Thanks to McWhorter‘s recent piece at The New York Times, I spent way too much time this morning watching old Looney Tunes clips. Here is a taste: During these times so utterly glum, I’m in a mood to share a...
1950s
1950 census data is about to be released
On Friday (tomorrow) to be exact. Here is Michael Ruane at The Washington Post: On April 1, 1950, an army of 140,000 census enumerators, equipped with fountain pens and government forms, started fanning out across the country to paint a...
When conservatives loved Francisco Franco
Today it is Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. In the 1950s it was the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco. Here is Joshua Tait at The Bulwark: Prominent conservatives have discovered Hungary and its “twenty-first century dictator,” Viktor Orbán. This week, Tucker Carlson will...
Who was Margaret Chase Smith?
Several commentators are comparing Liz Cheney’s speech tonight to Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith‘s 1950 speech, “A Declaration of Conscience.” Both were anti-McCarthy (Andrew for Cheney and Joseph for Smith) speeches. No historical analogy is perfect, but this one is...
What is conservatism?
As historian Joshua Tait reminds us, the meaning of the term “conservatism” has been a contested one in the United States. In his recent piece at The Bulwark he compares a circle of writers in the 1940s and early 1950s...
Episode 79: John Foster Dulles and the Cold War Protestant Left
In this episode we talk about the connections between liberal Protestantism, American foreign policy, and the Cold War in mid-20th-century America. We discuss these themes through an examination of the life of former U.S. Secretary of State (1953-1959) John Foster...
Trump wants to save the suburbs
Everyone knows what this means. But if you want more information I encourage you read these posts. Here and here. So how should we think about Trump’s call to save the suburbs in the light of American history? Today I...
From the 1850s to the 1950s in 10 Minutes
Tonight should be an interesting one for students in my Civil War America class. We are currently studying the 1850s and the political, social, cultural, economic, and racial lead-up to the Civil War. The class usually runs from 6:15-9:15pm, but...
When Woody Guthrie Wrote A Song About “Old Man Trump”
My earlier post on the decision by the leadership of First Baptist Church–Dallas to sing Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land” at its “Freedom Sunday” prompted several readers to remind me that Guthrie also wrote a song about his...
Grant Wacker on Billy Graham’s 1957 New York Crusade
I have always been fascinated by this Billy Graham crusade. When I was in divinity school I wrote an M.A. thesis on separatist Protestant fundamentalism in the 20th century. The 1957 crusade was a key part of my story. Over...
Kruse: Ike’s First 100 Days Created the Religious Right
Princeton University historian Kevin Kruse is now writing a regular column for Esquire magazine. I follow Kevin on Twitter and had the chance to review his excellent book One Nation Under God, so I am sure I will be a regular...
Evangelical Voters and Nostalgia
Robert P. Jones is the CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute and the author of the forthcoming book The End of White Christian America. In a recent piece in The Atlantic, he argues that evangelicals in America are not “values voters” any more....