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...
Puritans
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...
A discussion of early New England church records
This is a really interesting conversation between historians Francis Bremer, Jeff Cooper, Richard Boles, and Doug Winiarski. The Congregational Library and the New England Hidden History program sponsored this discussion. Watch:...