Founding Era

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• SOURCE: Contingent
  3/2/2021
  

  We, the Nation, Born Under This Tree

  by Sean Cleary

  A speech of Edward Everett and a painting by N.C. Wyeth create a mythical founding moment of an American nation conceived as a white homeland. 

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• SOURCE: Smithsonian
  2/18/2021
  

  Why Martha Washington’s Life Is So Elusive to Historians

  by Alexis Coe

  The popular image of Martha Washington as matronly and austere has suppressed a fuller understanding of the first First Lady as a person rather than a witness to her husband's leadership.

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• 2/21/2021
  

  Don't Defend Democracy With Half-Truths About the Past

  by Brook Thomas

  Although the Capitol riots raised deep concern about the rule of law, there is a deeper challenge ahead of the nation: to understand and change the undemocratic aspects of our foundational law and refuse half-measures in the name of unity.

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• SOURCE: CNN
  2/16/2021
  

  Historian Corrects Nikki Haley's George Washington Tweet

  Historian and Washington biographer Alexis Coe takes apart Nikki Haley's faulty references to George Washington's role in the founding. 

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• SOURCE: New York Times
  2/9/2021
  

  Would the Founders Convict Trump and Bar Him From Office?

  by Eli Merritt

  "Today’s Republican senators must at least be willing to break with their party and disappoint some of their constituents — and, yes, perhaps lose their jobs in coming elections — to serve the larger interest of protecting the nation."