NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE (Vol. 11, #20; 12 May 2005)
by Bruce Craig (editor) rbcraig@historycoalition.org; and Giny Cheong
(contributor)
NATIONAL COALITION FOR HISTORY (NCH)
Website at http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~nch
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1.  CONCERNS MOUNT OVER NPS REORGANIZATION
2.  COLE/LERNER ADDRESS ACLS IN PHILADELPHIA
3.  CONGRESSIONAL BREAKFAST SEMINAR TO FOCUS ON SOCIAL SECURITY
4.  DECLASSIFICATION BOARD STILL ON A BACK BURNER
5.  BITS AND BYTES:  Bush Library Releases Third Batch of Presidential
Records; Comment Sought on Disposal of Clinton Presidential Records;
ABC-CLIO Encyclopedia; SHA Application Deadline Approaches; Chernow Awarded
$50,000 Book Prize; History Student of the Year Award
6.  ARTICLES OF INTEREST: "D.C. Circuit Narrows Advisory Committee
Openness" (National Security Archives)

1.  CONCERNS MOUNT OVER NPS REORGANIZATION
Following up on last week's posting on the reorganization of the National
Park Service (NPS) Cultural Resources division (see "NPS Restructures
Cultural Resources Function" in NCH WASHINGTON UPDATE, Vol 11, #19; 5 May
2005) on 10 May 2005, the chair of the Society for American Archeology
(SAA) National Historic Landmarks (NHL) Committee resigned in protest over
the removal of Carol Shull as Keeper of the National Register.  According
to NPS insiders, the resignation of Ian W. Brown has the effect of shutting
down the activities of the SAA landmarks committee until a replacement can
be found. The resignation may also impact pending renewal efforts of a
recently expired cooperative agreement between the NPS and the SAA.  Rumors
abound about other possible NHL committee resignations.

Dr. Ian W. Brown, a highly respected University of Alabama Professor of
Anthropology had been involved in the NHL program since 1993 and was one
year into his second four-year term on the National Historical Landmarks
Committee of the National Park System Advisory Board when he announced his
protest resignation.  In a letter to officials, Brown wrote, "Over the
years I have had the pleasure of working with many professional staff
members of the NHL program...The person who has had the greatest impact on
me, who always inspired me to press on when crises developed, is Carol
Shull, former Chief of the NHP program and former Keeper of the National
Register."  Brown continued, "...when I learned last week that Ms. Shull
was publicly chastised, humiliated, and demoted to what is clearly a bogus
job in a made-up office, I must offer my own protest small though it
is...this extremely talented person, a public servant of the highest order,
does not deserve the treatment that she has received and because of this I
cannot in good conscience continue to serve an organization that condones
such behavior.  It is unworthy of the National Park Service."

Brown's resignation is the first in recent memory -- the last resignation
being in the early 1990s when one NHL committee member abruptly resigned to
protest the NPS's handling of the Labor History NHL Theme Study project
that was to recommend possible NHL designations relating to labor activism.

In addition to protesting the treatment Shull has received, Brown stated in
a separate letter that he personally felt "what was happening in the
Cultural Resources Department of the NPS is an absolute disgrace."  Though
Brown's widely circulated letters are resonating in some quarters, other
NPS-watchers view the controversial reorganization (a shake-up that in some
circles is now described as "the May 3 Massacre") is merely as an outward
manifestation of long-standing rivalries between various cultural resource
factions within the NPS.

It is clear that the full impact of the reorganization has yet to be fully
recognized by outside cultural resource constituencies.  NPS insiders
report that one of the ongoing principal concerns of NPS professional staff
is that under Associate Director Janet Matthews, key CRM positions have not
been filled and responsibilities have been re-shuffled between staff with
some "acting chiefs" being placed in positions that they have no interest
in filling, and, in some cases, are not qualified to fill.  Reportedly,
work is "grinding to a halt" and morale is nearly "at an all-time low."

Having heard these and other concerns from NPS insiders even prior to the
announced reorganization, under the umbrella of the National Coalition for
History (NCH), several weeks back representatives of the historical
profession requested a meeting with NPS Director Fran Mainella,
specifically to discuss the filling of the position of key concern to the
historical community -- Chief Historian of the National Park Service which
will soon be vacated by retiring long-time NPS chief historian, Dwight
Pitcaithley.

Last week the request for a meeting with the Director was delegated down to
Matthews.  In a letter responding to the history coalition's request for a
meeting, Matthews indicated that she would not be available to meet until
July.  In response, this week the NCH sent another letter to NPS officials
requesting that a meeting go forward in June; that if Matthews is unable to
attend, Deputy Director Steve Martin or, as indicated in the NCH's first
letter, the Director should meet with historians directly.

