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(FWD) NCC Washington Update, Vol 6, #16, May 11, 2000



NCC Washington Update, Vol 6, #16, May 11, 2000
by Page Putnam Miller <pagem@capaccess.org> and Bruce Craig
<Rbcraig3@juno.com> of the National Coordinating Committee for the
Promotion of History

1.  Humanities Day on the Hill
2.  Report on Interpretation of Slavery
      In Civil War Parks
3.  NHPRC Commission Meeting

1.  Humanities Day on the Hill - On May 11 the Federation of State
Humanities Councils spearheaded "Humanities On the Hill," an annual
event that provides supporters of the National Endowment for the
Humanities an opportunity to celebrate the humanities.  The breakfast
event, attended by over 300 people, including over a dozen members of
Congress and numerous legislative aides, reflected great enthusiasm,
energy, and support for the humanities. Representative Tillie Fowler
(R-FL), the ranking woman in the House of Representatives, welcomed the
group with a strong endorsement of the work of the NEH in enriching our
nation's heritage.  Her remarks, however, included some sobering news
about the upcoming appropriation votes. She alerted the group that the
House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which has responsibility for
the NEH budget, has less money this year than it had last year and that
it will require a major effort in the House for NEH just to stay at the
current funding level of $115.26 million.  But she noted that the Senate
leadership has allocated to the Senate Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee an increase over last year.

Thus she spelled out a scenario in which the House may come in with a
lower budget for NEH, the Senate a higher amount, and hopefully the
Conference Committee would be able to provide a small increase of NEH.

The featured speaker for the event was to have been Joseph Ellis, a
history professor at Mount Holyoke and author of the prize winning book
"American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson."  However, due to
the canceling of many flights due to bad weather, he was unable to get
to Washington. Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT), who was to introduce Ellis
and who is a great admirer of Ellis's work, substituted at the last
minute with a very eloquent presentation on the power of the humanities
to enrich our lives, to support our great democratic heritage, and to
expand our understandings by taking us to places that otherwise we would
never go.

Other members of Congress gave brief remarks.  John Spratt (D-SC) said
that NEH more than any other part of the federal government was able to
do more with less and thus deserved to have an increase.  Tom Allen
(D-ME) highlighted two state humanities council projects, one that
encourages parents to read to their toddlers and the other that connects
health care and the humanities, to illustrate the ways in which the
humanities relate to contemporary issues.  Asa Hutchinson (R-Arkansas)
emphasized the existence of bipartisan support for NEH and the important
role that NEH plays in imparting an appreciation of our history and
culture.  Ronnie Shows (D-MISS) encouraged the group to tell their
members of Congress of the work of NEH.

William Ferris, the Chair of NEH, in closing remarks, gave a vigorous
rallying call for the extraordinary mission of NEH and for funding in FY
2001 at the Administration's request of $150 million.  The humanities,
he said, are the infrastructure of our nation's education and culture,
and make up over two thirds of the curriculum of kindergarten to twelfth
grade education.  His goal is to bring parity between NEH and the
National Science Foundation, currently funded at approximately $4
billion.

2.  Report on Interpretation of Slavery In Civil War Parks - In response
to language in the FY-2000 Interior Appropriations Bill, the National
Park Service has submitted to Congress a 56-page report assessing the
educational information currently conveyed at Civil War sites. Of
particular concern to Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) and some
other members of Congress was that Civil War battle sites were not
always being placed in the proper historical context and that at far too
many battlefields there is "missing vital information about the role
that the institution of slavery played in causing the American Civil
War."

The report reflects the summary findings of a general conference of NPS
battlefield managers "Holding the High Ground" held in August 1998 in
Nashville Tennessee.  It also includes the findings of a cursory survey
of the current conditions of interpretive programs, media, and exhibits
in 28 Civil War sites.  The report recommends that "Battlefield
interpretation must establish the site's particular place in the
continuum of war; illuminate the social, economic, and cultural issues
that caused or were affected by the war; illustrate the breadth of human
experience during the period, and establish the relevance of the war to
people today."

Based on the survey of battlefields units, the report demonstrates that
a number of exhibits and film have been in place since the 1960's and
1970's (some even back from the 1930s), that consequently they are dated
and the content lacks current scholarship.  The report informs Congress
that any "major change in the presentation of programs and the
replacement of media will require funding." Finally, the report
identifies accomplishments to date and lays out a series of action items
designed to improve interpretation at Civil War sites including:
updating exhibits and publications;  supporting collaborative efforts
between the parks and educational institutions; and initiating new
Internet based educational programs.

3.  NHPRC Commission Meeting - The National Historical Publications and
Records Commission met on May 9 and 10 to consider NHPRC grant proposals
and policies.  Archivist John Carlin, the Chairman of the Commission,
opened the meeting with general remarks and noted that he did not
anticipate any difficulties with passage of the NHPRC reauthorization
legislation that is currently pending before Congress.  The commission
passed resolutions clarifying the conditions under which state records
advisory boards are eligible for administrative expenses and endorsed
the need to undertake actions to strengthen NHPRC applications from
Native Americans.  The Commission also expressed its support for the
pursue of private sector funding and strategic collaborations to advance
the NHPRC's agenda.  Considerable discussion focused on the timing and
strategies for raising the NHPRC budget to the full funding levels of
the authorization legislation.

Other items the Commission discussed included: how to assist projects
that are near completion, how to use NHPRC leverage to keep projects on
schedule, and the need to resolve issues related to the terms of
agreements between editing projects and publishers of documentary
volumes.

The commission voted to award approximately $3 million of NHPRC's grant
funds.   This money will go to 36 documentary editing projects and 25
records access projects which include manuscript cataloging,
microfilming, and collections processing, and supporting access to
photo, film, and oral history collections.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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