fathers — Bunk History

Illustration of William and Florence Kelley

The Father-Daughter Team Who Reformed America

Meet the duo who helped achieve the most important labor and civil rights victories of their age.

by Jon Grinspan via Smithsonian on November 3, 2022

Robert S. McNamara at a news conference in April 1966

Robert McNamara’s Son Reckons With a Legacy of Destruction

Craig McNamara’s family did not talk about the Vietnam War. He spent his life asking questions about it.

by Noah Kulwin via The New Republic on July 6, 2022

Black and white photo of four children holding hands and dressed up in 18th century outfits

A Surprising Factor Influenced How the Framers Voted

The more sons a Founding Father had, the more supportive he was of a strong centralized government.

by Soren J. Schmidt, Jeremy C. Pope via The Atlantic on July 7, 2021

Death Can’t Take the Stories Our Elders Pass On

The pandemic doesn’t just threaten our loved ones, but knowledge of our past — so Nelson George went and found his.

by Nelson George via Medium on April 21, 2020

Roger Goodell’s Father Had a Political Backbone—Why Doesn’t Roger?

The NFL commissioner is bending to pressure from a reactionary Republican president—something his father refused to do.

by John Nichols via The Nation on May 27, 2018

Billy McComiskey (right) performing Irish music at the Library of Congress with his sons Mikey McComiskey (left) and Patrick McComiskey (center) in 2016. Library of Congress photo by Shawn Miller.

A Few Examples of Dads’ Traditions

Stephanie Hall provides examples of folklore and storytelling within a fathers' relationship to music.

by Stephanie Hall via Library of Congress on June 16, 2017

Portrait of stern looking John Winthrop.

Father’s Property and Child Custody in the Colonial Era

The rights and responsibilities of 17th-century fatherhood in England's North American colonies.

by Mary Ann Mason via Berkeley Law (University Of California) on April 11, 2015

A still from the Apprentice of Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump and Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn inside a car.

The Apprenticeship of Donald Trump

A new film examines Trump's formative years under the tutelage of Roy Cohn.

by David Klion via The Nation on October 21, 2024

The Eagle Hotel in July 1913 decorated for the 50th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg.

Battle Hymns

Charles Ives and the Civil War.

by Allen C. Guelzo via The American Scholar on September 12, 2024

Men stand around as John Quincy Adams dies in bed.

John Quincy Adams's America

Historians may never speak of an “Age of Adams” to rival Andrew Jackson, but Randall Woods’s new biography reveals the sixth president’s greatness.

by Daniel N. Gullotta via Law & Liberty on September 6, 2024

Gratz Cohen and the manuscript of one of his poems.

A Savannah Poet

The Civil War cut short many lives, and a new a book that blends the genres of history and memoir sets out the resurrect the memory of one of those lives.

by Jason K. Friedman via University Of South Carolina Press on July 15, 2024

Spielberg and Henry Thomas in a scene on the set of E.T.

The Auteur of Fatherhood: How Steven Spielberg Recast American Masculinity

Steven Spielberg’s early films conjure all of his moviemaking magic to repair a world of lost dads.

by Phillip Maciak via The Yale Review on March 4, 2024

Margie Burkhart

The Enduring Family Trauma Behind ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

The murders of her Osage relatives for their oil wealth still reverberate in the life of Margie Burkhart, granddaughter of a central character in the new movie.

by Sydney Trent via Retropolis on October 20, 2023

The Spanish-Speaking William F. Buckley

Buckley’s seldom-acknowledged fluency in Spanish shaped his worldview—including his admiration for dictators from Spain to Chile and beyond.

by Bécquer Seguín via Dissent on September 28, 2023

Vince McMahon

Vince McMahon Controls Wrestling History in Order to Control All of Wrestling

How the WWE chairman warped pro wrestling all the way to WrestleMania 39.

by Abraham Josephine Riesman via Polygon on March 27, 2023

Bobby Seal and Huey Newton standig in front of a Black Panther Party sign

How Huey P. Newton’s Early Intellectual Life Led Him To Activism

The role of family in Huey P. Newton's educational journey.

by Mark Whitaker via Literary Hub on February 13, 2023

A Brief History of One of the Most Powerful Families in New York City: The Morgenthaus

An excerpt from a new book on the so-called "Jewish Kennedys."

by Andrew Meier via Literary Hub on October 17, 2022

A picture of the author as a teenager with his parents, in his bedroom decorated with rock music posters.

My Dad and Kurt Cobain

When my father moved to Taiwan, a fax machine and a shared love of music bridged an ocean.

by Hua Hsu via The New Yorker on August 15, 2022

Black and white photo of Mavis Staples, looking upward, hands raised.

The Gospel According to Mavis Staples

A legendary singer on faith, loss, and a family legacy.

by David Remnick via The New Yorker on June 24, 2022

Silhouettes of a father and son looking at a sunset.

Father’s Day Once Was Highly Political — and Could Become So Again

The holiday’s lack of history allowed activists to give it meaning after America’s divorce laws changed.

by Kristin Celello via Made By History on June 19, 2022

Photo Portrait of the King Family, 1966.

Reflections on Juneteenth: Black Civil Rights and the Influence of Fatherhood

From MLK to Obama, advancers for civil rights were driven by their fatherhood and dreams of better life for their own children.

by Wayne Washington via The Palm Beach Post on June 15, 2022

Sonora Smart Dodd; her father, William Jackson Smart.

The Forgotten History of Father's Day

Find out how one woman asked to recognize the fathers in her town and inspired others.

by Aurelia C. Scott via Old Farmer's Almanac on April 28, 2022

Protesters holding signs in support of ending Britney Spear's conservatorship

Britney Spears’s Plight Reflects a Long History of Men Controlling Women Stars

Since the 19th century, men have served as gatekeepers in the entertainment industry, controlling women’s careers.

by Sara Lampert via Made By History on February 24, 2021

The Mod Squad, Kojak, Real-Life Cops, and Me

What I relearned (about well-meaning liberalism, race, my late father, and my young gay self) rewatching the TV cop shows of my 1970s youth.

by Mark Edward Harris via Vulture on September 8, 2020

The Broken Road of Peggy Wallace Kennedy

All white Southerners live with the sins of their fathers. But what if your dad was one of the most famous segregationists in history?

by Frye Gaillard via The Bitter Southerner on January 6, 2020

“My Dear Master”: An Enslaved Blacksmith’s Letters to a President

This document is the rarest of items in the Library of Congress's manuscript collections: a letter written by an enslaved person.

by Adam Rothman via Library of Congress on February 5, 2019

Film still of Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.

The Contested Legacy of Atticus Finch

Lee’s beloved father figure was a talking point during the Kavanaugh hearings and is now coming to Broadway. Is he still a hero?

by Casey N. Cep via The New Yorker on December 10, 2018

Film still of Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.

How Reconsidering Atticus Finch Makes Us Reconsider America

A new book offers lessons drawn from Harper Lee's ambivalent treatment of this iconic character.

by Joseph Crespino, Brandon Tensley via Pacific Standard on October 10, 2018

Photo of a father and young child looking at each other

What It Means to Be a 'Good' Father in America Has Changed. Here's How.

"I think the key change for the invention of the modern father is in the 1920s," says historian Robert L. Griswold.

by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on June 15, 2018

Buying Your Dad a Gift Is Why Father's Day Exists

Buying a necktie for your dad is a stereotypical way to celebrate Father's Day, but it's in keeping with the holiday's history.

by Erin Blakemore via TIME on June 15, 2017

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