Professor Groth's interests lie in general U.S. history, African-American history, and New York State history. In addition, he performs research in race, ethnicity and immigration studies. For him, history is not the rote memorization of facts and dates, but the critical interpretation of evidence to compose a compelling narrative that gives meaning to the human experience. According to Professor Groth, history is vital to a sense of personal and collective identity. He believes that we must attempt to interpret the past if we are to understand where we are and where we are going.
1987 B.A. Williams College
1989 M.A. Binghamton University
1994 Ph.D. Binghamton University
Groth, M., "Laboring for Freedom in Dutchess County" in M. Armstead, ed. Mighty Change, Tall Within: Black Identity in the Hudson Valley. SUNY Press, 2003.
Groth, M. "Slaveholders and Manumission in Dutchess County." New York History 78:1 (1997): 33-50.
Groth, M. "The Struggle to Build a Free African-American Community in Dutchess County, 1790-1820." The Hudson Valley Regional Review, 14:2 (1997): 24-34.
Interpreting U.S. History I & II
Civil War and Reconstruction
Topics in U.S. Social History
African Americans in the Age of Slavery
African American Struggle for Human Rights
Twentieth-Century America
The Decade