White Americans did not expect blacks to participate in Reconstruction-era debates. Blacks thought otherwise. Black citizenship depended on the status of the Confederate states. After the Civil War, were the Confederate states conquered lands, frontier territories, or states in good standing? The recalcitrance of white Southerners opened Republicans to extending full citizenship to the formerly … Continued
In this study of the letters of John Adams and John Quincy Adams from 1774 to 1793, two central themes are highlighted — how Adams unfolded his “curriculum” for citizen leadership, and how his point of view changed from parent-teacher to mentor-guide as John Quincy entered the realm of American political life. To Adams, a … Continued
Linking military history to histories of immigration and civil rights, Bound by War tells the story of the United States and the Philippines through the wars the two nations fought together. Ever since U.S. troops occupied the Philippines in 1898, generations of Filipinos have served in the U.S. armed forces. Their service reshaped Philippine society and … Continued
Birthright citizenship has a history that extends across nearly the whole of the nineteenth century. It entered legal debates during the antebellum era through the constitutional puzzle that free African Americans posed. In the era of the Civil War and Reconstruction, birthright took on new significance as questions about the incorporation of former slaves into … Continued
Immigration is always in the news. We think of it principally in terms of how to manage the influx of outsiders into our community. Whom should we admit? How much should we invest in controlling our borders? How should we regulate those we have chosen to admit? This webinar will suggest that these ways of … Continued
February 3–24, 2021 | For centuries, the importance of civility to the health of republics has been widely recognized. Peaceful resolution of conflicts, open debate, and the nurturing of an engaged citizenry are essential to maintaining governments in which power is held by the people. Yet, civility remains elusive. The scholars in this series help us think about ways of encouraging, preserving, and restoring civility—through political and creative expression, in the courts, on the page, and on the screen—from the classical period to the modern era.
During the NEH Summer Institute on Contested Territory, a moment occurred in a lecture Christian Lentz gave on the Struggles at Dien Bien Phu that caused me to reconsider the agency of marginalized groups. When presenting the notion of conscripted labor during the war effort for the various ethnic groups living in the hills surrounding … Continued
Standing on Chamberlain Bridge and looking at Independence Arch, I began reading the Barbadian Pledge. Instantly my brain goes to each school morning when students stand and say the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. Both symbolize a promise of loyalty to a nation represented by a flag, but why do humans feel the need to align … Continued
Janet Napolitano, President of the University of California, reflects on her life growing up in New Mexico and how a low grade on a poetry analysis assignment in college encouraged her to master the craft of writing. She notes how her writing abilities and exposure to the humanities served her well in a career in … Continued
When I was 8 years old, I found hidden in a drawer a little, brown book. It was a well-worn copy of, “How to Get U.S. Citizenship,” which my mother had used to prepare for her U.S. citizenship exam. When I asked her about it, she explained that it was one of the items packed … Continued