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colonial America



  • 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.   



  • 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. 


  • 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. 


  • 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. 



  • 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. 



  • 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