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Thanks a Lot, Ken Burns

Because of you, my Civil War lecture is always packed with students raised on your romantic, deeply misleading portrait of the conflict.
French soldiers at the Battle of the Marne, in 1915.

Rethinking the War to End All Wars

For the players in the First World War, the goal was not to prevail but to avoid being seen as the loser.

Making Sense of Robert E. Lee

“It is well that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.”— Robert E. Lee, at Fredericksburg
Drawing of cowboys riding in the desert, guns drawn, while a herd grazes.

The Hell We Raised: How Texas Shaped the Gunfighter Era

Texans left an enduring mark on the gunfighter era. The frontier was a darker place because of it.
A drawing of Nathanael Greene.
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An Unlikely Soldier

On Nathanael Greene’s inauspicious start.
Border patrol agents in a physical training.

From Suspect to Perpetrato

How history shaped the modern U.S. Border Patrol agent.
Painting of Arnold Schoenberg in Los Angeles.

How Arnold Schoenberg Changed Hollywood

He moved to California during the Nazi era, and his music—which ranged from the lushly melodic to the rigorously atonal—caught the ears of everyone.
Yale Civil War memorial

A Yankee Apology for Reconstruction

The creators of Yale’s Civil War Memorial were more concerned with honoring “both sides” than with the true meaning of the war.
Robert Millikan and Albert Einstein standing side by side.

The Posthumous Trials of Robert A. Millikan

Robert A. Millikan was once a beloved figure in American science. In 2021, his name was removed from buildings and awards. What happened?
Black residents of Natchez, Miss., walk alongside a railroad track in August 1940.

One of the Biggest U.S. Slave Markets Finally Reckons With Its Past

Natchez, Miss., is beginning to highlight the history of its enslaved people—including at a Black-owned bed and breakfast in former slave quarters.
The Battle of Tippecanoe
original

Lost Prophets and Forgotten Heroes

Tracing the currents of American history that run through the Great Lakes region.
J. Robert Oppenheimer

Why the Fascination with Oppenheimer?

J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Manhattan Project scientists are a rare example of weapons designers who have gone down in history.
Nagaski after the atomic bomb.

Did We Really Need to Drop the Bomb?

American leaders called the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki our 'least abhorrent choice,' but there were alternatives to the nuclear attacks.
Daniel Ellsberg speaking at a press conference, 1972.

Daniel in the Lion's Den

On the moral courage of Daniel Ellsberg.
Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg attends a ceremony on April 27, 2023, in which a military base was renamed in his honor.

Forts Cavazos, Barfoot and Liberty — New Names for Army Bases Honor New Heroes and Lasting Values

The last relics of ‘lost cause’ ideology are being removed, as a federal panel renames US military bases that honored Confederate generals.

Long Before Daniel Penny Killed Jordan Neely, There Was 'Death Wish'

Defenses of the recent killing of Jordan Neely suggest that the film’s reactionary, Wild West–style vigilante violence still holds the imagination of many.
Senator Richard B. Russell of Georgia outside the U.S. Capitol in 1965.

The U.S. Senate Has Three Buildings. Why Is One Still Named for a White Supremacist?

Georgia’s Richard Russell was an unrepentant racist. You’d think a name change would be a no-brainer. And yet...
Painting of a city surrendering to Napoleon.

Uses & Abuses of Military History

On the value of the discipline and its applications.
U.S. sailors stand among wrecked airplanes during the Pearl Harbor Attack
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Pearl Harbor was the Site of Black Heroism and Protests Against Racism

The history of segregation in the Navy — and its abolition — show how to combat institutionalized bigotry.
Brooklyn Dodgers infielder Jackie Robinson in uniform, circa 1945.

Jackie Robinson’s Last Fight

As baseball celebrates the 75th anniversary of Robinson’s breaking the color line, it’s worth remembering a man at odds with his own myth.
Monument to the Niños Héroes, six carved pillars with a statue in the center.

The First Lost Cause: Transnational Memory

A comparison of the "Lost Cause" narratives from the Confederacy and Mexico's side of the Mexican-American War.
Political cartoon calling the caning of Sumner "Southern chivalry."
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History’s Lessons for the Jan. 6 Committee

This isn’t the first time a House committee has investigated political violence in the Capitol.
Major Charles Whittlesey in his military uniform.

A Tragedy After the Unknown’s Funeral: Charles Whittlesey and the Costs of Heroism

While he did not die in a war, he can certainly be mourned as a casualty of war—as can the thousands of other veterans who have died by suicide.
Illustration of the funeral procession of the late Captain Cailloux, 1863.

The Case for Posthumously Awarding André Cailloux the Congressional Medal of Honor

Cailloux’s valor, and the Black troops he led in battle, electrified northern opinion and gave federal race policy a strong jolt.
Map that shows indigenous territories

Land Acknowledgments Meant to Honor Indigenous People Too Often Do the Opposite

Land acknowledgments stating that activities are taking place on land previously owned by Indigenous peoples are popular. But they may do more harm than good.
Two artifacts: a firefighting badge from 1861, and a silver speaking trumpet.

Two Objects Bring the History of African American Firefighting to Light

The story played out very differently in Philadelphia and Charleston, and not in the way you might expect.
A flag bearing the likeness of the former World Trade Center destroyed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is flown at half-staff during a ceremony to place a time capsule and plaque outside the Oculus transit station to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey on April 30 in New York.
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Twenty Years After 9/11, its Memorialization Remains Contested

Should 9/11 remembrances include the global war on terror?
Two dueling pistols laying on a table.

A Somewhat Comprehensive History Of U.S. Senators Who Have Died In Duels

The tales of the three fallen senators, as well as some other notable beefs in history.
Condoleezza Rice

Why Aren’t Conservative Women Recognized During Women’s History Month?

The left regularly dismisses such women as less worthy of recognition.
A picture of Trump going through a shredder.

Will Trump Burn the Evidence?

How the President could endanger the official records of one of the most consequential periods in American history.

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