Annette Gordon-Reed
@agordonreed.bsky.social
Carl M. Loeb University Professor, Harvard, Author of, among other books, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings:An American Controversy,The Hemingses of Monticello,, Vernon Can Read: A Memoir with Vernon Jordan, On Juneteenth
Corgi stroll😆
November 29, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Corgi stroll😆
Hugo had an audience for this.
Victor Hugo's time & ours have a lot in common. The unfeeling arrogance
& narcissism of the rich. The cruelty & barbarism of the powerful. The suffering of the poor & marginalized.
So, the question. Who are the Victor Hugos of our time? Who are the novelists of his sweep, imagination, & purpose?
& narcissism of the rich. The cruelty & barbarism of the powerful. The suffering of the poor & marginalized.
So, the question. Who are the Victor Hugos of our time? Who are the novelists of his sweep, imagination, & purpose?
November 28, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Hugo had an audience for this.
Reposted by Annette Gordon-Reed
How could Jefferson see himself as antislavery while owning and exploiting hundreds of human beings? The distinguished historian @agordonreed.bsky.social on the riddle of the American sphinx. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Jefferson Divided | Annette Gordon-Reed
Though his writings grappled with the contradiction between bondage and liberty, Thomas Jefferson’s life was indebted to those he enslaved.
www.nybooks.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
How could Jefferson see himself as antislavery while owning and exploiting hundreds of human beings? The distinguished historian @agordonreed.bsky.social on the riddle of the American sphinx. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Reposted by Annette Gordon-Reed
Our Holiday Issue is now online, with Frances Wilson on Patricia Lockwood, @luxante.bsky.social on Joe Brainard’s comics, Susan Tallman on plundering museums, @paisleycurrah.com on the attack on trans rights, @agordonreed.bsky.social on Thomas Jefferson and liberty, and much more.
December 18, 2025 Holiday Issue
Table of Contents
www.nybooks.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Our Holiday Issue is now online, with Frances Wilson on Patricia Lockwood, @luxante.bsky.social on Joe Brainard’s comics, Susan Tallman on plundering museums, @paisleycurrah.com on the attack on trans rights, @agordonreed.bsky.social on Thomas Jefferson and liberty, and much more.
Jimmy Cliff, Singer Who Helped Bring Reggae to Global Audience, Dies at 81 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/a...
Jimmy Cliff, Singer Who Helped Bring Reggae to Global Audience, Dies at 81
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Jimmy Cliff, Singer Who Helped Bring Reggae to Global Audience, Dies at 81 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/a...
One of the greats!
🫶🏾
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican reggae singer, actor and cultural icon, dies aged 81
November 24, 2025 at 3:16 PM
One of the greats!
Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, Black Power Activist Known as H. Rap Brown, Dies at 82 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, Black Power Activist Known as H. Rap Brown, Dies at 82
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, Black Power Activist Known as H. Rap Brown, Dies at 82 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
The Canadians who bring Christmas trees down to Manhattan every year and set up shop across the street from my apartment building arrived last week. Christmas before Thanksgiving!
November 23, 2025 at 9:06 PM
The Canadians who bring Christmas trees down to Manhattan every year and set up shop across the street from my apartment building arrived last week. Christmas before Thanksgiving!
I’ve seen so many posts claiming that the Burns documentary said the founding generation got the idea of union from the Iroquois confederacy. I didn’t see that at all. But just mentioning the IC in the same breadth as Union made some people go ballistic.
November 23, 2025 at 6:36 PM
I’ve seen so many posts claiming that the Burns documentary said the founding generation got the idea of union from the Iroquois confederacy. I didn’t see that at all. But just mentioning the IC in the same breadth as Union made some people go ballistic.
Restaurant recommendation: CALÓ KITCHEN + TEQUILA in El Segundo, about 10 minutes from LAX.
November 23, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Restaurant recommendation: CALÓ KITCHEN + TEQUILA in El Segundo, about 10 minutes from LAX.
@deltaairline.bsky.social Free wi-fi for Awards members!! @americanair.bsky.social take note.
November 22, 2025 at 4:17 PM
@deltaairline.bsky.social Free wi-fi for Awards members!! @americanair.bsky.social take note.
Reposted by Annette Gordon-Reed
For those of you looking to follow up Ken Burn's documentary about the American Revolution with a good read, check out Richard Bell's new book. It's fantastic. 🗃️ www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/752265...
The American Revolution and the Fate of the World by Richard Bell: 9780593719510 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
“American history as if from a barstool, not a lecture podium. Giddy, rollicking, and bold.” —Ilyon Woo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Master Slave Husband Wife "Accessible and impassioned...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:45 PM
For those of you looking to follow up Ken Burn's documentary about the American Revolution with a good read, check out Richard Bell's new book. It's fantastic. 🗃️ www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/752265...
Reposted by Annette Gordon-Reed
My “Death by Lightning” ep. 3 commentary will have to wait until I gather my resources on Wednesday. It’s time to look at how the spoils system worked and who was agin’ it.
In the meantime, once again:
• Fun!
• Enough with all the F-bombs.
• Roscoe Conkling, described as “princely,” was 6’ 3”.
In the meantime, once again:
• Fun!
• Enough with all the F-bombs.
