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…And Now For Something Completely Similar
Since the doleful events of September 11, one of the points made by almost everyone, from the president to television commentators to the freshmen in my survey class, has been the radical newness of...
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Crosses and Gold
There is an interesting map up at Newsweek‘s web site illustrating what the magazine calls “a surprising correlation between the geographic density of payday lenders [a.k.a. storefront loan-sharking...
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Belated President’s Day poetry break: Philip Freneau, Patron Saint of the...
So, over this past weekend I was sweating over a long-overdue article [hi, Sean!] on Philip Freneau, the so-called “poet of the Revolution” who is probably better known these days, deservedly in my...
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The Kingness of Mad George
The roots of the current debate over presidential power The recent conflict over President Bush’s domestic surveillance program reflects one of the oldest recurring divisions in American politics,...
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Was the Federalist Press Staid and Apolitical?
[BLOGITORIAL NOTE: Just to model the true spirit of democratic pluralism, we wanted readers to know up front that today’s “myth” is one that the proprietor of this blog had more than a hand in...
View ArticleMyths of Lost Atlantis: An Introduction
A blog series dedicated to Philip Lampi Exploring early American politics one reality at a time. We sail out on orders from him but we find, the maps he sent to us don’t mention lost coastlines, where...
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Were Jeffersonian Charges of Monarchism Really Just Sleazy, Hysterical Smears?
Every recent presidential election cycle, about the time a campaign goes negative, newspapers run a story like the one in the Sunday New York Times, August 17, 2008 “Week in Review.”[1] These articles...
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Was Andrew Jackson Really the People’s Choice in 1824?
Well, of course he was. American historical narratives have always told us so, and recent prize-winning tomes that agree on little else confirm it. Old Hickory’s fame as victor of New Orleans gave him...
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Did the Election of Andrew Jackson Usher in the ‘Age of the Common Man’?
One of the most persistent myths in American history is the idea that the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 marks the first “democratic” election in the history of the United States. The dawn of the...
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Editor’s Note – Submission Going Down, Down, Dragging me Down*
It is that time of year again when I point you to Leon Jackson’s excellent article on the newspaper carrier’s New Year’s address and give you an update on what is going on at Commonplace while hitting...
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