Bobby Lee
@bobbylee.bsky.social
Historian of the United States, mostly 19th c., colonialism, land, GIS
So, Arkansas used to employ prisoners as armed guards to oversee their fellow inmates. Called them 'trusties.' Sometimes they put them on horseback and gave them shotguns to oversee prisoners laboring in fields
February 11, 2026 at 11:15 AM
So, Arkansas used to employ prisoners as armed guards to oversee their fellow inmates. Called them 'trusties.' Sometimes they put them on horseback and gave them shotguns to oversee prisoners laboring in fields
It got a bunch of press
February 10, 2026 at 1:10 PM
It got a bunch of press
They carried a banner with the motto: ‘Into Civilization and Citizenship’
February 10, 2026 at 1:10 PM
They carried a banner with the motto: ‘Into Civilization and Citizenship’
Did not know this: Pratt had the students marching in the opening ceremonies of the World’s Columbia Exhibition in Chicago in 1893
February 10, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Did not know this: Pratt had the students marching in the opening ceremonies of the World’s Columbia Exhibition in Chicago in 1893
Shocking stat from the first paragraph of the annual report of the Carlisle Indian boarding school in 1893: the death rate of students was more than double the graduation rate
February 10, 2026 at 12:26 PM
Shocking stat from the first paragraph of the annual report of the Carlisle Indian boarding school in 1893: the death rate of students was more than double the graduation rate
‘America’ Vespucci was the Anna Delvy of the 1830s. Broke, charming, and European, she nearly convinced Congress to give her a land grant because the continent was named after her family. Her real name was Elena
portraits.allenbrowne.info/Vespucci/Read/
portraits.allenbrowne.info/Vespucci/Read/
February 7, 2026 at 6:23 PM
‘America’ Vespucci was the Anna Delvy of the 1830s. Broke, charming, and European, she nearly convinced Congress to give her a land grant because the continent was named after her family. Her real name was Elena
portraits.allenbrowne.info/Vespucci/Read/
portraits.allenbrowne.info/Vespucci/Read/
This outfit was so fly it caused riots
February 7, 2026 at 5:09 PM
This outfit was so fly it caused riots
This one’s gonna get a lot of mileage
February 7, 2026 at 8:43 AM
This one’s gonna get a lot of mileage
Watching a documentary and it says the person telling their story is digitally anonymized?! Are they doing ai avatars now? Bring back blurring
February 5, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Watching a documentary and it says the person telling their story is digitally anonymized?! Are they doing ai avatars now? Bring back blurring
Still thinking about this mecca
February 5, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Still thinking about this mecca
Ever seen this famous broadside? I finally looked up the pamphlet it's advertising. Turns out it's on hathitrust - read it here babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc...
February 4, 2026 at 2:36 PM
Ever seen this famous broadside? I finally looked up the pamphlet it's advertising. Turns out it's on hathitrust - read it here babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc...
Rich Dad, Poor Dad, but for conservationists in the 1930s
February 4, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Rich Dad, Poor Dad, but for conservationists in the 1930s
Chinese news reporting on suppression of history by the US regime
english.news.cn/20260201/bfa...
english.news.cn/20260201/bfa...
February 1, 2026 at 1:45 PM
Chinese news reporting on suppression of history by the US regime
english.news.cn/20260201/bfa...
english.news.cn/20260201/bfa...
Really like the style of the these mid-century graphs
January 30, 2026 at 11:57 AM
Really like the style of the these mid-century graphs
Mid 20th C. infographic on the carving up of the US public domain
January 30, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Mid 20th C. infographic on the carving up of the US public domain
Don't know if this can be topped. New Deal Interior Secretary Harold Ickes titled his life story, 'The Autobiography of a Curmudgeon' (1943) and slapped a cartoon of himself maxing out a hate-meter on the cover!
January 30, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Don't know if this can be topped. New Deal Interior Secretary Harold Ickes titled his life story, 'The Autobiography of a Curmudgeon' (1943) and slapped a cartoon of himself maxing out a hate-meter on the cover!
Look at where these investors are from and where they’re buying up land to develop in the 1850s. This has a hand in cranking the flywheel of Native dispossession in the upper Midwest for sure
January 29, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Look at where these investors are from and where they’re buying up land to develop in the 1850s. This has a hand in cranking the flywheel of Native dispossession in the upper Midwest for sure
These guys are taking profits from southern plantations and effectively running payday loan style mortgage schemes for settlers who want to buy land from the government. Crazy rates: 75% profit per year
January 29, 2026 at 2:12 PM
These guys are taking profits from southern plantations and effectively running payday loan style mortgage schemes for settlers who want to buy land from the government. Crazy rates: 75% profit per year
Has this phenomenon escaped the view of the New History of Capitalism folks(?): extensive southern investments in northern land before the Civil War…
January 29, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Has this phenomenon escaped the view of the New History of Capitalism folks(?): extensive southern investments in northern land before the Civil War…
Flag from Custer’s Land Stand sold for $2.5 million
www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...
www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...
January 28, 2026 at 9:23 PM
Flag from Custer’s Land Stand sold for $2.5 million
www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...
www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6...
Rereading the Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners (1870) and this line about inexperienced federal officers is landing hard
January 28, 2026 at 10:17 AM
Rereading the Report of the Board of Indian Commissioners (1870) and this line about inexperienced federal officers is landing hard
The history of US imperialism is filled with blustering failures that don't get much attention.
Here's Thomas Hutchins, the first (and only) Geographer of the United States, talking about how the newly independent US would easily take all of North America back in 1784
Here's Thomas Hutchins, the first (and only) Geographer of the United States, talking about how the newly independent US would easily take all of North America back in 1784
January 23, 2026 at 3:58 PM
The history of US imperialism is filled with blustering failures that don't get much attention.
Here's Thomas Hutchins, the first (and only) Geographer of the United States, talking about how the newly independent US would easily take all of North America back in 1784
Here's Thomas Hutchins, the first (and only) Geographer of the United States, talking about how the newly independent US would easily take all of North America back in 1784
This line from trump’s davos speech is especially maddening - he’s straight up saying decolonization was a mistake
January 22, 2026 at 5:42 PM
This line from trump’s davos speech is especially maddening - he’s straight up saying decolonization was a mistake
I would watch a doc about these folks
6abc.com/amp/post/phi...
6abc.com/amp/post/phi...
January 19, 2026 at 7:47 PM
I would watch a doc about these folks
6abc.com/amp/post/phi...
6abc.com/amp/post/phi...
Science happening today
January 18, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Science happening today