History is not, in the words of one critic, “just one damn thing after another.” Sadly, most Americans might agree with that statement, but by studying the past we can learn much about ourselves and gain hope for an uncertain future.
With Democrats fully in control of the federal government and ideologically as far to the [...]
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This week marks the 140th anniversary of the completion of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad, the Union Pacific-Central Pacific, which famously linked up at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869 with the driving of the ceremonial golden spike. During the late 19th century, a total of five transcontinental lines were constructed to the West [...]
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“All the indications are that this treasonable inflammation — secessionitis — keeps on making steady progress week by week,” wrote New York lawyer George Templeton Strong in January of 1861. One by one, Southern states began their trek out of the Union, rather than face the coming Lincoln administration, a new government Southerners believed would [...]
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In my latest column, I discussed the beginnings of a media frenzy regarding Barack Obama and the rush to compare him to Abraham Lincoln. A major cover story appeared in Newsweek and now subsequent articles have appeared in Time. The subject has also been discussed on many nightly news programs. But this is not just [...]
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Walk through the biography or history section of any book store and you will soon be inundated with works on the beloved Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He is generally portrayed as the savior of American democracy, as well as capitalism, the president who reached out a helping hand to his fellow man, particularly those in the [...]
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As a historian I like to know the views of each presidential candidate on American history, which can provide valuable insight into their real thinking.
For instance, what is their stance on the Constitution? Do they believe in applying original intent or do they believe it is a living document?
Another valuable piece of information is who [...]
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It seems like the question of experience has emerged in virtually every presidential campaign in recent memory. And this year it is especially important.
But what does that really mean – to have the experience to be president? What’s the criteria? When do you know someone has enough? And what is more important, political experience, executive [...]
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This week’s edition of Newsweek has a thought-provoking article on Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. Author Malcolm Jones points out an interesting historical fact, that both men were born on the same day, February 12, 1809, and both had an extraordinary impact on history. This celebratory article is likely to be the opening of the [...]
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Where George W. Bush will land on any future historian’s list of presidential ranking is anyone’s guess. Since academia is 85 to 90 percent Democrat, and since Democrats have an intense hatred of Bush, it stands to reason he will not fair very well among university professors. Yet Bush has angered a good many true [...]
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This week’s issue of U.S. News & World Report is dedicated to America’s Worst Presidents, which is taken from an average of five recent major polls. Presidential rankings, both good and bad, have been around since 1948, when Professor Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. first conducted a survey for Life magazine of academic historians specializing in [...]
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