Dr. Todd Arrington
@btarrington.bsky.social
Former Eisenhower Presidential Library Director and James A. Garfield NHS Site Manager. Historian. Writer. Army veteran. History PhD. Until recently, a career civil servant. Currently unemployed (not by choice). #ParkChat Hall of Famer.
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The Last Lincoln Republican
Of all the great “what if” scenarios in American history, the aftermath of the presidential election of 1880 stands out as one of the most tantal...
kansaspress.ku.edu
If you enjoy “Death by Lightning” on @Netflix.com, you should read @candicemillard.bsky.social’s “Destiny of the Republic,” C.W. Goodyear’s “President Garfield,” Kenneth Ackerman’s “Dark Horse,” and, if I may be so bold…my own “The Last Lincoln Republican: The Presidential Election of 1880.”
We all know what day it is. As usual, @hcrichardson.bsky.social explains it better than anyone.
January 6, 2026 at 12:28 PM
We all know what day it is. As usual, @hcrichardson.bsky.social explains it better than anyone.
On this day in 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross (D) became governor of Wyoming, making her America’s first female governor. Her husband had been governor & died in office in 1924. She won a special election to succeed his successor. She was later Director of the U.S. Mint, 1933-53.
Image: Public domain.
Image: Public domain.
January 5, 2026 at 10:11 AM
On this day in 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross (D) became governor of Wyoming, making her America’s first female governor. Her husband had been governor & died in office in 1924. She won a special election to succeed his successor. She was later Director of the U.S. Mint, 1933-53.
Image: Public domain.
Image: Public domain.
Happy New Year to all! My resolution is to have a billion Bluesky followers by the end of the year. So if you could all help me out with that, that’d be great. I mean, where else are you getting hard-hitting “here are photos of my baseball hats” content?
Exactly. Tell your friends.
Exactly. Tell your friends.
a cartoon character with a sign that says south park behind him
ALT: a cartoon character with a sign that says south park behind him
media.tenor.com
January 4, 2026 at 11:35 PM
Happy New Year to all! My resolution is to have a billion Bluesky followers by the end of the year. So if you could all help me out with that, that’d be great. I mean, where else are you getting hard-hitting “here are photos of my baseball hats” content?
Exactly. Tell your friends.
Exactly. Tell your friends.
Our final installment (for now) of the totally-useless-but-fun-for-me-at-least-and-that’s-what-really-matters “hats I have and wear for teams that no longer exist” takes us back to hockey. Here, in all its glory, is my Quebec Nordiques hat.
Today, you know the Nordiques as the Colorado Avalanche.
Today, you know the Nordiques as the Colorado Avalanche.
January 4, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Our final installment (for now) of the totally-useless-but-fun-for-me-at-least-and-that’s-what-really-matters “hats I have and wear for teams that no longer exist” takes us back to hockey. Here, in all its glory, is my Quebec Nordiques hat.
Today, you know the Nordiques as the Colorado Avalanche.
Today, you know the Nordiques as the Colorado Avalanche.
On this day in 1853, enslaved Black man Solomon Northup regained his freedom. He was a free Black man from New York who was kidnapped in Washington, DC and sold into slavery in Louisiana. He later wrote a memoir entitled “Twelve Years a Slave.”
Image: Public domain image from Northup’s memoir.
Image: Public domain image from Northup’s memoir.
January 4, 2026 at 3:00 PM
On this day in 1853, enslaved Black man Solomon Northup regained his freedom. He was a free Black man from New York who was kidnapped in Washington, DC and sold into slavery in Louisiana. He later wrote a memoir entitled “Twelve Years a Slave.”
Image: Public domain image from Northup’s memoir.
Image: Public domain image from Northup’s memoir.
For the literally 10s of you begging for more of my “hats of teams that no longer exist” content, I give you…the Brooklyn Dodgers.
January 4, 2026 at 12:27 AM
For the literally 10s of you begging for more of my “hats of teams that no longer exist” content, I give you…the Brooklyn Dodgers.
On this day in 1933, Minnie D. Craig (R) made history when she became Speaker of the North Dakota State House of Representatives. She was the first non-temporary female Speaker of the House in any U.S. state. She held the office until Jan. 8, 1935.
Image: State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Image: State Historical Society of North Dakota.
January 3, 2026 at 9:55 PM
On this day in 1933, Minnie D. Craig (R) made history when she became Speaker of the North Dakota State House of Representatives. She was the first non-temporary female Speaker of the House in any U.S. state. She held the office until Jan. 8, 1935.
Image: State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Image: State Historical Society of North Dakota.
Dear @profootballtalk.bsky.social: I love you guys and have been reading you for years. But until you get rid of the videos that now automatically open MULTIPLE times every time I read an article on the app, I’m out. I’ll be looking for a new app for sports news. Anyone have any suggestions for me?
