The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957 Page: 382
616 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
torians are active in research, publication, and teaching. I do not
know that everything we are doing is good. I sometimes wonder
about the quality of our work. Perhaps it is better that judgment
upon our work be left to the next generation. But I can report
that the study of history is thriving.
As I read letters from historians, see historians, see historians
in my office; as I travel about I hear and see many of them, I, of
course, hear many different opinions. Some of us think that the
study of history is not receiving as much attention as it deserves.
All of us agree that historians do not receive as much monetary
reward for our work and publication as we deserve. I hear, too,
that historical study is not as scientific as it should be, and that
history teaching is uninspired, too often consists of little but
names and dates. Last winter I debated a prominent novelist who
declared the teaching of history in the United States to be "lousy."
How true or false some of these opinions are there is no knowing.
But the evidence seems to point to a keen interest in history. Wit-
ness this gathering here today. Witness the vast number of stu-
dents enrolling in history courses in the schools, colleges, and
universities, the many historical journals published, the growth
of historical societies like this one, the many meetings of his-
torians like this one and the vigor and variety of their discussions.
College enrollments in history in the spring of 1954 totaled
448,000. The seventy American universities giving doctoral work
in history are producing about 3goo0 Ph.D.'s in history each year.
Over two and a half million students are enrolled in history
courses in the high schools. Every state, like Texas with its fine
Southwestern Historical Quarterly, now has one or more historical
journals and there are several national journals of high quality
such as the American Historical Review, the Mississippi Valley
Historical Review, the Journal of Southern History, the Journal
of Modern History, and the William and Mary Quarterly. The
American Historical Review is perhaps now the most universal in
coverage of all historical journals. Historical societies exist,
sprout, grow throughout the states. I cannot precisely state how
many there are but there are hundreds, and more every year.
Each of these societies, like the Texas State Historical Associa-
tion, usually has one or more meetings like this one every year882
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 60, July 1956 - April, 1957, periodical, 1957; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101163/m1/411/?rotate=270: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.