Please do not get your American history from my former U.S. Senator. Here is part of a recent lecture to the Young America’s Foundation: Let’s just get some facts straight: Some, but not all, Europeans came to North America to...
continuity
Out of the Zoo: The 5 C’s of Christianity
Annie Thorn is a sophomore history major from Kalamazoo, Michigan and our intern here at The Way of Improvement Leads Home. As part of her internship she is writing a weekly column titled “Out of the Zoo.” It focuses on life as...
Is Anything “Unprecedented” About Donald Trump?
I teach my students that historians often think in terms of change and continuity. In the age of Trump I have been hammering this lesson home more than usual. Is Trump just another manifestation of nativism, populism, xenophobia, narcissism, etc.? ...
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...
The Mark of a Narcissist
My use of social media is not Presidential – it’s MODERN DAY PRESIDENTIAL. Make America Great Again! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2017 This tweet is one of the many signs that Donald Trump is a narcissist. It...
Do Historians Privilege "Change Over Time" Over "Continuity?"
Back in January 2007 historians Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke wrote a piece in Perspectives on History titled “What Does It Mean to Think Historically?” In this essay Andrews and Burke synthesized the concepts that historians use to make sense...