Posts Tagged ‘American history’
The 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 MoreHaiti in Memory
The history of Haiti — which has taken such a terrible turn tis week — is intertwined with the story of Aaron Burr’s western conspiracy. The slave revolt and war for…
Read MoreThings Written Remain
A striking feature of Aaron Burr’s life is the paucity of written material he left behind. For a man who spent 20 years in public life during the nation’s founding,…
Read MoreAaron Burr and Goethe — 200 years ago
On January 4, 1810, Aaron Burr met with the poet Johan Goethe in Weimar, Germany. They were rough contemporaries: Goethe was 60; Burr 53. But they were at very different stages…
Read MoreBurr's Wisdom
In 1795, Burr advised his daughter Theodosia to retain her serenity at all costs. If only he had followed his own advice nine years later when he challenged Alexander Hamilton to…
Read MoreImpeachment Season
We started this year of impeachment with Governor Blago in Illinois. Then federal Judge Sam Kent in Houston went down. And now Gov. Mark Sanford of South Caroline — he…
Read MoreReconstruction, Andrew Johnson and the South
In the last several weeks, I have talked about my book, Impeached, before several groups in the South: Altanta, Lexington (KY), Nashville, Memphis. I was somewhat anxious about these appearances. …
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