January 3, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Dear @profootballtalk.bsky.social: I love you guys and have been reading you for years. But until you get rid of the videos that now automatically open MULTIPLE times every time I read an article on the app, I’m out. I’ll be looking for a new app for sports news. Anyone have any suggestions for me?
“I’m fed up to the ears with old men drumming up wars for young men to die in.”
~World War II bomber pilot/U.S. Representative and Senator/1972 Democratic presidential candidate George S. McGovern.
Images: Dakota Wesleyan University (left); public domain (right).
~World War II bomber pilot/U.S. Representative and Senator/1972 Democratic presidential candidate George S. McGovern.
Images: Dakota Wesleyan University (left); public domain (right).
January 3, 2026 at 2:22 PM
“I’m fed up to the ears with old men drumming up wars for young men to die in.”
~World War II bomber pilot/U.S. Representative and Senator/1972 Democratic presidential candidate George S. McGovern.
Images: Dakota Wesleyan University (left); public domain (right).
~World War II bomber pilot/U.S. Representative and Senator/1972 Democratic presidential candidate George S. McGovern.
Images: Dakota Wesleyan University (left); public domain (right).
Second piece I’ll publish in 2026 is a chapter in @ohiounivpress.bsky.social book “Ohio’s First Ladies: From the Midwest to the White House,” edited by Katherine Jellison & coming fall ‘26. My chapter: “‘A Wonderfully Wise Woman’: The Life of Lucretia Rudolph Garfield.”
Image: Library of Congress.
Image: Library of Congress.
January 2, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Second piece I’ll publish in 2026 is a chapter in @ohiounivpress.bsky.social book “Ohio’s First Ladies: From the Midwest to the White House,” edited by Katherine Jellison & coming fall ‘26. My chapter: “‘A Wonderfully Wise Woman’: The Life of Lucretia Rudolph Garfield.”
Image: Library of Congress.
Image: Library of Congress.
If you read the academic journal Middle West Review, look for my co-authored article w/ Chris Blubaugh in the Fall 2025 issue (which hasn’t shipped yet). Our piece is entitled “Was James Garfield Really a ‘Dark Horse’ in 1880?” It looks at the 1880 Republican Nat’l Convention.
Image: Smithsonian.
Image: Smithsonian.
January 2, 2026 at 5:12 PM
If you read the academic journal Middle West Review, look for my co-authored article w/ Chris Blubaugh in the Fall 2025 issue (which hasn’t shipped yet). Our piece is entitled “Was James Garfield Really a ‘Dark Horse’ in 1880?” It looks at the 1880 Republican Nat’l Convention.
Image: Smithsonian.
Image: Smithsonian.
“If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict the dividing line will not be Mason & Dixon’s, but between patriotism and intelligence on one side, and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other.”
~President Ulysses S. Grant, 1875.
Image: LOC.
~President Ulysses S. Grant, 1875.
Image: LOC.
January 2, 2026 at 1:44 PM
“If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict the dividing line will not be Mason & Dixon’s, but between patriotism and intelligence on one side, and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other.”
~President Ulysses S. Grant, 1875.
Image: LOC.
~President Ulysses S. Grant, 1875.
Image: LOC.
I have already shoveled snow twice in 2026.
This better not be indicative of how the rest of this year is gonna go.
This better not be indicative of how the rest of this year is gonna go.
January 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM
I have already shoveled snow twice in 2026.
This better not be indicative of how the rest of this year is gonna go.
This better not be indicative of how the rest of this year is gonna go.
The Homestead Act went into effect the same day as the Emancipation Proclamation: Jan. 1, 1863.
I wrote this a few years back about the importance of the Homestead Act to the early Republican Party and the coming of the Civil War. (And the negative impacts on American Indians and the environment.)
I wrote this a few years back about the importance of the Homestead Act to the early Republican Party and the coming of the Civil War. (And the negative impacts on American Indians and the environment.)
Republicans and the Homestead Act
A Means to Provide Opportunity to the Masses
werehistory.org
January 1, 2026 at 6:22 PM
The Homestead Act went into effect the same day as the Emancipation Proclamation: Jan. 1, 1863.
I wrote this a few years back about the importance of the Homestead Act to the early Republican Party and the coming of the Civil War. (And the negative impacts on American Indians and the environment.)
I wrote this a few years back about the importance of the Homestead Act to the early Republican Party and the coming of the Civil War. (And the negative impacts on American Indians and the environment.)
A few days ago I posted an old piece I wrote about Smedley D. Butler. Re-reading that inspired me to pick up his short 1935 book “War is a Racket.”
So 11 hours into 2026, I’ve finished reading my first book of the year!
So 11 hours into 2026, I’ve finished reading my first book of the year!
January 1, 2026 at 4:02 PM
A few days ago I posted an old piece I wrote about Smedley D. Butler. Re-reading that inspired me to pick up his short 1935 book “War is a Racket.”
