“A Gross Usurpation of Power” by Trump Administration

Posted on May 20, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration’s recent takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and firing of its leaders and staff members were unlawful acts.

In March 2025, members of Elon Musk’s so-called DOGE team, with the assistance of armed officers of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, forced their way into the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent research institute on peace and conflict studies. Trump administration officials then forced the USIP leaders and staff out of the building and fired them.

The attack on the USIP represented a major assault on research institutions, academic freedom, and higher education.

The New York Times now reports that “a federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration’s takeover and gutting of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent nonprofit created by Congress to seek diplomatic solutions to global conflicts, were unlawful and a ‘gross usurpation of power.’ The judge ordered the reinstatement of officials ejected by the White House.”

“The March takeover and the subsequent termination of most of the institute’s work force followed an executive order from President Trump to cut its staffing to a bare minimum. The judge, Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court in Washington, wrote that such changes required the consent of Congress, but that the Trump administration had removed the institute’s leadership and installed handpicked replacements ‘through blunt force, backed up by law enforcement officers from three separate local and federal agencies.'”

“Judge Howell’s ruling, in a suit brought by former institute officials, was the latest judicial order blocking the administration’s aggressive efforts to assert power over Washington institutions,” according to The New York Times.

“The judge also nullified the transfer of the peace institute’s building to the federal government’s General Services Administration.”

This judicial ruling is significant, addressing one of the most aggressive actions by the Trump administration to dismantle an entire research institution. The judge makes clear that members of the executive branch unlawfully invaded an independent nonprofit institution and that its occupation of the U.S. Institute of Peace’s headquarters constitutes trespassing.

“Judge Howell rejected the Trump administration’s argument that the institute was part of the executive branch. Instead, she wrote, ‘USIP supports both the executive and legislative branches as an independent think tank that carries out its own international peace research, education and training, and information services.’ Her order also prohibits the administration’s ‘further trespass’ of the institute’s headquarters.”

This judicial decision paves the way for a restoration of the U.S. Institute of Peace and, hopefully, the resumption of its work on peace and conflict studies.

Kavi, Aishvarya Kavi. “Judge Rules That Trump Administration Takeover of Institute of Peace Is Illegal.” The New York Times (20 March 2025).

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Higher Education, Human Rights, Peacemaking Processes, Political History of the United States, Strategy and International Politics, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Taxing Endowments Will Shift Tuition Costs to Students

Posted on May 20, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration plans to tax endowments at many private universities. This policy would shift the cost of tuition on students and their families, depriving many students of access to a university education at many private universities and colleges.

Universities and colleges “have pushed back against the tax, noting that they use their endowments to fund the education of poor and middle-class students,” according to The New York Times. The Trump administration’s proposed tax on endowments is potentially illegal, and will certainly be result in multiple lawsuits.

If the policy is implemented, it will directly impact millions of college and university students and their families, depriving them of access to higher education. The policy represents a further attack on higher education institutions, academic freedom, and democratic principles.

Universities and colleges use their endowments to provide scholarships to students, often spending around half of their endowments on financial aid to students. The rest of endowment funds are used to invest responsibly in the future of universities and colleges, including having “rainy day” reserves on hand to deal with crises (like the recent COVID pandemic).

“Of the $30 billion that schools spent in endowment funds in 2024, nearly half went to financial aid, according to an analysis by the National Association of College and University Business Officers.”

The New York Times points out that “Vice President Vance was a beneficiary of this need-based aid. He attended Yale Law School as a Marine Corps veteran with a financial aid package that he later wrote ‘exceeded my wildest dreams.'”

The Vice President now wants to deprive other military veterans, middle-class, and poor students of similar financial aid.

“Christopher L. Eisgruber, Princeton’s president, wrote in a recent message that 71 percent of students in this year’s freshman class received no-loan financial aid funded by the school’s endowment, with the average grant totaling $73,000,” according to The New York Times.

“‘This tax is a scholarship tax,’ said Steven M. Bloom, an assistant vice president at the American Council on Education, a large industry trade group that is opposing the proposal,” reports The New York Times.

“Williams College, a liberal arts school in Massachusetts, would be subject to at least a 14 percent tax. In an interview, its president, Maud S. Mandel, said the school devoted $92 million from its endowment this year to help over half the school’s student body.”

“‘Any tax on the endowment would have a direct impact on that,’ she said.”

