Roundup

Civil War Day of Action: Leading a Reading Group

by Julie A. Mujic

Leading a reading group is a great, and socially-distanced, way to take part in the Day of Action for Civil War history. Here are some tips. 

A Historian Takes on Trump's View of American History

by Edward L. Ayers

"I have practiced history for most of the half-century in which these wars over history have been waged — and I have yet to meet anyone who works to destroy the United States."

The Mystery of Robert E. Lee

by Allen C. Guelzo

The supernatural composure attributed to Robert E. Lee was belied by his many anxieties and obsessions, writes the author of a coming biography of the Confederate general. 

Amy Coney Barrett and the “Kingdom of God”

by John Fea

Liberal critics have seized on a quote from the potential Supreme Court Nominee's graduation speech to Notre Dame law students as evidence of a theocratic mindset. A historian of American religion warns the metaphor of the "kingdom of god" is widely used in political rhetoric.

Trump Claims He’s Pro-Worker. But His Labor Board Is Trying to Destroy Worker Organizing.

by Paul Prescod

Donald Trump tries to portray himself as pro-worker. Nowhere is this absurdity better exposed than in the decisions of his National Labor Relations Board, which have over and over again favored bosses rather than workers.

RBG, Historian: Why Justice Requires Memory

by Chris Gehrz

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's sense of justice was informed by a clear view of the path of American history and the knowledge that change toward equality was neither automatic nor unidirectional.

Against State Capture

by Austin McCoy

Austin McCoy warns that the energy of today's protest movements, which demand deep changes to the organization of society, is at risk of being captured and contained by small-scale reforms. The challenge for "abolition democracy" is to involve people in deciding how to dismantle and replace repressive institutions.

Trump Fuels March Toward Fascism With “Anarchist Jurisdictions” Edict

by Mark Bray

The declaration is part of Trump's efforts to divide the nation into the loyal and disloyal.   

The Long Golden Age of Useless, American Crap

by Wendy A. Woloson

Consuming habits encouraged by business and embraced by average Americans make crappy stuff part of the American way of life. While decrying waste, the author argues it's important to recognize that cheap goods allow Americans of modest means to participate in the national lifestyle. 

Canadian Viewers of HBO’s ‘Watchmen’ Should Know the KKK Helped Bring Down a Provincial Government in 1929

by James M. Pitsula

The Ku Klux Klan was active in 1920s Canada, pushing a nativist agenda similar to its contemporaries in the northern United States.

What Trump is Missing About American History

by Leslie M. Harris and Karin Wulf

"Journalists and politicians are examples of two groups that are differently but equally susceptible to a desire for clarity and simplicity about the historical past. But the past is rarely clear and was never simple."

What Trump Taught America About the Bible

by Peter Manseau

The Bible is a powerful talisman for the majority of Americans, but Trump’s successful use of it these past five years suggests that, to many, it is a book whose content matters less than the one holding it; an expression of tribal identity as much as creed.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Helped Shape the Modern Era of Women’s Rights – Even Before She Went on the Supreme Court

by Jonathan Entin

A former clerk recalls Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a pioneering legal strategist who laid the groundwork for significant legal challenges to sex discrimination. 

The Roundup Top Ten for September 18, 2020

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

‘The Right Kind of Neighbors’ – Race and the Origins of Avondale Estates

by Kathryn Wilson

An Atlanta suburb's history connects to the history of American race relations, beginning as a planned all-white community with a segregated Black enclave and ties to the KKK. 

Why Do Women Change Their Stories Of Sexual Assault? Holocaust Testimonies May Provide Clues

by Allison Sarah Reeves Somogyi

Despite the horrific frequency of sexual abuse of women during the Holocaust and during World War II, stigmas attached to victims encouraged survivors to self-censor in their testimonies. The historical record may help to understand the behavior of victims today.

Taking the Next Knee Is this Athletic Revolt For Real and Is It a Danger to Donald Trump?

by Robert Lipsyte

Today's protests by pro athletes, with the WNBA leading the way, appear to be advancing beyond past waves of activism in the world of sports. 

Lampooning Political Women

by Allison K. Lange

Backlash against women's emancipation in the nineteenth century took to the most potent social media of the day--political cartoons--to decry feminism as a threat to civilization itself. 

The Deep Roots of Disdain for Black Political Leaders

by Carole Emberton

From Thomas Jefferson's writings, through the proslavery argument of the middle of the 19th century, the overthrow of Reconstruction, and the Jim Crow era, American politics has been influenced by the racist idea that Black people were incapable of exercising leadership in a democracy.

The Constitution and the Underground Railroad: How a System of Government Dedicated to Liberty Protected Slavery

by Paul Finkelman

"As we celebrate Constitution Day, it is important to remember that this document protected slavery and set the stage for the federal government to hunt down and arrest people, whose only crime was the color of their skin and their desire to benefit from “the Blessings of Liberty” that the Constitution claimed it was written to achieve."