''Minnesota History'' (formerly ''Minnesota History Bulletin'' and sometimes called ''Minnesota History Magazine'') is a quarterly

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press focusing on the

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

of the US state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

and the adjacent area. Published since 1915, the journal is edited by Laura Weber and written for a non-specialist audience, with free distribution to all members of the state historical society. Among US state historical journals, ''Minnesota History'' has been regarded throughout its run for the quality of its scholarship and the caliber of the authors publishing in it.

Overview and history

The journal is published quarterly by the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS). The journal covers topics related to various facets of

Minnesota history The history of the U.S. state of Minnesota is shaped by its original Native American residents, European exploration and settlement, and the emergence of industries made possible by the state's natural resources. Early economic growth was bas ...

, as well as the history of adjoining areas. Articles in the journal are intended to be understandable by lay audiences, may vary between 1,500 and 5,000 words, and undergo a double-blind

peer-review Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

process before publication. In addition to articles, the journal features

book review __NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revi ...

s, biographies, and information on the MNHS's collections. The journal's

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

is Laura Weber, who took over from Anne R. Kaplan in 2016. The MNHS occasionally refers to the journal as the ''Minnesota History Magazine''. The first issue of the journal was published in February 1915 under the title ''Minnesota History Bulletin'', authorized by MNHS superintendent

Solon J. Buck Solon Justus Buck (August 16, 1884 – May 25, 1962) was the Second Archivist of the United States. His academic career, never straying very far from his interest in the history of agricultural communities, started with a brief appointment to Ind ...

. The ''Bulletin'' was intended to disseminate information presented at MNHS meetings or submitted to the society in a more timely manner than the previous method of collecting papers and notes for several years at a time, then publishing them in a larger single volume. Beginning with its March 1925 issue, the journal changed its name to ''Minnesota History'', which the MNHS felt reflected the journal's shifting aims: to include more popularly accessible content and to provide materials for teachers of Minnesota history. The journal is also illustrated. Among state historical journals, ''Minnesota History'' has been well-regarded throughout its print run. The ''Bulletin'' was noted in '' The Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' shortly after its founding for being among the best local and state historical journals in terms of the quality of its news and notes. In 1932, the publication was described by the '' Review of Reviews and World's Work'' as being an "able and important" US state historical periodical. Upon its fiftieth anniversary, a review in the '' Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'' described the "high level of historical quality" within ''Minnesota History''. Another in the '' Wisconsin Magazine of History'' described the journal as an exemplar to other state historical societies, for the caliber of its scholarship and of the scholars who contributed to the journal, suggesting that a similar journal should have been established in neighboring

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

much sooner. Solon-justice-buck

Each year, ''Minnesota History'' presents the Solon J. Buck Award for the best article published in the journal in the preceding 12 months. The award was first given in 1955 and is open to all contributors to the journal who are not MNHS staff. A second award, the

Theodore C. Blegen Theodore Christian Blegen (16 July 1891 – 18 July 1969) was an American historian and writer. Blegen was the writer of numerous historic reference books, papers and articles written over a five decade period. His primary areas of focus wer ...

Award, was established in 1971 and is open to all contributors to the journal who are MNHS employees. As of 2019, the value of the cash prize for both awards was $600.

Distribution and availability

Issues of ''Minnesota History'' are distributed for free to members of the MNHS. Beginning in 2009, the MNHS began publishing full issues of ''Minnesota History'' on its website, initially with a five-year delay and, beginning in 2017, concurrent with their print publications. The journal is also available through

JSTOR JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in America: History and Life,

Historical Abstracts EBSCO Information Services, headquartered in Ipswich, Massachusetts, is a division of EBSCO Industries Inc., a private company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. EBSCO provides products and services to libraries of very many types around the ...

, and the Modern Language Association Database.

Topics

The journal articles cover a range of topics of

, including the Sioux people and the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several ban ...

, the historical importance of the Saint Anthony Falls, the history of cholera in the state, the historic '' Near v. Minnesota'' Supreme Court case, and root beer stands in the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referrin ...

References

External links