Kevin M. Levin
@civilwarmemory.bsky.social
I am a NJ born and Boston-based Civil War historian and speaker. Author of numerous books and articles, including "Searching for Black Confederates" (2019). More details at cwmemory.com
Join my Civil War Memory newsletter: https://kevinmlevin.substack.com
Join my Civil War Memory newsletter: https://kevinmlevin.substack.com
Looking for a good book about President James Garfield? The James A. Garfield National Historic Site has you covered. 🗃️#NationalParks
November 23, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Looking for a good book about President James Garfield? The James A. Garfield National Historic Site has you covered. 🗃️#NationalParks
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered?
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered?
A fellow historian posted the above image on Bluesky this morning and it sent a chill down my spine.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered?
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
Some thoughts about how language can lead us astray.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
The South Didn't Lose the Civil War. The Confederacy Did.
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
"The United States isn’t a nation like other nations, and it never has been. There is no American ethnicity to back up the state, and there was no such distinctive ethnicity even in 1776, when the U.S. was created."--Gordon Wood www.wsj.com/opinion/why-...
Opinion | Why America Is a ‘Creedal Nation’
The distinguished historian says the U.S. isn’t like other nations and never has been. There is no American ethnicity to back up the state.
www.wsj.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:01 PM
"The United States isn’t a nation like other nations, and it never has been. There is no American ethnicity to back up the state, and there was no such distinctive ethnicity even in 1776, when the U.S. was created."--Gordon Wood www.wsj.com/opinion/why-...
Reposted by Kevin M. Levin
As a historian, I have been torturing myself by watching some of the series that the White House in cooperation with Hillsdale College produced about American Independence (tellingly, they avoid the word "revolution").
There are so many errors that it is hard to know where to begin. But I'll try
There are so many errors that it is hard to know where to begin. But I'll try
November 22, 2025 at 11:33 PM
As a historian, I have been torturing myself by watching some of the series that the White House in cooperation with Hillsdale College produced about American Independence (tellingly, they avoid the word "revolution").
There are so many errors that it is hard to know where to begin. But I'll try
There are so many errors that it is hard to know where to begin. But I'll try
Reposted by Kevin M. Levin
With the semiquincentennial behind us, launching the next 250 with my 251st #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 251 (11/23/25) – Black and White and Read All Over
With the semiquincentennial behind us, launching the next 250 with my 251st #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week...
blackwhiteandread.com
November 23, 2025 at 12:56 PM
With the semiquincentennial behind us, launching the next 250 with my 251st #ScholarSunday thread of great public scholarly writing & work, podcast episodes, new & forthcoming books from the last week. Add more below, share as widely as possible, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
"And yet, if you will indulge me, it does feel as if November 2025 is to Trump what April and September 1862 were to the Confederacy." -- @jamellebouie.net I hope Jamelle isn't suggesting that we still have Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and the Overland Campaign ahead of us. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/o...
Opinion | Trump Is Mired in a War of Attrition
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:56 AM
"And yet, if you will indulge me, it does feel as if November 2025 is to Trump what April and September 1862 were to the Confederacy." -- @jamellebouie.net I hope Jamelle isn't suggesting that we still have Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and the Overland Campaign ahead of us. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/o...
Heading out to the country to look at houses, meaning anything west of the city of Boston.
November 22, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Heading out to the country to look at houses, meaning anything west of the city of Boston.
I'm not paying for part 2. I think we all get the picture.
November 22, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I'm not paying for part 2. I think we all get the picture.
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 Kevin M. Levin
Is There Still Gatekeeping Among Civil War Military Historians?
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
Is There Still Gatekeeping Among Civil War Military Historians?
I enjoyed watching the annual Fortenbaugh Lecture at Gettysburg College, which this year was organized as a roundtable discussion.
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Is There Still Gatekeeping Among Civil War Military Historians?
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
I have no idea what to make of the Trump-Mamdani meeting or the announcement from Marjorie Taylor Greene, but they should be a clear reminder of the importance of contingency in historical events.
November 22, 2025 at 11:43 AM
I have no idea what to make of the Trump-Mamdani meeting or the announcement from Marjorie Taylor Greene, but they should be a clear reminder of the importance of contingency in historical events.
Is There Still Gatekeeping Among Civil War Military Historians?
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
Is There Still Gatekeeping Among Civil War Military Historians?
I enjoyed watching the annual Fortenbaugh Lecture at Gettysburg College, which this year was organized as a roundtable discussion.
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Is There Still Gatekeeping Among Civil War Military Historians?
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
Reposted by Kevin M. Levin
🧵 While I enjoyed this roundtable discussion with Drew Faught, Stephanie McCurry, and @dblight.bsky.social, I didn't follow the line of thought from moderator Jim Downs re: the supposed gatekeeping of Civil War military historians and their resistance...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChq...
The Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture 2025
YouTube video by Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:45 PM
🧵 While I enjoyed this roundtable discussion with Drew Faught, Stephanie McCurry, and @dblight.bsky.social, I didn't follow the line of thought from moderator Jim Downs re: the supposed gatekeeping of Civil War military historians and their resistance...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChq...
I am relieved that he is wearing a suit. That's one avenue of attack and insult that we can cross off Trump's list.
November 21, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I am relieved that he is wearing a suit. That's one avenue of attack and insult that we can cross off Trump's list.
Reposted by Kevin M. Levin
After emancipation, a Black Mississippi veteran reported that his white neighbors "outraged [Black Southerners] beyound humanity. Houses have been tourn down... & the old Negroes after they have worked there till they are 70 or 80 yers of age drive them off in the cold to frieze & starve to death."
Mississippi Black Soldier to the Freedmen's Bureau Commissioner, December 16, 1865
www.freedmen.umd.edu
November 21, 2025 at 2:17 PM
After emancipation, a Black Mississippi veteran reported that his white neighbors "outraged [Black Southerners] beyound humanity. Houses have been tourn down... & the old Negroes after they have worked there till they are 70 or 80 yers of age drive them off in the cold to frieze & starve to death."
🧵 While I enjoyed this roundtable discussion with Drew Faught, Stephanie McCurry, and @dblight.bsky.social, I didn't follow the line of thought from moderator Jim Downs re: the supposed gatekeeping of Civil War military historians and their resistance...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChq...
The Robert Fortenbaugh Memorial Lecture 2025
YouTube video by Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College
www.youtube.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:45 PM
🧵 While I enjoyed this roundtable discussion with Drew Faught, Stephanie McCurry, and @dblight.bsky.social, I didn't follow the line of thought from moderator Jim Downs re: the supposed gatekeeping of Civil War military historians and their resistance...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChq...
"Instead, the Coast Guard will classify the Nazi-era insignia as
'potentially divisive”' under its new guidelines. The new policy, set to take effect Dec. 15, similarly downgrades the definition of nooses and the Confederate flag..." www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
'potentially divisive”' under its new guidelines. The new policy, set to take effect Dec. 15, similarly downgrades the definition of nooses and the Confederate flag..." www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
"Instead, the Coast Guard will classify the Nazi-era insignia as
'potentially divisive”' under its new guidelines. The new policy, set to take effect Dec. 15, similarly downgrades the definition of nooses and the Confederate flag..." www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
'potentially divisive”' under its new guidelines. The new policy, set to take effect Dec. 15, similarly downgrades the definition of nooses and the Confederate flag..." www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Here is another book that I can't wait to read. 🗃️
I am absolutely over the moon that my book “The Republican House Divided: Civil War Memory, Civil Rights, and the Transformation of the GOP” is officially published TODAY!
After years of hard work, I am incredibly proud. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible 📚🐘🗃️
@uscpress.bsky.social
After years of hard work, I am incredibly proud. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible 📚🐘🗃️
@uscpress.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Here is another book that I can't wait to read. 🗃️
Reposted by Kevin M. Levin
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered? 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered?
A fellow historian posted the above image on Bluesky this morning and it sent a chill down my spine.
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered? 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered? 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered?
A fellow historian posted the above image on Bluesky this morning and it sent a chill down my spine.
open.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM
The New Fugitive Slaves: How Will They Be Remembered? How Will We Be Remembered? 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
Seen in Boston, Massachusetts in 1854.
November 20, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Seen in Boston, Massachusetts in 1854.
This book is a must read. 🗃️
Andrew's book on the politics of smallpox in the American Revolution is such a great book and his argument below about people articulating inoculation as a *right* of the people is so important! @bachynski.bsky.social
November 20, 2025 at 12:00 PM
This book is a must read. 🗃️
Really looking forward to this one. 🗃️
The publication date for my book on the history of policing American slavery has been moved up a month! Now available May 12, 2026! Thanks so much to those who have preordered! The Press is offering 30% off with the code, 01UNCP30
uncpress.org/978146969484...
uncpress.org/978146969484...
White Power
Beginning in the colonial era and growing through the American Revolution and the Southern plantation system, slaveholders’ violent police regime continued...
uncpress.org
November 20, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Really looking forward to this one. 🗃️
Reposted by Kevin M. Levin
A Reminder of "The Great Task Remaining Before Us"
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
A Reminder of "The Great Task Remaining Before Us"
A few thoughts on this 162nd anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address."
open.substack.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:17 PM
A Reminder of "The Great Task Remaining Before Us"
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...