Roundup

The United States Needs a Third Reconstruction

by Wilfred Codrington III

At two previous moments, the federal government has responded to the unavoidable reality that racism subverts democracy, but has allowed two periods of national reconstruction to be undermined and demolished. We need a Third Reconstruction and need to make it stick. 

Abraham Lincoln, Tech Entrepreneur

by Sidney Blumenthal

The president who created the National Academy of Sciences in 1863, Abraham Lincoln, did more to advance the scientific revolution in American life than any chief executive of the 19th century.

Making America Feared Again: The Trump Administration Considers Resuming Nuclear Weapons Testing

by Lawrence Wittner

Americans who grew up with nightmares of nuclear weapons explosions should get ready for some terrifying flashbacks, for the Trump administration appears to be preparing to resume U.S. nuclear weapons tests.

Regarding Daniel Feller's Plenary (Twitter thread)

by Rebecca Anne Goetz (as Historianess)

"Feller opened with comments on Trump and Jackson, with the implication that attaching AJ to Trump was distorting AJ and his context. I was willing to go along with the premise until Feller insisted that AJ's record on Native people was not as bad as we think."

Thoughts on Daniel Feller’s Plenary Address at SHEAR 2020

by John Fea

John Fea evaluates the shortcomings of Daniel Feller's virtual plenary talk at SHEAR and the online responses to it. 

Fear of a Black Planet (Part 1)

by Scott Hancock

With their AR-15s and assorted other guns, a few dozen people, “living in fear of my shade” plus truth and history, met us with anger and threats, unlike any other year the Confederacy has come back to Gettysburg. Fellow historians of every shade, we must respond.

The Essential and Enduring Strength of John Lewis

by Jelani Cobb

"Lewis, like his peers Andrew Young, Marion Barry, and Eleanor Holmes Norton, transitioned into elected office as the post from which he would undertake this work. It was not an easy undertaking."

Reimagining America’s Memorial Landscape

by David W. Blight

As we are witnessing, the problem of the 21st century in this country is some agonizingly enduring combination of legacies bleeding forward from conquest, slavery and color lines. Freedom in its infinite meanings remains humanity’s most universal aspiration. How America reimagines its memorial landscape may matter to the whole world.

The Roundup Top Ten for July 17, 2020

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

Equal Opportunity is Not Enough

by Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor

The myth of America as an equal opportunity society has historically allowed white Americans to hold out equality as a promise redeemable in the future but rarely available in the present.

How Should Teachers Handle the Movement to 'Rewrite' High School History? Embrace It

by Jack Doyle and Chris Doyle

America today is a product of the past and not immune from its racist legacy. Combating racism, now, requires suspending overly optimistic narratives of its demise.

Veterans Go to Washington--So What?

by Nan Levinson

Speculation about the effects of electing veterans to national office is seldom historically informed. Although it's assumed military experience and leadership would shape a legislator's vote, today's partisanship is probably the biggest influence. 

Comparing COVID-19 to Past World War Efforts is Premature — and Presumptuous

by Arne Kislenko

Outright comparisons to the suffering and sacrifice of millions in vastly different contexts is disrespectful and doesn’t help the current fight against COVID-19. What we are living through now is important, but it’s not war.

Lieutenant Lowderback’s Short Snorter: A Flight Nurse’s Service and Souvenir in WWII

by Elizabeth DeWolfe

This World War II souvenir captures frivolity in the midst of the seriousness of war; life in the moment in a time of great uncertainty; and the freedom young women found in serving in the Army’s medical air evacuation squadrons.

The Coal Strike That Defined Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidency

by Susan Berfield

To put an end to the standoff, the future progressive champion sought the help of a titan of business: J.P. Morgan.

Facing America's History of Racism Requires Facing the Origins of 'Race' as a Concept

by Andrew Curran

Many of the most rearguard and unscientific European notions regarding race have remained deeply embedded in the American psyche.

Trump Ignores The History Of Nuclear Weapons At Our Peril

by William Lambers

We must not become complacent about this threat after so many years and just casually accept their existence. Seventy-five years after Trinity, banning nuclear testing and working toward eliminating nukes is the only sensible path forward.

How a History Textbook Would Describe 2020 So Far

by James West Davidson

A historian imagines the chapter high schoolers might read one day about this momentous time.

When Plague Is Not a Metaphor

by Hunter Gardner

It's not always a blessing when current events make a researcher's specialty suddenly and urgently relevant. 

You Think You Have It Tough? Be Glad You Didn’t Live through Leningrad’s 900-Day Siege

by Walter G. Moss

Knowing about worse human tragedies doesn't allow us to be complacent about the current moment, but requires us to commit to acting to reduce suffering and death.