2010 Performance at National History Day - Final Round

2007 Performance at National History Day - Final Round

2010 Performance - The Antitrust Movement

After months of intensive research and success at regional and state-level competitions, Jonathan Box,a member of the class of 2011 at Stephen F Austin High School, in Austin, Texas, placed third at the annual National History Day competition, held at the University of Maryland College Park Campus in the Washington, D.C. area June17, 2010. He was awarded the bronze medal in the senior individual performance division, in which there were 74 entrants, and received a cash prize of $250.00.

 

At the state level contest, Jonathan was presented the best regional entry award for having the best project of all entrants in all categories from the region. His project is titled “Antitrust: Coping With the Dark Side of Business Innovation.” His performance deals with the history of the antitrust movement from the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1890 until the present, with special emphasis given to the characters he portrays: John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, and Bill Gates.

 

At the age of 16, Jonathan traveled to 15 cities in 11 states for his project conducting research at eight Presidential Libraries as well as the John D. Rockefeller Family Archives and the Exxon Mobil Collection. His numerous personal interviews included Judge Diane Wood, an antitrust expert formerly under consideration for nomination to the Supreme Court, and Jack Balagia, the General Counsel for Exxon.

RESEARCH SITES

• George H.W. Bush Presidential Library
• Jimmy Carter Presidential Library
• William J. Clinton Presidential Library
• Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library
• John F. Kennedy Presidential Library
• Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Library
• Harry S. Truman Presidential Library
• Exxon Mobil Historical Collection
• John D. Rockefeller Family Archives 

INTERVIEWS 

• S. Jack Balagia, General Counsel of Exxon Mobil Corporation. 
• Alan Briggs, co-owner of the Ardmore Stud Thoroughbred Farm. 
• Wendy Chaix, owner and occupant of the Ida Tarbell house in Easton, Connecticut. 
• Cal Chaney, General Counsel for The American College of Emergency Physicians. 
• James V. Derrick, former General Counsel of Enron Corporation. 
• Ken Golliher, owner of Pegasus Educational Services and nationally recognized expert on banking industry regulation. 
• John M. Heasley, General Counsel of the Texas Bankers Association. 
• Ron Prewitt, Senior Geophysicist for Devon Oil Co. 
• Terry O. Tottenham, President of the Texas Bar Association. 
• Ronnie Volkening, President and CEO of the Texas Retailers Association.
• Judge Diane P. Wood, federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th circuit, internationally recognized expert on antitrust law, professor at the University of Chicago Law School, former deputy assistant attorney general in the Antitrust Division of the U. S. Department of Justice, generally believed to be on the “short list” for consideration for appointment to the U. S. Supreme Court.

 

 

2007 Performance - Harry Truman fires General Douglas MacArthur

In June, 2007, Jonathan Box won first place at National History Day, the national history contest held annually at the University of Maryland, and made some history of his own. He was the first person from the Austin, Texas, area ever to win a medal of any type at the event.



Jonathan traveled thousands of miles to gather information for his project, surprising some archivists who said they had never seen a thirteen year-old visit their collection in order to conduct research. He visited presidential libraries, the libraries of Douglas MacArthur and George C. Marshall, museums and historic sites. He conducted eighteen interviews with people who had experiences and insights into the careers of Truman and MacArthur, including a four-star general, a spy, a Korean War refugee, Korean War veterans and others with fascinating tales to tell of the two famous men.



Even though more than half a million students participate in National History Day each year, starting at their school level contests and competing to advance to the regional, state and national levels, the program has never had much support in the Austin area. Without much guidance from anyone with prior experience, Jonathan had to be the pioneer for his school, O. Henry Middle School. After his success, he was determined to help other students follow in his footsteps, and he has actively participated as mentor, coach and advisor to younger participants. He has critiqued their projects and judged their contests, and he has watched with delight as they have become more successful each year. Many O. Henry students have advanced to the state contest and one or more have advanced to the national contest for the three years after Jonathan was a winner there.

RESEARCH SITES

• Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene, Kansas.
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library, Austin, Texas.
• Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, Independence, Missouri.
• Douglas MacArthur Memorial Library, Norfolk, Virginia.
• The George C. Marshall Research Library, Lexington Virginia.
• The Fort Sam Houston Museum, San Antonio, Texas.
• The National Museum of the Pacific War (Admiral Nimitz Museum), Fredericksburg, Texas.

INTERVIEWS

• John Anderson, Korean War veteran.
• Elsie Bexley, a teenager at the time of the Korean War who remembers the radio broadcast of MacArthur’s “Old Soldiers Never Die” speech.
• James B. Bexley, Korean War veteran.
• Jane Buchanan, a young actress in New York City in 1951, who remembers watching MacArthur’s triumphant return from Korea as he enjoyed a huge ticker tape parade in an open car.
• Charles L. Burnside, who remembers as a young boy presenting Bess Truman with a bouquet of flowers on the back of a campaign train as Harry Truman patted him on the head.
• Gerald Carter, Korean War veteran.
• Curtis James, a representative of the John B. Stetson Company, the makers of Stetson hats, who was familiar with the “Open Road” Stetson hat worn by Harry Truman, who was a former haberdasher and very particular about his hats.
• Altber Doumar, barbeque drive-in restaurant owner in Norfolk, Virginia, remembers the day when MacArthur’s body was pulled on a caisson by horses past his restaurant on the way to the funeral.
• Charles Field, Korean War veteran.
• Michael L. Gillette, Executive Director of Humanities Texas, former Director of the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives and former Head of the Oral History Program at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library.
• John Guemple, a minister and missionary in the Kansas City area in the days when Harry Truman was a local politician.
• John M. Manguso, curator/director of the Fort Sam Houston Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
• General Montgomery Meigs, a four-star general with a long and distinguished military career, is a West Point graduate, Vietnam veteran, tank commander in Operation Desert Storm, commander of international peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and an on-air military analyst for NBC. He holds a Ph.D. in history and has taught at West Point and Syracuse University.
• Barbara Moyer, a college student at the time of the Korean War.
• Douglas Moore, Chief of Media Affairs for the U. S. Air Force in Europe, has extensive experience with the handling of public statements made by military officers to the media.
• Quinton Powell, a World War II veteran who served under MacArthur.
• Walter Protzman, worked as a spy during the Korean War.
• Chae Suk Yi, a refugee in South Korea during the Korean War.

Jonathan Box as Teddy Roosevelt & John D. Rockefeller