Probably expected to most readers given the book’s performance thus far, we at The Junto are pleased to announce Edmund Morgan’s American Slavery, American Freedom to be the winner of the 2013 Early American History Tournament. Cronon put up a fight, but in the end Morgan pulled away with 65% of the vote. You could call this an end-to-end victory, since Morgan’s book received the most nominations, was never really challenged, and always seemed destined for the title. And this may be fitting: the book is magisterial in research, exquisitely written, and still relevant to any project on colonial history. (Not to mention it works great in the classroom!) It is a testament to its power that American Slavery is still en vogue three and a half decades after its release. Sure, there are problems, but the book still challenges and provokes any close reader, and that is one of scholarship’s true purposes. Continue reading
Category Archives: March Madness
Junto March Madness: CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!!
This is for all the marbles, folks. I’d like to thank everyone who has voted (nearly 250 unique IP addresses!), shared this on twitter or facebook, and participated in the comments. We at the Junto have had a lot of fun, and we hope to make some version of this tournament a yearly tradition. (We’ll of course mix up the topics, periods, etc.) As always, this is acknowledge to be an extremely silly and subjective game, with a primary purpose of promoting discussion.
We have had enough chatter over the last two weeks so, after a brief reminder of how we got here, let’s get to the voting. We can only hope this matchup will be as riveting as the Lousiville/Michigan game. Continue reading
Junto March Madness: Final Four Results
Once again, many thanks to all who voted–each matchup received around 180 votes. The winners are below. Voting for the championship will take place Wednesday.
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Edumund Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom 65%
Daniel Richter, Facing East from Indian Country: A Native History of Early America 35%
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William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England 54%
Walter Johnson, Soul by Soul: Life Inside the Slave Market 46%
Junto March Madness: Final Four
It is time. Our tournament, which began with over one hundred and fifty nominations are now down to a final four. If you want to see how we got here, look at the brackets on this previous post. Voting is open from now until midnight, eastern time. Winners will be announced tomorrow, and the final will take place on Wednesday. Below, you will find the final four books with their blurbs, a serious of questions answered by a few Juntoists, and finally the polls. Please chime in with your own answers or thoughts in the comments below. Continue reading
Junto March Madness: Elite Eight Winners
Our Final Four is set! Make sure to take the weekend to digest these results, perhaps revisit the books, and come prepared for major commentary, discussion, and voting on Monday. Continue reading
Junto March Madness: Elite Eight
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: Continue reading
Junto March Madness: Sweet Sixteen Results
Thanks to all who participated! We once again had a stellar turnout with about 200 different voters. Below are the results; we will vote on the Elite Eight matchups tomorrow. Please share your thoughts in the comments below. Continue reading
Junto March Madness: Sweet Sixteen
Fortunately, the law firm of Prilo & Foal have given us the “go ahead” to move forward with our tournament, so onward and upward!
Below you will find updated brackets, polling for the final sixteen teams books, followed by some discussion questions. Voting closes at midnight ET. Winners are announced tomorrow, and the Elite Eight takes place on Thursday. Continue reading
Junto March Madness: Round Two Results
The Sweet Sixteen is set! Thanks to everyone who participated; yesterday’s polling turned out to be the largest to date, as nearly 250 different IPs registered votes. We can only hope the momentum continues in the next round!
Following the results, I’ll ask some questions in hopes to start a lively discussion.
Junto March Madness Round 2, Day 2: Brackets 3 and 4
The madness goes marching on! Results for yesterday and today will be made available tomorrow (Saturday). Voting on the Sweet Sixteen begins next week.
As always, voting is open until midnight EST.
For reference, here are the images for Brackets Three and Four.
The Junto 