Small liberal arts colleges like Grinell College (Iowa), Claremont McKenna College (California), Smith College (Massachusetts), Trinity University (Texas), Carleton College (Minnesota), DePauw College (Indiana), Reed College (Oregon), and Hillsdale College (Michigan) are all projected to be hit by the Trump administration’s tax on endowments.

Medical schools like the Mayo Clinic (Minnesota) and Baylor College of Medicine (Texas) are also projected to be taxed by the Trump policy.

The New York Times indicates that “in California, Pomona College’s vice president, Jonathan B. Williams, said the tax would cost the school $40 million a year, the equivalent of 460 full scholarships. Its enrollment is about 1,700.”

“‘This will shift the cost of tuition squarely on to families,’ he said.”

Saul, Stephanie and Steven Rich, “Republican Plan to Tax Elite Colleges Could Hit in Unexpected Places.” The New York Times (20 May 2025).

Posted in Academic Freedom, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mellon Foundation Assists Humanities Councils

Posted on April 30, 2025 by briansandberg

The Mellon Foundation has thrown a lifeline to state humanities councils, which were stripped of their federal grant funding by the Trump administration recently as part of its dismantling of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

“The Mellon Foundation on Tuesday announced $15 million in emergency funding for state humanities councils across the country, throwing what advocates say is a crucial lifeline after the cancellation of federal support had left some in danger of collapse,” according to The New York Times.

“The new funding, which will support humanities councils in all 50 states and six jurisdictions, comes a month after the National Endowment for the Humanities abruptly cut off federal funding for the councils, as well as most of its existing grants. The endowment, which had a budget of $207 million last fiscal year, is the nation’s largest public funder of the humanities, providing crucial support to museums, historical sites, cultural festivals and community projects.”

The Mellon Foundation emergency funding is crucial for the state humanities councils, but it will only make up part of the missing federal grants from the NEH.

“The $15 million from the Mellon Foundation will offset only a portion of the $65 million the state councils were set to receive this year from the humanities endowment, as appropriated by Congress. But Elizabeth Alexander, the foundation’s president, said it would help preserve humanities programs, particularly in rural states without a robust base of private philanthropy.

“‘The projects that fall under the rubric of the humanities are of an extraordinary range,’ she said. ‘It would be terrible if countless people across the country lost access to all the things that help us understand what it is to be human, in history and in a contemporary community.'”

The New York Times reports that “The money from the Mellon Foundation, the nation’s largest funder of arts and humanities projects overall, with an annual grant-making budget of about $550 million, is a one-time infusion. Every council will get $200,000 in immediate operational support. Most of the remainder will come in the form of $50,000 challenge grants, which must be matched by other sources.”

The Mellon Foundation has long been the biggest funder of history and humanities projects in the United States.

As the Trump administration decimates the National Endowment for the Humanities, Mellon funding will become even more important for humanities researchers, writers, practitioners, and institutions.

Schuessler, Jennifer. “Mellon Foundation Announces $15 Million for Humanities Councils.” The New York Times (29 April 2025).

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Graduate Work in History, Grants and Fellowships, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political History of the United States, Public History, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump Admin Diverts NEH Funds to Sculpture Garden

Posted on April 28, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration has gutted the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), laying off staff members and cancelling current grants awards to humanities researchers and institutions across the nation.

I know many historians and humanities researchers who have had their research and public history grants suspended or cancelled by the Trump administration. These grant were legitimately awarded via academic competitions involving rigorous peer review processes. Cancelling these existing grant awards is improper and potentially illegal.

Now, Trump-appointed administrators of the NEH have announced their plans for next year’s grant funding cycle.

The NEH will divert its grant funds away from humanities research initiatives toward one of President Trump’s pet plans: a so-called “National Garden of American Heroes.”

The NEH announced in a press release that: “In preparation for the nation’s celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is pleased to announce a special funding opportunity to support the design and creation of statues of important American historical figures for the planned National Garden of American Heroes.”

“First proposed by President Trump in 2020, the National Garden of American Heroes sculpture garden will feature life-size statues of 250 great individuals from America’s past who have contributed to our cultural, scientific, economic, and political heritage. The National Garden, which will be constructed for the 2026 semiquincentennial and located at a site to be determined, will create a public space where Americans can gather to learn about and honor American heroes,” according to the NEH.