So 11 hours into 2026, I’ve finished reading my first book of the year!
So 11 hours into 2026, I’ve finished reading my first book of the year!
Reposted by Dr. Todd Arrington
January 1, 1863: A New Birth of Freedom
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
January 1, 1863: A New Birth of Freedom
On January 1, 1863 Boston’s abolitionist community gathered on a cold, cloudy, and gloomy day in anticipation of the news that Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:04 AM
January 1, 1863: A New Birth of Freedom
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
“In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.”
~Abraham Lincoln.
Pres. Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation 163 years ago today: 1/1/1863. This made the Civil War not just about saving the Union, but also abolishing enslavement in the U.S.
Image: Library Co. of Philadelphia.
~Abraham Lincoln.
Pres. Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation 163 years ago today: 1/1/1863. This made the Civil War not just about saving the Union, but also abolishing enslavement in the U.S.
Image: Library Co. of Philadelphia.
January 1, 2026 at 1:59 PM
“In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.”
~Abraham Lincoln.
Pres. Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation 163 years ago today: 1/1/1863. This made the Civil War not just about saving the Union, but also abolishing enslavement in the U.S.
Image: Library Co. of Philadelphia.
~Abraham Lincoln.
Pres. Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation 163 years ago today: 1/1/1863. This made the Civil War not just about saving the Union, but also abolishing enslavement in the U.S.
Image: Library Co. of Philadelphia.
“Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.”
~John Adams, 1765.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
John Adams laying out my 2026 resolutions 260 years ago.
~John Adams, 1765.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
John Adams laying out my 2026 resolutions 260 years ago.
January 1, 2026 at 2:14 AM
“Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.”
~John Adams, 1765.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
John Adams laying out my 2026 resolutions 260 years ago.
~John Adams, 1765.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
John Adams laying out my 2026 resolutions 260 years ago.
No white Christmas here in northeast Ohio, but looks like a white New Year is guaranteed.
December 31, 2025 at 3:33 PM
No white Christmas here in northeast Ohio, but looks like a white New Year is guaranteed.
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly… .”
~Thomas Paine, “The Crisis,” 1776.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
~Thomas Paine, “The Crisis,” 1776.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
December 31, 2025 at 12:47 PM
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly… .”
~Thomas Paine, “The Crisis,” 1776.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
~Thomas Paine, “The Crisis,” 1776.
Image: National Portrait Gallery.
“Perhaps his greatest act of courage, though, was simply to tell the truth as he saw it after he took off his nation’s uniform.”
Here’s a piece I wrote years ago of which I’m pretty proud. Major General Smedley D. Butler, USMC, isn’t nearly as well-known or well-remembered as he should be.
Here’s a piece I wrote years ago of which I’m pretty proud. Major General Smedley D. Butler, USMC, isn’t nearly as well-known or well-remembered as he should be.
The Anti-War Marine
It is both truism and cliché that “no one hates war more than the soldiers who fight.” Many historians have demonstrated that political causes are often quickly discarded among the mud, bullets, an…
werehistory.org
December 30, 2025 at 8:33 PM
“Perhaps his greatest act of courage, though, was simply to tell the truth as he saw it after he took off his nation’s uniform.”
Here’s a piece I wrote years ago of which I’m pretty proud. Major General Smedley D. Butler, USMC, isn’t nearly as well-known or well-remembered as he should be.
Here’s a piece I wrote years ago of which I’m pretty proud. Major General Smedley D. Butler, USMC, isn’t nearly as well-known or well-remembered as he should be.
“Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”
~Frederick Douglass.
Image: Library of Congress.
~Frederick Douglass.
Image: Library of Congress.
December 30, 2025 at 3:14 PM
“Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letter, U.S., let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship.”
~Frederick Douglass.
Image: Library of Congress.
~Frederick Douglass.
Image: Library of Congress.
Walking down the street in NYC like a month before Christmas. A guy walks by and my wife goes “Was that Tracy Morgan?” He turns around—yep, it was him—and waves and says “What’s up?” This was sometime during his SNL run.
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
December 29, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Walking down the street in NYC like a month before Christmas. A guy walks by and my wife goes “Was that Tracy Morgan?” He turns around—yep, it was him—and waves and says “What’s up?” This was sometime during his SNL run.
“…I can still see the butchered women & children lying heaped & scattered…I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud…A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream.”
~Black Elk (Oglala Lakota) on the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 12/29/1890.
Image: Getty Images.
~Black Elk (Oglala Lakota) on the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 12/29/1890.
Image: Getty Images.
December 29, 2025 at 7:13 PM
“…I can still see the butchered women & children lying heaped & scattered…I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud…A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream.”
~Black Elk (Oglala Lakota) on the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 12/29/1890.
Image: Getty Images.
~Black Elk (Oglala Lakota) on the Wounded Knee Massacre that took place 12/29/1890.
Image: Getty Images.