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historical thinking

Here we go again with the “right side of history” rhetoric

John Fea   |  October 15, 2020

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof does not like Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. That’s fine. A lot of people don’t. But please don’t invoke “the right side of history.” (The political Right does this as well). There are […]

The American founders practiced revisionist history

John Fea   |  September 28, 2020

I have argued endlessly at this blog and in other writings that revisionism is the lifeblood of the historical profession. Over at The Washington Post, historian Michael Hattem reminds us that the founding fathers were also revisionists. Here is a...

When historians on the Left and the Right engage in “the pleasures of condemnation”

John Fea   |  September 22, 2020

Yesterday I wrote about the White House’s conference on American history. Read that post here. Conservatives are cheering the event. Those on the Left–particularly academic historians–are trashing the event. There are a lot of reasons to be critical about what...

The Trump White House does American history

John Fea   |  September 21, 2020

On Thursday, Constitution Day, Donald Trump announced something called the “1776 Commission.” Here is a taste of his speech: Today, I am also pleased to announce that I will soon sign an Executive Order establishing a national commission to promote...

What is historical contingency?

John Fea   |  August 18, 2020

Parts of this post are based on my book Why Study History: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past. In a recent piece at The Atlantic, Yale historian Joanne Freeman writes about Hamilton: The Musical: It has also gained new relevance over time, promoting...

Moral reflection in the doing and teaching of history (part one)

John Fea   |  August 6, 2020

This post is adapted from Why Study History: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past. Should historians cast judgment on the past? Is this part of their vocation? Some believe that the past must be critiqued from the perspective of Christian...

David Blight: An “educated and civil society” is “open to each other’s stories” and “open to the essential pluralism of the human drama”

John Fea   |  August 3, 2020

Yale historian David Blight talks about the differences between history and the past on the “Live the Best Version of You” podcast. It is a nice introduction to how historians work and how the work historians do must contribute to...

Ed Ayers: The “past can’t be reduced to static variables and predictable outcomes”

John Fea   |  July 29, 2020

Here is the University of Richmond historian‘s piece at Medium: History is best explained by supple narratives of sequence, change, and consequence. We call those narratives stories. All humans understand stories and explain themselves and their worlds in stories. Even...

*The New York Times* covers the “clash of the historians” at SHEAR

John Fea   |  July 25, 2020

Jennifer Schuessler has written a fair report on what happened last weekend during (and following) the Society for Historians of the Early Republic (SHEAR) ZOOM panel titled “Andrew Jackson in the Age of Trump.” Schuessler quotes from the second blog...

Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton opposes “cancel culture.” Unless, of course, it is the 1619 Project

John Fea   |  July 24, 2020

I just learned today that Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton is trying to pass legislation to prohibit schools from using federal funds to teach the New York Times‘s 1619 Project. (If you are unfamiliar with the 1619 Project, read our coverage here....

What I wrote about John Lewis in *Believe Me*

John Fea   |  July 19, 2020

p.176: “But the problem with Donald Trump’s use of American history goes well beyond his desire to make America great again or his regular references to some of the darker moments in our past–moments that have tended to divide Americans...

How does a historian think about the past?

John Fea   |  July 18, 2020

Adapted from Why Study History: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past: The past is everywhere. Take some time to think about the many ways you have encountered the past today. Perhaps you shared a memory with a family member or...

David Blight gives Joe Biden some advice about monuments

John Fea   |  July 18, 2020

David Blight has been a voice of reason on this whole monument debate. In a piecepublished yesterday at The New York Times, he offers Joe Biden some historical advice. He suggests that Biden should establish a task force devoted to “our...

When the Supreme Court engages in bad history

John Fea   |  July 8, 2020

Willamette University law professor and historian Steven K. Green makes a compelling case that the Supreme Court was “sloppy” in its use of history in the recent Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue decision. Here is a taste of his...

Thinking historically about Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech

John Fea   |  July 7, 2020

A lot of conservatives liked Trump’s speech on Friday night. I am told that The Wall Street Journal gave it a positive review. I commented on the speech here, but I thought I would say a few more things about Trump’s...

On complexity and revisionism in the doing of history

John Fea   |  July 6, 2020

From Why Study History: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past: On complexity: Historians realize that the past is complex. Human behavior does not easily conform to our present-day social, cultural, political, religious, or economic categories. Take Thomas Jefferson for example....

Monday night court evangelical roundup

John Fea   |  July 6, 2020

What have Trump’s evangelicals been saying since our last update? Greg Laurie is still suggesting that the United States was “born out of a revival.” I addressed the many problems with this view here. In fact, religious attendance and membership was at an all-time...

Thoughts on Trump’s Proposed “National Garden of American Heroes”

John Fea   |  July 6, 2020

  At his July 3, 2020 speech at Mount Rushmore, Donald Trump said: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alEE-5Pk5DQ&w=560&h=315] More here. And here is the text of the executive order: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws...

Thoughts on Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech

John Fea   |  July 5, 2020

In case you missed it, Trump gave a speech at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota on the night of July 3, 2020. Read the text here. Watch the entire event here: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z61WalX3m_k&w=560&h=315] Thoughts: 1. Mary Hart 2. South Dakota governor...

Tuesday night court evangelical roundup

John Fea   |  June 30, 2020

What have Trump’s evangelicals been saying since our last update? Rudy Giuliani shares a tweet from a spokesperson for Liberty University’s Falkirk Center. Notice how Giuliani uses Jenna Ellis’s tweet of Psalm 27 to make a political statement. When he says “we all...

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