Joe Biden wants to reform the Supreme Court. This kind of judicial reform also happened in the 1790s, 1850s, 1890s, 1930s, 1970s, and 2010s. Here is a taste of Syracuse University political scientist Thomas Keck‘s piece at The Washington Post:...
Over at Boston Review, Michael Busch interviews Christian Parenti, author of Radical Hamilton: Economic Lessons from a Misunderstood Founder. Here is a taste: Michael Busch: You published Radical Hamilton in August with Verso Books. Let’s start at the beginning: Who was Alexander […]
Time is running my piece on the Bavarian Illuminati. A taste: In the final weeks before the 2020 election, the outsize role of conspiracy theories in American politics has become unmistakable. For some Trump supporters in particular, campaign-season news is filtered through...
Is there a “deep state” seeking to undermine the Trump presidency? Yes, if you define the “deep state” as men and women working to stop Donald Trump from undermining American democracy and institutions. But for many Trump supporters, the “deep...
The members of Donald Trump’s controversial cabinet are regular features of the 24-hour news cycle. He has fired members of his cabinet who challenge his thinking on a host of foreign and domestic issues. Just ask Rex Tillerson, James Mattis,...
Jordan Taylor, a history professor at Smith College, writes, “Our familiar challenges with verification, fake news, irresponsible sharing, and partisan media would have been familiar to those who lived through the tumultuous 1790s.” She adds, “spend an hour with the...
Is Trump politicizing Independence Day with his military parade and “Salute to America” speech? Of course he is. And, as historian Shira Lurie reminds us, this practice dates back to the country’s founding. Here is a taste of her Washington Post piece,...
As I posted earlier this week, I am teaching a course on the “Age of Hamilton” in the Fall. We will be discussing the history behind the Broadway musical “Hamilton” and I will be making extensive use of the soundtrack....
Reeve Hutson of Duke University explains how to do it.  Here is a taste from his piece at Panorama: To my surprise, Hamilton proved a wonderful foil for studying the Revolutionary era—because the students love it; because it’s so good as a musical; and...
What happens when you put a historian on flight #1793 heading to Philadelphia for a history conference on the early American republic. The Philadelphia Voice has it covered, but this tweet explains everything: I think we already have the thread...
HT: Erin Holmes on FB:...
It is worth reading today. Many Christian conservatives like to quote this part of the address: Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the...
Lin-Manuel Miranda has managed to get Americans excited about Alexander Hamilton. His hip-hop musical about the first Treasury Secretary is taking Broadway by storm. It is even getting rave reviews from early American historians. In fact, a group of historians […]
It has begun. “Professor Freeman, is there room in your seminar? I’m really interested in it, especially after seeing Hamilton on Broadway.” — Joanne Freeman (@jbf1755) August 29, 2015 //platform.twitter.com/widgets.js...
One of these days I am going to buy tickets to see Hamilton, Lin Manuel-Miranda’s hit Broadway play about the first Secretary of the Treasury.  Over at The Atlantic, Alana Semuels’s review of the play focuses on its negative portrayal of Thomas...
