 6, 2026.

Scott McCartney, ENIAC: The Triumphs and Tragedies of the World’s First Computer, Berkley, 2001).

Alexander Randall 5th, “Q&A: A Lost Interview with ENIAC Co-Inventor J. Presper Eckert,” Computer World, February 14, 2006.

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The snow pile is happy

The 12 foot high snow pile at the top of our driveway plans to stay there for the foreseeable future. S/he seems quite happy with this arrangement.

A series of snow falls (the Blizzards of 2026) and steady low temps has kept life more interesting than we might like this winter. Early on, a large snow plow truck got stuck close to where the gleeful snow pile sits now. It had to be towed out. A neighbor with a snow blower couldn’t help because the snow blower broke down. Another helper had his plow blade break. Shovels were useless with this volume of snow.

Various people had trucks and plows––a guy who delivers firewood, someone at an excavation company, a landscaper––but they were all already overcommitted. Our usual strategy, to rely on our Forester with all-wheel drive, doesn’t work when the snow gets above 6 inches. That’s especially true for going up a steep driveway.

There were other effects. Three of the five therapists at my PT clinic fell on the ice and hurt themselves. Those are the professionals dedicated to improving our strength and balance! Susan’s eye surgery took longer than scheduled because an accident on the canal bridge made the doctors wait over an hour to get to the Cape.

But, as I said, the snow pile seems quite pleased.

And I’ve enjoyed the sledding, using either a kids’ sled or a beach boogie board.

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The Wanderer

The Wanderer

My son Stephen has recently completed a fascinating, and at times daunting project. It’s a translation, with an Introduction to a work by Alexander Veltman, The Wanderer: A Novel, written in 1831-32. Northwestern University Press is the publisher.

As Stephen says, Veltman aims at a kind of truth, “about how we tell stories, understand history, and perceive the world through our imagination.”

The book is “striking in its use of intertextuality and fictional devices that are more familiar to readers of postmodernist fiction today. He mixes prose, poetry, and drama.” It uses multiple languages, making it a challenge for any translator. That may partly explain why it has not been translated into English for nearly two centuries.

Stephen ends it’s his introduction with a recommendation for the modern reader:

Emulating Veltman, I will end this introduction by addressing the reader directly. I encourage you to jump into Veltman’s narrative. Navigate the text as you wish, moving forward or backward, as seems to have been the authors intent. This work is a call to active and inquisitive readers, inviting you to join Veltman on his imaginative odyssey and engage, even if fictionally, in a dialogue with the author. Through my translation and commentary I have inevitably added my own layer of interpretation. Now it is your turn to explore this rich and complex work,