Football announcers, amazingly enough, parallel the work of historians: They both offer play-by-play comments, descriptions of players, speculation, and post-game analysis. Historian Philip Leigh has written a thoughtful book, The…
If war is a continuation of politics by other means, as von Clausewitz suggests, Iowa Democrat Charles Mason saw both sides of the coin.[i] Edging out Lee Civil War buffs…
During the Civil War, both sides looked to our Patriot Forefathers -- their sacrifice and devotion -- for inspiration. Happy 4th of July.
Imagine a scene from the dawn of time: A warrior on a canoe, spear held loosely, glides up a river toward an unsuspecting mastodon. The spear flies, and the mastodon…
Finding a job was a common worry in Iowa as the Financial Panic of 1857 lingered. Many Iowans headed to the South where jobs were a-plenty. For example, engineer William…
“Iowa nice” was in short supply during the Civil War. Local politics reached new lows as Iowa Republicans demonized Peace Democrats (also known as Copperheads). A colleague asked historian Hubert…
Mass imprisonment and poor supplies at Andersonville led to horrible cases of starvation. The War Department publicized photos of emaciated soldiers, giving Andersonville an infamous and enduring reputation. Historian Arch…
It’s not often that a Supreme Court Chief Justice writes a book of history. But when he does, it’s a book worth reading. This is true for William H. Rehnquist’s…
Winchester Miller and his wife, Melinda Young, started married life as farmers in Van Buren County, southeast Iowa, in 1857. Melinda bore two sons, and Winchester eyed the lingering California…
A parable: Joke-telling Abraham Lincoln (Republican) in a stovepipe hat; sober-minded Jefferson Davis (Ultra-secessionist Democrat); and diminutive Stephen A. Douglas (national Democrat) stood at the top of a cliff. Davis…