So what has happened in the United States since our last court evangelical update? Donald Trump continues to claim he won the 2020 presidential election, refuses to sign Congress’s COVID-19 relief package, and pardoned two murderers and two members of...
Jamestown
Tuesday night court evangelical roundup
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...
The Economy Over Public Health: It’s an Old Story
KJZZ Radio’s Lauren Gilger recently interviewed historian Peter Mancall. Here is a taste: PETER MANCALL: So the first case happens when the English colonized what we now think was Virginia. It started at Jamestown in 1607. The English arrived there. They’re...
How Jamestown Embraced Slavery
At Zocalo, Dartmouth historian Paul Musselwhite explains how it all happened. Here is a taste of “How Jamestown Abandoned a Utopian Vision and Embraced Slavery“: In the summer of 1619, some of England’s first American colonists were carving up land...
What About Powhatan and His People?
Jamestown is in the news lately. This week Donald Trump visited the site of the first British settlement in America to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Virginia General Assembly. Others are commemorating the “20 And odd negroes” who arrived...
Trump Says That Colonial Virginia Teaches Us “Our nation’s priceless culture of freedom, independence, equality, justice, and self-determination under God.” Really?
Here is his speech: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuJt6QTM5Ok&w=560&h=315] 5:00ff: Glad to see that Trump gives a shout out to the Jamestown Rediscovery Project and other preservation organizations. He has no idea what the Jamestown Rediscovery Project does, but at least he recognized...
Tweet of the Night
It comes from Central Michigan University historian Andrew Wehrman. He comments on Trump’s visit to Jamestown tomorrow: Will Trump mention that on his personal coat of arms John Smith had the three heads of Muslim Turks that he supposedly beheaded?...
Trump is Going to Jamestown Tomorrow
Jamestown, Virginia will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first representative government in British America. Donald Trump will be there. Virginia’s black lawmakers will not. Here is a taste of Gregory Schneider’s piece at The Washington Post: Virginia’s black state lawmakers...
Angela: A Slave Who Arrived in Jamestown in 1619
400 years ago, “20 And odd Negroes”-they were slaves–arrived in Jamestown. One of them was named Angela. DeNeen Brown writes about Angela in her recent piece at The Washington Post. It draws on the work of James Horn, president of the Jamestown...
The Author’s Corner with Karen Kupperman
Karen Kupperman is Silver Professor of History Emerita at New York University. This interview is based on her new book, Pocahontas and the English Boys: Caught between Cultures in Early Virginia (NYU Press, 2019). JF: What led you to write Pocahontas and...
Were the “20. and Odd Negroes” Slaves or Indentured Servants?
In an interview with Gayle King of CBS News, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam referred to the first enslaved Africans to Virginia in 1619 as “indentured servants.” Blogger Kevin Levin has a short post on Northam’s comment here. A taste: At...
The “First Africans Tour” at Historic Jamestowne
2019 is the 400th anniversary of the first Africans to arrive in the Jamestown colony. The Historic Jamestowne historical site is commemorating the arrival of these Africans and the legacy of slavery in the settlement with its “First Africans” tour. ...
2017 Princeton Seminar: Day 2
Monday was a long and busy day at the Princeton Seminar. We began with a morning of lecture and discussion about how we should think about “colonial America.” I tried to get the teachers to think historically about the colonies...
The National Endowment for the Humanities Helped Archaeologist William Kelso and His Team Find Jamestown
Donald Trump’s current budget proposal will eliminate government funding for the humanities. This means that local communities and American citizens will need to come up with other ways to fund important programs. It is probably the greatest archaeological discovery in...
Virginia's House Resolution 297 and the "Christian Heritage" of the Commonwealth
A lot of Christian nation stuff has been coming across my screen in the last few days. I have some time today to address it, so stay tuned. First, we have the Virginia General Assembly’s House Resolution 297. Here it...
Jamestown is Coming to the Small Screen
In England. And it is being produced by the people who brought you Downton Abbey. Here is a taste of an article in Variety: “Downton Abbey” creator Carnival Films is to produce eight-part drama series “Jamestown,” which charts the early days...
Virtual Office Hours: Spring 2016 – Episode 1
Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? “Planting the Colonies” [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itDr0RYuIlE&w=560&h=315]...
Ten Significant Fires in History
Richmond, April 1865 This list, published at We’re History, comes from Joshua Rothman, professor of history at the University of Alabama (and a former fan of the old Morton Downey Jr. Show). 1. Jamestown, 16762. New Orleans, 17883. Washington D.C.,...
The Author’s Corner with Russell Lawson
Russell M. Lawson is Professor of History at Bacone College. This interview is based on his new book, The Sea Mark: Captain John Smith’s Exploration of New England (University Press of New England, 2015). JF: What led you to write The Sea...
2014 Gilder-Lehrman “13 Colonies” Seminar: Day Two Recap
Firestone Library–Princeton University It was a full day in Princeton. The Gilder-Lehrman “13 Colonies” seminar is off to a great start (or at least it is from my perspective as the instructor). We started the day problemetizing the “Whig” interpretation...