As we hit the one-month mark for Campaign Trails, I wanted to send along a quick celebratory update (and, as promised, some Sarge pictures too). First and foremost, thanks to everyone who’s subscribed to the newsletter so far. We’ve gotten off to a great start, as you can see below. (Remember my money-back guarantee* that once we make it to 10,000 subscribers, Henry Kissinger is toast.**)
I have no question at the moment but I do want to say, hello and thanks for this newsletter! I’ve been a history nerd my whole life and I think what you do is awesome.
Given all the trolls you've had to confront, and all the times you've had to explain, and re-explain, and re-explain recent American civil rights history, what's your take on the state of knowledge about American civil rights, by Americans? Is it getting worse? Are the gaps generational? Do younger people, some of whom (in theory at least) were exposed to APUSH classes, have a better grip than their parents and grandparents? (I'm trying to tamp down my personal hysteria, because the state of "knowledge" amongst Americans about our own history scares the crap out of me.)
I have *zero* data to support this hunch, but my feeling is that the level of ignorance is largely the same, but we're just hearing about it a lot more these days.
That furry guy is so cute! Of course, I think that all dogs are cute.
I have really enjoyed your posts so far and I don't regret being a paid subscriber from the beginning. Your writing style is accessible even to those who aren't a history geek like me!
Somewhat related to Chris Bailey’s question: Do you have any tips on introducing youngish kids to civil rights history? My nine-year-old son went to a camp sponsored by the Museum of Mississippi History/Mississippi Civil Rights Museum a few weeks ago. He came home obsessed with Medgar Evers, a welcome change from his normal video game obsession. I went back to the museums with him and feel like I really struggled to explain, for example, the Klan.
I have to have *the* talk with him this year, too, so I guess I need to take all opportunities to hone my skill at awkward conversations.
With Twitter possibly circling the drain, do you have your terrific “thread of threads” posts saved/archived somewhere for posterity? I seriously use that as a reference, and would hate to lose access to it. Apologies if you have answered this in previous AMAs, and thanks!
Hello from the Pacific Northwest! Although, you and I were apparently growing up in Metro Nashville at the exact same time and I have this totally undeserved sense of pride about that. My question is, and I hope this isn’t annoying, do you have any tips to feed my teenage son’s interest in history? I have only recently begun to appreciate how important historians are to our society (and democracy) and I’d like to encourage him but all he hears from others is “what would you do with a history degree?!” I am a science geek who ran away from arts and humanities in my youth so any ideas would be great.
Well, in terms of feeding his interest, let him buy books that dig into things he's excited about.
As far as careers go, don't listen to the haters. We have a Silicon Valley CEO (and History BA) on our advisory board and he always says he can teach anyone to code, but he can't teach them how to write, think, and argue -- that's why he likes to hire History majors.
Good question. Doar really shunned the limelight, on the theory he could get more done if he didn't care who got the credit. But I'm hoping to change that!
Outstanding. I'm excited about it too -- I've got some sensitive materials that haven't felt right to blast out to everyone on Twitter, and I want to be able to think things through at a manageable scale.
Thoughts on the APUSH scores this year? Something close to 50% failed (1 or 2) from what has been reported (please advise if I am wrong)...sounds crazy...is there some sort of disconnect between what is taught and what is on the test? Is there just not enough time in one year to cover everything on the test?
The last time I had any real familiarity with APUSH was when I took the course in high school, so I'm not qualified to comment on it now.
But yes, there's much too much material to work through in a year. I suspect in the interest of covering everything to some degree they're not able to dig into anything in any meaningful depth.
Also, from what I've heard about the questions, I'm not sure they're replicating the sorts of things we'd expect in a college level course. From what I've heard (and might well be wrong!) it's much more repetition of facts than fostering critical thinking skills.
I teach community college, so I pretty much only teach the US History survey. I'm looking for for primary sources from the 1980s onward, sources that students in a 100-level survey class might enjoy (so not the Evil Empire speech or 9/11 Commission). Any suggestions?
Paul Boyer edited a good book called Reagan as President that had some terrific primary sources, or my colleague Julian Zelizer did a volume for the Bedford St Martin's series on Reagan too.
But honestly, you might just tool around YouTube for old ads -- early CompuServe ads or the "1984" ad Apple ran will blow their minds, David Bowie interviewed on MTV talking about race, or the 1990s clip of the Today show crew wondering about this "internet thing" etc.
I remember that “Today” clip -- Katie C asking why anyone might want to know more about a story (which is how they originally marketed MSNBC -- go there to find out more about today’s headlines!)
Oh, the series is terrific! I've used 4-5 of them in my lecture courses. Short intro essays and then some great documents. Highly recommend the ones on FDR, McCarthyism and LBJ in particular.
Enjoying this immensely sir. Glad I subscribed. I just finished Beverly Gage’s masterful biography of J Edgar Hoover. Can you recommend any books about the history of the CIA?
I appreciate the historical analysis, but, really, Go Chiefs!
I have no question at the moment but I do want to say, hello and thanks for this newsletter! I’ve been a history nerd my whole life and I think what you do is awesome.
Given all the trolls you've had to confront, and all the times you've had to explain, and re-explain, and re-explain recent American civil rights history, what's your take on the state of knowledge about American civil rights, by Americans? Is it getting worse? Are the gaps generational? Do younger people, some of whom (in theory at least) were exposed to APUSH classes, have a better grip than their parents and grandparents? (I'm trying to tamp down my personal hysteria, because the state of "knowledge" amongst Americans about our own history scares the crap out of me.)
