1. 1st big surge in reverence for the Founders comes from the mid-1820s to the late 1860s, as their generation died out & the country contested the meaning of their legacy. Washington Monument begun in 1848. Lots of places named for the Founders - Washington territory in 1853.https://twitter.com/jdmortenson/status/1374119144610791424 …
-
-
5. That's not to deny that there are also surges from time to time in our historical memory of particular periods & figures, driven by contemporary political needs. But the urge to retcon everything in our history into a narrative of crypto-Confederate mythology is nuts.
Show this thread -
6. As I noted in my Party of Lincoln piece, pro-Founderism has been part of the GOP's DNA from the outset, runs as a consistent through-line connecting Lincoln, Coolidge, Reagan, even Trump.https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2021/02/22/party-of-lincoln/ …
Show this thread -
7. There are periods (eg, the 1920s) when both pro-Founding & pro-Confederate sentiment ran hot, but often not with the same people or for the same reasons. Harding & Coolidge were not exactly great mythologizers of the Confederacy.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.