Historians/History

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• 1/24/2021
  

  "Hands Off Until He Was Safe Over": David Reynolds Urges Biden to Look to Lincoln

  by James Thornton Harris

  Historian David S. Reynolds recently published Abe: Abraham Lincoln and his Times, a cultural biography that shows how the 16th president was shaped by the many social currents swirling in the young United States.

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• 1/24/2021
  

  George Washington Resisted the Siren Call of Absolute Power

  by Jan-Benedict Steenkamp

  George Washington is celebrated for his refusal to continue past two terms as President. But his earlier actions in refusing the leadership of a military coup against the Continental Congress in 1783 put the new nation on track to have civilian leadership under law. 

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• 1/24/2021
  

  Cheese to Chalk: Can Democracies be Compared to Dictatorships?

  by Leonid Luks

  A German historian argues that American scholars and commentators have for years been too quick to equate antidemocratic measures taken by Republicans with Hitler's seizure of dictatorial power, dismissing ample research on the nature of totalitarian regimes. The last three months have shown that America's core institutions are not weak enough to be crushed. 

• 
• 1/24/2021
  

  1964: The Election that Turned American Politics Tribal

  by James A. Morone

  In 1964, George Wallace's primary challenge to LBJ inspired Republicans to take up the mantle of the white party. Trumpism represents the dead end of that path. 

• 
• 1/19/2021
  

  Biden Isn't the First President to Have to Change Tracks en Route to Inauguration

  by Jeff Rogg

  The threat of violence forced Joe Biden to cancel plans to travel from Wilmington to Washington by Amtrak, as he famously did during his Senate years. The decision recalls Lincoln's efforts to avoid the (possibly apocryphal) Baltimore Plot. 

• 
• 1/17/2021
  

  The History of Skipping a Successor's Inauguration

  by Michael Patrick Cullinane

  Trump's decision to skip Biden's inauguration might seem like a mere petty gesture. But it harkens back to previous episodes that reflected times of deep division and political conflict.

• 
• 1/12/2021
  

  Lessons for Today from FDR and the Progressives?

  by Walter G. Moss

  Drawing lessons for Joe Biden's fraught entry to the presidency from FDR requires considering some unexpected virtues like empathy and humor. 

• 
• 1/10/2020
  

  Jefferson's Other Legacy: Religious Liberty

  by Cameron Addis

  Thomas Jefferson's critics have pointed out his ownership of slaves as reason to question his continued relevance as a symbol of freedom. But his commitment to religious liberty helped to prevent violent sectarian conflict and should be honored. 

• 
• 12/20/2020
  

  Create Collaborative Videos to Build Historical Engagement

  by Andrew Joseph Pegoda

  A history professor advocates collaborative, creative performance as a way to encourage students to engage with primary sources and build empathy for the historical other. 

• 
• 12/20/2020
  

  The Plague in Ancient Athens: A Cautionary Tale for America

  by Fred Zilian

  The United States in some respects has fared better under COVID than Athens did during the plague that accompanied the Peloponnesian War: a vaccine is in sight, and our head of state survived the day's most feared disease. But in both cases, disease showed the strains and cracks of a society and political system that will be difficult to repair.

• 
• 12/13/2020
  

  Anarchism and the Avant-Garde: Félix Fénéon at the Museum of Modern Art

  by Sam Ben-Meir

  A new MOMA exhibition centers not on artists, but on the avant-garde critic and editor Félix Fénéon, whose championing of innovative artists meshed with his radical politics as a critique of the injustices of modern society.

• 
• 12/13/2020
  

  A Lesson from "The Crown" for American Elections? Embrace Dignity, Demand Efficiency

  by Lolita Buckner-Inniss

  A fictionalized scene from the series "The Crown" illustrates the way that norms and good faith can overcome gaps in the letter of the law of government. The 2020 election shows that when norms and good faith approach failure, it's time to fill in those gaps.

• 
• 12/6/2020
  

  Recognizing an Unrecognized Chinese American WWII Veteran

  by A.J. Wong

  In December, Congress honored all Chinese American World War II veterans with the Congressional Gold Medal, and some of their families will be eligible to receive a replica medal in their names. Hoy You Lim (林開祐) was killed in action in France in 1944. None of his survivors could complete the paperwork to receive his medal. The granddaughter of another Chinese American veteran wants to recognize his service. 

• 
• 11/22/2020
  

  A Surprise Encounter with Zora Neale Hurston

  by Fred Zilian

  The genius of Zora Neale Hurston has fascinated recent scholars, but one reader found traces of her legacy in an unexpected place. 

• 
• 11/22/2020
  

  Take a Lesson from the Persistence of the Founder of Modern Thanksgiving

  by William Lambers

  Sarah Josepha Hale pushed Abraham Lincoln to declare a national Thanksgiving holiday as a day to seek healing and unity. Fighting to end hunger is a way to recommit to the spirit of the holiday.

• 
• 11/22/2020
  

  UCLA Historian Carla Pestana Debunks Myths About the Pilgrims and the Plymouth Colony

  by James Thornton Harris

  Alert Tom Cotton: Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower Compact, and the origins of Thanksgiving are just a few of the things Professor Carla Pestana finds in need of historical revision. 

• 
• 11/15/2020
  

  Recovering Acts of Progressive Patriotism: Teaching Through Protest Music

  by Matthew Lindaman

  A history professor reflects on a course teaching critical perspectives on patriotism through protest and music that articulates an inclusive and progressive nationalism.

• 
• 11/15/2020
  

  A Medieval Perspective on the Public Acceptance of Women as Leaders

  by Erika Graham-Goering

  Whether in medieval France or in modern democracies, women's exercise of leadership has been constrained by gendered ideas of who can lead. 

• 
• 11/8/2020
  

  Eisenhower’s Election Day Crisis Reminds Us What Presidents Must Do

  by William Lambers

  The Suez crisis reminds us that we need presidents who seek to avoid war, even above their political ambitions. 

• 
• 11/8/2020
  

  The End of an Era? Athens After Empire

  by Ian Worthington

  “Hellenistic” Athens may not shine as brightly as Classical Athens, but it has lived unfairly in the shadow of its famous predecessor. It’s time it emerged from that shadow.