colonial America

• 
• SOURCE: TIME
  7/3/2023
  

  The Declaration of Independence Sealed a Shotgun Wedding

  by Eli Merritt

  If the founding is to inspire us today, it should be for the way that the journey from the Declaration to the Constitution reflected the ability to overcome bitter and pervasive division. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  5/8/2023
  

  Can Colonial Williamsburg Do Living History Better?

  Historian Karin Wulf argues that the leadership of Colonial Williamsburg has steered an effective course through the conflicting imperatives of nostalgia, heroic storytelling, and the harsh inequalities of the colonial era.   

• 
• SOURCE: Mother Jones
  4/24/2023
  

  Ned Blackhawk Unmakes the American Origin Story

  In "The Rediscovery of America" the historian presses for encounter, rather than discovery, to be the dominant theme of early American history. He explains here what can be gained by adopting this lens. 

• 
• 3/19/2023
  

  The Curious History of Ulysses Grant's Great Grandfather

  by John Reeves

  The military experiences of Noah Grant in the French and Indian War typified changes in military strategy in the Americas and cemented a family commitment to the military that drove his great grandson Ulysses. 

• 
• 12/11/2022
  

  The Selective Appropriation of Christopher Gadsden's Famous Flag

  by Jordan Baker

  The Gadsden Flag originally symbolized the unity of the American colonies against oppression by the Crown and Parliament. It's an irony of history that the symbol has been adopted by some who reject centralized authority. 

• 
• 10/23/2022
  

  Isaac Sears and the Roots of America in New York

  by Sam Roberts

  The career of merchant and patriot Isaac Sears highlights the underappreciated role of New York City in the movement for American independence. 

• 
• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  9/19/2022
  

  When the News of a Royal Death Arrived Slowly, it Changed American History

  by Helena Yoo Roth

  The void of power in the American colonies created by rumor of the death of King George II was critical to loosening the monarchy's claims to rule in North America. 

• 
• SOURCE: TIME
  12/17/2020
  

  How America Keeps Adapting the Story of the Pilgrims at Plymouth to Match the Story We Need to Tell

  by Peter C. Mancall

  The prevailing memory of Plymouth has shifted as Americans have used it as an allegory for their contemporary concerns. Most notably, the harsh religious orthodoxy of Plymouth was converted by the 19th century to stand for religious liberty, a concept the Pilgrims would have found odious. 

• 
• 11/22/2020
  

  UCLA Historian Carla Pestana Debunks Myths About the Pilgrims and the Plymouth Colony

  by James Thornton Harris

  Alert Tom Cotton: Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower Compact, and the origins of Thanksgiving are just a few of the things Professor Carla Pestana finds in need of historical revision. 

• 
• 9/27/2020
  

  Anti-racist Lens Distorts History on New Jersey “Freeholders”

  by Tony Fels

  Beginning in 2021, New Jersey county officials will no longer be known as "freeholders." Although the author concedes the term is archaic, and "county commissioner" is a more informative descriptor, the term "freeholder" is not a relic of past racism. 

• 
• SOURCE: Native America: A History
  9/3/2020
  

  I'm So Bored with the Lost Colonists

  by Michael Leroy Oberg

  Speculative energy focused on the fate of the "Lost Colonists" of Roanoke Island might be better spent investigating how Native people responded to their arrival. 

• 
• SOURCE: New York Times
  9/1/2020
  

  Roanoke’s ‘Lost Colony’ Was Never Lost, New Book Says

  Historians Malinda Maynor Lowery and Lauren McMillan discuss the evidence behind a new book's claim that the "lost" inhabitants of the Roanoke colony were absorbed by the Croatoan indigenous people of the area. 

• 
• SOURCE: Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
  8/17/2020
  

  ‘The Mystery Is Over’: Researchers Say They Know What Happened To ‘Lost Colony’

  “You’re robbing an entire nation of people of their history by pretending Croatoan is a mystery on a tree,” said Scott Dawson.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Examiner
  5/5/2020
  

  'Not the Way to do History': Princeton University Historian Blasts 1619 Project as 'Historical Sloppiness' Unworthy of Pulitzer

  Allen Guelzo has been a major critic of the New York Times's "1619 Project" and objects to the projects central essay winning the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. 

• 
• SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
  7/14/2019
  

  The Hidden History of Liberty Island

  Before the statue and long before the brand-new museum, there were pirates, real-estate ventures and public executions

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  3/25/19
  

  A Colonial-Era Cemetery Resurfaces in Philadelphia

  Remains buried in the First Baptist cemetery were believed to have been moved in 1860. But many coffins and bones were still there.