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Gettysburg’s First Confederate Monument

by David K. Graham

The dedication in 1886 of a monument to the Maryland 2nd Confederate Regiment at Gettysburg launched the movement by southern partisans to lay claim to the site of the Union victory as a monument to national reconciliation. The Grand Army of the Republic organization wasn't buying it then, and we shouldn't today.

Two American Dreams: Will Voters Choose John Lewis's or Donald Trump's?

by Walter G. Moss

The late Congressman John Lewis and Donald Trump offer two starkly divergent versions of the American Dream--a choice between nurturing community and freedom and acquisitive materialism. 

Belligerent Patriotism, or Why Donald Trump Cannot Mourn the Dead

by John Bodnar

The behavior of belligerent patriots in our times has made it clear that the type of allegiance they value most--and their image of America--leaves little room for an ethic of mutualism or compassion.

A Tale of Two Tyrants: Charles I and Donald Trump

by Frank Palmeri

A comparison between Trump and Charles I of England suggests not only that the coming election will be rocky, but that it may take a long time to bridge the divisions in American society.

James Madison’s Last Stand: Are We Witnessing the End of Liberal Democracy?

by Richard Matthews

The Trump presidency is a stern test of James Madison's design for a government that could govern without becoming tyrannical. The people and the ballot may be the last of Madison's checks and balances left. 

Could Trump Overturn American Democracy?

by Richard Striner

It might be time to consider how a desperate Donald Trump might execute a fascist putsch, just in case, argues Richard Striner. 

Can Biden Win the Presidency from His Basement?

by Quentin Janel

Joe Biden's efforts to run an effective campaign under COVID lockdown echo the innovations forced on James Garfield. If Biden succeeds, the "Basement Campaign" may prove as influential as the "Front Porch Campaign" of 1880.

Suffragists' Work Didn't End in 1920

by Mary Henold

Women of color and their allies truly won the right to vote for all American women not in 1920, but in 1965, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. 

Of Course Kamala Harris is a Citizen

by Derek Litvak

John Eastman's claims that Kamala Harris is not a natural-born U.S. citizen fly in the face of 14th Amendment jurisprudence and Eastman's own prior defenses of Ted Cruz's eligibility for the presidency. 

Abridging History is Dangerous

by Greg Bailey

You cannot understand the pain and purpose that constitutes our heritage by hiding.

Citizenship, the 14th Amendment, and Trump’s War on Undocumented Immigrants

by Alan J. Singer

Recent attacks on Kamala Harris's citizenship and eligibility to serve as Vice President depend on willful misreading of the Fourteenth Amendment and ignorance of the specific racist injustices it was written to prevent. 

The Republican Party’s Five Traps

by Thomas E. Patterson

Thomas Patterson's new book, excerpted here, evaluates the political traps the Republican Party has set for itself and considers the consequences for the nation if the party implodes. 

Examining Christian End Times Rhetoric in the Time of COVID

by Andrew Joseph Pegoda

Historical amnesia and everyday privilege are what make it seem to some Christians that end prophecies are actively in progress.

Five Strictly Professional Reasons Why Historians Dislike Donald Trump

by Walter G. Moss

Historians may dislike Trump for many reasons that apply equally to our fellow Americans. But we also dislike him because he violates so many of the values important to us as historians.

Let's Return Historical Attention to the Crowd

by Peter N. Stearns

Historians have much to add to the social science theory on crowds and can help advance understanding past simplistic and mechanistic understandings of today's public unrest.

History, Memory and Reconciliation with the (Whole) Past

by Ralph Young

When we reflect on the monuments we need to ask: does the statue memorialize a person or event that was a force for creating a more perfect union or a force that sought to demolish the United States?

The 1976 Election: Why We Can't Predict Vice Presidential Selections in Advance

by Daniel K. Williams

The 1976 campaign highlights a paradox: while the person a presidential nominee chooses as their running mate might be surprising, that individual is selected using criteria that are predictable. 

Learning from Lincoln: Meeting Crisis with Action

by William L. Barney

The United States is at a crossroads. The path chosen will determine whether contemporary America resumes its role as a beacon of hope and progress to the rest of the world or joins the Confederate slaveholders of the past among history’s losers. 

Better Than Silence: The Need for Memorials to the Manhattan Project

by Stephen Kiernan

Creating the bomb was both a milestone achievement, and a profound expansion of the limits of warfare. This complexity deserves a permanent public memorial.

What's in an Un-Naming? Berkeley's Kroeber Hall

by Tony Platt

Alfred Kroeber built the University of California's anthropology department into a world leader literally with the bones of the Native peoples of California. It's time to honor them.