Well, my questions are coming along nicely but more is going through my mind. I feel it is important to develop a good working bibliography of the available/known source. Not as easy as it sounds. Since the focus of this project will be loyalty and its impact upon these two men before, during, and after the war, I am off to find sources on loyalty during the Civil War. I will then be able to review the literature and determine what others have said about the topic. This is sometimes called “status quaestionis”, the state of the question. I started developing questions around various aspects of the project: Loyalty, DMA, The Robinette & Lincoln families, and Henry & James themselves. Once I am closer to a good draft of questions I will post them here.
My students at AMU have been discussing the issue of loyalty . Here is what some of them had to say:
"The type of loyalty and the strength of it seem to be based upon that of the individual displaying it. It can be fickle or can be devoted with zealousness."
"We have seen political loyalties, whether they are tied to ideological ideas such as states rights or to the political parties themselves because of who they feel has their best interest in mind. Then there are loyalties to families, tribes, religious view points, traditions, or cultural similarities. Loyalties can often times be broken or thrown to the wayside because of perceived injustices or because individuals loyalties clash and one loyalty rules out the other. We read much about disenfranchised political party members flocking to the other side over policies. And who among us can say they don't have multiple loyalties?"
"Loyalty in this chapter was a little confusing. The American repeatedly said they did not want war but that's exactly what they were preparing for. When I think of loyalty my first thought is trust. You can recite the definition all day long but maybe it's not that black and white. When it comes down to it, maybe there are other factors to your "loyalty" that drives you from that trust."
"Loyalty pertains to every day life. Family, friends, job, church. Bearing true faith and allegiance, supporting, defending, trusting, believing in another. Without question, without hesitation, loyalty is kind of like unconditional love. You will be there no matter what."
" Loyalty should be defined in as many ways as it can be used. There are many uses for loyalty and many definitions as it differs from person to person. Immigrants became loyal to the bosses assisting them with jobs, medical aid, food, blankets, and housing. Slaves and ex slaves saw loyalty in a different light than wealthy plantation owners. Loyalties played a big part in the founding of the country, from protecting those in the original communities, to casting votes in much later elections. Loyalty applies to the area of study by showing how this particular subject forms governments, wealth and power, and cultures. Loyalty filled government jobs, paid salaries, and kept powerful men in powerful positions."
"A lot of history is shrouded in a fog of loyalty"
"Loyalty is something that is learned at a young age and stays with you throughout your life. It may change several times; loyalties to political parties change after controversies; loyalties to countries change after wars; loyalties to family change after crisis. I do not believe loyalty should be blind."
"Loyalty can be overrated to an extent."
A final thought does Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. ring a bell?
Is it possible that there is a connection between our current VP and Henry Clay Robinette?
Keep History Alive!