“NEH’s new National Garden of American Heroes: Statues grant program responds to the January 29, 2025 Presidential Executive Order 13978, “Celebrating America’s Birthday,” which names the National Endowment for the Humanities and sister agency, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), as key partners in the implementation of the National Garden. 

“NEH and NEA have jointly committed a total of $34 million to the creation of the National Garden of American Heroes. Of this $34 million, the two cultural agencies will devote $30 million from their FY 2025 appropriations to enable the creation of statues in marble, granite, bronze, copper, or brass depicting historical figures tied to the accomplishments of the United States. This new grant program is part of NEH’s larger A More Perfect Union initiative focused on exploring America’s story and celebrating its 250 years of cultural heritage.”

The NEH website has a press release on the so-called “National Garden of American Heroes.”

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trump Administration Aims to Manipulate History

Posted on April 24, 2025 by briansandberg

President Trump and his administration are attempting to manipulate the historical record of the United States and control historical interpretations of its past.

President Trump issued an executive order on “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” on 27 March 2025.

This executive order outlines a radical vision for federal government control of the historical narrative of the United States.

Trump wants to determine which historical subjects can receive federal funding for research and writing, effectively eliminating funding for topics that he dislikes. He aims to control historical curricula in middle schools and high schools, as well public history representations of history in historical museums and cultural programming.

Léa Bello reports on “Trump veut manipuler l’Histoire, voici comment,” in a video report for Le Monde (22 April 2025).

I agreed to an interview with Léa Bello about the current attacks on research and higher education in the United States.

“Le 27 mars 2025, Donald Trump signe un décret intitulé « Restaurer la vérité et le bon sens dans l’histoire américaine », qui s’attaque directement aux institutions culturelles américaines. En ligne de mire : les représentations de l’esclavage, de la ségrégation, du féminisme ou encore des inégalités raciales. L’administration Trump se réserve le droit de refuser certaines expositions et veillera à ce que sa vision soit respectée au sein de tous les musées et les monuments publics.
Ce texte s’inscrit dans une offensive plus large de l’administration Trump visant les lieux de culture et de savoir : musées, universités et écoles sont désormais sommés d’adopter un récit conforme à une vision dite « patriotique » de l’histoire américaine, au risque d’être sanctionnés.”

The Trump administration and the so-called DOGE team have launched a multi-pronged attack aimed at dismantling or drastically cutting historical and educational institutions such as the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), National Parks Service, United States Institute of Peace (USIP), and the Woodrow Wilson Institute. DOGE and Trump-appointed administrators have fired or laid off historians and humanities researchers in these and other federal agencies.

The Trump administration has suspended or cancelled numerous historical and humanities research grants issued by the IMLS and NEH. Current grants and scholarships sponsored by the Fulbright Program have been frozen.

The Trump administration is pressuring the Smithsonian Institution to remove or alter historical exhibitions and pedagogical materials in its museums. U.S. military academies and historical services have had their websites scrubbed of historical materials based on politicized agendas and keyword searches.

The Trump administration is targeting individual universities and threatening their academic freedom. Under direct pressure, Columbia University’s leadership initially agreed to Trump’s demands, but now seems in chaos. Harvard University is resisting Trump’s unlawful demands and has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. Meanwhile, the President Trump has stripped billions of dollars of grant funding from Harvard.

This week, over two hundred university and college presidents in the American Association of Colleges and Universities issued a strong statement condemning President Trump’s unlawful and unconstitutional actions against academic research and higher education institutions.

Bello, Léa. “Trump veut manipuler l’Histoire, voici comment,” Le Monde (22 April 2025).

Trump, Donald J. “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” (27 March 2025). Available at the White House website.

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Contemporary France, Education Policy, French History, Higher Education, Historiography and Social Theory, History in the Media, History of Race and Racism, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Coercing Universities and Building a Mafia State

Posted on April 21, 2025 by briansandberg

The Trump administration is blatantly coercing universities, especially targeting elite private universities such as Columbia University, Harvard University, and Yale University, and threatening to withhold federal funds for active research grants.

Broader coercive attacks by the Trump administration and its so-called DOGE team extend to state research universities, such as Northern Illinois University, and universities and colleges across the nation.

