Stephen West
@stephenwest.bsky.social
Historian of Civil War & Reconstruction. Bicyclist, baker, 3d favorite human of Banjo the dog. Views=mine, repost ≠endorsement
Pinned
Stephen West
@stephenwest.bsky.social
· Nov 8
What History Says About The Jan. 6 Committee Investigation
The importance of an unambiguous report that cannot be weaponized by Trump supporters.
www.bunkhistory.org
Welcome, new followers!
I’m a historian of Civil War & Reconstruction and their aftermath in American life. On here, you’ll find me trying to connect that history to our current day—as I did in longer form, in the piece below.
Oh, and I occasionally post pictures of my dog, and things I baked.
I’m a historian of Civil War & Reconstruction and their aftermath in American life. On here, you’ll find me trying to connect that history to our current day—as I did in longer form, in the piece below.
Oh, and I occasionally post pictures of my dog, and things I baked.
Reposted by Stephen West
Time to revive the Anti-Imperialist League
archive.org/details/inna...
archive.org/details/inna...
In the name of liberty : Anti-Imperialist Meeting, Tremont Temple, April 4, 1899 : protest against the Philippine policy : Anti-Imperialist League (Boston, Mass.) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streamin...
Preservation photocopy
archive.org
January 6, 2026 at 2:29 AM
Time to revive the Anti-Imperialist League
archive.org/details/inna...
archive.org/details/inna...
The content is obviously different, but Miller's tone reminds me of the radical secessionists - the "fire-eaters" - of 1860-61: a braying hyperbolist who makes up in volume what he lacks in sense, both belligerent and fragile at the same time.
MILLER: The US is using its military to secure our interests unapologetically in our hemisphere. We're a superpower. It's absurd we'd allow a nation in our backyard to become a supplier of resources to our adversaries
TAPPER: Sovereign countries shouldn't be able to do what they want?
M: *yells*
TAPPER: Sovereign countries shouldn't be able to do what they want?
M: *yells*
January 6, 2026 at 12:59 AM
The content is obviously different, but Miller's tone reminds me of the radical secessionists - the "fire-eaters" - of 1860-61: a braying hyperbolist who makes up in volume what he lacks in sense, both belligerent and fragile at the same time.
Reposted by Stephen West
Falling asleep on the couch watching TV? Way ahead of you boss.
January 5, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Falling asleep on the couch watching TV? Way ahead of you boss.
Is it napping? Please let it be napping.
January 5, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Is it napping? Please let it be napping.
Reposted by Stephen West
The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been dissolved, ending its 58 years as the primary funder for PBS, NPR and local TV and radio stations
Corporation For Public Broadcasting Is Dissolved After 58 Years Of Service
www.huffpost.com
January 5, 2026 at 8:04 PM
The destruction doesn't make for a photo-op like tearing down the East Wing of the White House or bulldozing the Rose Garden, but it's every bit as bad. Generations of American children learned to spell and count, learned the Preamble to the Constitution, from watching shows produced by the CPB.
Reposted by Stephen West
Sadly, no surprises here. 🤦🏾♂️
The Trump administration rejected recommendations from an advisory committee to honor Frederick Douglass and the woman suffrage and Civil Rights movements, replacing them with coins that feature pilgrims, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address.
New redesigned coins marking nation's 250th birthday begin circulating today
New coins marking the United States' 250th anniversary begin circulating this week. The Trump administration tweaked the design of some coins and is considering a dollar coin featuring the president.
www.npr.org
January 5, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Sadly, no surprises here. 🤦🏾♂️
Reposted by Stephen West
www.liberalcurrents.com/sovereignty-...
part of the "Donroe Doctrine" is that the sovereignty of other nations (especially in Latin America) is conditional, and it's the US that will decide those conditions.
part of the "Donroe Doctrine" is that the sovereignty of other nations (especially in Latin America) is conditional, and it's the US that will decide those conditions.