• Roscoe Conkling, described as “princely,” was 6’ 3”.
November 19, 2025 at 6:56 AM
My “Death by Lightning” ep. 3 commentary will have to wait until I gather my resources on Wednesday. It’s time to look at how the spoils system worked and who was agin’ it.
In the meantime, once again:
• Fun!
• Enough with all the F-bombs.
• Roscoe Conkling, described as “princely,” was 6’ 3”.
In the meantime, once again:
• Fun!
• Enough with all the F-bombs.
• Roscoe Conkling, described as “princely,” was 6’ 3”.
Reposted by Annette Gordon-Reed
Here's the last little bit of that article. My point in including the whole thing is to show how there was a serious intellectual defense of patronage. It supported Black politicians in the South when racist terror stopped Black voting. Civil-service reform was good, but still complicated.
14/14
14/14
November 19, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Here's the last little bit of that article. My point in including the whole thing is to show how there was a serious intellectual defense of patronage. It supported Black politicians in the South when racist terror stopped Black voting. Civil-service reform was good, but still complicated.
14/14
14/14
Reposted by Annette Gordon-Reed
As I comment on each episode, I’m reminded of how political historians have often focused on & valorized presidents who concentrated power in their own hands. But in the 19th century we located power in parties & Congress. Both machine politicians AND reformers constrained executive patronage power.
"Death by Lightning," Episode 3 reaction thread:
• Praise for the series
• Major players: What's right/wrong/missing
• What was machine politics? How did the spoils system work? Why do they keep talking about the New York Custom House?
Let's get wonky!
1/14
• Praise for the series
• Major players: What's right/wrong/missing
• What was machine politics? How did the spoils system work? Why do they keep talking about the New York Custom House?
Let's get wonky!
1/14
November 19, 2025 at 11:40 PM
As I comment on each episode, I’m reminded of how political historians have often focused on & valorized presidents who concentrated power in their own hands. But in the 19th century we located power in parties & Congress. Both machine politicians AND reformers constrained executive patronage power.
Hayato Sumino was superb last night at Carnegie Hall. He played several encores, including Swanee, which I was NOT expecting, and an ingenious variation on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. A classical pianist with a gift for improvisation, he’s also a trained engineer. Be on the lookout for him.
November 19, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Hayato Sumino was superb last night at Carnegie Hall. He played several encores, including Swanee, which I was NOT expecting, and an ingenious variation on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. A classical pianist with a gift for improvisation, he’s also a trained engineer. Be on the lookout for him.
Just returned from an overnight stint in the hospital. Apparently, consultants have taught them to associate “hospital” with “hospitality” services.The personnel were super nice. Actually, I’ve noticed this just visiting hospitals. So different from when my mother was ill & hospitalized years ago.
November 18, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Just returned from an overnight stint in the hospital. Apparently, consultants have taught them to associate “hospital” with “hospitality” services.The personnel were super nice. Actually, I’ve noticed this just visiting hospitals. So different from when my mother was ill & hospitalized years ago.
My experience has been with adults and young people alike, is that Americans want a history that tells the bad along with the good. They are smart enough to know that that is the nature of life.
I spent October traveling to schools throughout the South talking to students about American history. What I found were young people who understand we can tell a story that includes both the positive and the negative. As one 8th grader in Memphis said, “Doesn’t seem that hard, just say both things.”
Tell Students the Truth About American History
We owe it to Americans of all ages to be honest about the country’s past, including its contradictions.
www.theatlantic.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:01 PM
My experience has been with adults and young people alike, is that Americans want a history that tells the bad along with the good. They are smart enough to know that that is the nature of life.
Reposted by Annette Gordon-Reed
If you ask historians of medicine what keeps them up at night, many will not say a new plague or bioterrorism, they will answer, "antibiotic resistance."
November 16, 2025 at 7:02 PM
If you ask historians of medicine what keeps them up at night, many will not say a new plague or bioterrorism, they will answer, "antibiotic resistance."
Reposted by Annette Gordon-Reed
My lovely colleague Serena Zabin is featured in Ken Burns's new documentary series, "The American Revolution," that premieres on PBS tonight. Here's more information and how to watch it for free 🗃️: www.pbs.org/kenburns/the...
The American Revolution | Premieres Nov. 16 | PBS
The American Revolution, a landmark documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, premieres Nov. 16, 2025.
www.pbs.org
November 16, 2025 at 8:04 PM
My lovely colleague Serena Zabin is featured in Ken Burns's new documentary series, "The American Revolution," that premieres on PBS tonight. Here's more information and how to watch it for free 🗃️: www.pbs.org/kenburns/the...
I had many interviews in hotel rooms and thought nothing of it. I was so focused on the interaction that I didn’t think of it. I can have tunnel vision sometimes, as people who know me will attest.
If you are not in academia, you might not know this, but job interviews used to be held at conferences IN HOTEL ROOMS. Women candidates in a hotel room alone with often all-male committees. People sitting on beds! The horror stories I've heard.
I thing I sometimes thing about is that university departments were still doing job interviews in hotel rooms in the mid aughts
November 16, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I had many interviews in hotel rooms and thought nothing of it. I was so focused on the interaction that I didn’t think of it. I can have tunnel vision sometimes, as people who know me will attest.