American History

• 
• 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.

• 
• 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.

• 
• 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. 

• 
• SOURCE: The New York Times
  October 31, 2019
  

  5 New York Buildings That Changed American History

  by Sam Roberts

  The inconspicuous landmarks where the Depression exploded, modern art bloomed, and the United Nations first assembled.

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• 10/20/19
  

  Can a 1960s-like Counterculture Emerge?

  by Walter G. Moss

  Today we have just as much reason to protest as did the 1960’s dissidents. We need a counterculture, or an opposing culture or way of life, to embolden our emotions and imaginations and challenge "throaway" consumer culture. 

• 
• SOURCE: USA Today
  10/17/19
  

  USA Today Publishes New Articles As Part Of Series, "1619: Searching for Answers"

  The articles explore the different ways the legacy of slavery has shaped America. 

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• 10/13/19
  

  Rethinking Polygamy: An Interview with Sarah M.S. Pearsall

  by Kyla Sommers

  "Polygamy controversies place us amid major events in early America because such clashes were about the organization and governance not just of house- holds but of societies, nations, and empires.”

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  9/20/19
  

  When Anti-Immigration Meant Keeping Out Black Pioneers

  by Anna-Lisa Cox

  A historical discussion of the the laws created to keep free African Americans out of the Midwest. 

• 
• SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal
  9/16/19
  

  What Ever Happened to We the People?

  by Adam Carrington

  "There's more to the the US Constiution than its amendments. Give the preamble some respect." 

• 
• SOURCE: The Nation
  8/7/2019
  

  Toni Morrison and the ‘Human Project’

  by Robert Greene II

  Through her novels and essays, Morrison helped inspire a generation of writers to reckon with American history.

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  8/6/2019
  

  Ibram X. Kendi Has a Cure for America’s ‘Metastatic Racism’

  In 2016, he was a surprise National Book Award winner for a sweeping history of ever-mutating American racism. Now, he’s back with a new book that outlines how to fight it.

• 
• SOURCE: Tom Dispatch
  8/1/19
  

  Trump’s Venom Against the Media, Immigrants, “Traitors,” and More Is Nothing New

  by Adam Hochschild

  The parallels between 1919 and 2019. 

• 
• SOURCE: History
  7/12/2019
  

  The U.S. Deported a Million of Its Own Citizens to Mexico During the Great Depression

  Up to 1.8 million people of Mexican descent—most of them American-born—were rounded up in informal raids and deported in an effort to reserve jobs for white people.

• 
• SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
  7/14/2019
  

  The Hidden History of Liberty Island

  Before the statue and long before the brand-new museum, there were pirates, real-estate ventures and public executions

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• 7/3/19
  

  America, One and Inseparable

  by Vaughn Davis Bornet

  A reflection this 4th of July on the challenges the United States face and how history can guide us.