Posts Tagged ‘U.S. history’
Finally: "The Summer of 1787" in Arabic!
The Kalima Project, an Abu Dhabi organization which translates Western works into Arabic in order increase understanding between the Western and Muslim worlds, has just announced its publication of The Summer of 1787 in Arabic translation. Extremely cool.
Read MoreDo 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 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…
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 Chavetz, suggests that what is an impeachable offense can be gleaned from another angle — by the comparison between impeachment and assassination. Chafetz starts with…
Read MoreThe Wisdom of Napolitano
I have always had a vaguely positive fealing about Janet Napolitano, former governor of Arizona and current holder of one of the Official Thankless Jobs of modern America, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Now I know why! A profile of Napolitano in a recent issue of The New Republic includes the following passage: As…
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