Stephen West
@stephenwest.bsky.social
Historian of Civil War & Reconstruction. Bicyclist, baker, 3d favorite human of Banjo the dog. Views=mine, repost ≠endorsement
Any NARA or NARA-adjacent folks have insight here?
Jacqueline Antonovich@jackiantonovich.bsky.social · 21h agoI may be late to this discourse, but do any historians know why this National Archives magazine piece from 2011 has a different title now? Same piece, different title. I thought maybe a Trump thing, but the Wayback Machine shows a change in late 2021? Original on left, Revised on right.
should be titled "Rough Plan of a Draw [of the Potomac Bridge] - and Some Kick-ass Doodles" catalog.archives.gov/id/364672502
![document from the National Archives labeled "Rough Plan of a Draw [of the Potomac Bridge]" - it has inscription "U.S. Topographical Office / Washington City / 6 Novr 1832"
it shows a sketch of some bridge components, along with some sketched images of a man's head in the right margin](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cwubi5bzl5l7aipwkhiehozj/bafkreihcfihyfvhv2kxbvxxwglcbvbs6bkt2lx22g5om24q3fitmf2od5e)
So grateful for this fantastic Booklist review for An Inconvenient Woman! “Historian Merritt’s insightful, engaging narrative effortlessly folds in family anecdotes and excerpts…This well-documented and perceptive tribute aptly humanizes a visionary and fearless woman.”😍😍😍
Scoop: Trump has ordered workers to redo weeks of work on his planned White House helipad new WaPo photos show how past work was removed over weekend Trump is contemplating changes to White House lawn's slope, raising bigger Qs about project and cost
Trump orders changes to new helipad after weeks of around-the-clock work
Contractors have removed the granite seal that had begun to take shape in recent days, after the president complained about the slope of the White House Lawn.
washingtonpost.com
“We live in a country with an unpredictable past.” This was a saying among the intelligentsia in the Soviet Union when I was growing up. We never knew which part of our history would be obliterated next." @mashagessen.bsky.social 🗃️ www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/o...
Opinion | Trump's Smithsonian Attacks Are Attacks on America’s Future
This is how we decide who we are and who we want to be.
nytimes.com
"President Trump’s proposed 250-foot-tall triumphal arch would change the skyline of Washington to such an extent that it would intrude on views at dozens of historic sites around the capital, according to an assessment by National Park Service staff.'
Park Service Finds Trump’s Arch Could Detract From Dozens of Historic Places (Gift Article)
The 250-foot-tall edifice would alter views across Washington and Arlington Cemetery.
nytimes.com
this is the engagement-bait that I crave 🗃️
James Longhurst@jameslonghurst.bsky.social · 2d agoThe difficulty for a US history survey text is deciding the right level of specificity versus the right level of generalization. To that difficulty, I would like to add a metric, which I call the "Locofoco Rule": if your textbook spends time explaining the name of the Locofocos, you're too specific.
How an 1876 Massacre of Black Men in South Carolina Turned Racial Terror Into Political Power portside.org/2026-07-31/h... #ushistory #blackhistory #reconstruction
How an 1876 Massacre of Black Men in South Carolina Turned Racial Terror Into Political Power
As the U.S. celebrates its 250th anniversary, its citizens commemorate a democracy more diverse, free and inclusive than it’s ever been. The path to this milestone was imperfect and paved in blood and...
portside.org
Thanks to everybody who bought an advance copy! Algo likes pre-orders, I'm told ;-)
"Only the second Trump administration could find a way to get so bogged down in such a shallow pool."
Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 4d agoNEW: Jeanine Pirro's motion to dismiss the Reflecting Pool case is going to have ripple effects. The decision to end the case against former Olympian David Hearn is already making a big splash — and this is likely just the beginning, not the end, of the matter. Tonight, at Law Dork:
Chandra Manning and I wrote about this back in 2013. archive.nytimes.com/opinionator....
