Posts

History in Trump's America: Inventing the "American Way" by Wendy L. Wall

This week we examined our final topic, “History in Trump’s America” through Inventing the “American Way” by Wendy L. Wall . Wall’s book examines American politics around World War II, an era that inspired Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” Although many might remember the era’s political consensus fondly, Wall finds this consensus was ultimately incapable of solving structural problems with the country’s political economy and its racial divisions. Wall examines an impressive range of sources, capturing the perspectives of business, community, and religious organizations, as well as public intellectuals and politicians.   These sources allow her to demonstrate that many important public figures saw deep divisions in American life during the 1930s, which led them to conclude that Americans had to move past serious divisions in order to achieve social stability   (for a copy of my notes, see here ).   While seeking consensus was a goal for most Americans, the
Post a Comment
Read more

Trump's GOP Takeover, Contextualized: Democracy In Chains by Nancy MacLean

This week we examined “Trump’s GOP Takeover, Contextualized,” reading Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean . Although not on the initial version of the syllabus posted last year, MacLean’s book has been widely discussed over since its publication and I was excited for the opportunity to read it. MacLean argues that since the 1950s James Buchanan’s libertarian vision of political economy has attracted support from activist billionaires who shared Buchanan’s opposition to high taxes. Baldwin claimed that any efforts to tax Americans must be done by total consensus or else they are a form of tyranny. MacLean astutely argues that such an absolutist definition of economic liberty actually puts itself at odds with democratic principles where the will of the majority (rather than absolute consensus) shapes policy.   Since the public itself would never accept dramatic cuts to popular social welfare programs such as Social Security and Medicare, MacLean argues activist billionaires such a
Post a Comment
Read more

Evaluating Pat Toomey

After waking up to news that the Senate had passed its tax bill, I began thinking about Pat Toomey, a Senator representing me in Pennsylvania.   I took some time this morning to sort through my thoughts, and since this is one of the few venues I have I hope you will bear with me as I express them here. Pat Toomey has presented himself as a champion of small-government, fighting for such principles as a balanced budget . In his role as “policy expert,” he was largely responsible for crafting the recent tax bill , (which actually adds over $1 trillion to the federal deficit ). Although he will not say so directly, it seems likely that he supports plans to slash valuable social services to presumably make up this deficit. Although these positions are bad enough on their own, his positions got even more problematic during the final day of debate on the bill. He introduced amendments to the tax bill to benefit one private college in Michigan , a college that has defined its idea
Post a Comment
Read more

Sexuality and LGBTQ Rights: The Straight State by Margot Canaday

This week we explored “Sexuality and LGBTQ Rights” by reading The Straight State by Margot Canaday . Canaday examines the role of the federal government in promoting ideas of citizenship and belonging, arguing that when the government expanded during the twentieth century it created new categories such as homosexuality that served to deny many Americans access to full citizenship. Canaday makes her argument by examining an impressive range of federal and LGBT archives that capture the perspective of the government as well as individuals directly impacted by its policies. I was particularly impressed by the range of sources from the National Archives, which allowed her to examine federal policies on immigration, welfare, and military service across the entire twentieth century (for a copy of my notes, see here ). Canaday observes that the federal government rarely took actions to criminalize homosexuality, but instead created tools to identify a new group of Americans who seemed t
Post a Comment
Read more

Disability and Disability Culture in America: No Pity by Joseph Shapiro

This week we examined “Disability and Disability Culture in America” through reading No Pity by Joseph Shapiro . Shapiro approaches the history of disability with the methods of a journalist and the book itself is older than some of the others we’ve read, but it still produced important new insights for me as a reader. Shapiro examines the rise of the disability rights movement and its efforts to counter public perception that disability should be pitied during the second half of the twentieth century. He argues that during these decades disability advocates formed a diverse coalition supporting activist organizations and public protests, attracting broad support for their demands to respect their unique cultures and forge greater inclusion into society (for a copy of my notes, see here ). As a journalist, Shapiro makes his arguments primarily through newspaper and magazine sources that capture the perspectives of political leaders as well as everyday Americans with disabilities.
Post a Comment
Read more

American Fables, Indigenous History: Violence Over the Land by Ned Blackhawk

This week we read Violence Over the Land by Ned Blackhawk to examine the topic “American Fables, Indigenous History.” Blackhawk’s book may be particularly insightful to readers who have taken few history courses beyond middle or high school, as he clearly aims to dispel myths shaping popular perceptions of American Indian communities and poverty. Blackhawk focuses our attention on the role of violence in American Indians’ history, particularly in what is now the American west. He argues that from the mid-eighteenth through the end of the nineteenth century, violence from colonial powers including the Spanish, British, and Americans shaped Indians’ relationship with each other and the wider world, sometimes providing additional power (as in the case of the Utes) and sometimes undermining it (like the Shoshone). By the end of the nineteenth century, tribes such as the Utes had largely renounced violence in favor of diplomacy, but because they had ceded legal authority to an Americ
Post a Comment
Read more

Racism, Real Estate, and the Strange Career of Trump's Wealth: A World More Concrete by N.D.B. Connolly

This week we examined “Racism, Real Estate, and the Strange Career of Trump’s Wealth,” by reading A World More Concrete by N.D.B. Connolly .   Although Professor Connolly co-created our draft syllabus, he left this book off its suggested readings; however, I heard him speak at my campus about a year ago and have wanted to read this book ever since.   I’ve also enjoyed his role co-hosting the popular Backstory podcast (it’s a great listen for academic and novice historians alike), so I was happy to fit it into our reading this fall. Connolly’s research examines real estate as a source of wealth and inequality in American society.   He argues that over the first half of the twentieth century, white liberal landowners forged alliances with upwardly-mobile members of the African-American middle class to frame property rights as the most important venue for civil rights advancement; this minimized overt racial violence but never tackled structural inequalities that forced poor black c
Post a Comment
Read more