Dr. Miller was my United States history teacher at Southern Oregon College during the l959-60 school year. Every since learning his body and spirit parted company, I have from time to time been thinking about his lasting influence on me.
I never learned his personal views. He never exposed himself as being a Democrat, Republican, conservative, liberal, socialist, communist ... I learned history as viewed by historians Beard, Johnson and Turner.
I recall that after his lecture on the cause of the Civil War, I was convinced that economics caused the war. The very next lecture, Dr. Miller gave an equally convincing argument that the war was caused by politics. His third lecture gave the westward movement equal status as to the cause of the Civil War.
Dr. Miller did find some government actions to be overreaching. However, he was equally critical of other governments. He did not blame America for all the world's problems.
Today, in contrast to Dr. Miller, there are many arrogant college instructors who expound history through their own bias. The students are not equipped to argue with the self-centered instructor. They have not read Charles A. Beard's The Rise of American Civilization.
— Bill Hartley,
Medford, Oregon
What a wonderful tribute, and so true!
ReplyDeleteRich
It's nice to hear how much of a positive impact he made on people's lives. I never got to "see him in action" in the classroom, but his kindness and intellectual curiosity still inspire me. Very few people make such a lasting impression.
ReplyDeleteBob Swingle