American History

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• SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations
  6/5/2020
  

  How America’s Credibility Gap Hurts the Defense of Rights Abroad

  The U.S. government’s response to anti-racism protests risks causing lasting damage to American credibility and influence in protecting minorities and oppressed groups worldwide.

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• SOURCE: The Paris Review
  3/31/2020
  

  Dorothea Lange’s Angel of History

  by Rebecca Solnit

  As is so often the case with Dorothea Lange’s photographs and maybe with nearly all photographs, the meaning of the image comes in part from beyond the frame.

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• SOURCE: The New York Times
  3/8/2020
  

  Ah, Tea. So Relaxing. But Its History Is Another Story.

  A room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art tells the story of tea and politics, from China to Britain and that “party” in Boston.

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/24/20
  

  Historians Must Contextualize the Election For Voters

  by Joanne B. Freeman

  Historian Joanne B. Freeman explains why this information is crucial for getting the election right.

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• 2/23/20
  

  Deep Division: Comparing Today and the 1960s

  by Donne Levy

  America is a deeply divided nation. That fact may be the only thing that Americans of all racial, ethnic, and political groups can agree about.

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• 2/23/20
  

  Who Can be An American?

  by Donald J. Fraser

  The challenge of our times, especially in the upcoming 2020 election, is to continue our commitment to a creedal vision of America. We need to make a reality of the opening words of our Constitution, that “We the People” means all people who share the American Creed.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  2/8/20
  

  What Will the Next Decade Bring? The 1920s Offer an Answer

  by Ted Widmer

  It has been a long time since the winter of 1920, but the old fault lines are still visible.

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• SOURCE: New Yorker
  1/21/20
  

  The Twitterstorians Trying to De-Trumpify American History

  In a time when President Trump and his followers are known for spreading dubious versions of American history, historians are taking to Twitter to set the record straight.

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• 1/5/19
  

  New PBS Documentary "McCarthy" Highlights a Tumultuous Time in Our History

  by Julia Brown

  Director Sharon Grimberg discusses her new documentary "McCarthy," premiering on American Experience January 6, 2020. 

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• 2/2/20
  

  Mary Jo Binker on Eleanor Roosevelt and Advice for Future Historians

  by Isabella DelPino

  “You know what I love about Eleanor Roosevelt and the thing that I try to emulate the most about Eleanor Roosevelt? She had tremendous zest for life and for new experience and that animates me.”

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• 12/16/19
  

  Turns out, The Rockettes’ Annual Christmas Spectacular Hasn’t Always Been So Spectacular

  by Isabella DelPino

  The hidden history of the Radio City Rockettes.

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• SOURCE: Tom Dispatch
  12/5/19
  

  A Historic Crime in the Making

  by Rebecca Gordon

  400 years of history leading up to Donald Trump. 

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• SOURCE: The Nation
  December 1, 2019
  

  Michael Kazin Reviews Eric Foner's Latest Book, The Second Founding

  by Michael Kazin

  Eric Foner’s story of American freedom, The Second Founding, sheds new light on how the Civil War and Reconstruction influenced the Constitution.

• 
• SOURCE: History.com
  11/25/19
  

  Elections in Colonial America Were Huge, Booze-Fueled Parties

  Candidate George Washington plied potential voters with 47 gallons of beer, 35 gallons of wine, 2 gallons of cider, 3 1/2 pints of brandy and a whopping 70 gallons of rum punch.

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• SOURCE: History.com
  11/25/19
  

  Why Is Iowa the First State to Vote?

  Since 1972, the Iowa Caucus has been the first—and some argue most important—electoral test on the road to each party’s presidential nomination. But how did it get that way? 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  11/16/19
  

  ‘Like chasing shadows’: Uncovering Colonial Williamsburg’s LGBTQ history

  Researchers plan to comb through available court documents, particularly from trials for those prosecuted under sodomy laws, as well as uncover other clues that can be found in letters or in poetry and art.

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  Accessed 11/14/19
  

  How America Ends

  by Yoni Appelbaum

  A tectonic demographic shift is under way. Can the country hold together?

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• 11/17/19
  

  Cracked Foundations: The Case for Reparations

  by Julia Brown

  Compensation for historically disadvantaged minorities is nothing new.

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  11/1/19
  

  244-Year-Old Rifle Stolen Decades Ago Is Returned to Museum

  The Johann Christian Oerter rifle, taken from Valley Forge State Park in 1971, will go on display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.

• 
• SOURCE: The New York Times
  November 3, 2019
  

  Presidential Candidates Crave the Spotlight. 200 Years Ago That Was Taboo.

  by David Botti

  For a century, presidential candidates were discouraged from openly campaigning - lest they appear power hungry like the British king America revolted against. Here's why that all changed.