Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

A Historian Learns About: The Outlaw Jesse James

November 21, 2025 at 2:20 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

New Episode! I learned about the Outlaw Jesse James.

youtu.be/Z9XfWdXDoNc?...

A Historian Learns About: Robert Morris, the "Financier of the Revolution"

November 14, 2025 at 2:50 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

I'm just going to say it. If anyone ever paints me they really need to not do me as dirty as this painting of Morris. Its not a picture, they could have lied a little Give the poor guy a chin.

November 7, 2025 at 6:39 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

New episode! I go over Robert Morris the man called the Financier of the American

youtu.be/-Re0WcjDstI?...

A Historian Learns About: The Quakers and the American Revolution

November 7, 2025 at 1:39 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

New video this week! Quakers and the American Revolution.

youtu.be/Mc8CRHk01tU?...

A Historian Learns About: Jay Cooke & The Northern Pacific Railroad

October 8, 2025 at 3:47 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

New video this week about Jay Cooke and his failure with the Northern Pacific Railroad.

youtu.be/1q-6W03JeXc?...

A Historian Learns About: The Smoot Hawley Tariff Act

October 1, 2025 at 3:52 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

New episode is out! Its about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Please give it a watch/listen. Available on podcast platforms or youtube!

youtu.be/k4BEhp2Gahw?...

A Historian Learns About: The West Virginia Mining Wars 1912-1921

September 24, 2025 at 2:11 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

I started a podcast. Please check it out. Here is the youtube link but also available in audio format on podcast platforms

youtu.be/r47C1HDBtkA?...

Four Candidates: The Election of 1912

September 17, 2025 at 7:35 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Hey- I have a new post! Its about the Election of 1912 which saw four candidates get a decent percentage of the votes.

hereforhistory.com/2025/06/25/f...

Roosevelt Campaigning. Library of Congress The Election of 1912 was weird. It featured a former two-term president running under a newly formed third party because he was dissatisfied with his old …

Following Up: An American Coal War: The West Virginia Coal Mining Wars of 1912-21

June 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

I always follow up on an article by discussing the topic a bit more, and most importantly, highlighting the work of the great historians I used as references.

hereforhistory.com/2025/05/27/f...

A group of miners armed for the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strikes in Eskdale, taken January 2, 1913. National Park Service This is a follow-up to my article on the West Virginia Coal Mining Wars that…

An American Coal War: The West Virginia Coal Mining Wars of 1912-21

May 27, 2025 at 4:29 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Hey I have a new post out today. Its about a fascinating part of American history that I knew nothing about prior to this article.

Read about the West Virginia Coal Mining Wars!

hereforhistory.com/2025/05/13/a...

A group of miners armed for the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strikes in Eskdale, taken January 2, 1913. National Park Service Labor battles in the history of the United States have not been without viol…

Following Up: A Bad Tariff Plan: The Disaster of Smoot-Hawley

May 13, 2025 at 2:17 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

This woman is locked out of her email but doesn't understand just because she uses the library's computers doesn't mean they control her email.

I feel bad for her but this conversation is wild

Here For History @hereforhistory.bsky.social · Apr 13

Oh no, there's a concert in the library...

Here For History @hereforhistory.bsky.social · Mar 20

Just found out that a guy at the library can eat all he wants because he burns off the calories. Good for him! Not sure why we all needed to hear his phone call about it. But good for him!

April 26, 2025 at 6:40 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Here is my follow-up article about my last post. In it, I explain why I find the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act important and interesting, and I review my major sources.

hereforhistory.com/2025/04/22/f...

Rep. W.C. Hawley and Reed Smoot, 4/11/29. Library of Congress The general purpose of my follow-up articles is twofold: first, to explain why I find the topic interesting and important, and second, …

A Bad Tariff Plan: The Disaster of Smoot-Hawley

April 22, 2025 at 8:02 PM

Reposted by Here For History

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Are you curious about tariffs and their history? Read my quick post about Smoot-Hawley. One of the most infamous bills in American history. I tried to keep the heavy economics out of the article.

hereforhistory.com/2025/04/14/a...

