For many teachers, particularly Reserve’s devoted faculty, summertime brings gainful rest and reprieve, as well as the time and energy to sink their teeth into the subject matter and research that they so love to teach. We congratulate Dr. Erik Chaput, who has recently been twice published in the online historic publications Newport History and Commonplace.
Both articles were authored by Dr. Chaput and independent scholar and author Russell J. DeSimone. The first article, titled “George T. Downing and the ‘Fraternal Unity of Man’: The Battle for an Abolition Democracy in Nineteenth-Century America” pulls from multiple sources, studying the role and impact of Newport entrepreneur George T. Downing in the fight for abolition and racial justice. If you are a subscriber to the journal, we encourage you to read through this impressive work.
Shortly after sharing his good news, we received word that Dr. Chaput and DeSimone published again, this time in Commonplace — an online publication described as “a bit less formal than a scholarly journal, a bit more scholarly than a popular magazine.” Titled “Expanding the Boundaries of Reconstruction: Abolitionist Democracy from 1865-1919,” this article examines the findings of historian Manisha Sinha, who researched the efforts of Downing and other reformers during Reconstruction, who sought to expand the scope of American democracy post-Civil War. Her narrative also provides insights into how Southern efforts to disenfranchise newly emancipated Black Americans were applied by the North, deployed against immigrants, the working class, and women leading the suffrage movement. This article is available to read here.
At Reserve, Dr. Chaput balances leading our Indoor Track and Track & Field program with a robust teaching schedule, teaching both United States History and Government and a CL Frederick Douglass course. His students and colleagues greatly benefit from his steadfast devotion to the study of the history of American justice, and his scholarly connections have brought in great minds, such as Yale University’s Sterling Professor of American History Dr. David Blight, both online and for on-campus classroom visits and Chapel talks.
Congratulations, Dr. Chaput!
