Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the cream of the crop. Winners today will move on to the Final Four.
Results will be announced tomorrow. Next week, besides the final two days of voting, we will feature more commentary, as well as another podcast. Be prepared.
To remind you how we reached this point, this is what the brackets look like:
BRACKET ONE
BRACKET TWO
BRACKET THREE
BRACKET FOUR
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ELITE EIGHT
1. Edumund Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom
2. Winthrop D. Jordan, White Over Black: American Attitudes toward the Negro, 1550-1812
1. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, A Midwife’s Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812
7. Daniel Richter, Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America
1.William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England
10. Marcus Rediker, The Slave Ship: A Human History
4. Pekka Hämäläinen, The Comanche Empire
6. Walter Johnson, Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Slave Market
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QUESTIONS
Besides the basics—what is the most exciting matchup? what is the most likely upset?—here are a few discussion starters:
- Bracket One was the only bracket in which the top seed met the second seed. Why do you think there were so many “upsets”?
- Do we see a general theme in the victors?
- Has your prediction for the winner changed after seeing the voting trends of this blog’s readership?
I initially thought Morgan would take it all, but after seeing Ulrich’s lopsided victories I have changed my mind. As far as upsets go, Soul by Soul seems like the most likely one to me, and I anticipate Johnson will make it to the championship.
My prediction remains that Morgan will win it all but I think he will end up facing off against Johnson, who certainly now has a shot at winning it if he gets by either Cronon or the Cinderella-story of the tournament, Marcus Rediker. Also it seems that the “classics” domination that some perceived has just about been leveled out by the Elite 8.
Since Rhys Issac was eliminated early, I’m now pulling for Marcus Rediker. Also glad to see some of the “classics” eliminated.