In just over a week from now, the Massachusetts Historical Society is hosting, “‘So Sudden an Alteration’: The Causes, Course, and Consequences of the American Revolution,” an important conference on the American Revolution in recognition of the the 250th anniversary of the Stamp Act. This is the second of three conferences dedicated to rediscovering or re-energizing study of the American Revolution, the first of which, “The American Revolution Reborn,” was hosted by the McNeil Center for Early American Studies in the spring of 2013. And so with the conference fast approaching, I want to use this piece to think about the specific moment and circumstances in which American Revolution studies currently finds itself, which has been the catalyst for this series of conferences, and suggest possibilities going forward. The primary circumstance of that moment, with which many seem to agree, is that the study of the Revolution is in a rut, plodding along in the same “well-worn grooves of historical inquiry” for the “past fifty years,” according to the conference’s call for papers. Continue reading
Junto March Madness: Final Four Voting
Well, we’ve made it. March is almost over basketball is winding down, midterms have come and gone, and JUNTO MARCH MADNESS MARCHES ON!!!!
If you want to be reminded of how we got here, here’s the original bracket.
Is Benjamin Franklin the #EarlyAmHist version of Kentucky, destined for domination? Will the contested principles of the Declaration of Independence win the game? Do I have to keep coming up with corny rhetorical questions? Only one more week to find out!
For the Final Four, you have an entire week to vote. So spread the word! As they say in Chicago, vote early and vote often. Continue reading
This Week in Early American History
Welcome to this week’s news in Early American History! Continue reading
Presenting Your Final Four March Madness Competitors
Results are in, and we’re in for some fun voting next week.
Junto March Madness: Elite Eight Voting
We’re getting close to the finals here at The Junto. Elite Eight voting starts AND ends today at 5 p.m. EST. We’ll post results tomorrow and give you the weekend to mull over your final four choices.
Junto March Madness: Round 3 Results
So, there were quite a few close races this round, including one that came down to the last hour. (Literally!) CAN YOU FEEL THE MADNESS?!?!?!?!!!11?!?!
Jonathan Edwards and Thomas Paine clutched victory from the jaws of defeat by the slightest of margins. Benjamin Franklin is basically looking like this. And Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass are heading for a slave narrative showdown.
There is a quick turnaround this week, so you have little time to catch your breath. Voting for the Elite Eight is tomorrow. Continue reading
Single-Perspective Narratives and the Politics of Marriage History
Earlier this month, the American Historical Association announced that it had signed a Supreme Court amicus curiae brief in support of legal same-sex marriage.[1] This well-written, scholarship-rich brief was apparently drafted by Nancy Cott, and it was signed by many other distinguished historians of marriage.
In discussions that followed on Twitter, some professional historians who were happy with this brief (as I imagine most were) told me they supported it on the basis of historians’ collective interest in historical accuracy. History has been distorted, they argued, by conservative arguments—specifically, by conservatives’ appeals to what marriage has supposedly always been like. They agreed with the AHA that conservatives have advanced not only an unconvincing interpretation but also a set of demonstrably false claims.[2] Specifically, it seems, they think it’s false to say that marriage historically “serv[ed] any single, overriding purpose.”[3]
Junto March Madness: Round 3 Voting
You know what’s totally anticlimactic? NCAA March Madness after the first two rounds. You know what only gets better and better? The Junto’s March Madness. Let’s do this.
Will Thomas Paine continue his domination? Will Graham Crackers continue destroying everything in their path? Will I have to keep coming up with rhetorical questions?
Voting closes Tuesday at 5pm. Continue reading
The Week in Early American History
Happy Sunday, and welcome to another edition of The Week in Early American History. Here at the Junto, we’re gearing up for the Sweet Sixteen beginning tomorrow (since Villanova, Iowa State, and Baylor have basically thwarted our brackets for that “other” March Madness). Here for your enjoyment before you get distracted by basketball (or by trying to avoid basketball), are today’s links.
Junto March Madness Round 2 Results
There were some close races this time around–a fact which bodes well for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight voting next week. Results and match-ups for the next round follow after the jump. Continue reading
The Junto 
