Matthew J. Tuininga is Professor of Christian Ethics and the History of Christianity at Calvin Theological Seminary. This interview is based on his new book, The Wars of the Lord: The Puritan Conquest of America’s First People (Oxford University Press, […]
Puritans
Boston Seminar: Day 1
I’m in Boston this week with a great group of history and social studies teachers from Roanoke, Virginia. We are exploring the colonial and revolutionary history of the city. The week-long seminar was made possible by the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of […]
The Author’s Corner with Linford D. Fisher, Sheila M. McIntyre, and Julie A. Fisher
Linford D. Fisher is Associate Professor of History at Brown University, Sheila M. McIntyre is Associate Professor of History at the State University of New York at Potsdam, and Julie A. Fisher is a historian, educator, and editor. This interview […]
Conquering the wilderness, building a city on a hill, and tonight’s GOP debate
Historian Peter Mancall will be looking for references to the Puritans in tonight’s GOP presidential primary debate. He found several in the first debate. Here is a taste of his piece at Zocalo Public Square: The second Republican debate will […]
The Author’s Corner with Adrian Chastain Weimer
Adrian Chastain Weimer is Professor of History at Providence College. This interview is based on her new book, A Constitutional Culture: New England and the Struggle Against Arbitrary Rule in the Restoration Empire (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023). JF: What […]
The American history some conservative evangelicals wish weren’t true
Baptist News Global’s Rodney Kennedy asked historians Randall Balmer, Bill Trollinger, and yours truly to suggest a few historical facts that conservative evangelicals wish weren’t true. Here is my contribution to the piece: Fea says evangelicals wish it weren’t true […]
From the archives: “Was There a Golden Age of Christmas in America?”
This piece first appeared in the Pacific Standard (now defunct) on December 11, 2011 —JF The so-called “War on Christmas” has reared its ugly head again. Conservative Christians—most of them evangelicals—have hit the airwaves and lecture circuits to warn their […]
Thomas Maule’s words were a stinging and prophetic critique of the Salem witch trials; they also landed him in jail for twelve months
I recently finished a lecture in my Colonial America class at Messiah University on the historiography of the Salem witch trials. We discussed all the major interpretations: Boyer and Nissenbaum, John Demos, Carol Karlson, Elizabeth Reis, Richard Godbeer, Mary Beth […]