Our times have seen a deadly pandemic, bipartisan rancor, wars in Ukraine and Gaza, economic uncertainty, and the assault on the US Capitol, to name just a few dread events. I shall not attempt to convince you that the era … Continued

Nations, like individuals, have psyches and personalities that drive them to act in particular (and sometimes peculiar) ways. Today, we will examine a key cluster of nations in an attempt to answer the question, “Why do they act Let us … Continued

One evening on an Alaska cruise, a group of men gathered near the bow to smoke, admire the sunset, and talk. This wasn’t just any Alaska cruise, and it wasn’t just any group of men. The year was 1899, and … Continued

Relations with Great Britain dominated American foreign affairs for a century and a half, ever since they ceased to be domestic affairs. And for nearly all that time, relations were bad. They were the cause of the first great partisan … Continued

The relationship between the United States and Germany began before there was a United States. Colonists from the Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, and Hesse arrived as early as the 17th century, soon after the Thirty Years War. They settled in Pennsylvania, becoming … Continued

An unanticipated effect of the American Declaration of Independence from Great Britain in 1776 was the end of “transportation” of convicts from Britain to the American colonies – housing them on old Royal Navy “hulks” on the Thames – until … Continued

We’ve all heard it many times – and some of you may even have said it: “I hate history! It’s so boring: All those dates, names, and battles!” I suppose it’s impossible for those of us who do like history … Continued