I hope you get some time this week to read Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Blight’s piece at The New York Times Magazine, “Was the Civil War Inevitable?” Blight reflects on the 1850s, particularly the Dred Scott case, and wonders if...
Dred Scott
Goodbye Roger Taney
Earlier this week my U.S. history survey students answered a final exam essay question on the short-term causes of the American Civil War. I haven’t graded their essays yet, but if their blue books do not contain something about Roger...
Historian H.W. Brands Paints a Scenario in Which the Battle Over Abortion Might Lead to Civil War
H.W. Brands‘s piece at The Washington Post is worth pondering. Here is a taste: Suppose Roe is reversed, and the states are allowed to restrict abortion as they see fit. Red states reduce access to abortion, in some cases nearly eliminating...
Baltimore Is Trying to Figure Out What to Do With the Monuments They are Taking Down
Here is a taste of Merrit Kennedy’s report at National Public Radio: On Aug. 16, under the cover of darkness, Baltimore removed four statues of figures with Confederate ties in a five-hour operation ordered by Mayor Catherine Pugh. The Lee-Jackson statue and...
Roger Taney Apologizes to Dred Scott
Well, actually both Roger Taney and Dred Scott are dead. But this did not stop a descendant of Taney (also named Roger Taney) from apologizing to a descendant of Scott. Here is a taste of an article from The Washington Post:...