American History

filo/iStock/Getty Images Plus The newest federal holiday, “Juneteenth,” is observed this year on the actual date of June Nineteenth — Juneteenth being the combination of those two words. As with most federal holidays, in order to give federal employees a three-day weekend, it would have been observed on Monday anyway. So, what is Juneteenth all about? When I first heard...

This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above image and quotation. About this publication A specialist in American studies, Lalatendu Das has worked in various capacities for more than two decades with several institutions and organizations in India and abroad, including some leading US-based groups. He has taught courses in...

mscornelius/iStock/Getty Images Plus A blog post entitled “Convention of States supporters from the Founders and beyond,” written in 2021 by Gregory Kipp, includes statements made by George Mason, George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. The title of the post would lead a reader to believe that the quotations selected from these Founding Fathers proved that they supported...

mj0007/iStock/Getty Images Plus Recent revelations of Justice Clarence Thomas’ failure to disclose financial transactions have fueled a growing demand for Congress to introduce new ethical standards for the Supreme Court. This has ignited a spirited debate over whether the legislative branch possesses the constitutional authority to impose a code of conduct on the judiciary. As with any analysis of whether...

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that federal bankruptcy law supersedes Indian tribes’ sovereign immunity. An Indian tribe in Wisconsin had argued it could not be sued and that bankruptcy protections, such as the law’s automatic stay of collection efforts when an individual files for bankruptcy, did not operate to block its efforts to seek repayment of a debt from a...

On June 14, 1775 — 248 years ago today — the Continental Congress, gathered in Philadelphia, took a significant step toward achieving lasting American independence by authorizing the mustering of the Continental Army. This pivotal event marked a turning point in the American War for Independence, as it formalized the establishment of a unified military force capable of challenging the...

Bill Oxford/iStock/Getty Images Plus At least a tenth of all federal Covid-19 relief spending — and possibly much more — was lost to either waste or fraud in what the Associated Press calls “the greatest grift in U.S. history.” The news agency reports: An Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding;...

Despite the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which prohibits warrantless government searches, U.S. agencies are proving to be ever more intrusive in their routine surveillance of Americans’ speech and activities. Often working in collaboration with private companies and banks, agencies like the FBI have been misusing laws against foreign terrorism to vacuum up and sift through the private data of millions of...

Running Press Kids/Amazon.com “If a nation expects to be ignorant & free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was and never will be.” — Thomas Jefferson to Charles Yancey, January 6, 1816 Every time I find out that there’s a book written to teach children about the Constitution, I anticipate an attempt to miseducate our most vulnerable...

As it did again this year, Britain hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 1977. Our competition entry, a song called "Rock Bottom," seemed to capture the moment. The contest itself had been delayed by five weeks because of strike action by BBC technicians. Although the lyrics were supposedly about a low point in a love affair, the fact that the...

First lady Jill Biden is gearing up to raise funds for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, working toward securing a second term for her husband. This year, following her return from a six-day trip abroad, the first lady is embarking on her first solo trip for the 2024 campaign season. She will make a three-day fundraising tour, with stops in...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is shadowboxing while former President Donald Trump is going in for the knock-out punch even before the fight officially begins. The contrasting styles of the leading contenders in the 2024 Republican presidential primary race were evident in speeches on successive nights before the 2023 North Carolina Republican Convention. While DeSantis alluded to Trump without mentioning the...

Commentary For decades we have heard the old Washington saying about our two political parties. The Democrats were the evil party, the Republicans the stupid party. It was a nasty crack, but, basically, it fit. Still, we lumbered along. Until now. With the multiple indictments of Donald Trump, the most recent ones from no less an authority than a special...

Acting Labor Department Secretary Julie Su was grilled by Congress over the trafficking of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) to be used as illegal labor within the United States. Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) was scathing of the Labor Department’s approach to the issue during a House committee hearing on child migrant labor on June 7. Many of the children were released...

Former President Donald Trump could theoretically pardon himself after he was indicted in a federal investigation connected to whether he mishandled classified records, according to George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley. Speaking to Fox News, Turley said that for the 2024 election, “Trump could run on pardoning himself. You know, for people that feel that this is biased, that this...

AP Images In what is a first in American history, former President Donald Trump has been indicted in the controversial classified documents case, which followed the raid by the FBI into Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. The indictment — announced on Thursday — was sought by the Biden Justice Department against Trump, who is presently leading in the polls...

SolStock/iStock/Getty Images Plus Those who seek tyrannical control over the masses would much rather deal with docile men than with ones willing to fight back. Understanding this provides a useful heuristic for understanding many modern social phenomena. From transgenderism to feminism to the promotion of sedentary lifestyles, a lot of the things being inculcated in people — particularly men —...

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed a 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution to curtail specific aspects of gun rights. “Our ability to make a more perfect union is literally written into the Constitution,” Newsom said in a Thursday press statement announcing the proposed amendment. “So today, I’m proposing the 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution to do...

Koele/iStock/Getty Images Plus The Convention of States people are at it again. Here’s a June 5 press release promoting an upcoming “simulation” that they are hosting in Colonial Williamsburg in August: This August, delegates representing all 50 states will gather in Colonial Williamsburg for an Article V simulated convention. As we draw nearer to the 34-state threshold needed to call...

Commentary For much of “Downton Abbey,” viewers are treated with glorious eye candy of British aristocratic life in a mighty estate, robust at first but fading as the seasons progress. What we are not given is a rationale behind the whole cultural structure of the house and the social order surrounding it. This is particularly important for American audiences who know...