How to Use SNL’s “Washington’s Dream” (2023) Skit in the Early American History Survey

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Alexandra Garrett offers tips for bringing an appropriate dose of pop culture into the classroom by using the extraordinarily funny SNL skit, "Washington's Dream."

A Dramatis Personae for the American Revolution

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Our authors explain how a cast of characters can become an effective pedagogical tool to help students understand complex historical events like the American Revolution.

The Original Gerrymanders

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Kevin Vrevich offers historical context for thinking about Texas Republicans recent redistricting plans.

Discussing Slavery and Freedom in the U.S. I Survey

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In this contribution to our "Teaching the Early Republic" series, Steven Peach discusses the ways that primary source analysis boosts engagement in his survey-level history courses.

Arts and Crafts Day in the Research Seminar

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In the latest installment of our "Teaching the Early Republic" series, Robert Smith demonstrates the power of material culture to engage students in the classroom.

No Place of Grace: Coming to Terms with Free State Slavery Through Historic Buildings and Public History

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Richard Newman reflects on how the power of place can be harnessed to tell the story of free-state slavery at historical sites outside the South.

Active Silence, Archival Presence, and an Enslaved Mother’s Legal Knowledge

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Cory James Young, in a companion piece to his JER article on hereditary term slavery in Pennsylvania, considers the significance of some silences in slavery's archive.

Lincoln Lessons: Teaching Abe in Troubled Times

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In the first installment of our new "Teaching the Early American Republic" series, David Gellman explores the challenges of teaching Abraham Lincoln in 2025.

Digitization of Sources and the American Revolution

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As the semiquincentennial approaches, Miriam Liebman comments on historiographical shifts relating to women's and diplomatic history in the era of the Revolution.

The Early Republic Tracker

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The Early Republic Tracker documents instances where the federal government is removing facts and stories essential to the public’s understanding American history from public historical sites, museums, websites, and executive agencies.

Christ vs. Culture, Religion vs. Politics

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Emily Conroy-Krutz reflects on the "porousness of the boundary between religion and politics" in the Early Republic, a dynamic paralleled in contemporary American denominations' debates over issues like LGBTQ rights.

“The Premise of Our Founding”: Immigration and Popular Mythmaking

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Connie Thomas responds to the recent JER conversation on the Revolution at 250 by reflecting on the long running tension between celebratory rhetoric of the United States as a nation of immigrants and the stark reality of exclusionary impulses.

The History Trapped Within “Try That in a Small Town”: The Legacy of Racial Fears in the Early American Republic

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The long history of slavery and racial violence in Columbia County, TN offers additional context for understanding the backlash against Jason Aldean's 2023 hit, "Try That in a Small Town."

Women’s Everyday Experiences of War during the American Revolution

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In response to the recent JER Conversation on the Revolution at 250, Lauren Duval offers further insight into new approaches to women's history and the Revolutionary War.

American Revolution or Revolutionary War?

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Inspired by the recent JER conversation on the Revolution at 250, Dillon Streifeneder considers how historians in recent years have worked to bring military history back into the history of the American Revolution.

Crafting an Open-Access Syllabus for the U.S. History Survey

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Jennifer Black shares a roadmap and useful resources for departments seeking to adopt a common OER text in US history surveys.

The Conspiracy Theorists Have Gone to the Dogs

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Chris Del Santo's contribution to our "Curious Sources" series offers insight into the workings of a nineteenth-century technological curiosity: the dog mill.

Dakota Silver Indian Peace Medals

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Continuing our "Curious Sources" series, John R. Legg discusses the diplomatic and cultural significance of peace medals.

Samuel Mather and “An Attempt to Shew that America Must Be Known to the Ancients”

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David Malcolm discusses an unusual source encountered while writing his thesis.

The Archival . . . Grain?

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The practice of "reading against the grain" sometimes has more than one meaning, as Zoe Zimmermann discusses in this installment of our "Curious Sources" series.