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...
Act quickly. I imagine these “We the People” Bibles will sell out faster than the Trump digital trading cards and the Trump-King Cyrus prayer coins. š Here is Donald Jr.: For $69.99 you can buy a King James Version of...
David K. Thomson is Assistant Professor of History at Sacred Heart University. This interview is based on his new book, Bonds of War: How Civil War Financial Agents Sold the World on the Union (University of North Carolina Press, 2022)....
This is how political scientist Maxwell G. Burkey describes Stephen B. Smith’s new book Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes. His review shows little sympathy for Smith’s project. Before we get to Burkey’s review, here is a synopsis of...
John Bodnar is Emeritus Professor of History at Indiana University Bloomington. This interview is based on his new book, Divided by Terror: American Patriotism after 9/11 (The University of North Carolina Press, 2021). JF: What led you to write Divided...
Some of you recall Jay Green’s Current piece “Lee Greenwood Christianity.” Read it here. Over at Slate, Molly Olmstead reports on the Greenwood-inspired God Bless the USA Bible. Here is a taste: In May, controversy over ātheĀ ultimate American Bibleā briefly...
This is a fascinating essay by Timothy Messer-Kruse of Bowling Green State University. It covers Josh Hawley’s “Love America Act” and Hillsdale College’s 1776 Curriculum. For most of the last two centuries, patriotic schooling was not a partisan issue. Both...
Historian Joshua Tait calls-out the so-called “Trump intellectuals”–many of them connected to Hillsdale College and the Claremont Institute–who claim to be “ardent patriots” who are “at odds with real America, but remain committed to the rhetoric of patriotism.” These Trumpers...
Over at NBC News, Kelly Fields wonders if critical race theory and patriotism can co-exist in classrooms. I would argue that they can co-exist. But the piece also makes a good case for the study of history and civics. Here...
George Will uses his syndicated column this week to review Steven B. Smith’s book Reclaiming Patriotism in an Age of Extremes. Here is a taste: Some on the right mistake their compound of grievances and resentments for patriotism. This mentality...
Here is Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland at yesterday’s Senate hearing:...
This extended NPR piece does a nice job of covering the divisions in the evangelical community right now. The GOP is not the only group that is divided in the wake of the Trump era. Listen: You can listen to...