The coercive methods currently being employed by the Trump administration include: suspending and cancelling research grants (NIH, NSF, DoED, NEH, NEA, etc.), suspending grant and fellowship stipends (NEH, Fulbright, etc.), blocking applications on certain forms of research based on political preferences, cutting indirect funding rates (NIH, NSF), dismantling educational and public health institutions (NIH, USAID, etc.), dismantling research institutes (Woodrow Wilson Center, USIP, NIH, etc.), firing researchers and staff members, dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), dictating changes in curricular programs, intervening in museum programing (Smithsonian), threatening museum curators (Smithsonian) and librarians, removing books from libraries, disrupting the Department of Education, and harassing and detaining international students and researchers.

All of these actions are improper, violating federal procedures and labor law, as well as trampling on the principles of academic freedom, research integrity, peer review, scientific methods, faculty governance, and university autonomy.

Further, many of the unprecedented actions of the DOGE team and the broader Trump administration are are unlawful and unconstitutional.

M. Gessen has published an opinion essay in The New York Times on the coercion of universities, indicating that “the Trump administration has threatened universities — at this point, I hesitate to say how many high-profile universities — with pulling their federal funding, which in this case means pulling research grants. Some of them amount to more than $2 billion, as in the case of Harvard, unless they submit to various demands.”

“In effect,” Gessen observes, “these demands are to place the university under direct federal oversight.”

M. Gessen argues that “the pretexts that the administration is using have to do with D.E.I. and antisemitism. The real reasons, I think, are anti-intellectualism and greed, and the fact that Trump is building a mafia state.”

“Now, a mafia state is an absolutely centralized system in which one person, the patron, the don, distributes money and power. And so in order to build a mafia state, such an aspiring patron needs to strip other agents of their money and power. Some universities are actually quite wealthy, so they are to some extent independent financial centers and they are centers of independent, intellectual and political power. And that’s what Trump is really going after.”

Harvard University has openly resisted the Trump administration’s direct threats to its research and educational model.

Gessen discusses Harvard University’s resistance: “I hesitate to talk about how important it is that Harvard stood up to Trump because it really should be a no-brainer. Of course, these demands are blatantly illegal. It almost literally says: ‘Nice university you got there. Shame if something happened to it.'”

“There’s no way that a university could accede to those kinds of demands,” Gessen argues. “And yet we saw Columbia, which was the first university targeted, try to bend, apparently in the hope of preventing further attacks. It very quickly became obvious that it doesn’t work.”

Gessen goes on to discuss the coercive tools available to the Trump administration and its willingness to use them against universities.

“So this is not going to stop with Harvard, however the battle of Harvard ends. But resistance on the part of Harvard, I think, makes it more difficult for the administration to expect significant concessions from other universities that have the resources to fight.”

As a Russian and American journalist, Gessen points out that “I’ve lived through this before — not nearly at this rate. It took Vladimir Putin a year to take over Russian media and almost a decade to really bring universities to heel. To see sort of the same playbook — but vastly sped up — and to see Americans who don’t have the history of living under totalitarian rule, and who think of themselves as freedom-loving, as valuing their rights to free speech and freedom of movement and all sorts of other important things, to see them fold a lot of the time, as happened with Columbia, as happened with many law firms, is incredibly disheartening.”

Gessen concludes: “I think the broader lesson is that there’s no such thing as negotiating with this administration. It is always going to demand more concessions until nothing is left of the institution that Trump has targeted.”

Gessen, M. “Welcome to Trump’s Mafia State.” The New York Times (21 April 2025).

Posted in Academic Freedom, Authoritarianism, Civil Rights Issues, Grants and Fellowships, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political History of the United States, Political Theory, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stand with the Fulbright Program

Posted on April 21, 2025 by briansandberg

The Fulbright Association has issued a statement calling on alumni of the Fulbright Program and concerned citizens to stand with the Fulbright Program, which is currently threatened by the Trump administration.

I previously served as a Fulbright Research Scholar in France and later as a Fulbright Research Scholar in Belgium, conducting archival research and collaborating with professors and researchers in both nations.

I recognize the important work that the Fulbright Program does in supporting original research, research collaboration, and instruction through international academic exchanges of students, researchers, and professors in all fields.

The Fulbright Program is especially important for researchers in History and the Humanities, who have more limited funding opportunities than those in the natural sciences, medicine, computer sciences, and technological fields.

I strongly support the Fulbright Program and its crucial mission of promoting international academic exchanges.

Here is the statement by the Fulbright Association.