The Name of War
How the War of Rebellion became the Civil War.
archive.nytimes.com
Patrick Sheridan@psheridanhistory.bsky.social · 3d agoI'm curious about what my fellow U.S. historians think about this essay. For me, it makes a compelling argument and goes hand-in-hand with recent efforts to refer to the Union Army as the "U.S. Army." #skystorians www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o...
tfw you've made a batch of bagels, and eagerly bite into the first one - and realize, crap, I forgot the salt
was going through some old images and found this: Banjo, several years ago, at the vet's office, where he definitely did not want to be
"According to four people involved in the show, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from the administration, no historians or professional curators collaborated on the exhibition..." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/a...
After Claiming ‘Bias’ at Smithsonian, Trump Officials Stage Patriotic Exhibition (Gift Article)
Trump officials have promised to “make visual arts great,” with a museum exhibition that includes artwork by several people with personal connections to the planners.
nytimes.com
A reminder of what Abraham Lincoln thought of the Know Nothings, the party that championed "heritage Americans" and attacked immigrants in his day. quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/li...
Alexander Clarkson@aphclarkson.bsky.social · 4d agoAnother datapoint for the fascist radicalisation of institutional pillars of much of the American Right
It is funny that this person thinks “immigrants defended the union while native born whites sought to destroy it in the name of slavery” is an argument against immigrants being Americans. This is precisely the point, nothing about being born here makes you better bsky.app/profile/aphc...
Alexander Clarkson@aphclarkson.bsky.social · 4d agoAnother datapoint for the fascist radicalisation of institutional pillars of much of the American Right
The District of Columbia Archives has released its largest digital collection of historic photos — showing new views of the city from 1947 through 1959. Find anything interesting? Let us know!
Check out thousands of photos of midcentury D.C.
The District of Columbia Archives has released its largest digital collection of historic photos
51st.news
The great historian Robert A. Gross, author of the prize-winning, The Minutemen and Their World, has written a historically-informed, nuanced rejoinder to J.D. Vance’s use of U.S. history as a tool of blood-and-soil nationalism. theamericanscholar.org/gratitude-is...
Gratitude Isn’t Everything - The American Scholar
The revolutionary Patriots owed much to their forefathers, but their fight for universal rights embraced a wider mission
theamericanscholar.org
Happy July 32, all academics. Yesterday, Joseph woke up and chose violence.
Joseph M. Adelman@jmadelman.bsky.social · 5d agoBecause the 1st is a Saturday, “How is it August already?!” will be observed today, Friday, July 31, 2026. Please panic accordingly.
1. This is cool! 2. When I teach the Civil War, I play a game with my students: how many Lincoln heads can you find this semester? Because they are everywhere and in unexpected places.
Stephen West@stephenwest.bsky.social · 5d ago"Viewed by thousands of motorists each day while traveling through Wyoming along I-80, the monument is one of Wyoming’s most high-profile works of public art."
"Viewed by thousands of motorists each day while traveling through Wyoming along I-80, the monument is one of Wyoming’s most high-profile works of public art."
Abraham Lincoln Monument listed to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Park Service recently listed the Abraham Lincoln Monument, located at the Sherman Summit Rest Area off Interstate 80 east of Laramie, to the National Register of Historic Places.
wyomingnews.com
Historian @jonearle.bsky.social has a new book coming out next week on the election of 1860. I can't wait to read it. No spoilers please! 🗃 www.abrahamlincoln1860.com
He Has The People | Dive into Abraham Lincoln's 1860 Election by Jonathan Earle
Discover He Has The People, a compelling exploration of Abraham Lincoln's 1860 election. Perfect for history fans, students, and political enthusiasts.
abrahamlincoln1860.com
Trump-aligned panel wants to weaken federal protections for historic sites, helping oil and other businesses - and his plans to redesign DC.
Critics Say Historic Sites Are Endangered by Trump-Aligned Panel’s Plan (Gift Article)
Proponents say the changes to the federal preservation rules are necessary, but critics argue they are alarming and would help expedite the president’s redesign of Washington.
nytimes.com
fine i will do it i will eat the forbidden deep fried civil war-era cannonballs
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 6d agoAt an airport in Alabama, TSA discovered five Civil War-era cannonballs in a passenger’s checked luggage.
