Person

John F. Kelly

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John Kelly Calls Robert E. Lee An ‘Honorable Man’ and Says ‘Lack of Compromise’ Caused The Civil War

The White House chief of staff set off a firestorm Monday after his comments on the Confederate general.

Trump Sounds Ignorant of History. But Racist Ideas Often Masquerade as Ignorance.

The White House's fumbling about slavery and the Civil War fits a long pattern in American politics.

Still Worrying about The Civil War

John Kelly's statement about the Civil War is not surprising, but they are a reminder that we should still be worrying about the Civil War.

The South Only Embraced States' Rights as It Lost Control of the Federal Government

For decades, slaveholders were powerfully committed to the Union. That changed when Washington stopped protecting their interests.
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The North Tried Compromise. The South Chose War.

The South's insistence upon protecting and spreading slavery caused the Civil War.
Protester with a sign that reads "Save our Monuments"

Pondering the Question of Confederate Honor

Yes, honorable men can fight for dishonorable causes.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump tosses a paper with polling statistics during a town hall event on Oct. 6, 2016, in Sandown, N.H.

‘He Never Stopped Ripping Things Up’: Inside Trump’s Relentless Document Destruction Habits

Trump’s shredding of paper in the White House was far more widespread and indiscriminate than previously known.
Immigrant mother and child embracing

As American as Family Separation

Though the cruelties of the Trump administration’s “Zero Tolerance” policy were unique, they were part of an American tradition of taking children from parents.

The History That James Baldwin Wanted America to See

For Baldwin, the past had always been bent in service of a lie. Could a true story be told?
Trump looks at border wall construction prototypes.
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The Militarization of Immigration Enforcement is Not Unique to Trump

Angry that ICE is ripping families apart? Don’t just blame Trump. Blame Clinton, Bush and Obama, too.

The Liberal Delusion of #ResistanceGenealogy

The effort to dig up information about the immigrant ancestors of prominent Trumpsters is doing more harm than good.
The river between modern-day El Paso, TX and Ciudad Juarez, CH from the 1857 Mexican Boundary Survey

The River That Became a Warzone

The US-Mexico border wall is disrupting and destroying the lives of a united binational community.
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The Future of our Confederate Monuments Rests With the Kids

The perspectives of older Americans have dominated the debate. It's time we pay more attention to what younger people have to say.
Robert E. Lee statue
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Robert E. Lee WAS a Man of Honor. That’s the Problem.

For white southerners, honor had little to do with justice.
Lithograph by Winslow Homer titled "Thanksgiving Day in the Army" depicting soldiers pulling apart a wishbone.

A Confederate Curriculum

How Miss Millie taught the Civil War.

I Grew Up as a Black Southerner Idolizing Robert E. Lee

I didn't know the Confederate general owned slaves. I didn't even know he was part of the Confederacy.

Let’s Relitigate the Civil War

There can be no "compromise" with the false view of America's past from Trumpists and pop historians alike.
Trump speaking.

When Presidents Get Angry

Other presidents used their anger for a purpose — Trump just rages blindly.
Demonstrator with sign that reads "Journalism is not a crime"
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When the War on the Press Turns Violent, Democracy Itself is at Risk

The bloody history of attacks on American journalists.