Roundup

Trump’s Brownshirt and Incitement to violence: A view from History

by Waitman Beorn

Donald Trump's public approval of right-wing militia activity in an election year resembles the way that Adolf Hitler pursued power through electoral channels while applying selective political violence to left-wing opponents. 

The Forgotten History of the Radical ‘Elders of the Tribe’

by Susan J. Douglas

The Gray Panthers fought for the civil rights, social services and respect denied to older Americans. But they did so by challenging inequality in ways that sought alliances instead of antagonism between young and old. 

Letters From an American: September 14, 2020

by Heather Cox Richardson

Trump's rhetorical pattern echoes the strategy of southern Democratic leaders in 1860, when they knew they did not have the numbers to win the upcoming election fairly.

The Election from Our Past that Blares a Warning for 2020

by Richard Kreitner

The election of 1876 threatened to return the country to civil war. The compromise that prevented that outcome may have been worse. 

The Long History Behind Donald Trump’s Outreach To LGBTQ Voters

by Neil J. Young

Gay Republicans emerged as a political force in response to both radical leadership in the gay liberation movement and the rise of evangelicals as a force in the Republican party. Today they may have to decide which fight is more important. 

Trump’s Doubts about the Military have Deep Roots in Both Parties

by Michael Kazin

Recent media discussions of Trump's remarks about war veterans and indifference to visiting a World War I memorial should prompt deeper thought about the antiwar movements of the right and left that the Great War created. Opposition to war can be rooted in very different values and advance different ends.

Why ‘Glory’ Still Resonates More Than Three Decades Later

by Kevin M. Levin

The film based on the story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry is streaming on Netflix. Kevin Levin suggests that despite the narrative license taken, the film puts the story of Black freedom fighters and the question of emancipation at the center of the story of the Civil War. 

Remote Reflections: Twice the Work and Half the Fun

by Walter L. Buenger

Online teaching is indeed twice the work, especially for a first-timer.

The Long History Behind Allegations Of Racial Discrimination Against Mcdonald’s

by Chin Jou

The lawsuit against McDonald's by 52 African American franchisees is rooted in a complex history of urban disinvestment, Black capitalism, and corporate America. 

Republicans’ Problems with Young Voters Go Far Deeper than Trump

by David Faris

The idea that young voters lean left and shift to the right as they age is political folk wisdom, but has no basis in reality. The Republican Party risks its survival by counting on young voters to get more conservative. 

Where Kamala Harris’ Political Imagination Was Formed

by Tessa Rissacher and Scott Saul

A Black cultural center in Berkeley introduced Kamala Harris to activism and the connections between culture and politics. 

The Dark Side of Campus Efforts to Stop COVID-19

by Grace Watkins

While colleges have a legitimate interest in suppressing virus transmission on campus, it is dangerous to expand the surveillance powers of campus police. 

Many Black World War II Veterans Were Denied Their GI Bill Benefits. Time To Fix That.

by Robert Levinson

Fixing the biased legacy of the GI Bill could send a powerful message and, more importantly, actually repair some of the damage caused by racism that still affects black Americans today.

Who Owns the Evidence of Slavery’s Violence?

by Thomas A. Foster

A lawsuit demands that Harvard University give custody of famous images of enslaved men and women--taken without consent by a biologist seeking to demonstrate white supremacy-- to the subjects' descendents. A Howard University historian agrees, putting the images in context of other intimate violations endured by enslaved persons. 

American Democracy Is in the Mail

by Daniel Carpenter

The Postal Service has been a circuit of information vital to democracy, a non-exclusionary employer, and a service connecting all communities in the nation. It's also been a tool of conquest and voracious capitalism. For good and ill, the history of the USPS is the history of America. 

Roundup Top Ten for September 11, 2020

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

Reform the Police? Guess Who Funds My State’s Officials

by Miriam Pawel

Translating protest into reform depends on breaking the influence law enforcement unions exert on state legislators, including through campaign contributions.

Neoliberal Hong Kong Is Our Future, Too

by Macabe Keliher

While orthodox economists like to point to Hong Kong as an ideal free market, the social consequences have been disastrous. Inequality is rising, wages are declining and working hours increasing, overall economic opportunity is dwindling, and housing is so unaffordable that office workers sleep in McDonalds. Is it any wonder that the streets are now burning?

Trump’s Law-and-Order Campaign Relies on a Historic American Tradition of Racist and Anti-Immigrant Politics

by Austin Sarat

"Throughout this nation’s history, appeals to law and order have been as much about defending privilege as dealing with crime. They have been used in political campaigns to stigmatize racial, ethnic and religious groups and resist calls for social justice made by, and on behalf of, those groups."

How Latinos Can Win the Culture War

by Elizabeth Méndez Berry and Mónica Ramírez

Latino/a Americans can secure their place in America against racist and nativist attacks by demanding representation in the news and entertainment media. The media have been important sources of power in the past, but are still not representative of American demographics.