slavery

Thomas Jefferson: hero or villain?

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The title of this post is not, primarily, a historical question. It is primarily a moral question. We should keep the complexity of the past in mind as we celebrate Independence Day. Check out early American historian’s Jack Rakove‘s recent...

“Slavery” or “involuntary relocation?”

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Here is Brian Lopez at The Texas Tribune: A group of Texas educators have proposed to the Texas State Board of Education that slavery should be taught as “involuntary relocation” during second grade social studies instruction, but board members have...

How slavery shaped Harvard

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Harvard president Lawrence S. Bacow and historian Tomiko Brown-Nagin, chair of the Presidential Initiative on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery, explain in a piece at The Washington Post: In his groundbreaking 1935 book, “Black Reconstruction in America,” W.E.B. Du...

The Author’s Corner with David Silkenat

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David Silkenat is Senior Lecturer of American History at the University of Edinburgh. This interview is based on his new book, Scars on the Land: An Environmental History of Slavery in the American South (Oxford University Press, 2022). JF: What...

Woody Holton reflects on Liberty is Sweet

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Over at the Age of Revolutions blog, historian Tom Cutterman of the University of Birmingham (UK) interviews University of South Carolina historian Woody Holton. The topic is Holton’s recent book, Liberty is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution....

What is going on at James Madison’s Montpelier?

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Here is Gregory Scheneider at The Washington Post: James Madison’s Montpelier estatedrew national attention last year when the board that manages the historic home announced plans to share authority equally with descendants of people who were once enslaved there. But...

The Author’s Corner with Jeremy Schipper

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Jeremy Schipper is Professor of Religion at Temple University. This interview is based on his new book, Denmark Vesey’s Bible: The Thwarted Revolt That Put Slavery and Scripture on Trial (Princeton University Press, 2022). JF: What led you to write...

Is there just one American origin story?

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Emily Sclafani teaches history at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx. Here is a taste of her piece at the American Historical Association’s Perspectives on History titled “The Danger of a Single Origin Story.” I write this as a secondary...

The Author’s Corner with Jonathan White

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Jonathan White is Associate Professor of American Studies and Director of the Pre-Law Program at Christopher Newport University. This interview is based on his new book, A House Built by Slaves: African American Visitors to the Lincoln White House (Rowman...

A database of the 1,715 members of Congress who owned slaves

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The Washington Post has published a database of American enslavers. It includes some familiar names: Thomas Hart Benton, John C. Breckinridge, Preston Brooks, Aaron Burr, Pierce Butler, John C. Calhoun, Charles Carroll, Henry Clay, De Witt Clinton, Davy Crockett, Jefferson...

James Oakes on what the 1619 Project gets wrong

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City University of New York (CUNY) historian James Oakes was one of the early critics of the 1619 Project. He was part of the group of historians that agreed to an interview with historian Tom Mackaman at the World Socialist...

The Author’s Corner with John Harris

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John Harris is McDonald-Boswell Assistant Professor of History at Erskine College. This interview is based on his new book, The Last Slave Ships: New York and the End of the Middle Passage (Yale University Press, 2020). JF: What led you...

The Author’s Corner with Damian Pargas

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Damian Pargas is Professor of the History and Culture of North America at Leiden University. This interview is based on his new book, Freedom Seekers: Fugitive Slaves in North America, 1800–1860 (Cambridge University Press, 2021). JF: What led you to...