Here is Gregory Schneider at The Washington Post: Here’s what we know: On March 23, 1775 — probably in the afternoon — a self-taught lawyer named Patrick Henry arose in a little white church in Richmond and unleashed a scorching, […]
founding fathers
The Author’s Corner with Jane E. Calvert
Jane E. Calvert is Director and Chief Editor of The John Dickinson Writings Project. This interview is based on her new book, Penman of the Founding: A Biography of John Dickinson (Oxford University Press, 2024). JF: What led you to […]
The Author’s Corner with Timothy Messer-Kruse
Timothy Messer-Kruse is Professor in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies at Bowling Green State University. This interview is based on his new book, Slavery’s Fugitives and the Making of the United States Constitution (LSU Press, 2024). JF: What […]
The Author’s Corner with Sarah Kornfield
Sarah Kornfield is Associate Professor of Communication and Affiliated Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Hope College. This interview is based on her new book, Invoking the Fathers: Dangerous Metaphors and Founding Myths in Congressional Politics (Johns Hopkins University […]
The Author’s Corner with Cara Rogers Stevens
Cara Rogers Stevens is Associate Professor of History at Ashland University. This interview is based on her new book, Thomas Jefferson and the Fight against Slavery (University Press of Kansas, 2024). JF: What led you to write Thomas Jefferson and the […]
Robert Kagan on antiliberalism and Christian nationalism
Here is an excerpt from Kagan’s book Rebellion: How Antiliberalism is Tearing America Apart. The excerpt is published today at The Washington Post: Trump not only acknowledges his goals, past and present; he promises to do it again if he […]
The Author’s Corner with Frank Cogliano
Frank Cogliano is Professor of American History at the University of Edinburgh. This interview is based on his new book, A Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic (Harvard University Press, 2024). JF: What led you to write A Revolutionary Friendship? […]
Jane Kamensky, the new president of Monticello, prepares for the 250th commemoration of the nation’s founding
Last October, we noted that historian Jane Kamensky will be the new president of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. In a recent interview with the American Historical Association, Kamensky reflects on her role at Monticello in light of the 250th commemoration of […]
“Christian nation idea fuels US conservative causes, but historians say it misreads founders’ intent”
Happy to help Associated Press religion reporter Peter Smith with this piece. A taste: Those arguing for a Christian America are generally not historians and not really talking about history — they’re talking politics, said John Fea, author of the […]
What did the founding fathers mean by “happiness”?
Jeffrey Rosen is President and CEO of the National Constitution Center and professor of law at the George Washington University. His new book is titled The Pursuits of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders […]
“Our founding fathers understood the absolute necessity for this nation to elect moral and upright statesmen to lead the people.”
That was Jerry Falwell Sr. on January 8, 1999 in the midst of the Bill Clinton impeachment trial. Here is the quote in context: “Our founding fathers understood the absolute necessity for this nation to elect moral and upright statesmen […]
“We are glad we are not them”: How Canadians are thinking about the potential collapse of American democracy
Over at Literary Review of Canada, Pulitzer prize-winning writer and McGill University professor David Marks Shribman reviews Rob Goodman’s Not Here: Why American Democracy is Eroding and How Canada Can Protect Itself. Here is a taste: It once was sufficient […]
What did the founding fathers mean by “virtue”?
Recently a follower on one of my social media sites asked me for some reading material on the 18th-century understanding of virtue. I have tried over the years to inform many of my fellow evangelicals that when the founders talked […]
Historian Jane Kamensky is the new president at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
Kamensky comes to Charlottesville from Harvard University’s history department. Here is the press release: CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private nonprofit that owns and operates Monticello, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Kamensky, Ph.D., as […]
Jack Hibbs is still talking about American history. And it’s getting worse.
Last week I called your attention to megachurch pastor Jack Hibbs’s atrocious handling of the history of the Continental Army at Valley Forge. Now he is back with more. Watch: OK, let’s break it down: 1:10ff: Hibbs says, with no […]
Hey Josh Hawley, about that Patrick Henry quote…
In case you missed it, on July 4th Josh Hawley, the conservative populist U.S. senator from Missouri, tweeted some words on Twitter that he claimed belonged to Virginia revolutionary Patrick Henry: The problem with Hawley’s tweet is that Patrick Henry […]
Historian: The 2nd Amendment was to make sure the U.S. would not have to deal with a Prigozhin-type invasion
Here is historian Noah Shusterman at The Washington Post: On Saturday, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, ordered his soldiers to withdraw from Ukraine and to instead set their sights on targets within Russia itself. First they took over Rostov, […]
The Author’s Corner with Travis McDonald
Travis McDonald is Director of Architectural Restoration at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest. This interview is based on his new book, Poplar Forest: Thomas Jefferson’s Villa Retreat (University of Virginia Press, 2023). JF: What led you to write Poplar Forest? TM: […]
Ron DeSantis wrote a book about the founding fathers
The full title is Dreams From Our Founding Fathers: First Principles in the Age of Obama. Historian David Waldstreicher read it. Here is a taste of his piece at The Atlantic: History works for Ron Desantis as an argument. It would […]
Should Princeton University remove its statue of former College of New Jersey president John Witherspoon?
I’ve spent a little time studying Princeton University’s history over the years. My first book was on a Witherspoon student who studied at Princeton (then the College of New Jersey) between 1770 and 1772. My second book covered Witherspoon’s role […]