Sovereignty for Me, None for Thee
Donald Trump's 2025 National Security Strategy reveals a radical blood-and-soil conception of national strategy based on maintaining white patriarchal Christian domination at home and abroad.
www.liberalcurrents.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:30 PM
www.liberalcurrents.com/sovereignty-...
part of the "Donroe Doctrine" is that the sovereignty of other nations (especially in Latin America) is conditional, and it's the US that will decide those conditions.
part of the "Donroe Doctrine" is that the sovereignty of other nations (especially in Latin America) is conditional, and it's the US that will decide those conditions.
Reposted by Stephen West
This might seem trivial to some, but the context is for decades now historians have been pushing to tell the “fuller American story” which tries to correct white-centric history told since our nation’s founding. Trump admin is essentially saying: We’re sticking to the white version, thanks.
The Trump administration rejected recommendations from an advisory committee to honor Frederick Douglass and the woman suffrage and Civil Rights movements, replacing them with coins that feature pilgrims, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address.
New redesigned coins marking nation's 250th birthday begin circulating today
New coins marking the United States' 250th anniversary begin circulating this week. The Trump administration tweaked the design of some coins and is considering a dollar coin featuring the president.
www.npr.org
January 5, 2026 at 4:44 PM
This might seem trivial to some, but the context is for decades now historians have been pushing to tell the “fuller American story” which tries to correct white-centric history told since our nation’s founding. Trump admin is essentially saying: We’re sticking to the white version, thanks.
The Trump administration rejected recommendations from an advisory committee to honor Frederick Douglass and the woman suffrage and Civil Rights movements, replacing them with coins that feature pilgrims, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address.
New redesigned coins marking nation's 250th birthday begin circulating today
New coins marking the United States' 250th anniversary begin circulating this week. The Trump administration tweaked the design of some coins and is considering a dollar coin featuring the president.
www.npr.org
January 5, 2026 at 4:39 PM
The Trump administration rejected recommendations from an advisory committee to honor Frederick Douglass and the woman suffrage and Civil Rights movements, replacing them with coins that feature pilgrims, the Revolutionary War and the Gettysburg Address.
Reposted by Stephen West
I had a great conversation with @thesullivansummer.bsky.social and @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about my book, Requiem for Reconstruction, which will be officially released tomorrow (1/6) through @uncpress.bsky.social. You can listen to that interview here newbooksnetwork.com/requiem-for-...
Robert D. Bland, "Requiem for Reconstruction: Black Countermemory and the Legacy of the Lowcountry's Lost Political Generation" (UNC Press, 2026) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
January 5, 2026 at 2:24 PM
I had a great conversation with @thesullivansummer.bsky.social and @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social about my book, Requiem for Reconstruction, which will be officially released tomorrow (1/6) through @uncpress.bsky.social. You can listen to that interview here newbooksnetwork.com/requiem-for-...
Reposted by Stephen West
Trump on Democrats: "They should say 'great job.' They shouldn't say, 'Oh gee, maybe it's not constitutional.' You know, the same old stuff that we've been hearing for years and years and years."
January 3, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Trump on Democrats: "They should say 'great job.' They shouldn't say, 'Oh gee, maybe it's not constitutional.' You know, the same old stuff that we've been hearing for years and years and years."
The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report last month, documenting 38 lynchings in that state. It also makes 84 recommendations, covering education, public memorials, and police and judicial reform.
But reparations grab the headline here.
But reparations grab the headline here.
Maryland studied its complicity in lynchings. Are reparations next?
The new House speaker launched the nation’s only government-backed commission to hold a state accountable for racial terror. It recommended 84 ways to atone.
wapo.st
January 4, 2026 at 10:15 PM
The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report last month, documenting 38 lynchings in that state. It also makes 84 recommendations, covering education, public memorials, and police and judicial reform.
But reparations grab the headline here.
But reparations grab the headline here.
I cannot say I envy Kimberly Gilfoyle, I must admit I see the appeal of being ambassador to Greece.
Also, I hope Donald Trump doesn't see the uniforms of the Greek Presidential Guards and start getting ideas
Also, I hope Donald Trump doesn't see the uniforms of the Greek Presidential Guards and start getting ideas
January 4, 2026 at 5:17 PM
I cannot say I envy Kimberly Gilfoyle, I must admit I see the appeal of being ambassador to Greece.