Together, We #StandForFulbright.

On behalf of the Fulbright Association, thank you. Because of your unwavering advocacy and belief in global exchange, Congress has restored some of the FY25 funding for international exchange programs—including our vital chapter grant from IIE. This is more than a budget win. It’s a resounding reaffirmation of Fulbright’s global value—and what we can achieve when we speak with one voice.

Our work is far from over. In fact, it’s intensifying. We now face two urgent challenges:

Congress must fully fund the Fulbright Program and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) in the FY26 budget. With continued investment, America will maintain its leadership in international education and diplomacy.

We are deeply concerned about the growing uncertainty surrounding visas. This is increasingly affecting the stability of the Fulbright program, our alumni, and related initiatives.

We cannot—and will not—stay silent. We urge you to contact your representatives. Share your story. Stand with those affected and the Fulbright Association. Together, we protect the Fulbright mission.

 Here’s how we’re taking action:

 • Partnering with the Alliance for International Exchange to amplify our collective voice and direct connections to decision makers.

• We are in discussion with the U.S. for Success Coalition, and their partners to navigate a possible collaboration to foster student success during this time.

• We’re tracking these issues in real time—check our website for key updates.

• Our partners at NAFSA have launched an Action Alert so you can contact Congress directly.

And we’re not stopping there.

Following our #StandforFulbright Advocacy Day on March 12, we’re mobilizing our 54 chapters, bipartisan allies on the Hill, and global partners to lead with purpose and clarity. Soon, we’ll launch a letter-writing campaign to uphold Fulbright’s integrity and amplify our campaign.

This is not a time for reaction. It’s time for resolve.

We are committed—to our mission, our alumni, and Fulbright’s future. That’s why we’re offering resources like our upcoming mental health webinar on April 29—free for all alumni—to help our community stay strong and connected.

And on May 8, we will gather. Join us—in Washington, D.C. or online—for the inaugural #StandForFulbright: Night of Champions. This isn’t just an event. It’s a rallying cry. A stand for everything Fulbright represents. Register now – $19.46 in honor of Fulbright’s founding year and in support of our ongoing advocacy campaign.

Your voice. Your connections. Our power. When we show up—loud, clear, and united—we protect and advance Fulbright’s future and each other.

Let’s keep going. Let’s keep standing. Together, we #StandForFulbright.

Walter R. McCollum, PhD President and Chair, FA National Board

Jennifer Oxley Interim Executive Director

The statement and additional resources are available at the Fulbright Association website.

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Grants and Fellowships, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

International Students at NIU Feel Targeted

Posted on April 20, 2025 by briansandberg

International students across the nation are being targeted and terrorized by the Trump administration, threatening their access to higher education and violating their civil rights and human rights.

“The Trump administration is revoking the visas of International students across the country, often with little or no reason offered as to why. That now includes five students at Northern Illinois University,” according to Northern Public Radio (WNIJ).

Northern Illinois University administrators have announced that the Trump administration has revoked the student visas of five international students at NIU.

I am appalled by the actions taken the Trump administration against international students, researchers, and faculty members in the United States. I have conducted research abroad in France, Italy, Spain, and Belgium at various points in my academic career, and felt welcomed as an international researcher in those nations.

So, I stand with all international students who are menaced by the Trump administration.

And, I want to send strength and courage to all international students at Northern Illinois University. You are not alone. Your professors and colleagues in History and the Humanities support you.

I know that NIU administrators and academic departments are taking actions to provide assistance to international students. The whole university community welcomes you and will act to support you.

Northern Public Radio indicates that “the news is so fresh that when we sit down with a group of NIU international students on the edge of campus, many haven’t even heard yet.”

“‘Well, no, this is my first time hearing this,’ says a Nigerian student, as others jump in to try to explain what they know. An Asian grad student double takes, ‘This is the first time we’ve known [about this]! I’m so surprised. I’m so shocked.'”

“The small group is made up of all graduate students, originally hailing from different parts of Asia and Africa. They requested anonymity because they’re scared the Trump administration will revoke their visas for speaking out against its policies,” according to Northern Public Radio.

“‘What are we supposed to do as graduate students?’ asks another Asian grad student. ‘We come from different countries. We start everything from scratch. We’re paying our tuition on time. There’s all these things we’re doing correctly. What more are we supposed to do? Like, I heard that they are revoking visas for having parking tickets, which is insane.'”

