Photo image of contemporary memorial to the 1811 German Coast Uprising.

Blood Is Thicker Than Water: Black Family Networks and Slave Insurrections

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Justin Iverson recounts the ways that Black communities utilized kinship ties to mobilize rebellion in cases like the 1811 German Coast Uprising.

Too Much Opera, Too Many Novels: Writing about Life, Death, and Yellow Fever during COVID-19

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By exploring her own engagement with opera and literature during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michelle Orihel makes a case for why historians might acknowledge the seemingly unrelated music and literature they consume while working on scholarship.
image of inside of Mount Holly Jail/Burlington County Prison Museum

“Unconscionable and unconstitutional”: The Supreme Court Is Using History to Disenfranchise Unhoused People

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Kristin O'Brassill-Kulfan's research on Overseers of the Poor in the nineteenth century offers insight into contemporary actions criminalizing homelessness.
poster advertising sheriff's sale

The Power of Paper in the Early Republic

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Among other symbols of authority available to local officials like sheriffs, as Chad Holmes demonstrates, even mere scraps of paper held immense power in the early republic.
map of boston from 1725.

When Did the Police Become a “Machine”?

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The journey of America's police force from a non-professional night watch to a highly visible and professional force is the topic of Nicole Breault's newest essay.
illustration of man chasing a hog

Let’s Give Hog Reeves Their Due!

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As a companion piece to his introduction to the new JER forum on "Local Governance in the Early Republic," Gabriel Loiacono explores the important, though often overlooked, role of local hog reeves in early America.
Angelica Schuyler holding child alongside her governess

The Unbroken Lineage of American Dynasty: From Revolution to Succession

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Tom Cutterham explores the problem of American dynasty from 18th century examples to current pop culture iterations in shows such as Succession.
frontpiece to "A Sure Guide for His Majesties Justice of Peace" featuring a king sitting on a throne.

The Jack-of-all-trades Magistrate: Grappling with the Expansive Governing Role of Justices of the Peace in Early America

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Sung Yup Kim examines the importance of (and controversy surrounding) one of the most powerful elements of local magistracy in early America: justices of the peace.

Writing for Public-Facing Digital History Publications: Some Tips & Tricks

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We've compiled advice from the editors of top public-facing digital history journals to offer guidance on how to craft a compelling piece that will reach a larger audience.

Blogging the Past: Part II

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In the second installment of our "Blogging the Past" Roundtable, contributors tackle questions of the value and the potential downsides of digital history publications.
Cartoon Ben Franklin sitting at a computer

Blogging the Past: Part I

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In the first installment of our "Blogging the Past" Roundtable, we introduce our contributors and explore the value of public-facing digital history publications.
cartoon style18th century woman sitting at a computer

Blogging the Past: Editor’s Introduction

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Editor Emily Arendt introduces the newest Pano Forum, "Blogging the Past," in which editors from other leading digital history sites take stock of what role digital publications serve for the profession and the larger reading public.

Counting Care

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Nicole Lee Schroeder explores the historic and contemporary implications regarding how data on disability is collected and discussed.
James Iredell, head-and-shoulders portrait, right profile

The Pope and the Treaty Power: A Strange Incident in the North Carolina Ratification Debate

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In a new companion piece to his latest JER article, Robert Smith discusses some of the unusual ways that religion came into play at North Carolina's Hillsborough Convention in 1788.

The Language of Race in Early America

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Alexander Boulton considers the evolution of language and its impact on ideas of race during the Revolutionary era.

Diverse Interventions in the Public Sphere by Historians of Native America

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Zachary Conn explores how some historians blur the lines between public history and applied history through advocacy influencing everything from court cases to museum exhibitions to popular representations in the media.

The Enduring Relevance of Early American Migration Regulations

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In our newest Rethinking Applied History Forum piece, Cody Nager discusses the value of a “history lab” and how debates about migration in the early American republic have relevance for policy debates today.

A Community Remembrance Project Reckons with the Past: A Nineteenth-Century Lynching in Ohio

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Jordan Zdinak considers the importance of applied history for commemoration and political activism.

Missionary Diplomacy, Applied

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If you want to understand American foreign policy today, you have to understand the history of Protestant foreign missions and its deep entanglement with American diplomacy for more than a century.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Writing for the Public

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Though it’s generally taboo to say, I consider myself a presentist historian. I am interested in history to the extent that it speaks to our current moment and helps us push toward a better future.