How did you become involved in AJHA? 

My dissertation was about the role of the New England press in the American Revolution and I was looking for somewhere to make a presentation.  I saw an advertisement for the AJHA Convention in St. Louis in 1986.  I assumed that a group devoted to journalism history would be interesting and enjoyable and I was right.  I have been involved ever since.

How did you become interested in the American Revolution?

I think I became intrigued about the American Revolution in order to snub my 2 brothers who were big Civil War buffs.  When I went to grad school, I knew that I wanted to do something about the American Revolution, so I talked to Dr. Don Higginbotham, the University of North Carolina Revolution historian.  He had a stack of index cards in his desk with possible research topics that he did not want to do himself.  One was the role of the press during the American Revolution.  That idea fascinated me and things took off from there.

What impact did the press have on the American Revolution?

Many people who have read my work are fascinated by the impact of the press on the American Revolution.  For many, it was something they had never really thought about and they were a bit surprised at how big the impact was (particularly when they think about how long it took for stories to travel from one place to another – we are so used to hearing news stories quickly and almost immediately that many people don’t imagine how news in the past could still have a huge impact even though it could take weeks to arrive).

What are your hobbies and other interests outside of academia?

My hobbies and interests outside of academia are still somewhat history-related.  I enjoy doing counted cross-stitched pieces and many that I do are replicas of historic pieces or related to history in some other way.  I have retired from teaching so I looked for something else to do and I found something fun.  I currently work at the local history museum in Shawnee and really enjoy working with artifacts that have been donated to the museum.

Carol Sue Humphrey is a professor of history at Oklahoma Baptist University and the author of numerous books on American history and journalism.