by Bob Schoone-Jongen. About the time when Spring Break arrives I hit the line in the HIST 152 syllabus calling students to consider the 18th-century Enlightenment and its offspring. Of course this leads to political liberalism and the notion that we should trade kings and queens for politicians who won their place through innate ability rather …
Continue reading Enlightenment and Elections
by Kristin Du Mez. Several years back, I heard Tim Gloege give a conference paper on Henry Crowell, Quaker Oats, and American Fundamentalism at a meeting of the American Society of Church History. To this day, that talk stands as one of the smartest, most engaging papers I’ve heard presented at an academic conference. I …
Continue reading Ask the Author: Tim Gloege on Guaranteed Pure
by Kristin Du Mez. For this week’s Historical Horizons blog post, I’m excited to launch the inaugural edition of our “Ask the Author” series. I’ve selected a new book on religion and politics by Jonathan Den Hartog—Patriotism and Piety is fresh off the press, and Jonathan was kind enough to take some time to talk …
Continue reading Ask the Author… Jonathan Den Hartog on Patriotism and Piety
by Jim Bratt. From time to time I like to use this blog to air out some conversation, or combat, going on inside the guild of American historians. The arguments never stop, with the happy consequence that we members of the profession are kept in work. But sometimes things get tiresome. That’s the case with …
Continue reading The Half Has Never Been Told
by Will Katerberg. Today, I’m spending part of the day celebrating the July 4th Independence Day holiday. My neighborhood in Grand Rapids features the Hollyhock Lane Parade every year. It starts at 8:30am and has small floats, local and state politicians appealing to voters, kids on bikes and scooters, a historic fire engine, and the …
Continue reading What Are We Celebrating on the 4th of July?
by Will Katerberg. If you’re interested in the history of the American West, you should get ahold of Earle Labor’s new biography, Jack London: An American Life, which I've been reading. I read novels and short stories by London (1876-1916) when I was a kid, but didn’t think much about them. They were adventure stories, …
Continue reading Book Note: Jack London’s Call of the Wild
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