Also, I hope Donald Trump doesn't see the uniforms of the Greek Presidential Guards and start getting ideas
Also, I hope Donald Trump doesn't see the uniforms of the Greek Presidential Guards and start getting ideas
Reposted by Stephen West
#tdih 1965
Hundreds of people travelled by bus from Mississippi to DC to support the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) Congressional Challenge to the seating of the all white Mississippi delegation in 89th Congress.
Read ⬇️#TeachOutsideTextbook 🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/mf...
Hundreds of people travelled by bus from Mississippi to DC to support the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) Congressional Challenge to the seating of the all white Mississippi delegation in 89th Congress.
Read ⬇️#TeachOutsideTextbook 🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/mf...
Jan. 4, 1965: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Challenges Congress
Hundreds of Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party supporters went to support the Challenge to the seating of the Mississippi delegation.
www.zinnedproject.org
January 4, 2026 at 3:03 PM
#tdih 1965
Hundreds of people travelled by bus from Mississippi to DC to support the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) Congressional Challenge to the seating of the all white Mississippi delegation in 89th Congress.
Read ⬇️#TeachOutsideTextbook 🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/mf...
Hundreds of people travelled by bus from Mississippi to DC to support the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) Congressional Challenge to the seating of the all white Mississippi delegation in 89th Congress.
Read ⬇️#TeachOutsideTextbook 🧵
www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/mf...
Reposted by Stephen West
How many branches of government is the US at now? 1.5?
January 4, 2026 at 3:41 PM
How many branches of government is the US at now? 1.5?
Reposted by Stephen West
This Know Your Enemy episode with @mattdinan.bsky.social is everything I hoped for from the description. In our response to AI in education this is the attitude we must take, attack the demand side by showing students there is something much better. www.patreon.com/posts/great-...
Great Books and the AI Apocalypse (w/ Matt Dinan) | Know Your Enemy
Get more from Know Your Enemy on Patreon
www.patreon.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:40 PM
This Know Your Enemy episode with @mattdinan.bsky.social is everything I hoped for from the description. In our response to AI in education this is the attitude we must take, attack the demand side by showing students there is something much better. www.patreon.com/posts/great-...
resolution for 2026 - use an emoji in at least one email a day
January 4, 2026 at 1:42 PM
resolution for 2026 - use an emoji in at least one email a day
Reposted by Stephen West
Future school children: but why did they call it the "Donroe Doctrine"?
Future teacher: because it was a very stupid time
Future teacher: because it was a very stupid time
Essay | Trump’s ‘Donroe Doctrine’ Aims to Dominate the Americas
From attacking drug boats to pressuring Venezuela’s leader, the President is putting the Western Hemisphere at the center of his foreign policy.
www.wsj.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Future school children: but why did they call it the "Donroe Doctrine"?
Future teacher: because it was a very stupid time
Future teacher: because it was a very stupid time
Reposted by Stephen West
New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
January 3, 2026 at 9:42 PM
New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...
triple checking the signal chat group members
January 4, 2026 at 12:18 AM
triple checking the signal chat group members
secessionists say hi!
So much of American history is just impulsive and extremely stupid elites, who don't believe in consequences because they have never personally experienced them, doing highly consequential stuff because they're bored or believe it might make them richer. I guess a lot of our culture, too.
January 3, 2026 at 8:51 PM
secessionists say hi!
Reposted by Stephen West
Even when they're cheering on imperialism, the WaPo editorial board can't stop thinking about Zohran Mamdani.
January 3, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Even when they're cheering on imperialism, the WaPo editorial board can't stop thinking about Zohran Mamdani.
Even when they're cheering on imperialism, the WaPo editorial board can't stop thinking about Zohran Mamdani.
January 3, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Even when they're cheering on imperialism, the WaPo editorial board can't stop thinking about Zohran Mamdani.
there's never a wrong time digressive hyperbole and lies
January 3, 2026 at 4:58 PM
there's never a wrong time digressive hyperbole and lies
update - the celebration has begun
President to celebrate fake peace prize by starting real war
January 3, 2026 at 4:07 PM
update - the celebration has begun