John Garrison Marks
@johngmarks.com
Historian and writer. New book about how Americans remember George Washington and slavery forthcoming April 2026 w/ @uncpress.bsky.social. Vice President of Research & Engagement at AASLH. www.johngmarks.com
Pinned
Just three months from today, my book about Americans’ 250 year struggle over slavery’s place in George Washington’s legacy will be out in the world. Some great (and NYT bestselling!) writers have said kind things about it. I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering a copy. bookshop.org/p/books/thy-...
“You don’t win [sustainable market share among fast casual restaurants] with salad”
January 11, 2026 at 10:26 AM
“You don’t win [sustainable market share among fast casual restaurants] with salad”
The Bengals missed the playoffs again this year, but seeing that Packers loss at least I get a sense of what it would have been like.
January 11, 2026 at 10:02 AM
The Bengals missed the playoffs again this year, but seeing that Packers loss at least I get a sense of what it would have been like.
Either it’s not there or you all have let me down.
Friends and colleagues on their way to #AHA26: if you see a galley of my book at the @uncpress.bsky.social table, please send to me / post it! Still thrilled by the idea people are seeing it IRL.
January 11, 2026 at 1:46 AM
Either it’s not there or you all have let me down.
Andy Dalton loses in the early Saturday playoff game yet again.
January 11, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Andy Dalton loses in the early Saturday playoff game yet again.
Listening to your kids bicker and yell at each other is a real 1-2 punch because it’s not only objectively very annoying, you also hear them repeat every awful bit of parenting you’ve ever done.
January 10, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Listening to your kids bicker and yell at each other is a real 1-2 punch because it’s not only objectively very annoying, you also hear them repeat every awful bit of parenting you’ve ever done.
Reposted by John Garrison Marks
Reposted by John Garrison Marks
Just three months from today, my book about Americans’ 250 year struggle over slavery’s place in George Washington’s legacy will be out in the world. Some great (and NYT bestselling!) writers have said kind things about it. I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering a copy. bookshop.org/p/books/thy-...
January 7, 2026 at 11:38 AM
Just three months from today, my book about Americans’ 250 year struggle over slavery’s place in George Washington’s legacy will be out in the world. Some great (and NYT bestselling!) writers have said kind things about it. I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering a copy. bookshop.org/p/books/thy-...
I‘ve spent a lot of time thinking about the complexity of this anniversary, but this headline sums it up quite nicely.
www.abc12.com/news/state/m...
www.abc12.com/news/state/m...
Michigan prison inmates begin making #America250 license plates
Inmates working at the Michigan State Industries license plate factory in the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian began producing the red, white and blue semiquincentennial plates this week.
www.abc12.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:26 PM
I‘ve spent a lot of time thinking about the complexity of this anniversary, but this headline sums it up quite nicely.
www.abc12.com/news/state/m...
www.abc12.com/news/state/m...
Time for another year of coaching youth basketball. Not sure if 1st graders will be easier or harder than kindergarten…
January 10, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Time for another year of coaching youth basketball. Not sure if 1st graders will be easier or harder than kindergarten…
Reposted by John Garrison Marks
This is one of the arguments in my forthcoming book where I trace migration and citizenship policy history from the US colonial period to 1888 when voluntary and involuntary migration was going into land already owned and occupied by Native Americans for generations.
January 10, 2026 at 12:09 PM
This is one of the arguments in my forthcoming book where I trace migration and citizenship policy history from the US colonial period to 1888 when voluntary and involuntary migration was going into land already owned and occupied by Native Americans for generations.
Reposted by John Garrison Marks
The WH's January 6 virtual exhibit is just the latest example of the administration moving beyond distorting history to support its ideological ends and into just inventing history as it sees fit. The presidential walk of fame, the AI-animated "Founders Museum" previewed where this was headed.
Wrote a pair of CAMPAIGN TRAILS posts this week about authoritarians trying to rewrite the past.
First off, this piece on the Trump White House's ridiculous effort to spin the events of January 6th around.
First off, this piece on the Trump White House's ridiculous effort to spin the events of January 6th around.
Rewriting History
The term "revisionist history" routinely gets thrown around in popular discourse as a shorthand for "lying about the past."
I've noted before that this is actually quite different from how historians...
campaign-trails.ghost.io
January 9, 2026 at 8:10 PM
The WH's January 6 virtual exhibit is just the latest example of the administration moving beyond distorting history to support its ideological ends and into just inventing history as it sees fit. The presidential walk of fame, the AI-animated "Founders Museum" previewed where this was headed.
Just saw this Instagram ad for what I assume are crystal meth pouches? Not just for long haul truckers anymore! 2026 is great.
January 9, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Just saw this Instagram ad for what I assume are crystal meth pouches? Not just for long haul truckers anymore! 2026 is great.
The WH's January 6 virtual exhibit is just the latest example of the administration moving beyond distorting history to support its ideological ends and into just inventing history as it sees fit. The presidential walk of fame, the AI-animated "Founders Museum" previewed where this was headed.
Wrote a pair of CAMPAIGN TRAILS posts this week about authoritarians trying to rewrite the past.
First off, this piece on the Trump White House's ridiculous effort to spin the events of January 6th around.
First off, this piece on the Trump White House's ridiculous effort to spin the events of January 6th around.
Rewriting History
The term "revisionist history" routinely gets thrown around in popular discourse as a shorthand for "lying about the past."
