Liberty University president Jerry Prevo begins the journal with a quote from John Adams: Before my God, I believe the hour has come. My judgement approves this measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have, and […]
bad history
When it comes to the Second Amendment, Matt Gaetz has no clue
Watch the Florida congressman in action at a recent rally: Actually… no. Here is Saul Cornell, our best historian of the Second Amendment, writing in 2012: The founders had a word for a bunch of farmers marching with guns without […]
Rick Santorum is out at CNN
Here is The New York Times: Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania senator and Republican presidential candidate, has been dropped from his role as a CNN political commentator amid controversy over recent remarks in which he seemed to erase the role […]
Did Benjamin Franklin successfully thwart cancel culture?
Here is “presidential historian” Jane Hampton Cook yesterday on Fox News: Cook’s appearance follows this article at Fox News. What qualifies one as a “presidential historian?” Unfortunately, Cook doesn’t really know what she is talking about here. Cook comes from […]
GOP Convention: Night 3
Yesterday was my first day of face-to-face teaching since March. I am not yet in “classroom shape,” so I was exhausted by the end of the day. Mentally, I was still reeling from multiple technology failures (mostly due to my […]
David and Tim Barton: The Boston Tea Party was not a “riot.” Don’t you know they called it a “party?”
Thousands of white evangelicals get their history from David Barton (founder) and Tim Barton (president) of an organization called Wallbuilders. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txieT4ufDZI&w=560&h=315] In light of the recent peaceful protests and riots in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the Bartons […]
Talking David Barton, Christian nationalism, court evangelicals, usable pasts, and a bunch of other stuff with Warren Throckmorton
Get some context for this conversation here. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmd3ymSGFe0&w=560&h=315]
Don’t Forget to Cast Your Vote for This Year’s Weemsy Awards
What are the Weemsy Awards? Historian Ed O’Donnell, the creator of the awards, explains: The Weemsy Awards™ spotlight the most egregious lies ad screwups about U.S. History in the past year. These include both incidents emanating from mere ignorance and […]
David Barton’s Latest: The Reference to “Free White Persons” in the Naturalization Act of 1790 Was Meant to Curb Slavery
Earlier today on his Wallbuilders Live radio show, Christian Right activist David Barton made the following case about the Naturalization Act of 1790 and its assertion that citizenship in the new United States be afforded to only “free white persons”: […]
Pastor Greg Laurie Wrongly Tells Fellow Court Evangelicals that the United States Was “founded in a time of spiritual revival”
Here is what Laurie recently told his congregation (as reported by the Christian Post) about his speech (and prayer) at the August 27 court evangelical celebration at the White House: Laurie reminded those in attendance for the dinner that the […]
Why We Must Challenge “Hackish History”
Some of you may recall our very popular podcast interview with Princeton University American historian and twitterstorian Kevin Kruse. You can listen to it here. Kruse has been busy lately. He got a lot of attention when he challenged conservative […]
Evangelicals, American History and Support for Donald Trump
The ideas and proposals I put forth in the last section of this piece I just published with History News Network are very important to me. Thanks for considering them and sharing the piece with those who may need […]
Yes, I am Biased!
Watch this: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49ku-_UFIEU&w=560&h=315] At about the 3:40 mark, one of the hosts on The View asks Tapper if he has a liberal bias. Tapper says: “I am absolutely biased against lies. When there are people lying, I am absolutely […]
More American History Lessons for Kanye West
Yesterday we posted a link to Princeton University historian Kevin Kruse’s history lesson for rapper Kanye West. Today it is Jim Cullen‘s turn to provide a lesson. Cullen teaches history at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York. Here is […]
This Irresponsible Historical Thinking Has to Stop!
Read Jennifer Kerns‘s recent piece on politics and Charlottesville at The Washington Examiner. Kerns is a GOP communications strategist who has worked for the California Republican Party and Fox News. Here is a taste: In the aftermath of Charlottesville, an awful […]
Using and Abusing History to Make a Political Point
Whenever I read a writer who tries to marshal American history (or any history for that matter) to support a present day political position or agenda (it happens A LOT), I am reminded of Georgetown University history professor Michael Kazin’s […]
Yesterday’s Twitter Rant on Trump and the Civil War
Context: here and here. “He was a very tough person”–Yes, just asked the Cherokee, Creeks and Seminoles” #trumpteacheshistory #civilwar #trumpcivilwar — John Fea (@JohnFea1) May 1, 2017 “but he had a big heart”: So big. When he sent Cherokee on […]
Historians Weigh-In on Trump’s Civil War Comments
I was going to write something about this, but my fellow historians have already said just about everything I would say. Maybe I will try to post something later. Here are links to some of the commentary: This New […]
I Hate When Politicians Do This
At a rally yesterday in Salt Lake City, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez announced, among other things, that “we have the most dangerous president in American history.” Stop it. One of my pet peeves is when politicians make political […]
Image of the Day
This one is making the rounds today.