Here is Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo at National Affairs: Lincoln’s “idea of democracy” only establishes what democracy is not, or at least what it cannot include. He never offered a more thoroughgoing definition of what democracy is. But it’s not...
Here is the prize-winning historian at John Piper’s Desiring God website: John Randolph of Roanoke (1773–1833) had no confidence that America was, or ever had been, a Christian republic. Six months after the close of the War of 1812 —...
It wasn’t just about Confederates reenactors. Watch:...
Recently journalist Matt Yglesias asked his more than 530,000 Twitter followers this question: At the time I am writing this, his post has 384 comments. After eliminating non-historians and purveyors of the past who think they are historians, I made...
In November we called your attention to Noah Feldman’s argument about Lincoln and the Constitution in his new book The Broken Constitution: Lincoln, Slavery and the Refounding of America. In that book, the Harvard Law professor argues that Lincoln violated...
I am not sure that critical race theory makes the kinds of claims Guelzo says it does in this Washington Post piece. I think his beef is with the historical claims of the 1619 Project, not CRT. Here is a...
One of our generation’s best historians of the Civil War is the author of the forthcoming Robert E. Lee: A Life. In a recent piece at The New York Times, Allen Guelzo writes about the challenges of writing a biography...
C-SPAN asked scholars to rank the presidents in terms of public persuasion, crisis leadership, economic management, moral authority, international relations, administrative skills, relations with Congress, vision, the pursuit of justice, and “performance within the context of the times.” The list...
The noted Civil War historian Allen Guelzo offers a nice working definition of the “Lost Cause” in a piece at The Gospel Coalition. He writes: “In its fullest flower, from 1865 to 1915, the Lost Cause emerged—from a legion of...
Deborah Yaffe just published a great feature on American historian Allen Guelzo, Director of the Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship at Princeton’s James Madison Program. The piece, published at the Princeton University alumni magazine, covers Guelzo’s role in the rollout...
Here is Joe Heim at The Washington Post: Now, a diverse collection of academics, historians, teachers, school administrators and state education leaders is proposing an overhaul of the way civics and history are taught to American K-12 students. And they’re...
As COVID-19 cases reach record heights and our country faces unprecedented cyber-attacks, Donald Trump is making appointment to his 1776 Commission. Trump established the commission by executive order on November 2, 2020 and Joe Biden is likely to eliminate it...
In a piece at History News Network, the prolific Civil War historian Allen Guelzo explains why he participated in this event. Here is a taste: Some friends have importuned me for an explanation of why I joined the panel that […]
Over at the anti-Trump conservative website, The Bulwark, historian Ronald Radosh reflects on the recent “White House Conference on American History.” He calls the entire event “bizarre.” Here is a taste: I have nothing but disdain for the professors who...
On Thursday, Constitution Day, Donald Trump announced something called the “1776 Commission.” Here is a taste of his speech: Today, I am also pleased to announce that I will soon sign an Executive Order establishing a national commission to promote...
The New York Times 1619 Project just received a Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Listen to Allen Guelzo’s critique of the project in an interview with the Heritage Foundation. If you like the 1619 Project, you may want to sit down...
James Tackach of Roger Williams University, author of the book Lincoln and the Natural Environment, thinks so. Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo disagrees. Here is a taste of Hannah Nathanson’s Washington Post piece, “Lincoln’s Forgotten Legacy as America’s First “Green President“: It is “eminently...
If you are not familiar with The New York Times 1619 Project you can get up to speed here. The latest group of critics includes American historians Michael Burlingame, Allen Guelzo, Peter Kolchin, George Rable, and Colleen Sheehan. A letter was...
No newspaper, magazine, or website is credible these days until it publishes a “David Brooks spiritual pilgrimage” article. 🙂 Most of these pieces are reviews of his latest book The Second Mountain. Check out examples of this genre at The...
Allen Guelzo is writing a biography of Robert E. Lee. This is the first thing I have seen him publish on the topic. Here are the main points of Guelzo’s argument in “Did Robert E. Lee Commit Treason?” at Athenaeum Review:...
