Historians/History

The Election of 1860 and Secession—to Preserve Slavery

by Douglas Egerton

When news of Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency reached South Carolina on Nov. 8, 1860, joyful Charlestonians took to the streets as if their candidate had won.  They erected liberty poles near the battery, and booming cannon saluted the Palmetto flag. "The tea has been thrown overboard," editorialized the Charleston Mercury. "The revolution of 1860 has been initiated."

Who Really Won the 1960 Election?

by David Stebenne

November 8, 2010 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the presidential election of 1960, which still very much interests those who care about disputed elections.

Remembering Generosity and Commitment this Veterans Day

by William Astore

Let's remember that America's veterans have often exhibited remarkable generosity of spirit and awe-inspiring levels of commitment.

Remembering John Galsworthy: International Advocate for Soldiers Disabled in War

by Jeffrey S. Reznick

This Veterans Day, media outlets of every kind will feature stories about medical care and philanthropic support provided to men and women who have sustained permanent injury through military service in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  As these stories appear and calls for remembrance make headlines, the humanitarianism of John Galsworthy—one of the most prolific and best-selling authors of the twentieth century—deserves attention.  His advocacy for soldiers disabled in World War I shoul

Should Academic Free Speech Accommodate Holocaust Denial?

by Richard L. Cravatts

If you scratch a Holocaust denier long enough, you may reveal an anti-Semite, but not always.  You will, however, probably find someone like the morally repellant Kaukab Siddique, a Pakistani-born, tenured associate professor of English and journalism at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, who seemingly puts great faith in conspiratorial dramas in which a crafty and all-powerful enemy—in this case, Jews—weaves an oft-repeated claim that six million of their people were exterminated jus

The Whys of Pre-Revolutionary America with Jon Butler

by Neda Raeker

Jon Butler is Howard R. Lamar Professor of American Studies, History and Religious Studies at Yale University. His books include Awash in a Sea of Faith: Christianizing the America

Honoring Indian Veterans This Veterans Day

by Ed Hooper

More than 44,000 Indians served in World War II.

George Washington's Late Fines: An Interview with Tom Fleming

by Neda Raeker

Mr. Fleming is a former president of the Society of American Historians and a historian of the American Revolution. This interview was conducted via telephone.Could you tell a little about your beginning as an histor

Feeding Popular Hunger for Good History and Good Journalism

by David Nord

The Texas State Board of Education, God's gift to op-ed writers everywhere, recently announced that there is a creeping Muslimization of world history textbooks.  They warned of the rising influence of Middle Eastern interests in the U.S. textbook publishing business.Liberal commentators and religious libertarians denounced the board's resolution as misinformed in fact and offensive in principle.  But this latest skirmish in the culture wars in Texas got me thinking about someth

Veiling Shari`a in a Judeo-Christian Cloak: Imam Ra'uf's and Muqtedar Khan's Latest Ruse

by Timothy R. Furnish

A current tactic favored by Muslim apologists is to posit perfect harmony between Islam and Western (particularly American) civilization,  or between Islam and the other two monotheistic faiths.  In an example of the former, last month Imam Feisal Abdul Ra’uf, mastermind of the Ground Zero/Cordoba/Park 51 mosque, gave a

Channelling George Washington: The General and Alexander Hamilton

by Thomas Fleming

“You’ve been very patient with this old coot, as he unburdens his mind of his worries about our unpredictable country.  Is there anything you’d like to talk about?” “Alexander Hamilton. I’ve been fasci

John Buchanan Documents

To see the documents, either scroll down or click here.

The Dangers of Politicized Conservative History

by Ron Radosh

Having spent a good deal of time writing about the crude left-wing history of our country by charlatans like Howard Zinn and Oliver Stone, I have become wary of politicized history in general, whether it comes from the precincts of the far Left or the far Right.This time the culprits are on the Right, one of the biggest examples being Glenn Beck.  On this website, some time ago, I

Another Look at the Black and Tans: Daniel Masterson on Northern Ireland

by Priscilla Hart

In June 2010 the British government revealed its long-awaited judgment in the emotionally charged case of “Bloody Sunday,” also known as the “Bogside Massacre.” Nearly forty years earlier, on January 30, 1972, in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland, thirteen protesters, many of them teenagers, were shot dead by British paratroopers during a civil rights demonstration held by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association to protest discriminatory practices against Catholics, as well as

The Separation of Church and State Is Rooted in American Christianity

by Johann Neem

Many Americans are worried that America’s Christian heritage is being threatened.  Even if the threat is more perceptual than actual, it has mobilized important religious leaders and politicians to question the separation of church and state.  Indeed, many conservatives construe efforts to separate church and state as an attack on America’s Christian majority.  Many liberals, on the other hand, treat the separation of church and state as solely a political issue, a way to protect the

Appraising the Emancipation Proclamation

by Louis P. Masur

The estate of Robert Kennedy has picked an opportune moment to auction one of its treasures—a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln.  Next month marks the sesquicentennial of Lincoln’s election and inaugurates what promises to be

Live Q&A With Thomas S. Kidd

This real-time Q&A with Thomas S. Kidd took place between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. Eastern on October 13, 2010 on

Thomas Jefferson Wasn't an Anti-Islamic Crusader

by Caitlin Aber

Islamophobia has spiraled out of control in the United States recently.  Terry Jones, a Christian minister with a small congregation in Florida, caught the world’s attention last month in his failed bid to burn two hundred Qur’ans on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  Animosity toward Islam has not been confined to the radical fringes of Christianity; it has also infiltrated the more mainstream political right.  In response to the proposed Muslim community center and

Why We Need to Understand East Asian History

by Charles Holcombe

Way back in the mid-1970s, while I was still an undergraduate student, I made the fateful decision to specialize in the study of East Asian history.  My commitment to East Asia (which consists of greater Ch

The Guatemala Syphilis Experiment: An Interview with Susan Reverby

by David Austin Walsh

Susan M. Reverby is the Marion Butler McLean Professor in the History of Ideas and Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies at Wellesley College. Her ar