I have *zero* data to support this hunch, but my feeling is that the level of ignorance is largely the same, but we're just hearing about it a lot more these days.
Thanks. He certainly has the thinking and arguing part going for him. I appreciate your time. And thanks for all you do.
Sarge! 🥰 Definitely looking forward to the book discussions too!
That furry guy is so cute! Of course, I think that all dogs are cute.
I have really enjoyed your posts so far and I don't regret being a paid subscriber from the beginning. Your writing style is accessible even to those who aren't a history geek like me!
The new book sounds interesting.
Thanks so much for the kind words and generous support!
Somewhat related to Chris Bailey’s question: Do you have any tips on introducing youngish kids to civil rights history? My nine-year-old son went to a camp sponsored by the Museum of Mississippi History/Mississippi Civil Rights Museum a few weeks ago. He came home obsessed with Medgar Evers, a welcome change from his normal video game obsession. I went back to the museums with him and feel like I really struggled to explain, for example, the Klan.
I have to have *the* talk with him this year, too, so I guess I need to take all opportunities to hone my skill at awkward conversations.
There are good elementary school books on MLK and Parks, and the graphic novel of John Lewis’s March is great.
Definitely here for the pupdates!
I’ll keep them coming
With Twitter possibly circling the drain, do you have your terrific “thread of threads” posts saved/archived somewhere for posterity? I seriously use that as a reference, and would hate to lose access to it. Apologies if you have answered this in previous AMAs, and thanks!
Enough people asked for Threadreader to "unroll" the threads that most are saved here:
https://threadreaderapp.com/user/KevinMKruse
Hello from the Pacific Northwest! Although, you and I were apparently growing up in Metro Nashville at the exact same time and I have this totally undeserved sense of pride about that. My question is, and I hope this isn’t annoying, do you have any tips to feed my teenage son’s interest in history? I have only recently begun to appreciate how important historians are to our society (and democracy) and I’d like to encourage him but all he hears from others is “what would you do with a history degree?!” I am a science geek who ran away from arts and humanities in my youth so any ideas would be great.
Well, in terms of feeding his interest, let him buy books that dig into things he's excited about.
As far as careers go, don't listen to the haters. We have a Silicon Valley CEO (and History BA) on our advisory board and he always says he can teach anyone to code, but he can't teach them how to write, think, and argue -- that's why he likes to hire History majors.
Your favorite White House pet, and, what pet should 45 have had?
Teddy Roosevelt had a badger. Hard to top that.
Trump should've had a snake. Boa constrictor, I think.
He’d probably name the feeder mice after his daily enemy. “Down the hatch you go, JOHN KELLY!”
So, how many bubbles are there in a bar of soap?
Why isn't John Doar as well known as Bull Connor?
392,100,282
Good question. Doar really shunned the limelight, on the theory he could get more done if he didn't care who got the credit. But I'm hoping to change that!
Super excited for the expanded content. You prompted me to upgrade!
Outstanding. I'm excited about it too -- I've got some sensitive materials that haven't felt right to blast out to everyone on Twitter, and I want to be able to think things through at a manageable scale.
Thoughts on the APUSH scores this year? Something close to 50% failed (1 or 2) from what has been reported (please advise if I am wrong)...sounds crazy...is there some sort of disconnect between what is taught and what is on the test? Is there just not enough time in one year to cover everything on the test?
The last time I had any real familiarity with APUSH was when I took the course in high school, so I'm not qualified to comment on it now.
But yes, there's much too much material to work through in a year. I suspect in the interest of covering everything to some degree they're not able to dig into anything in any meaningful depth.
Also, from what I've heard about the questions, I'm not sure they're replicating the sorts of things we'd expect in a college level course. From what I've heard (and might well be wrong!) it's much more repetition of facts than fostering critical thinking skills.
Thanks for the pupdate!
I teach community college, so I pretty much only teach the US History survey. I'm looking for for primary sources from the 1980s onward, sources that students in a 100-level survey class might enjoy (so not the Evil Empire speech or 9/11 Commission). Any suggestions?
Paul Boyer edited a good book called Reagan as President that had some terrific primary sources, or my colleague Julian Zelizer did a volume for the Bedford St Martin's series on Reagan too.
The Reagan library has some digitized materials: https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digitized-textual-material
The Clinton library has some too: https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us
Library of Congress, mostly older, but some good stuff: https://www.loc.gov/collections/
Campaign ads on The Living Room Candidate.
But honestly, you might just tool around YouTube for old ads -- early CompuServe ads or the "1984" ad Apple ran will blow their minds, David Bowie interviewed on MTV talking about race, or the 1990s clip of the Today show crew wondering about this "internet thing" etc.
I remember that “Today” clip -- Katie C asking why anyone might want to know more about a story (which is how they originally marketed MSNBC -- go there to find out more about today’s headlines!)
Bryant Gumbel wondering on air how he's supposed to pronounce "that little at symbol"
Thank you for making me aware of the Bedford St. Martin's series! Filling my shopping cart as we speak.
Oh, the series is terrific! I've used 4-5 of them in my lecture courses. Short intro essays and then some great documents. Highly recommend the ones on FDR, McCarthyism and LBJ in particular.
McCarthy in my cart!
Enjoying this immensely sir. Glad I subscribed. I just finished Beverly Gage’s masterful biography of J Edgar Hoover. Can you recommend any books about the history of the CIA?