2. COLE/LERNER ADDRESS ACLS IN PHILADELPHIA
The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) -- an organization founded
in 1919 to advance humanistic studies in all fields of learning in the
humanities and the social sciences -- met in Philadelphia on 5-7 May
2005.  The key panel discussion -- "The Humanities and Its Publics" -- was
preceded on Friday by a talk from National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH) Chair Bruce Cole.  Later that evening, historian Gerda Lerner was
honored when she delivered the annual Charles Homer Haskins Lecture.

During the traditional Friday luncheon, NEH Chair Bruce Cole was warmly
received by the attendees.  Cole delivered a speech that surveyed the
programs and activities of the NEH and then answered critics who have
expressed concern about the "over emphasis" that the NEH appears to have
placed on American history at the expense of traditional NEH support for
world or comparative history programs.

In his speech Cole announced that the "We the People" program is funded at
over $11 million (the equivalent of a new NEH division) and that it is
expected to "be an ongoing program [that] will strengthen public
understanding of American history in particular and the humanities in
general for a long time to come."  Cole then explained that "the very
success of the "We the People" initiative has "led to some concerns that
the NEH is focused only on pursuing the national story."  Cole discussed a
revived effort by NEH to concentrate on world and comparative history. He
pledged that the NEH will "seek to discover the full human story -- a story
whose setting stretches far beyond our coasts, and indeed, far beyond the
reach of our experience or intuition.  After all, it is impossible to
understand our history or culture without reference to other cultures,
lands and times.  Nations do not emerge from a vacuum; many streams have
flowed into the current of our heritage," said Cole.  The speech is
significant as it represents new overt emphasis within the NEH on education
and public programs about the histories and cultures of other nations.

Following Cole's speech, the afternoon panel entitled "Humanities and It's
Publics" concentrated on what presenter David Marshall, a professor of
English and dean of the humanities and fine arts at the University of
California at Santa Barbara, described as the "misalignment" between the
humanities and the public.  Following the formal panel presentations,
concerns were voiced by the audience about the public's perceptions of the
academic tenure system and of the so-called "Academic Bill of Rights."

Legislation embodying the "Academic Bill of Rights" -- an effort initiated
by former leftist now conservative convert David Horowitz to make
universities "more intellectually diverse and tolerant of
conservatives"  has been introduced in 15 states and the U.S. House of
Representatives (Section 103 of H.R. 609).  Critics, including both the
American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and several
fundamentalist Christian institutions see dangers in these legislative
initiatives.  The AAUP believes that such legislation "invites diversity to
be measured by political standards that diverge from the academic criteria
of the scholarly profession."  Some fundamentalist Christian groups express
a different concern: they fear the establishment of a state requirement
that diverse views must be presented at all educational institutions would
require them to hire "liberal"  teachers who do not reflect their
institutions' beliefs.

In the evening, Gerda Lerner, the Robinson-Edwards Professor of History
Emerita at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, delivered the annual
Charles Homer Haskins lecture.  Lerner's talk, "A Lifetime of Learning"
reflected on her "leftist life in a rightist era." She discussed the irony
of her escape from fascism in Austria only to experience a blacklisted
America.  Lerner wrapped up her talk by tracing her development as a
scholar that enabled her to help give birth to the field of women's
history.  Leaner received a prolonged standing ovation.

3.  CONGRESSIONAL BREAKFAST SEMINAR TO FOCUS ON SOCIAL SECURITY
On 23 May 2005, the National History Center (NHC) will host its second
Congressional breakfast seminar on the topic of the history of Social
Security.  Edward Berkowitz, professor of history, public policy, and
public administration at George Washington University and Alice
Kessler-Harris, the R. Gordon Hoxie professor of American history at
Columbia University will both make presentations with National Coalition
for History Executive Director, Bruce Craig moderating. C-SPAN has been
invited to cover the event.

The session entitled, "Social Security: Historical Perspectives on the
Current 'Crisis'" will be held on Monday, May 23rd, 2005 from 9:30 a.m. to
10:30 a.m. in the Capitol Building House Terrace Room 6, 444 North Capitol
Street, NW Washington, D.C.

Berkowitz, author of "Robert Ball and the Politics of Social Security"
(2003), is Professor of History, and Public Policy and Public
Administration and Director of the Masters program in History and Public
Policy at The George Washington University.  On four occasions, he has also
given invited testimony before Congressional committees concerned with
social welfare policy, in particular Social Security, disability, and
health care.  Kessler-Harris is the author of "In Pursuit of Equity: Women,
Men and the Quest for Economic Citizenship in Twentieth Century America"
(2001), a book that explores the development of such social policies as old
age and unemployment insurance, and equal employment opportunity.  Among
the honors she has won, Kessler-Harris counts fellowships from the John
Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the National
Endowment for the Humanities.

