It’s the most prestigious award in American history. Congrats to Beverly Gage, Kelly Lytle Hernández, and John Wood Sweet for winning it. Here are Jennifer Schuessler’s descriptions of these books at The New York Times: Beverly Gage’s “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover […]
American history
George Packer on historical research today: “What begins in research ends in dogma”
Here is the veteran journalist’s recent piece at The Atlantic: The new fatalism has its own historical causes, and they’re not hard to see: the failures of the War on Terror and the neoliberal economy, stubborn inequality, the disappointments of […]
The Organization of American Historians responds to the Florida controversy over AP African American Studies
Here is the statement: Last week we learned of the extraordinary decision by Florida’s Department of Education to reject the College Board’s Advanced Placement course on African American Studies in the state’s high schools. Claiming that the course violates Florida […]
Historians Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer on the state of the Republican Party
The Princeton University historians are the editors of Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies About our Past. Here is a taste of their recent interview with Vanity Fair: I know both of you are particularly public-facing […]
The class conflict at the heart of the American Revolution
Over at Jacobin, historian William Hogeland discusses his ongoing work on “workers” and “elites” in the late eighteenth century. Here is a taste of his interview with Astra Taylor: ASTRA TAYLOR: Can you talk about what your narrative of America’s […]
Heather Cox Richardson on writing history’s first draft
The Boston College history professor’s Letters from an American is the most read newsletter on Substack. Here is a taste of John Wolfson’s interview with Richardson at Boston College Magazine: How did Letters from an American get its start?I had a Facebook […]
Patricia Limerick is fired from the University of Colorado’s Center of the American West
Limerick, arguably the most prominent historian of the American West in the country, is the Center‘s co-founder and has run it for thirty-six years. Here is Jason Blevins at The Colorado Sun: Patty Limerick, an iconic professor, author and scholar […]
White supremacy in American history textbooks
Over at Esquire, Abigail Covington interviews Harvard historian Donald Yacovone on his recent book, Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of Our National Identity. Here is taste: ESQUIRE: You make it very clear from the start that […]
In search of a good 5th-grade American history textbook
A reader who teaches 5th grade American history at an evangelical elementary school is looking for a good textbook. This person is currently using a textbook published by a Christian conservative publishing house that is steeped in providential history and […]
U.S. historians who American conservatives like
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 […]
The American history some conservative evangelicals wish weren’t true
Baptist News Global’s Rodney Kennedy asked historians Randall Balmer, Bill Trollinger, and yours truly to suggest a few historical facts that conservative evangelicals wish weren’t true. Here is my contribution to the piece: Fea says evangelicals wish it weren’t true […]
“Capture the schools”
University of Pennsylvania education historian Jonathan Zimmerman reflects on the wars over history in schools. A taste: Last year, former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon likewise called on right-wing Americans to capture the schools. “The path to save the nation is […]
What should a college graduate know about slavery?
Historian Steven Mintz offers twenty-three things any college graduate should know about slavery. I like the idea of this post, but I would be happy if my general education (non-majors) students knew a handful of these facts. Here is a […]
Redlining: 1860-Present
ArcGIS Story Maps has published a very valuable resource on redlining in American history. Redlining is perhaps the best illustration we have of systemic racism in America. Indeed, white people created public policy in American cities to keep Blacks segregated […]
Episode 43: Jesus Freaks Do History
A Christian rap band, with help from a GOP political activist, published a history book. Episode 43: “Jesus Freaks Do History” dropped today. Subscribers to Current at the Longshore level and above have access to new episodes of this narrative history podcast. Here is […]
On the value of music in the history classroom
Twenty-two years ago, when I regularly taught the second half of the United States history survey (I’ve never taught it at Messiah University), I used a lot of music in class. I still have a small CD collection from those […]
Ed Ayers takes “History on the Road”
Learn all about Ed and Abby Ayers‘s “Discovery of America Tour’ here. A taste: My wife and I are embarking on a journey. We are looking for traces of America’s past from the first six decades of the 19th century, […]
Is abortion “deeply rooted” in American history?
In his leaked decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Samuel Alito wrote, “The inescapable conclusion is that a right to abortion is not deeply rooted into the Nation’s history and tradition.” Is this true? It is hard to define what “deeply […]
The Gilder-Lehrman Institute teams-up with Gettysburg College to offer a new master’s degree in American history
Here is the press release: The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Gettysburg College have partnered to offer an affordable, fully online master’s degree program—led by renowned, award-winning historians—that brings together the leading non-profit American history organization and one of […]
Putin and Ohio Republicans are rewriting history
Here is Bowling Green State University historian Andrew Shocket at Ohio Capital Journal: Americans are united in denouncing Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, including how he has justified it with a warped view of Ukrainian history and has crushed Russian […]