In a weird sort of historically nerdy way, it has been fascinating watching how tariffs are becoming politically relevant. I have no comment on Trump’s tariff policies, not for the usual reason of letting you make your own decisions; this time it is because I have absolutely no idea if higher tariffs are good or … Continue reading Historical Tariffs
Category: Historically Speaking
Presidential Retaliation
One of the big stories last week was President Trump revoking John Brennan’s security clearance. Let me start by admitting my ignorance, I assumed everyone lost their clearance when they left the job, and I am not sure why he still needs it. Obviously, I am wrong in my assumptions because stripping Brennan of his … Continue reading Presidential Retaliation
How the 1884 Election Could Have Predicted the Trump Victory
As I give lectures, I am often asked about the Trump Presidency in historical terms. Commonly, my answer is there is no historic precedence for Trump. His campaign went against all the rules and he is running his presidency in his own unique way. There are some similarities, I have already written about how presidents … Continue reading How the 1884 Election Could Have Predicted the Trump Victory
Presidential Summits
Coming out of the summit meeting with the Russian leader, America has a black eye. Our President looks weaker now than before, while the Russians are praising their leader’s political abilities. While this can easily be said about President Trump’s meeting with Putin, I am actually talking about President Kennedy’s 1961 Vienna Summit with Nikita … Continue reading Presidential Summits
Propaganda
I am amazed at the images I have been seeing on my TV and social media this week. It is heart breaking seeing kids taken from parents and the pictures of conditions in which “migrants” are living in. Yet at the same time there are contradictory reports that not all the images are authentic; some … Continue reading Propaganda
NFL Protests
There has been a lot of talk lately about protests. The recent story was the President uninviting the Philadelphia Eagles from their White House visit because he feels NFL players are being unpatriotic by disrespecting the flag. This story comes on the heels of the new NFL rule that will no longer allow players to … Continue reading NFL Protests
Winston Churchill Movies
thought i would just throw this out in case anyone is interested. I have been reading and watching a few movies about Winston Churchill and I am becoming a huge fan. I knew about his role in WWII, but he did so much more. He was a legitimate war hero being captured and escaped during … Continue reading Winston Churchill Movies
Jerusalem
Most of the columns I write are inspired by something I saw in the news, something that just does not sit right with me historically. One area where I find a great amount of misunderstanding is in reporting on the Middle East. I am an American historian, but my secondary Ph.D. field was in the … Continue reading Jerusalem
Executive Orders
With President Trump pulling out the Iran deal, I have heard many ask the question, “How can the president unilaterally pull out of a deal that America has already agreed to?” This was the same question asked after President Trump pulled out of the Paris Climate Accords. The answer is a simple one, a previous … Continue reading Executive Orders
The Civil War
With the Oklahoma Civil War Symposium coming up in less than a month, I wanted to say a few words about why the Civil War matters. In recent years, the conflict has become a much-debated subject and in Oklahoma, several schools have changed their names to remove ties to Confederate soldiers. I know this is … Continue reading The Civil War
Historically Speaking 