“Several of the students said the NIU students whose visas were revoked were not told why.

“An NIU spokesperson says the university communicated directly with each student the reason for the visa revoking listed in the government-managed system, but if the reason is vague or unclear, NIU does not have a way of knowing anything beyond what is listed.

“Either way, the students say it feels like the Trump administration is inventing reasons to target them.

“‘I used to [feel safe on campus],’ says one student, ‘but not anymore, not after this morning. I’m just second-guessing everything I do now. Should I do this or should I not? Should I buy Asian groceries?’

“They’re scared to speak out. They’re scared of traveling, of posting on social media, or, yes, even going to Asian or African grocery stores in fear of being pulled into a car by federal agents like Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk.

“‘A few days back, I think being extra cautious was good, but now I’m being extra scared, actually,’ said another Asian grad student. ‘I mean, even while coming here to park the car, I was reading the [parking sign] again like is it 12 to 6 or 6 to 12?’

“They say they’re looking over their shoulder all the time.”

Medlin, Peter. “The Trump Admin Revoked the Visas of Several NIU International Students. Other International Students are Anxious.” Northern Public Radio (14 April 2025).

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Graduate Work in History, Grants and Fellowships, Higher Education, Human Rights, Humanities Education, Legal history, Northern Illinois University, Political History of the United States, Strategy and International Politics, Study Abroad, United States History and Society, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The American Revolution Began 250 Years Ago

Posted on April 20, 2025 by briansandberg

Today is the 250th anniversary of the first shots of the American Revolution at the battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775.

The 250th anniversary celebrations of the War of American Independence (1775-1783) have begun.

Prepare for a long series of historical anniversaries in the midst of the ongoing Culture Wars….

The AP reports: “Tens of thousands of people came to Lexington, Massachusetts, just before dawn on Saturday to witness a reenactment of how the American Revolution began 250 years ago, with the blast of gunshot and a trail of colonial flair.”

Major historical anniversaries have become mass public events including national commemorations, news reports, podcasts, feature films, documentary films, television miniseries, video games, comic books, historical re-enactments, and local commemorations.

These public history celebrations of revolutions, wars, and conflicts are often driven or accompanied by significant shifts in the interpretations of the historical societies involved in those conflicts. Historical commemorations represent major historiographical moments involving new historical research, academic publications, popular history publications, conferences, and public lectures.

The AP indicates that “Starting with Saturday’s anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the country will look back to its war of independence and ask where its legacy stands today. Just after dawn on the Lexington Battle Green, militiamen, muskets in hand, took on a much larger contingent of British regulars. The battle ended with eight Americans killed and 10 wounded — the dead scattered on the grounds as the British marched off.”

“The regulars would head to Concord but not before a horseman, Dr. Samuel Prescott, rode toward the North Bridge and warned communities along the way that the British were coming. A lone horseman reenacted that ride Saturday, followed by a parade through town and a ceremony at the bridge,”according to the AP.

The Newberry Library commemorates the beginning of the American Revolution with a map of the battles of Lexington and Concord printed by Isaac de Costa in 1775.

“250 years ago today, the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place, marking the first major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War. This map from the Newberry’s collection shows the development of several early battles, compressing in a single image the encounters at Lexington and Concord, the developing siege of Boston, and the Battle of Bunker Hill.”

Newberry Library, Map2F 3701.S3.113.


“In this portion of the map, the action begins at Lexington Green, where three minutemen are shown lying where they were felled by Colonel Smith’s redcoats. A bit further west at Concord, near the ‘bridge where the attack began,’ mapmaker Isaac de Costa depicts a pitched battle between a disciplined force of redcoats and Colonial militia firing from the shelter of ‘Rock.'”

The full citation for the map is:

De Costa, Isaac. A Plan of the Town and Harbour of Boston and the Country adjacent with the Road from Boston to Concord Shewing the place of the late Engagement between the King’s Troops & the Provincials, together with the several Encampments of both Armies in & about Boston. Taken from an Actual Survey…by…J. De Costa. London: J. Hand, 6 December 1775.

The AP emphasizes that the annual re-enactment at Lexington attracts large crowds every year. “The day offers an opportunity to reflect on this seminal moment in history but also consider what this fight means today. Organizers estimated that over 100,000 came out for events in the two towns Saturday.”

