Lincoln and Civil Liberties

The Lincoln administration arrested 14,401 people… during the Civil War.  Most were never indicted and denied a speedy trial.  Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus in September of 1861 allowed the detentions to happen.  Current Lincoln scholarship trends hold that Lincoln abused civil liberties and that his historical legacy must be drawn into question.  A closer

Eisenhower and Civil Rights

Eisenhower lacked the rhetorical flourishes of Jack Kennedy… but when it came to defending Civil Rights in America, Ike accomplished far more than his successor.  Popular history has embraced Kennedy as a Civil Rights champion and largely ignored the record of Eisenhower.  This is largely due to the martyrdom  bestowed on Kennedy and Ike’s measured

Clearly Not Reagan

Donald Trump’s supporters view him as the second-coming of Ronald Reagan….   Trump’s unwillingness to address the authoritarian excess of Vladimir Putin- even his tacit support of the Russian strongman – should signal to everyone that our foreign policy has radically changed since the 1980’s. Earlier posts on this blog highlighted the foundations of American

Practically Historical Presidential Rankings

Following the rubric created by Arthur Schlesinger Sr. in 1948, here are the rankings of our Presidents.  *Garfield, Harrison, and Trump are not ranked   Historians consulted-  Me.    Great 1. Abraham Lincoln 2. George Washington 3. Franklin Roosevelt Near Great 4. Theodore Roosevelt 5. Thomas Jefferson 6. Harry Truman 7. James Madison 8. Dwight

Not the Party of Eisenhower

Would Dwight D. Eisenhower be welcomed in today’s Republican party?… Today’s GOP- dominated by fiscal Conservatives like the so-called “freedom caucus;” scrawny descendants of Do-Nothings of the 80th Congress who obstruct, protest, and bloviate over the slightest Federal spending. The insistence on labeling government programs as “entitlements” will give these rank amateurs undue influence in

Irony of War

Germany failed to see the irony of the formal protest it lodged with the United States Department of State protesting the use of shotguns by American soldiers in World War I. “The German Government protests against the use of shotguns by the American Army and calls attention to the fact that according to the law

Our Foreign Policy

“I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way.”   These are not the words of Donald Trump,

Friends Separated by War

Simon Bolivar Buckner thought he knew US Grant… They roomed together at West Point, formed a strong friendship, and Buckner was the Best Man at Grant’s wedding in 1848.  In February 1862, they stood on opposite sides of the walls of Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River.  Grant’s army outnumbered Buckner’s garrison- and the noose

Presidential Birthday Folly

  Further proof that the trend of combining different commemorations into banker’s holidays… is truly foolish, look no further than Thomas Jefferson. Upon entering the executive mansion… citizens began petitioning him for the use of his birthday as a holiday, he gently reminded them, ‘The only birthday I ever commemorate, is that of our Independence,

George Washington’s Farewell to His Officers

Originally posted on Presidential History Blog:
The quintessential General “An army of asses led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by an ass.” The Quote and the Sentiment British General Edward Braddock The quote about asses (donkeys) and lions is frequently attributed to George Washington, but it is an ancient…