The Congressional Breakfast Seminar Series is sponsored by the National
History Center in cooperation with the American Historical Association, the
National Coalition for History, the Organization of American Historians,
and the Society for American Historians, along with the Congressional
Humanities Caucus.  It is designed to provide historical context of policy
issues currently pending before Congress. Because of Capitol security
procedures and space concerns, individuals who wish to attend must call in
advance to reserve a seat.  Please call 202-544-2422 extension 103 or
e-mail info@nationalhistorycenter.org to reserve a space.

4.  DECLASSIFICATION BOARD STILL ON A BACK BURNER
Recently, a letter by a consortium of 19 government watchdog and advocacy
groups to President George W. Bush and Congress urged immediate approval of
funding for the Public Interest Declassification Board (PIDB). The
nine-member panel was created by Congress in late 2000 to provide advice
and to make recommendations about declassifying government documents.

The White House appointed five members to the board in September 2004 and
Congress chose two of its four members earlier this year.  But neither the
White House nor Congress has yet to provide operating funds for the
board.  William Leonard, the Director of the National Archives and Records
Administration's (NARA) Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO),
estimates that the board needs less than $100,000 -- what he characterized
as "decimal dust" for the Defense Department -- to meet the PIDB's goals
for this year.

Although the PIDB's mandate only allows non-binding recommendations,
watchdog and advocacy groups are generally supportive of the effort to
create the panel that would at least have some say on the expansion of
government secrecy.  The letter states, "The board is important because it
would help identify documents that truly should or should not be
classified. Too much secrecy hinders the operation of the government and
hides problems that often need public disclosure to be remedied."

5.  BITS AND BYTES
Item # 1 -- Bush Library Releases Third Batch of Presidential Records:  On
11 May 2005, the George Bush Presidential Library announced the release of
the third batch of Bush Presidential records, formerly withheld under
provisions of the Presidential Records Act restrictions P-2/P-5. A complete
list of documents can be found at:
http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/releaseddocuments.html

Item # 2 -- Public Comment Sought on Disposal of Clinton Presidential
Records:  On 3 May 2005, the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA) announced through a Federal Register posting the proposed disposal
of select Clinton Administration backup tapes containing what is
characterized as "redundant' information.  NARA's Office of Presidential
Libraries seeks comments on whether the backup tapes created by the White
House Communications Agency staff indeed do lack continuing administrative,
historical, informational, or evidentiary value. Comments are due 17 June
2005.  For additional information, please refer to the Federal Register
online notice
at:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-8765.htm
.

Item # 3 -- ABC-CLIO Encyclopedia:  The firm ABC-CLIO has announced the
development of a comprehensive 21-volume Encyclopedia of World
History.  A.J. Andrea from the University of Vermont will serve as general
editor.  The publisher seeks interested scholars writing from a world
perspective on major themes to bring a balanced and engaging view of the
human experience.  If interested in contributing, email a brief curriculum
vita with preferred regions, topics, and times periods to the project
editor, Carolyn Neel, at cneel@abc-clio.com .

Item # 4 -- SHA Application Deadline Approaches:  The 2005 Seminar for
Historical Administration (SHA) deadline for applications is 20 May 2005.
The three-week professional development seminar will be hosted by the
Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis and held from 29 October to 19
November. The AASLH, AAM, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Indiana
Historical Society, the National Park Service, and National Trust for
Historic Preservation sponsor the event. For more information, visit the
AASLH online at http://www.aaslh.org/histadmin.htm .

Item # 5 -- Chernow Awarded $50,000 Book Prize:  Historian Ron Chernow has
received the inaugural $50,000 George Washington Book Prize that was
presented to him by officials of Washington's Mount Vernon estate for his
best-selling biography "Alexander Hamilton."  The prize is the nation's
largest literary prize for Early American history seeks to recognize books
about the nation's first president or founding era.

Item # 6 -- History Student of the Year Award:  On 3 May 2005, the National
History Club and George Washington's Mount Vernon announced the first
annual "History Student of the Year" awards given to one student in each of
the 160 chapters of the National History Club.  Each recipient received a
signed copy of "Washington's Crossing" by David Hackett Fischer with a
bookplate of recognition. The National History Club promotes the reading,
writing, discussion, and enjoyment of history in secondary students and
their teachers. It now has chapters in thirty-six states and over 4,600
students. For more information, visit http://www.tcr.org.

6.  ARTICLES OF INTEREST
One posting this week:  On 10 May 2005, a federal appeals court in
Washington dismissed a lawsuit brought to force Vice-President Cheney to
turn over records of private meetings held in his office in 2001 by the
National Energy Development Group (NEPDG) -- an advisory group composed
largely of business interests that ultimately shaped the administration's
energy policy. The ruling is a victory for the Bush White House, and,
according to the Federation of American Scientist's Steven Aftergood, "a
new constraint on open government."  For an analysis of the ruling by the
National Security Archives, tap into the report "D.C. Circuit Narrows
Advisory Committee Openness" at:
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20050510/index.htm .


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