U.S. History
Hollywood History
I was both pleased and disappointed with the new Robert Redford-directed movie about the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, The Conspirator. I need to lower my expectations about such treatments, like the Alexander Hamilton documentary on PBS which I recently wrote about. I need to view them like the dog who talks — it’s not…
Read MoreStill Looking for Alexander
I applaud those who try to bring history to life and share it with the largest possible audiences. But it’s not an automatic pass. You still need to tell the stories and tell them well. By those standards, Monday night’s PBS special Rediscovering Alexander Hamilton probably gets a C, mostly for good intentions, as I explicate over…
Read MoreLong Books
Right now, I am in the midst of two long and highly acclaimed long books. I’ve been reading a print edition of Ron Chernow’s Washington, and I’ve been listening to an audio version of Annette Gordon-Reed’s The Hemingses of Monticello. Chernow’s tome has already won the American History award, and likely will pick a few more over…
Read MoreThe Fascination of Aaron Burr
Scores of novelists and playwrights have explored the stories of Aaron Burr. I was amazed to discover that his achievements and failures had appealed to such diverse writers as Eudora Welty and James Thurber, both of whom wrote short stories about him. Yesterday, brought two more examples of Burr’s appeal to the literary imagination. An obituary for…
Read MoreThe Shores of Tripoli, Again
The riveting news of rebellion in Libya, and possible American involvement against Tripoli, brings to mind the first time American forces attacked the North African shore, in the early 1800s. The episode, unsurprisingly, intersected sharply with the path of Aaron Burr. (So much did!) The events are enshrined in the Marine Hymn, of course (“From the Halls…
Read MoreAaron Burr at 255: Still Ticking People Off
Repeatedly over the last several months, Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota has blamed Aaron Burr for her lurch to the Far Right. Her epiphany came during her college years in the 1970s, when she read of Burr’s jaundiced view of the true character of the men who founded the country. “He was going after our founders,” she said…
Read MoreStanley Nelson, Hero
There are unassuming folks around us who do great things. Stanley Nelson is one of those people. The editor of the weekly Concordia Sentinel in northeast Louisiana, Nelson has for several years conducted a crusade to track down and bring to justice those who terrorized civil rights activists in the 1960s. I met Stanley when…
Read MoreAmerican Emperor: October 4!
We now have a schedule and a cover! Simon & Schuster will release my new book on October 4: American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America. The book explores the story of Burr’s audacious “Western conspiracy,” which involved an invasion of Mexico and Florida, or an insurrection in New Orleans, or the secession of the Western…
Read MoreViolence and Andrew Jackson
I have posted at Huffington Post a quick overview of the longstanding tradition of violence among our political leaders. Indeed, our leaders have included some bloody and short-tempered folks, from Burton Gwinnett in 1777 to Strom Thurmond in 1964. I decided to leave out our most violent national leader, Andrew Jackson. Sure, Jackson did kill a man in a duel, Charles…
Read MoreAmendment Fetish: The Repeal Amendment
While proclaiming undying fealty to the Constitution, the Tea Party movement and its allies are touting a hot new amendment to that otherwise perfect document, which goes by the oxymoronic name “the Repeal Amendment.” This proposed amendment would allow two-thirds of the state legislatures to repeal any law or regulation of the federal government, so long…
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