Do You Know Where These Maps Are?
Writing books about history means trying to find out secrets that once were not secrets. In my current project about Aaron Burr and his dream of creating an American empire, I am feverishly trying to track down three maps that Burr was using when he was arrested for treason in Mississippi, which supposedly provide insight into…
Read MoreSay Hello to Matt Stewart's "The French Revolution"!
On Bastille Day (that’s Wednesday, July 14), the newest Stewart literary triumph takes to the bookshelves — Matt Stewart’s debut novel, The French Revolution, will officially launch. OK, I’m only slightly biased, since he is my son, but it’s a terrific read, and I hope you will check it out. I stress, however, that although I…
Read MoreNew Perspectives on New Orleans and Jefferson
I treasure books that help me look at familiar things in a new way, and have just finished two that do that: Ned Sublette’s The World the Made New Orleans, and Roger Kennedy’s Mr. Jefferson’s Lost Cause. Though neither book is quite new, they were new to me. Sublette is one of those appalling people…
Read MoreMy New BFF: R. Owen Williams
The current issue of Reviews in American History includes a review by R. Owen Williams of my book about the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, Impeached. I hasten to note that I have no recollection of ever meeting Mr. Williams, a Yale history Ph.D. and the new president of Transylvania University (no, that’s not where…
Read More"Impeached" in Paperback
On Tuesday, May 15, Simon & Schuster will officially release the paperback edition of Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy. Although Amazon has been selling the paperback version for several days, with any luck the new release will be available in stores soonest. At this point in the life…
Read MoreThe Porteous Articles
With the Senate impeachment trial of Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans coming up in August, I took a swing at the impeachment articles against Porteous in an item on Huffington Post. Although Judge Porteous has a lot of conduct to explain, there are some constitutional issues surrounding the articles against him, including: Whether…
Read MoreChestertown
For the next two months, I will be in Chestertown on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, as part of the Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Fellowship. The deal involves living in a 1730s-era home (restored, of course), access to the resources of Washington College, a stipend, and . . . finishing my book on the Western…
Read MoreHow Would You Change the Constitution?
With the anniversary of the beginning of the Constitutional Convention drawing nigh (May 25), I started thinking about ways in which we should be changing the Constitution. I posted a first cut on that today at Huffington Post.
Read MoreWho's Checking the Facts?
My question is prompted by a recent book out about General James Wilkinson — An Artist in Treason, by Andro Linklater. It just received a respectful review from NPR, which absolutely baffles me. Wilkinson is a worthy subject for a book. He was the general-in-chief of the U.S. Army from 1797 (or so) to about 1808. He…
Read MoreEdward Durell: The First Federal Judge from Louisiana to be Impeached
As an avid follower of the current impeachment proceedings against Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans, I have been delighed to discover that another judge from New Orleans was impeached by the House of Representatives — in 1874. Judge Edward Durell, a transplant to the Crescent City from New Hampshire, was impeached as part of…
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