Johann Neem
johannneem.bsky.social
Johann Neem
@johannneem.bsky.social

Scholar of the American Revolution and the Early American Republic, education. Author of "What's the Point of College? Seeking Purpose in an Age of Reform" and "Democracy's Schools: The Rise of Public Education in America." Website: https://johannneem.com .. more

Political science 54%
Education 17%
Pinned
In my contribution to @newrepublic.com's issue on Trump and history, I argue that Trump has wrapped himself in the mantle of the American Revolution while undermining its principles.
Trump Is the Enemy of the American Revolution
He has produced a crisis much like the one the colonists faced two and a half centuries ago. Now it’s our responsibility to uphold the Founders’ legacy.
newrepublic.com
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5

A worthwhile read for anyone planning to attend the American Historical Association's annual conference.

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

Texas opens for-profit school in for-profit prison holding ICE detainees:
Why not monetize everything???

dianeravitch.net/2025/12/19/t...
Texas: Why Not Monetize Everything?
In Greg Abbott’s Texas, everything has a price or makes a profit. Mothers Against Greg Abbott posted this video showing how it’s done. A for-profit online charter school is opening in a…
dianeravitch.net

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

My qualms about Ken Burns' American Revolution series, which strangely fails to explain what made the Revolution revolutionary.

washingtonmonthly.com/2025/12/18/w...
What’s Wrong with The American Revolution by Ken Burns
Ken Burns’s latest PBS series is long on muskets and bayonets, but the history of the American Revolution remains strangely understated.
washingtonmonthly.com

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

A new column of mine in the Chronicle of Higher Education, on the in-fighting at the American Historical Association:
www.chronicle.com/article/acad...
Opinion | Academic Politics at Their Most Counterproductive
The American Historical Association is being torn apart over members’ views on Israel.
www.chronicle.com

New @cato.org story argues that it's DHS policy to threaten/arrest illegally protestors--> in other words, the fed gvt is a threat to the rule of law.
The Government Unconstitutionally Labels ICE Observers as Domestic Terrorists
A free country must have an absolute wall of protection for those who record government actions.
www.cato.org

I don’t understand why faculty at all Texas public universities have not walked out and brought their institutions to a standstill to defend academic freedom. I am shocked by how complacent and compliant faculty appear to be. Am I missing the resistance? Our faculty protesting and resisting?

UM, RIGHTS ARE NOT OPTIONAL IN A FREE SOCIETY: "They’re now seeing cases where ICE agents violate constitutional protections on a daily basis. She and other immigration attorneys advise clients about the rights they should have but warn about the areas where ICE agents have been violating them."
Federal agents arrest citizen observer watching ICE detain neighbors on her north Minneapolis block
Susan Tincher, a 55-year-old American citizen, appears to be the first observer arrested by federal immigration enforcement officers since the agency launched an immigration surge in the Twin Cities l...
www.mprnews.org
If you've ever been to a naturalization ceremony, you know they're filled with people whose palpable love of this country is twenty times stronger than the pinched "patriotism" of any native-born MAGA chud.

Just unspeakable assholery.

Texas Tech has revived the office of censor. Faculty need pre-clearance to teach their courses. #academicfreedom @aaup.org

Texas Tech creates a censorship process. This image from a memo from the Chancellor is chilling- but its meaning is clear. #academicfreedom

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

The latest History of Education Quarterly has an incredible forum addressing the dismantling of the US Department of Education.

I'll post non-paywalled versions of all nine contributions here. Huge thanks to the amazing scholars who participated.

If you want to know why the largest, bloodiest battles of the American Revolution happened in India- & how ordinary people and ambitious leaders all over the world took up arms for their own purposes during the Revolution-- this is the book for you! A great read- congrats @rickbell.bsky.social
Friends, I could not be more excited to let you know that my book, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, is out today from Penguin. I’m super proud of it and super grateful to all the scholars whose work informs it. I hope you’ll take a peek and spread the word!

amzn.to/4nHkziG
The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
The American Revolution and the Fate of the World [Bell, Richard] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
amzn.to

So today’s news was that the Justice Dept forced the ouster of a university president in Virginia over politics, and that Texas A&M took away academic freedom from profs who teach things they disagree with. And yet the same people demand intellectual diversity and “civil discourse” on campus?

Reposted by Johann N. Neem

Friends, I could not be more excited to let you know that my book, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World, is out today from Penguin. I’m super proud of it and super grateful to all the scholars whose work informs it. I hope you’ll take a peek and spread the word!

amzn.to/4nHkziG
The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
The American Revolution and the Fate of the World [Bell, Richard] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The American Revolution and the Fate of the World
amzn.to
NEWS: Federal agents crashed with woman’s car, pointed guns at her, dragged her out by legs, tossed her in a minivan, held her and (eventually) let her go without charges. This as Chicagoans say the immigration blitz is out of control. (DHS blames her.)
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/03/c...
Chicago woman dragged out of her car after colliding with ICE demands accountability
The arrest of Dayanne Figueroa highlights growing concerns about the use of force against U.S. citizens and due process. She was released after a few hours without charges.
www.chicagotribune.com

When local police are assigned to protect people from fed agents, when schools keep kids inside bc of fed agents, and when cities urge people to be careful on Halloween bc of federal agents, that is a sign that the fed government is now the enemy of the American people.
New policy will dispatch police supervisors to federal agent activity in Evanston
The City of Evanston is implementing a new policy to dispatch a police supervisor to reports of incidents involving federal agents in the community.
www.nbcchicago.com

Please take a moment to complete the quiz below to determine whether you have a president or an emperor.
New Quiz- please answer all questions: How to know if you have an emperor or a president. If you answer yes to a majority of the questions below, you have an emperor and are no longer living in a free country.

In US, govt by consent of the governed has ended! Trump’s use of private money to fund his army echoes King Charles I’s effort to fund his govt by finding revenue independent of Parliament- one of the major issues leading to English civil wars- and why Americans fought for govt by consent in 1776.
Anonymous Donor Gives $130 Million to Pay Troops During Shutdown, Pentagon Says
Servicemembers were expected to miss their first full paychecks in mid-October.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by Anna O. Law

If you're in DC on Sunday, please stop by the teach-in on American history-- "In an authoritarian regime, one of the first things that is taken from the public is honest and credible information..."
In today’s Guardian with @kcarterjackson.bsky.social, explaining why teach-ins (like the one we’re holding Sunday!) are a vital part of activism.
Why we’re holding a teach-in about American history at the Smithsonian | Kellie Carter Jackson and Nicole Hemmer
Podcasters, professors, journalists and ordinary citizens will gather in Washington as the Trump regime wages war on history
www.theguardian.com

Kraft Singles

Question 8) Does your leader consider their will to be above the law? (Yes/No)

Question 7) Does your leader use the state coffers to enrich and bring glory to their family and friends? (Yes/No)

Question 6) Does your leader threaten those who disagree with them or challenge them, including the press? (Yes/No)