Roundup

Presidents, Lose the Politesse. Oppose Trump’s Re-election.

by Brian Rosenberg

Is the potential reelection of Donald Trump a sufficient threat to the social fabric that college presidents should reject the norm of neutrality and directly oppose it? 

Why Do We Think Learning About History Can Make Us Better?

by Priya Satia

While historians view their discipline as empirical and secular, its practice has typically enfolded a religious or quasi-religious effort to integrate human action and stories of moral necessity.

How to Steal an Election

by Jon Grinspan

Many of our election rules date from that moment, around 1900, when Americans redirected their “love of smart dealings” toward tightening up electoral systems, rather than finding ways around them.  

Sanctuary Unmasked: The First Time Los Angeles (Sort of) Became a City of Refuge

by Paul A. Kramer

Los Angeles’s first sanctuary law grew out of the refugee wave that had brought Alicia Rivera to the city. By 1982, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 refugees from El Salvador — a country with fewer than 5,000,000 people — and tens of thousands of Guatemalans had fled to the United States to escape murder, poverty, and starvation.  

Malcolm X Warned Us about the Pitfalls of Black Celebrities as Leaders

by Kyle T. Mays

The media’s overemphasis on the voices of Black celebrities obscures the voices of ordinary Black people, whose lives are vastly different from those who have wealth and visibility.

Amy Coney Barrett’s Judicial Philosophy Doesn’t Hold Up to Scrutiny

by Angus King and Heather Cox Richardson

"To put it bluntly, the whole premise of originalism is nonsense in that it pretends to make the work of the Supreme Court look straightforward and mechanical, like 'calling balls and strikes,' in Justice John Roberts’s famous phase."

Partners in Scholarship: A Historian’s View of Trends in Scholarly Publishing

by Mary Lindemann

The AHA's president discusses ongoing change in the world of scholarly publishing as historians consider shorter manuscripts and electronic publication media. 

Amy Coney Barrett’s Philosophy Has Far Worse Roots Than Most Americans Know

by Simon Gilhooley

At the core of originalism is a fundamentally conservative effort to limit the possibilities of our constitutional order to the imagination of historical figures from the 18th century, which included racial hierarchy and support for chattel slavery.

The Politics of White Anxiety

by Jonathan M. Metzl

Appeals to the fears and resentments of White voters are a predictable part of our politics. Why does it remain difficult to fight those appeals?

Don’t Reboot the 2016 Horror Show

by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw

Avoiding the subject of the racist and sexist constraints on American politics ensures those limitations can derail democracy again. 

Republicans Have a History of Weaponizing 'Socialism.' But Do They Understand what it Is?

by Kevin M. Kruse

“Socialism,” Harry Truman argued in 1952, “is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.”

The Roundup Top Ten for October 23, 2020

The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week. 

How Jimmy Carter Kept Me Sane

by Jonathan Alter

"I wrote my Carter biography during the toxic Trump years. The Georgian’s kindness and honesty are an inspiration for me and should be for America, too."

Jeffrey Toobin and the M-Word: Let’s be Honest about what Makes this Scandal so Scandalous

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Jeffrey Toobin's scandal reflects the weight of the idea of the enlightenment individual and the fear that individuals freed from constraint would fall into corruption. 

Will Muting Trump and Biden Save the Presidential Debates?

by Tizoc Chavez

Americans deserve better from the Presidential debates; if the Commission on Presidential Debates can't find a way to elevate substance over style, it should step aside for another organization to meet this civic function. 

History, Deliberation, and Civic Culture

by Jim Grossman

"Equating a mode of inquiry with a heinous crime should induce not only a private shudder but a public disavowal. No reasonable definition of patriotism can accommodate this despicable metaphor."

The Crimes of the Campus Police

by Grace Watkins

"The problems with the campus police are already apparent to anyone willing to look, and gender-based violence by campus officers is an important part of the case for abolition."

The Gonzo Constitutionalism of the American Right

by Corey Robin

"Conservatism has ceased to be a political project capable of creating hegemony through majoritarian means."

The Women Behind the Million Man March

by Natalie Hopkinson

Community archives such as the District of Columbia’s are critical interventions into the omissions of history. This one, like others, makes clear that behind every great feat in the public record lies an untold story of the unsung foot soldiers, architects, analysts and fixers — and these are often women.

Disenfranchisement in Jails Weakens our Democracy

by Charlotte Rosen

Because the pretrial population is disproportionately non-White, this kind of “de facto disenfranchisement” constitutes an abhorrent form of racist voter suppression, despite rarely gaining the headlines and outrage that long voting lines do.