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freedom

The Author’s Corner with Jonathan Lande

Rachel Petroziello   |  October 22, 2024

Jonathan Lande is Assistant Professor of History at Purdue University. This interview is based on his new book, Freedom Soldiers: The Emancipation of Black Soldiers in Civil War Camps, Courts, and Prisons (Oxford University Press, 2024). JF: What led you […]

The Author’s Corner with Peter Kolchin

Rachel Petroziello   |  October 1, 2024

Peter Kolchin is Reed Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Delaware. This interview is based on his new book, Emancipation: The Abolition and Aftermath of American Slavery and Russian Serfdom (Yale University Press, 2024). JF: What led you […]

On becoming a perpetual student

John Fea   |  September 12, 2023

I always enjoy reading Wesleyan College president Michael Roth‘s reflections on liberal arts education. In his recent piece at The New York Times, he reminds us that learning and freedom are always connected, regardless of age. Here is a taste: […]

The Author’s Corner with Matthew J. Clavin

Rachel Petroziello   |  June 21, 2023

Matthew J. Clavin is Professor of American and Atlantic History at the University of Houston. This interview is based on his new book, Symbols of Freedom: Slavery and Resistance Before the Civil War (NYU Press, 2023). JF: What led you to […]

The Author’s Corner with Giuliana Perrone

Rachel Petroziello   |  May 24, 2023

Giuliana Perrone is Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara. This interview is based on her new book, Nothing More than Freedom: The Failure of Abolition in American Law (Cambridge University Press, 2023). JF: What led […]

The Author’s Corner with Leslie M. Alexander

Rachel Petroziello   |  January 16, 2023

Leslie M. Alexander is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of History at Rutgers University. This interview is based on her new book, Fear of a Black Republic: Haiti and the Birth of Black Internationalism in the United States (University […]

The Author’s Corner with Elliott Drago

Rachel Petroziello   |  November 17, 2022

Elliott Drago is Editorial Officer of the Jack Miller Center. This interview is based on his new book, Street Diplomacy: The Politics of Slavery and Freedom in Philadelphia, 1820-1850 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022). JF: What led you to write Street […]

The Author’s Corner with Alex Zakaras

Rachel Petroziello   |  October 21, 2022

Alex Zakaras is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Vermont. This interview is based on his new book, The Roots of American Individualism: Political Myth in the Age of Jackson (Princeton University Press, 2022). JF: What led […]

The Author’s Corner with Damian Pargas

Rachel Petroziello   |  December 13, 2021

Damian Pargas is Professor of the History and Culture of North America at Leiden University. This interview is based on his new book, Freedom Seekers: Fugitive Slaves in North America, 1800–1860 (Cambridge University Press, 2021). JF: What led you to […]

Tomasky: The Right’s view of liberty during this pandemic is “incompatible with human life”

John Fea   |  December 7, 2021

Michael Tomasky is the editor of The New Republic. Here is a taste of his piece, “The Right Wants to Freedom Us to Death”: Future historians—that is, if future historians are actual historians and not a bunch of hired-gun fascist […]

Is this what Ronald Reagan meant by a “shining city on a hill”?

John Fea   |  August 15, 2021

Today as I read New York Times writer Jamelle Bouie’s recent column on vaccines, I was struck by these words. Is it any surprise that millions of Americans treat this fundamentally social problem — how do we vaccinate enough people […]

The United States of America: Are we reaping what we’ve sown?

John Fea   |  August 13, 2021

Don’t mess with the rights of Americans. We are individuals. We are free. Mask and vaccine mandates are tyrannical. They are un-American. Don’t people know that the Bill of Rights is divinely inspired? I am not convinced that the kind […]