Department of History

History provides windows to the world and to the human psyche.  Clio, the muse of History, opens those windows to reveal vistas of the past that help us understand former times, places, and peoples as well as our own.

The study of History:

• enriches those who undertake it
• provides them with skills that they will find invaluable - to think critically, to write with authority, and to understand broadly

As James M. McPherson, a preeminent scholar of the Civil War, has written, history is “a continuing dialogue between the present and the past.”  Because of that, History is not just one written record but also an on-going analysis of many records. It is a challenge to do History well, but it's intriguing and, yes, it can even be fun.

This Month in History

Month: MAY

May 14, 1804
Lewis and Clark Depart

"One year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Even before the U.S. government concluded purchase negotiations with France, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his private secretary Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an army captain, to lead an expedition into what is now the U.S. Northwest. On May 14, the 'Corps of Discovery'--featuring approximately 45 men (although only an approximate 33 men would make the full journey)--left St. Louis for the American interior." -History.com (Learn more.)