New York Times Wednesday, June 18, 1930 Passing Smoot-Hawley Picture this: You’re a Republican in Congress in 1928. You’ve controlled the government for the last eight years, and the ec…

A Bad Tariff Plan: The Disaster of Smoot-Hawley

April 14, 2025 at 6:17 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Are you curious about tariffs and their history? Read my quick post about Smoot-Hawley. One of the most infamous bills in American history. I tried to keep the heavy economics out of the article.

hereforhistory.com/2025/04/14/a...

New York Times Wednesday, June 18, 1930 Passing Smoot-Hawley Picture this: You’re a Republican in Congress in 1928. You’ve controlled the government for the last eight years, and the ec…

Following UP: A Ticket to Panic: Jay Cooke’s Railroad Dreams and the Panic of 1873

April 14, 2025 at 6:17 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Oh no, there's a concert in the library...

Here For History @hereforhistory.bsky.social · Mar 20

Just found out that a guy at the library can eat all he wants because he burns off the calories. Good for him! Not sure why we all needed to hear his phone call about it. But good for him!

Here For History @hereforhistory.bsky.social · Feb 15

Today a man slept at a desk and proceeded to snore very loudly. Now, that he is awake he is singing to himself- and everyone else.

April 13, 2025 at 5:22 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Just found out that a guy at the library can eat all he wants because he burns off the calories. Good for him! Not sure why we all needed to hear his phone call about it. But good for him!

Here For History @hereforhistory.bsky.social · Feb 15

Today a man slept at a desk and proceeded to snore very loudly. Now, that he is awake he is singing to himself- and everyone else.

Here For History @hereforhistory.bsky.social · Feb 8

There really needs to be a Parks and Rec style show about a public library. Place is wild.

March 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Today a man slept at a desk and proceeded to snore very loudly. Now, that he is awake he is singing to himself- and everyone else.

Here For History @hereforhistory.bsky.social · Feb 8

There really needs to be a Parks and Rec style show about a public library. Place is wild.

February 15, 2025 at 7:30 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Here is my latest post. Its a follow up to my previous article. I try to explain to you why this piece of history is important. I also review the books I used for my sources.

hereforhistory.com/2025/02/11/f...

Jay Cooke Portrait by William Merritt Chase While researching Reconstruction, I came across the impact of Jay Cooke’s railroad failure. I was fascinated that one man’s poor business dec…

A Ticket to Panic: Jay Cooke’s Railroad Dreams and the Panic of 1873

February 12, 2025 at 7:45 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Right now there is a person on a customer service call (this apparently is a regular occurrence), another person passed out at a table, and a third person....sorting through some bags they brought in.

Here For History @hereforhistory.bsky.social · Feb 8

There really needs to be a Parks and Rec style show about a public library. Place is wild.

February 8, 2025 at 6:35 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

There really needs to be a Parks and Rec style show about a public library. Place is wild.

February 8, 2025 at 5:59 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

New Post. I am going to get more consistent. This one is about Jay Cooke and how he failed to build a railroad and causes a financial crisis.

hereforhistory.com/2025/02/03/a...

Jay Cooke. National Park Park Service. Studying financial crises throughout history is a lot like studying wars. There are far too many of them, and each feels unique. If I were to continue to use …

Following Up: Reconstruction: The Topic You Forget (Or Were Never Taught) From History Class

February 3, 2025 at 9:33 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

I know they won but it still feels like why eagles why?

January 19, 2025 at 11:15 PM

Here For History

@hereforhistory.bsky.social

Here is my follow-up to my article about Reconstruction, where I give a quick thought on the topic and my opinion on the sources I used.

hereforhistory.com/2024/11/20/f...

Freedman’s Bureau. Library of Congress I started looking into Reconstruction as a topic based on the recommendation of my friend, Paul. There were times while I was researching and writing th…