With the closing of my first year writing HistoricallySpeaking, I thought I would end it right with a historic Christmas story. Being a Civil War historian, one of myfavorite Christmas songs is, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. That may sound strange, most do not associatethe two together. However, “I heard theBells on Christmas … Continue reading Historical Christmas
Category: Historically Speaking
14th Amendment
With immigration being one of the hottest topics of the year, it is no surprise that President Trump made it an issue during the midterm elections. However, his latest push for immigration reform has taken a much different twist as he is considering the use of an executive order to define the 14th Amendment and … Continue reading 14th Amendment
The Great War
I did not intent to write another column so soon, but I am becoming concerned by the lack of recognition of the hundred year anniversary of the armistice of World War I. The nation went all out on the Bicentennial of our nation (for good reason), the same for the 100 and 150 year anniversaries … Continue reading The Great War
9/11 and Football
Once again, one of the biggest stories in the NFL this year is player protests of the national anthem. To add gas to the fire, earlier this year Nike released a campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick with the tag line “Believe in Something, even if it means sacrificing everything.” As you all know, the nation is … Continue reading 9/11 and Football
Historical Look at Impeachment
With all the talk of impeachment, it is time once again to explain exactly what impeachment is and also to look at it historically. The important things to remember are that, one, impeachment does not mean removing a sitting president; two, we have never removed a president before; and three, impeachment is very difficult because … Continue reading Historical Look at Impeachment
Midterm Election
With the midterms approaching, it is finally time for the American people to voice their opinion of the Trump presidency, or so we are being told. Since Trump’s victory, with every special election we are bombarded with how this one election is the touchstone of America’s approval of the president. I have two statement about … Continue reading Midterm Election
Historical Tariffs
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
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
