David Fitzgerald

How FDR Invented National Security A presidential speech in 1937 marked an unexpected turn in U.S. strategic thought.

An excerpt in @foreignpolicy.com from Andrew Preston's superb new book, Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/30/f...

Not your dad’s WW2–find out more in this interview I did recently and get 50% off the book at the same time 🥳

It was great to catch up with @ceceliacancellaro.bsky.social but also really cool to see my book out in the wild again!

The spicier take is while this will never happen, there objectively should be an investigation into what unauthorized/unknown to the rest of DoD/the executive communications CENTCOM was having off the books with the Israeli government, because suffice to say I have my suspicions

Never thought that writing a piece years ago on the post-Gulf War parades would be of contemporary relevance, but here we are.

I hate when my historical research is relevant. The GI Rights Hotline has a history going back to before its 1994 founding by a network of peace activists after the Gulf War. GI counseling has been a cornerstone of peace activism since the Vietnam War. Some of the same ppl are still doing it. 🗃️

OK, I know more about the CA case and we have more information on the deployments coming out, so a few thoughts.

1. This is a massive overreach of POTUS authority. Using Section 12406 to federalize/deploy military forces w/out also invoking the Insurrection Act is literally unprecedented. 1/

Friends, followers, and colleagues: some professional news, as they say.

After four wonderful years with the US Army War College, I resigned my position effective May 2, 2025. 1/

Utterly disgraceful and an open assault on the historical profession. These are utterly professional, non-partisan advisors, overseeing and giving advice to the State department on the declassification of US government documents.

Took a while, but the ad is also now up on an actual jobs website! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMV502/l...

A book cover with the main title in white text reading "The Greater Second World War" and subtitle in yellow text reading "Global Perspectives" in front of a brown wall with holes and deterioration.

ICYMI, Team #MilitaryHistory - the stellar volume edited expertly by Andrew Buchanan and Ruth Lawlor, "The Greater Second World War: Global Perspectives," has reached its publication date! Head to @cornellupress.bsky.social's page to get one. I'll wait...
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

wow the US Army now has officially less understanding of and care for their soldiers' morale & wellbeing than the Italian army of 1918! way to go, guys!

happy to sell Pete Hegseth a copy of my book to explain why this is Not Smart but it might have too many long words for him to understand

Lecturer in International Economic History | University College Cork UCC wishes to appoint an academic to the role of Lecturer in International Economic History. Reporting to the Head of School of History.

Job alert! My dept is hiring a lecturer in international economic history. This a permanent, full-time post and it's (hopefully) a really good time to be joining the School of History here. Very happy to chat with anyone about the role, UCC, or life in Cork in general. 🗃️

www.ucc.ie/en/future-hu...

Lecturer in International Economic History | University College Cork UCC wishes to appoint an academic to the role of Lecturer in International Economic History. Reporting to the Head of School of History.

Job alert! My dept is hiring a lecturer in international economic history. This a permanent, full-time post and it's (hopefully) a really good time to be joining the School of History here. Very happy to chat with anyone about the role, UCC, or life in Cork in general. 🗃️

www.ucc.ie/en/future-hu...

We're hiring! I can echo what Jay says in his second post that there's a lot of exciting stuff on the way in our dept and that Cork is a really great place to live.

The Society for Military History is now archiving historical materials related to military history that are disappearing from federal or state websites. We are open to submissions, anonymously or otherwise. Please see
www.smh-hq.org/archivedreso... and note there the submission links.

I am a recent member of the Society for Military History @smh-historians.bsky.social, so I'm not in charge or anything, but I have mutuals who are members, too.

What is SMH saying about the erasures from public military history sites? Is there a statement? Is it on the agenda for the conference?

The Airborne Mafia by Robert F. Williams | Hardcover | Cornell University Press The Airborne Mafia explores how a small group of World War II airborne officers took control of the US Army after World War II. This powerful cadre cemented a unique airborne culture that had an unpre...

Today is the day! My book is "officially" out as of today. So if you have not gotten your copy, do so ASAP!

I wont be able to make it to the annual Society for Military History conference this year but I am available for talks, please reach out!

www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

not by any stretch the first person to say this but: it is darkly funny how nakedly imperialist Trump turned out to be given the lengths to which some professional opinion havers went to take his "isolationism" intellectually seriously

U.S. military removes words 'history,' 'respect,' 'dignity' from digital presence as part of DEI review The Department of Defense issued a Digital Content Refresh document to comply with DEI removal from the armed services. TPR obtained a document laying out the guidance of what to remove.

For those historians keeping track, esp #milhist folks, “history” is now a flagged word bc of its apparent connection to #DEI. Canary in a coal mine, indeed. @smh-historians.bsky.social 🗃️ www.tpr.org/military-vet...

now seems like a good time to welcome "real rules-based liberal international order has never been tried" libs to the Popular Front group chat

Down for me as well. Maybe try archive.org? I feel like they scraped a lot of the DTIC material at some stage

WHAT?!

Bureaucracy, famously not important in war

The intentional decimation of archival infrastructure sounds like something a scholarly society might object to

IF YOU THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO HAVE A FOREIGN POLICY IF RESTRAINT YOU SHOULD NEVER BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY AGAIN

The Cambridge History of the Vietnam War Cambridge Core - History after 1945 (General) - The Cambridge History of the Vietnam War

Happy to share that the @cambridgeup.bsky.social Three-Volume History of the Vietnam War is now available, including a chapter on "Refugees and US-Vietnamese Relations" that I wrote for Volume 3 "Endings and Aftermaths."

www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...

The White House didn't say "stop teaching about the Tuskegee Airmen when you do US history." The White House said "stop doing DEI and wokeness," and the military interpreted it as "stop saying the Tuskegee Airmen were heroes, and maybe stop teaching about them altogether."

Yeah, that's bad.

In a lot of ways, 'warrior culture' is itself responsible for the rise of Hegseth.

could’ve sent this to the full membership for a vote, but the council outright vetoed it instead. if you’re not interested in your members’ views, i’m not sure why your members should remain part of the organization.