Writing
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,…
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,…
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…
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…
Read MoreEnd Run Around "High Crimes and Misdemeanors"
The meaning of “high crimes and misdemeanors” in the Constitution’s impeachment clause has bedevilled generations of lawyers and politicians, and citizens. An interesting new piece by a Cornell Law Professor, Josh…
Read MoreNo Way to Treat a Judge
The current impeachment of Judge G. Thomas Porteous of New Orleans is reopening old wounds of mine. My critique of the Senate process of trying impeachments by committee is up…
Read MoreVirginia Festival of the Book
At noon on Saturday, I’ll be in at the university book store Charlottesville for the Virginia Festival of the Book, on a panel titled “American History: Our Government at Work.” I’ll be talking…
Read MoreThe Benefits of Fellowship
I am halfway through a remarkable opportunity, the Hodson Trust/John Carter Brown Library Fellowship. The grant supported me for two months of research at the library in Providence (where there…
Read MoreThinking About Race
A few factors have combined to make me reflect on race relations in this country, and also to make me hope andwonder if we’re entering a post-racial period. First came…
Read MorePulitzer Biography Crashes Through
The Washington Post today carries a terrific review of the new biography of Joseph Pulitzer by my friend, James McGrath Morris, a/k/a Jamie. That it’s a great book should be…
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