Biography
Biography
I am a historian of the long 19th century United States, with research interests in African American and Western experience through the Ages of Revolution and Emancipation.
Education
M.A., Humanities and Social Thought, New York University
B.A., History and Political Science, Carroll University
Field
- U.S./North American History
- Individual Plan of Study
MA Title
- “Freemen to the Rescue! Wisconsin Commemorates the Underground Railroad “
Working Dissertation Title
- “At Freedom’s Edge: Western Black Activism and the Antislavery Parties in the Civil War Era “
Books
Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State
Jesse Gant, and Nicholas J. Hoffman. Wheel Fever: How Wisconsin Became a Great Bicycling State. Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2013.
On rails-to-trails bike paths, city streets, and winding country roads, the bicycle seems ubiquitous in the Badger State. Yet there’s a complex and fascinating history behind the popularity of biking in Wisconsin–one that until now has never been told in depth. Meticulously researched through periodicals and newspapers, Wheel Fever traces the story of Wisconsin’s first “bicycling boom,” from the velocipede craze of 1869 through the “wheel fever” of the 1890s. From the start it has been defined by a rich and often impassioned debate over who should be allowed to ride, where they could ride, and even what they could wear. Many early riders embraced the bicycle as a solution to the age-old problem of how to get from here to there quickly and easily. Yet for every supporter of the “poor man”s horse, there were others who wanted to keep the rights and privileges of riding to an elite set. Women, the working class, and people of color were often left behind as middle- and upper-class white men benefited from the “masculine” sport and all-male clubs and racing events began to shape the scene. Even as bikes became more affordable and accessible, a culture defined by inequality helped create bicycling in its own image. “Wheel Fever” is about the origins of bicycling in Wisconsin and why those origins still matter, but it is also about our continuing fascination with all things bicycle. From “boneshakers” to highwheels, standard models to racing bikes, tandems to tricycles, the book is lushly illustrated with never-before-seen images of early cycling and the people who rode them: bloomer girls, bicycle jockeys, young urbanites, and unionized workers. Laying the foundations for a much-beloved sport, “Wheel Fever” challenges us to imagine anew the democratic possibilities that animated cycling’s early debates. Awards: Winner, Award of Merit, American Association for State and Local History, 2014; Jon Gjerde Prize, Midwestern History Association, Finalist, 2014; Norbert Blei/August Derleth Nonfiction Book Award, Council for Wisconsin Writers, Honorable Mention, 2013; IndieFab Award, Foreword Reviews, Regional Category, Bronze, 2013; Midwest Book Award, Midwest Independent Publishers Association, History and Recreation/Sports Categories, Finalist, 2013
Selected Publications
- Article – “‘Patriotism is Above Political Consideration’: A Look Back at the 50th Anniversary of the Civil War in Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Magazine of History, 2011
- Article – ‘Younger and More Irreconcilable’: James Albert Woodburn’s Undergraduate Orations, 1875-1876,” Indiana Magazine of History, 2012
- Review – Jesse Gant, “As Goes Janesville,” directed by Brad Lichtenstein, Middle West Review, Fall 2016
Selected Awards
- Committee for Institutional Cooperation Smithsonian Institution Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, 2013-2014. Competitive yearlong residential fellowship at the National Museum of American History, Library of Congress, and National Portrait Gallery
- Public Humanities Fellow, Wisconsin Humanities Council and University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for the Humanities, 2014-2015; supported by funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of History Dissertation Research Travel Grant, 2012
- B. Ruth Barton Department Fellowship, 2011
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Department of History Fellowship, 2009
- Futures of American Studies Travel Grant, Dartmouth College, 2009
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Chancellor’s Office Chancellor’s Borderlands Fellowship, 2011
- University of Wisconsin–Madison Center For Culture, History, and Environment Research and Travel Grant, 2011
- Visiting Research Fellowships – Everett Helm Visiting Research Fellowship, Lilly Library, Indiana University, 2010
- Jacob Price Visiting Fellow, Clements Library, University of Michigan, 2009
- Undergraduate, Carroll University Presidential Scholarship, Department of History, 1999-2003
- Undergraduate, George F. Kennan Fellow, Carroll University, 1999-2003
- Undergraduate, Best Scholarly Paper in the Humanities, Carroll University, 2003
- Undergraduate, History Department Outstanding Graduate, Carroll University, 2003
Professional Affiliations
- American Historical Association
- Association for the Study of African American Life and History
- Midwestern History Association
- Organization of American Historians
- The Society of Civil War Historians
- Society for Historians of the Early American Republic
- Western History Association
Courses Taught as TA
- History 344 – The Era of the American Revolution
- History 393 – Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction
Courses Taught as Instructor
- History 102 – American History from the Civil War Era to the Present
- History 227 – The Black Abolitionists in History and Memory