American History 
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SOURCE: Smithsonian
6/23/2021
National Museum of American History Names New Board Leadership
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History Board recently elected Enrique Segura, chairman of the board of ENSE Group LLC, and Barbara Franklin, former U.S. secretary of commerce and business executive, to lead its 22-member advisory board.
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SOURCE: Profs and Pints
4/13/2021
Register for Profs and Pints with Denver Brunsman: The 1814 Burning of Washington
Historian Denver Brunsman will join the Profs and Pints series of (virtual) discussions to talk about the British attack on Washington in 1814 and its impact on American nationalism and the local urban boosters of the capital city.
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12/6/2020
How Wood Helped America Become Great – But Mislay its Sense of History
by Roland Ennos
Industrializing America's infrastructure was much more likely than Europe's to be made of wood. This accident of nature and geography helped drive rapid expansion, but today means much of the 19th century built environment of the United States has vanished.
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SOURCE: Council on Foreign Relations
6/5/2020
How America’s Credibility Gap Hurts the Defense of Rights Abroad
The U.S. government’s response to anti-racism protests risks causing lasting damage to American credibility and influence in protecting minorities and oppressed groups worldwide.
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SOURCE: The Paris Review
3/31/2020
Dorothea Lange’s Angel of History
by Rebecca Solnit
As is so often the case with Dorothea Lange’s photographs and maybe with nearly all photographs, the meaning of the image comes in part from beyond the frame.
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SOURCE: The New York Times
3/8/2020
Ah, Tea. So Relaxing. But Its History Is Another Story.
A room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art tells the story of tea and politics, from China to Britain and that “party” in Boston.
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SOURCE: Washington Post
2/24/20
Historians Must Contextualize the Election For Voters
by Joanne B. Freeman
Historian Joanne B. Freeman explains why this information is crucial for getting the election right.
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2/23/20
Deep Division: Comparing Today and the 1960s
by Donne Levy
America is a deeply divided nation. That fact may be the only thing that Americans of all racial, ethnic, and political groups can agree about.
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2/23/20
Who Can be An American?
by Donald J. Fraser
The challenge of our times, especially in the upcoming 2020 election, is to continue our commitment to a creedal vision of America. We need to make a reality of the opening words of our Constitution, that “We the People” means all people who share the American Creed.
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SOURCE: NY Times
2/8/20
What Will the Next Decade Bring? The 1920s Offer an Answer
by Ted Widmer
It has been a long time since the winter of 1920, but the old fault lines are still visible.
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SOURCE: New Yorker
1/21/20
The Twitterstorians Trying to De-Trumpify American History
In a time when President Trump and his followers are known for spreading dubious versions of American history, historians are taking to Twitter to set the record straight.
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1/5/19
New PBS Documentary "McCarthy" Highlights a Tumultuous Time in Our History
by Julia Brown
Director Sharon Grimberg discusses her new documentary "McCarthy," premiering on American Experience January 6, 2020.
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2/2/20
Mary Jo Binker on Eleanor Roosevelt and Advice for Future Historians
by Isabella DelPino
“You know what I love about Eleanor Roosevelt and the thing that I try to emulate the most about Eleanor Roosevelt? She had tremendous zest for life and for new experience and that animates me.”
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12/16/19
Turns out, The Rockettes’ Annual Christmas Spectacular Hasn’t Always Been So Spectacular
by Isabella DelPino
The hidden history of the Radio City Rockettes.
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SOURCE: Tom Dispatch
12/5/19
A Historic Crime in the Making
by Rebecca Gordon
400 years of history leading up to Donald Trump.
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SOURCE: The Nation
December 1, 2019
Michael Kazin Reviews Eric Foner's Latest Book, The Second Founding
by Michael Kazin
Eric Foner’s story of American freedom, The Second Founding, sheds new light on how the Civil War and Reconstruction influenced the Constitution.
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SOURCE: History.com
11/25/19
Elections in Colonial America Were Huge, Booze-Fueled Parties
Candidate George Washington plied potential voters with 47 gallons of beer, 35 gallons of wine, 2 gallons of cider, 3 1/2 pints of brandy and a whopping 70 gallons of rum punch.
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SOURCE: History.com
11/25/19
Why Is Iowa the First State to Vote?
Since 1972, the Iowa Caucus has been the first—and some argue most important—electoral test on the road to each party’s presidential nomination. But how did it get that way?
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SOURCE: Washington Post
11/16/19
‘Like chasing shadows’: Uncovering Colonial Williamsburg’s LGBTQ history
Researchers plan to comb through available court documents, particularly from trials for those prosecuted under sodomy laws, as well as uncover other clues that can be found in letters or in poetry and art.
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SOURCE: The Atlantic
Accessed 11/14/19
How America Ends
by Yoni Appelbaum
A tectonic demographic shift is under way. Can the country hold together?
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