I've noted before that this is actually quite different from how historians...
campaign-trails.ghost.io
January 9, 2026 at 8:10 PM
The WH's January 6 virtual exhibit is just the latest example of the administration moving beyond distorting history to support its ideological ends and into just inventing history as it sees fit. The presidential walk of fame, the AI-animated "Founders Museum" previewed where this was headed.
The U.S. 250th is going to be all over the sports world this year. Not only the World Cup, but the A250 commission logo is now on every NFL football, MLB All-Star game is in Philly and they're connecting their community initiatives to the anniversary. Gonna be everywhere. www.mlb.com/news/mlb-ame...
MLB pledges 250,000 volunteer hours as part of USA's 250th anniversary celebration
NEW YORK – Baseball is the national pastime, and as such, it is intertwined with the country’s history and the idea of America itself. That connection will be on full display this year, when Major Lea...
www.mlb.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:07 PM
The U.S. 250th is going to be all over the sports world this year. Not only the World Cup, but the A250 commission logo is now on every NFL football, MLB All-Star game is in Philly and they're connecting their community initiatives to the anniversary. Gonna be everywhere. www.mlb.com/news/mlb-ame...
Reposted by John Garrison Marks
The final set of corrections to the galleys just went in. I guess whether I (or you) like it or not, the book is coming on March 10, 2026.
Pre-order info here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Pre-order info here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
January 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
The final set of corrections to the galleys just went in. I guess whether I (or you) like it or not, the book is coming on March 10, 2026.
Pre-order info here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Pre-order info here: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
On top of everything, the White House keeps ratcheting up pressure on the Smithsonian, despite the completely unreasonable, onerous nature of their requests. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/a...
The Smithsonian Faces New Pressure to Submit to Trump’s Will
www.nytimes.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:27 PM
On top of everything, the White House keeps ratcheting up pressure on the Smithsonian, despite the completely unreasonable, onerous nature of their requests. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/08/a...
Friends and colleagues on their way to #AHA26: if you see a galley of my book at the @uncpress.bsky.social table, please send to me / post it! Still thrilled by the idea people are seeing it IRL.
January 8, 2026 at 12:58 PM
Friends and colleagues on their way to #AHA26: if you see a galley of my book at the @uncpress.bsky.social table, please send to me / post it! Still thrilled by the idea people are seeing it IRL.
Barton claimed in one of his books that the "bulletproof George Washington" was spared by God during the French and Indian War so he could later deliver freedom to the United States, so yes this absolutely tracks.
David Barton, the self-described "amateur historian" whose debunked work has been central to mainstreaming claims that the US was founded as a Christian nation, says he and his son have been directly involved in the Trump administration's efforts to stop "woke propaganda" at the Smithsonian.
January 7, 2026 at 7:31 PM
Barton claimed in one of his books that the "bulletproof George Washington" was spared by God during the French and Indian War so he could later deliver freedom to the United States, so yes this absolutely tracks.
For my DC-area friends and colleagues: looks like the event page for my book event at Tudor Place in Georgetown is up! April 14. Hope to see you there! www.eventbrite.com/e/landmark-l...
Landmark Lecture: GW, Slavery, and America's Historical Memory
Time and again, we've struggled to agree upon slavery's place in Washington's legacy.
www.eventbrite.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:10 PM
For my DC-area friends and colleagues: looks like the event page for my book event at Tudor Place in Georgetown is up! April 14. Hope to see you there! www.eventbrite.com/e/landmark-l...
Just three months from today, my book about Americans’ 250 year struggle over slavery’s place in George Washington’s legacy will be out in the world. Some great (and NYT bestselling!) writers have said kind things about it. I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering a copy. bookshop.org/p/books/thy-...
January 7, 2026 at 11:38 AM
Just three months from today, my book about Americans’ 250 year struggle over slavery’s place in George Washington’s legacy will be out in the world. Some great (and NYT bestselling!) writers have said kind things about it. I hope you’ll consider pre-ordering a copy. bookshop.org/p/books/thy-...
Reposted by John Garrison Marks
Wow, what a time for NMAAHC to be searching for a new Director. Just posted today. www.dsgco.com/search/22472...
January 6, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Wow, what a time for NMAAHC to be searching for a new Director. Just posted today. www.dsgco.com/search/22472...
Please someone free us from this hell
January 6, 2026 at 2:57 AM
Please someone free us from this hell
Reposted by John Garrison Marks
Agree with Brad: if I see another “Wag the Dog” explanation I’m going to lose it. This has been planned for months and there are clear (if sometimes ridiculous) motives for the people involved. Come on.
For many Americans, and evidently some American historians the world is an abstraction with no real history of its own or dynamics that need explaining. Everything is just somehow a reflection of the oddities of American politics.
January 4, 2026 at 12:14 PM
Agree with Brad: if I see another “Wag the Dog” explanation I’m going to lose it. This has been planned for months and there are clear (if sometimes ridiculous) motives for the people involved. Come on.
Reminded today that some recent narrative change research found that a simple phrase—“In America, the people are supposed to be in charge“—is incredibly effective and galvanizing across the political spectrum. thinkbigcommunity.net/america-250/
January 3, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Reminded today that some recent narrative change research found that a simple phrase—“In America, the people are supposed to be in charge“—is incredibly effective and galvanizing across the political spectrum. thinkbigcommunity.net/america-250/