“‘It’s truly momentous,’ said Richard Howell, who portrayed Lexington Minute Man Samuel Tidd in the battle.

“‘This is one of the most sacred pieces of ground in the country, if not the world, because of what it represents,’ he said. ‘To represent what went on that day, how a small town of Lexington was a vortex of so much.'”

Italie, Hillel and Michael Casey. “250 Years after America Went to War for Independence, A Divided Nation Battles Over its Legacy.” AP (19 April 2025).

An exhibition on Revolutionary Beginnings: War and Remembrance in the First Year of America’s Fight for Independence is currently on view at the American Revolution Institute in Washington, D.C.

The Newberry Library map has been posted on the Facebook feed of the Newberry Library.

For a few classic and recent studies of the beginning of the American Revolution, see:

Atkinson, Rick. The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2019.

Bunker, Nick. An Empire on the Edge: How Britain Came to Fight America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014.

Nash, Gary B. The Urban Crucible: Social Change, Political Consciousness, and the Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979.

Royster, Charles. A Revolutionary People at War: The Continental Army and American Character, 1775-1783. New York: Norton, 1979.

Shy, John. Toward Lexington: The Role of the British Army in the Coming of the American Revolution. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1965.

Sweet, John Wood. Bodies Politic: Negotiating Race in the American North, 1730-1830. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.

Wood, Gordon. The American Revolution: A History. New York: Penguin Random House, 1982.

Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, European History, Historical Re-enactment, History in the Media, History of the Western World, Museums and Historical Memory, Political History of the United States, Revolts and Revolutions, United States History and Society, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World, World History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Research Model of the United States is Threatened

Posted on April 16, 2025 by briansandberg

The entire research model of the United States is threatened with destruction.

“Around the time of World War II, the U.S. government started funding universities for the purpose of aiding the war effort, funneling money toward medical research, innovation and financial aid for students,” according to The New York Times.

“The relationship between the federal government and higher education soon became symbiotic. As the government counted on universities to produce educated and employable students, as well as breakthrough scientific research, universities came to rely on continued funding.”

Ever since the Second World War, research universities have pursued original research in all fields of knowledge with the support of various agencies of the federal government. Public and private research universities develop laboratories, libraries, and other facilities to pursue fundamental and applied research, in partnership with federal and state government agencies.

Federal agencies such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense, Department of State, Department of Energy, Department of Education, and National Endowment for the Humanities hold competitions for research grants to obtain federal research funding. These competitions involve rigorous peer review evaluations and ranking of proposals in order to select the most promising research projects to fund.

“Big Science” depends on this partnership between the federal government and research universities.

The New York Times reports that “In 1970, the government dispersed about $3.4 billion to higher education. Today, individual colleges depend on what could be billions of dollars, which mainly go toward financial aid and research. Harvard alone receives $9 billion.”

The United States has led the world in science and knowledge development over the past 70 years because of the excellence of its research model based on intensive research conducted at research universities based on funding by federal research grants.

The Trump administration is now attacking the entire system of research and knowledge production in the United States.

The New York Times reports that “the funding freezes have caused work stoppages, cut contracts, imperiled medical research and left students in limbo. Reductions can also affect hospitals that are affiliated with universities, like the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Boston Children’s Hospital, both of which are affiliated with Harvard.”

“Universities have stressed that losing federal funding would jeopardize dozens of medical and scientific studies, including those on cancer and diabetes.”

“After the Trump administration froze $1 billion for Cornell, the university said that affected grants included “research into new materials for jet engines, propulsion systems, large-scale information networks, robotics, superconductors, and space and satellite communications, as well as cancer research,” according to The New York Times.

“When Mr. Trump pulled $790 million from Northwestern, the university said that the freeze would hinder its research on robotics, nanotechnology, foreign military training and Parkinson’s disease.”

Harvard University has rightly rejected the Trump administration’s anti-research policies and coercive measures against institutions of higher education.

The Trump administration’s assault research universities threatens not only their research model, but also academic freedom, freedom of speech, faculty governance, faculty hiring, curricular integrity, peer review processes, and university autonomy.

Minsberg, Talya. “What to Know as Trump Freezes Federal Funds for Harvard and Other Universities.” The New York Times (15 April 2025).

Posted in Academic Freedom, Civil Rights Issues, Education Policy, Grants and Fellowships, Higher Education, Human Rights, Legal history, Political History of the United States, United States History and Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment