When the Europeans came to this continent, it was already inhabited by millions of indigenous peoples, originally and (erroneously) called “Indians” by the invaders, and later known by the more PC term “Native Americans” (although, just to confuse things even … Continue reading →
Today is the Fourth of July, our Independence Day. Although the focus is on fireworks and barbecues—a tradition I intend to perpetuate this evening—deep down, this particular holiday is really about American history. John Adams, one of our founding fathers, … Continue reading →
Recommended reading on a Sunday: this article by Barry Casselman, comparing Bush and his new proposals for the Iraq war to the situation Lincoln faced in the spring before the 1864 election. Bush, Lincoln–huh? you say. Well, read it. Casselman … Continue reading →
Yesterday I wrote about the limitations Congress might face in opposing a “surge” of American troops in Iraq if–as rumor would have it–such a surge is part of Bush’s new Iraq policy to be unveiled next week. Today I read … Continue reading →
It has been announced that Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging a few hours ago. I’m not a death penalty fan. But I’ve always realized that there are some situations in which execution seems only appropriate. A trial of Adolf … Continue reading →
[Part I here.] By early 1943, the time of the Rosenstrasse Protest, the Final Solution were well underway. The Nazis had been very careful about their policy of extermination of the Jews; one can view the entire operation as a … Continue reading →
Nonviolent resistance to totalitarian governments can be very difficult because of Draconian retaliation against such efforts and the resulting climate of fear among the populace, as well as the constant propaganda designed to reduce dissent to a minimum. But not … Continue reading →
Dean Esmay has linked to my second post on Cronkite and Tet, and a commenter there named “mikeca” called what I had to say “revisionist history.” His comment was identical to one he posted on this blog as well, which … Continue reading →
[Part I can be found here.] Shelby Steele, a supporter of the war in Iraq, discusses the semantic and conceptual problem we face when we have no clear definition of victory: Without a description of victory, a war has no … Continue reading →
Sixty-five years ago today Pearl Harbor was attacked. That’s long enough ago that only the elderly remember the day and its aftermath with any clarity. Several generations–including my own tiresome one, the baby boomers–have come up since then, and the … Continue reading →
…(or–forgive the pun–perhaps “oxymorons?”) Historian Vincent J. Cannato has an op-ed in the Washington Post rightly critical of historians’ tendency to make instant judgments of Presidencies, both of Bush and others. I always thought historians were those who wrote about … Continue reading →
North Korea is a country formed by a war that never ended. Pacifists are fond of saying that war never solves anything. I beg to differ–war, for example, solved the problem of Adolf Hitler and German expansionist aggressiveness, although at … Continue reading →