A weekly thread about the past
2022 was a rough year, but at least I got a lot of reading done. Right now I’m curled up with my Library of America edition of Bruce Catton’s Army of the Potomac trilogy, for a cozy, pro-Union narrative history … Continue reading History Thread: Best Books Read in 2022
Today is the anniversary of one of the worst atrocities in modern history, the so-called “Rape of Nanking.” During the Sino-Japanese War, Japanese troops entering the Chinese city behaved with unparalleled brutality towards its residents. I’ll spare you a super-detailed … Continue reading History Thread Remembers the Rape of Nanking
No purpose to the theme but I wanted to use the amazing cover art (courtesy of Josh Kirby, perhaps best-known for his collaborations with Terry Pratchett) from Robert Goulart’s Hail, Hibbler! for a header. I hope I’ll be forgiven. This … Continue reading The History Thread Blasts Off!
Few figures loom larger in America’s liberal demonology than J. Edgar Hoover. In his forty-eight years as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hoover transformed a minor arm of the Justice Department into the nation’s most powerful law enforcement … Continue reading History Thread: Beverly Gage’s G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century (2022)
Hello everyone! This week we’ll do a prompt that I’m sure we’ve discussed in the distant past. What are your pet peeves when it comes to historical writing, documentaries, etc.? Is there a tendency among certain historians that annoy you? … Continue reading The Annoying History Thread
Again I didn’t have time to dredge up a racist clown to write about, so let’s settle for a discussion topic (suggested as I recall by uh, clem in last night’s Politics Thread). Optional topic: How is history taught in … Continue reading The Educational History Thread
This week’s History Thread (inspired by a suggestion by Headphone Princess last night) discusses: what historical event would you like to see receive a movie or miniseries adaptation? Who or what would you like to see greater exposure via pop … Continue reading History Thread Presents!
Friday will mark the fifth anniversary of How We Got Here, my first experiment with long-form history writing on this site. I still use the tag occasionally but found it more useful to fold my articles into the History Thread. … Continue reading A Historic History Thread
In the aftermath of World War I, Americans became obsessed with fitness. The sacrifices of the Great War and the catastrophic flu epidemic intermingled with the postwar Red Scare, a fear of radical politics and immigrants in general. Some solutions … Continue reading History Thread: Cho-Cho and the Jester Race
Discuss history. Continue reading History Thread
Since Ken Burns’ documentary The US and the Holocaust made it timely – I decided to consolidate my old posts on the American fascist movements of the ’30s and ’40s under a comprehensive tag. I have been very proud of … Continue reading History Thread: A Brief History of American Fascism
Tales of giant squid and outsized octopuses have haunted mankind since ancient times. The fact that enormous beasts lurk beneath the ocean waves is no secret, and the discovery of a creature with tentacles the length of a football field … Continue reading History Thread: The Squid That Eats Man
In his time, King Edward VIII was a romantic figure who abdicated the British throne in December 1936 for the sake of the woman he loved. For years, this romantic explanation that generally held; he (now reduced to the Duke … Continue reading History Thread: Philip Ziegler’s King Edward VIII (1991)
Richard J. Evans focused primarily on the history of German feminism and social movements before his involvement in David Irving’s libel action against Deborah Lipstadt, where he systematically demolished Irving’s Holocaust denial (an experience recounted in his book, Lying About … Continue reading History Thread: Richard J. Evans’ Third Reich Trilogy
In Western culture, the symbol of the swastika – the four-armed, hooked cross – remains an obvious visual shorthand for ideological evil. Nazi Germany’s adoption of the hakenkreuz beneath which they waged the Second World War and the attempted extermination … Continue reading History Thread: How the Swastika Became a Hate Symbol
According to Wikipedia, thirty-one years ago today the World Wide Web was opened to the public. On the one hand, we on this site wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for that milestone in human achievement. On the other, … Continue reading The Internet History Thread
A Brief Overview of the Indian Residential School system in Canada Hello friends 🙂 I’m not an expert in First Nations Studies nor History nor Theology, but I am a Canadian citizen, a person living in Canada, and an Anglican, … Continue reading History Thread: Intro to Residential Schools in Canada
There’s an old quote, generally attributed to Mark Twain, that “history doesn’t repeat itself but sometimes it rhymes.” That nostrum seems especially appropriate on August 9, 2022. This marks the 48th anniversary of Richard Nixon’s resignation, which seems singularly appropriate … Continue reading History Thread: The Watergate Scorecard
For those of you who pay attention to such things, there’s been quite the kerfuffle on History Twitter over the past week. A short version, along with some pertinent tweets and commentary. Jonathan M. Katz, a journalist and historian, published … Continue reading History Thread: Attack of the Pod Bros
This week’s History Thead is over to you. Continue reading The Emergency History Thread Nationalises The Canal
Today marks the anniversary of the Seneca Falls Convention, the 1848 gathering of early American feminists which helped launch the Women’s Rights Movement in that country. Spearheaded by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the convention issued an eloquent appeal … Continue reading The Seneca Falls History Thread
