Gordon S. Wood

We ascribe too much meaning to the early years of the republic.

On Akhil Reed Amar’s “The Words That Made Us,” a new history of America’s constitutional conversation.

How not to learn about the American past.

Jonathan W. Wilson offers a constructively critical review of Wilfred McClay's American history textbook "Land of Hope."

A new history sees the authors of the Declaration as moral agents, and sets out to capture the thinking behind the principles.

Why the battle for history must be won in the here and now.

The New York Times’ 1619 Project launched with the best of intentions, but has been undermined by some of its claims.

Martin Luther King Jr. recognized that Imperial expansion over stolen Indian land shaped and deepened the American Revolution’s relationship to slavery.

A dispute between some scholars and the authors of NYT Magazine’s issue on slavery represents a fundamental disagreement over the trajectory of U.S. society.

Nearly two decades ago, historians embraced a hugely wasteful federal education program. It’s past time to reckon with that.

Was the American Revolution such a good idea?

How should we interpret the United States Constitution?

A look back at the historian's work suggests that contemporary radicals may be all too invested in the myth of American consensus.

A collection of resources challenging the notion that the U.S. was built on nothing but injustice and subjugation.