patriotism — Bunk History

East Asian print of musicians entertaining elites.

A Means to an End

The intertwined history of education, history, and patriotism in the United States.

by Michael D. Hattem via Lapham’s Quarterly on December 23, 2022

A collection of flags, games, and printed matter from the Civil War

Patriotism and Consumerism in the Civil War

For a burgeoning consumer society, store-bought flags and bonnets offered proof that commercialism could go hand in hand with heartfelt emotion.

by Livia Gershon, Joanna Cohen via JSTOR Daily on July 3, 2022

Illustration by Nilé Livingston of the many flags used throughout America as symbols of freedom, patriotism, and protest.

Scars and Stripes

Philadelphia gave America its flag, along with other enduring icons of nationhood. But for many, the red, white and blue banner embodies a legacy of injustice.

by Martha S. Jones via Philadelphia Inquirer on April 6, 2022

An American Flag with opening one of the stripes like a door

The Slippery Matter of ‘Truth’ in Patriotic Education

Laws against teaching critical race theory might backfire on Republicans.

by Timothy Messer-Kruse via The Chronicle of Higher Education on August 5, 2021

A Union soldier sitting with his family

The Problem With Patriotism

I can’t ignore what this country has done to Black people. How do I find my place in it?

by Sasha Banks via The Atlantic on May 6, 2021

Painting of the rocky mountains

How ‘America the Beautiful’ was Born

The United States’ unofficial anthem, a hymn of love of country.

by Jill Lepore via National Geographic on November 3, 2020

Painting of George Washington, altered to show him holding a stack of cash.

The Founding Generation Showed Their Patriotism With Their Money

History suggests the value of a broader understanding of patriotism, one that goes beyond saluting-the-flag loyalty and battlefield bravery.

by Tom Shachtman via The Atlantic on February 7, 2020

These Should Be The End Times For American Patriotism

Exceptionalism has always been core to American patriotism, and American exceptionalism is no longer tenable.

by Sam Haselby via Aeon on May 8, 2018

Cover of pamphlet entitled "Defense is First at Firestone"

Patriotism and Production in World War II Corporate Publications

A Lippincott Library collection shows how, during World War II, companies highlighted their war contributions via annual reports.

by Rayna Andrews via Special Collections Cataloging at Penn on July 5, 2017

Women of the American Revolution (in the fashion of the day) sewing a flag for the new republic.

Homespun Wisdom

A discussion of the patriotic attempt to spurn European fashion and spin cloth at home in the time leading up to the Revolutionary War.

via BackStory on August 28, 2015

55th Massachusetts marches through Charleston, 1865.

Elevating the Few

What J.D. Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

by Elizabeth R. Varon via HNN on July 16, 2025

Johann Neem

Bringing American History Back Home for the 250th

Challenges, opportunities, stakes.

by Johann N. Neem via Perspectives on History on July 14, 2025

A painting of a waterfall in the Rocky Mountains.

America the Beautiful

The poem that became a hymn to the nation came about in troubled, polarizing times.

by Lincoln Caplan via The American Scholar on July 4, 2025

Exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C.

A Truly Patriotic Education Tells Many Stories

Trump’s executive orders can’t define diversity out of history.

by David M. Perry via Foreign Policy on March 31, 2025

The ruins of Ft. Ticonderoga, and a note left in a knapsack a soldier carried in battle there.

A Knapsack’s Worth of Courage

Now, and for some years to come, we will need a lot less Paul Weiss, and a lot more Benjamin Warner.

by Eliot A. Cohen via The Atlantic on March 31, 2025

KKK members parade down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., on August 8, 1925.

When the KKK Came to D.C.

Revisiting a 1925 march through the eyes of Black newspapers.

by Vann R. Newkirk II via The Atlantic on March 23, 2025

I Pledge . . . Allegiance?

American law says schools must honor the Pledge of Allegiance. Schools may have other plans.

by Maggie Phillips via Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera on February 4, 2025

Farm for sale in Kansas, 1938.

The Early History of “Selling America to Americans”

Using film and advertising to sell capitalism and nationalism to immigrants in the early 20th century.

by Caroline Jack via HNN on November 26, 2024

Minute man statue

Myth, Memory, and the Question of the Minute Man Statue

How the Minute Man statue may be used to perpetuate the idea of patriotism in times of conflict.

by Elise Lemire via The Dial: A Journal Of The Emerson Society on November 14, 2024

Teenagers marching in civil rights rally holding large sign reading "Black Power."

Black Church Leaders Brought Religion to Politics in the ‘60s

But unlike today's white Christian nationalism, Black church leaders called for healing internal divisions through engagement.

by Tobin Miller Shearer via The Conversation on September 6, 2024

Kamala Harris stands in front of a crowd of voters holidng "Freedom" signs.

Kamala Harris’s “Freedom” Campaign

Democrats’ years-long efforts to reclaim the word are cresting in this year’s Presidential race.

by Peter Slevin via The New Yorker on August 23, 2024

Alexander Hamilton, with superimposed map of Atlantic world.

The Return of Hamiltonian Statecraft

A grand strategy for a turbulent world.

by Walter Russell Mead via Foreign Affairs on August 20, 2024

The presidents featured on Mt. Rushmore holding ice cream cones.

How Ice Cream Made America

Over the centuries, the beloved treat has become an integral part of our national identity.

by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie via The Saturday Evening Post on June 19, 2024

Toby Keith performing onstage with "Made in America" on screen behind him.

How Country Music Became Patriotic

Country music boosters rebranded the genre and tied it to America's military mission as a way to build popularity.

by Joseph M. Thompson via Made By History on June 6, 2024

A painting of Prince Albert Edward's visit to George Washington's tomb.

On the Road to Ruin with Their Characteristic Speed

Waiting for the start of the American Civil War in Canada and the Caribbean.

by Alan Taylor via HNN on May 28, 2024

Liberty holding an American flag with "For the Union" written on it.

Capturing the Civil War

The images, diaries, and ephemera in Grand Valley State University’s Civil War and Slavery Collection reveal the cold realities of Abraham Lincoln’s world.

by Susanna Ashton via JSTOR Daily on May 23, 2024

A colorful illlustration of Texas Rangers, three Tejano men, guns, and alcohol bottles.

After a Borderland Shootout, a 100-Year-Old Battle for the Truth

A century after three Tejano men were shot to death, the story their family tells is different than the official account. Whose story counts as Texas history?

by Arelis R. Hernández, Frank Hulley-Jones via Washington Post on May 15, 2024

Student reading history textbook

A 1920s Lesson for the History Textbook Fight

The struggles of a century ago show that historians need to keep explaining their work and role to the public.

by Bruce W. Dearstyne via Made By History on April 8, 2024

Painting of Mercy Otis Warren by John Singleton Copley.

Mercy Otis Warren, America’s First Female Historian

At the prodding of John and Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren took on a massive project: writing a comprehensive history of the Revolutionary War.

by Nancy Rubin Stuart via The Saturday Evening Post on March 18, 2024

Ambrotype of African American Woman with Flag—believed to be a washerwoman for Union troops quartered outside Richmond, Virginia

Home Front: Black Women Unionists in the Confederacy

The resistance and unionism of enslaved and freed Black women in the midst of the Confederacy is an epic story of sacrifice for nation and citizenship.

by Thavolia Glymph, Matthew Wills via JSTOR Daily on February 4, 2024

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