Five things you didn’t know about the Civil War

It would take you longer than the Civil War lasted to read even a fraction of the 60,000-plus books written on it. Nevertheless, the average American’s understanding of the war remains unimpressive. To celebrate our pending blog-aversary, here’s five facts that surprised us as we read up: 1. It was way longer than you think. …

American Insurgents: Democrats of the Ku Klux Klan

The name “Ku Klux Klan” conjures, for us, images of hooded men preying on black people at night — something like the Klan scene in “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” Theatrical and nasty, yes. But a vast conspiracy? An insurgent army? No. Disturbingly enough, this project has required learning more about the Klan than the …

How Impudence Brought Education to the South — And Terror

Of all the factors shaping American history before and after the Civil War, perhaps the most overlooked is impudence. Even the word “impudent” was in greater use then than it is now, a derivative of the Latin root for ashamed. That is, those who are impudent have forgotten that they should be ashamed of themselves. …

When Confederates Wrote Tax Law

With the passage of a monumental package of tax changes on the horizon, the Republican Party has arguably taken another step in its Confederate transformation. Republicans like Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, and probably even more Democrats, may be befuddled at how the GOP party went from excoriating President Obama for his 2009 stimulus package …