I have taken this page to introduce people to my research in history or simply to post historical musings. Many papers are linked here in PDF format and range in style from incredibly academic to quite casual. Please DO bother me with any disagreements because that is how we find the truth. Please choose carefully from the menu and bon appetite!
leafing through time
with self-proclaimed historian Scott Plencner
coming back soon
The Most Important People

of the Second Millennium

Click the above link to visit a favorite part of my website in which I list the most important people of the last one thousand years. (The file was 10 MB so I am thinking of another way to share this section.)

Coming Soon! History Book List!
The Gadfly Home

Family History Page

--Sections--


My History Teachers
Meet the people who got me where I am today.


 NEIU History Department


Topics that interest me:
the Old Northwest, Chicago history, 19th century politics and social history, Algonquian history, U.S. politics, Upper Canadian 19th century history, 1490's Western Europe, the War of 1812, urban race relations in the 1950's & 1960s, race identification in the Mississippi Delta after Plessy v. Fergusson

Currently Workin
g On

Several genealogical cases

Applying to a Masters' Program

Since August of 2006 I have been teaching at Taft High School, a Chicago Public School, focusing on A.P. U.S. History and Chicago History. I have also taught World Studies, U.S. History, & Contemporary U.S. History.  Taught A.P. U.S. History, A.P. European History, Global Issues, & World Studies at Northside Prep in Chicago 2004-06. Student-taught U.S. History at Taft in Chicago 2003-04.

If you can help or have any ideas feel free to e-mail me at

scottplenc@yahoo.com

Some Interesting Links
learn something today...

Best of history on the net page to come soon.

History Bloopers
LOC American Memory
Railroad Maps
Rumsey Map Collection
M
aking of America
Chicago Timeline (CPL)
Jefferson Park History
PBS City of the Century
Was Napoleon poisoned?
Presidents (POTUS)
Lincoln: In His Own Words
The Long Knives!
The Catholic Encyclopedia
Luxembourg Archives
PBS Jack Johnson
PBS Horatio's Drive
PBS Citizen M.L. King
Canada: People's History
 
published 1/2003,  updated 3/7/07, the ideas expressed on this page are the property of the author, all rights reserved by the author, use proper citations
Greetings to my students
I think that no one understands my love for this stuff than you people. I hope to have helped you see the true importance of history and that you seek it for yourself in the future. I do invite your words so don't hesitate to argue or comment on anything
Greetings to my friends from Luxembourg
It was good showing you around Chicago to see the sites of Old Luxembourgish Chicago.
Writings and Words on History by Scott Plencner
This information is unedited and not intended to be used for research. This is simply meant as a starting point for those interested in these topics. Many are very short and all have been written for purposes other than this page. You will need Acrobat Reader to view most files. Do not use information without citing your sources. More to follow. I have just begun.

The Not-So Revolutionary Revolution
Another look at the American Revolution and the Constitutional Convention. 2001.
Man's Place in the Universe: From Copernicus to Newton
How science changed the course of Western Civilization. 1997.
El Salvador as Dependent State: Foreign Policy toward El Salvador
How the U.S. has inserted itself into Salvadoran politics. 2001.
The Right Stuff: Theodore Roosevelt's Attitudes on Physical Fitness
There was a time in history when the sporting life was not such a positive thing. 2001.
The Shady Campaigns of the Gilded 1880's (2MB)
A history of presidential elections during the height of the corrupt Gilded Age. 2001.
The Presidencies of Grover Cleveland (1.5MB)
The administrations of the only Democrat of his era elected to the presidency. 2001.

To Read the "Ott Chapter" pdf go to my genealogy page by clicking this link. This major, more recent research includes information on 19th century Germany and Chicago's German community and early machine politics. 2004.

Coming Soon!
The Role of the Catholic Church in the Modern World,  Analysis of Poshard vs. Ryan, 1999,  Dissertations in American History, Dissertations in Mexican History, W.E.B. DuBois. More book reviews.
Who cares about history?
History is of supreme importance for many reasons. A lot of people (who are idiots) say that we need to study history so that we learn from the mistakes of the past. That is true, but it is only partially true and is totally negative and too easy an answer. History is what forms the identity of a community and also helps form the identity of an individual. Whether good or bad, the stories of history give us also a mirror to what is inside of each of us. We relate to our ancestors. Emerson put it best in his essay aptly called History when he began: "There is one mind common to all individual men. Every man is an inlet to the same and to all of the same." History helps us to overcome ourselves and see that we are part of something bigger... something that transcends time and our own, personal deaths. And isn't that what the academic pursuit is all about?

What's new on this page?

• I have totally revamped the Leafing Through Time page so it functions better and has greater usefulness. 6/9/06

• Please see the Making History Project page for a sampling of work from my students.

 

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