Dr. John R. Legg

I just spoke with the White House after another horrific shooting by federal agents this morning. Minnesota has had it. This is sickening.

The President must end this operation. Pull the thousands of violent, untrained officers out of Minnesota. Now.

in case you're curious about how angry Minnesota is about ICE, it was -20 today

Articles The Donaldsonville March of 1870: A Case Study in Black Militias’ Use of Force to Combat Insurrectionists in the Reconstruction South J. Jacob Calhoun pp. 9-34 restricted access HTML icon View The Donaldsonville March of 1870: A Case Study in Black Militias’ Use of Force to Combat Insurrectionists in the Reconstruction South PDF icon Download The Donaldsonville March of 1870: A Case Study in Black Militias’ Use of Force to Combat Insurrectionists in the Reconstruction South Save The Donaldsonville March of 1870: A Case Study in Black Militias’ Use of Force to Combat Insurrectionists in the Reconstruction South Get Access to The Donaldsonville March of 1870: A Case Study in Black Militias’ Use of Force to Combat Insurrectionists in the Reconstruction South Greater Reconstruction and the Limitations to Federal Power in the US–Mexico Borderlands William S. Kiser pp. 35-58 restricted access HTML icon View Greater Reconstruction and the Limitations to Federal Power in the US–Mexico Borderlands PDF icon Download Greater Reconstruction and the Limitations to Federal Power in the US–Mexico Borderlands Save Greater Reconstruction and the Limitations to Federal Power in the US–Mexico Borderlands Get Access to Greater Reconstruction and the Limitations to Federal Power in the US–Mexico Borderlands Cracks in the Granite: Contested Civil War Memories in the American West John R. Legg, Niels Eichhorn pp. 59-89

Pleased to share the news that the latest issue of our journal "Civil War History"—edited by @jimdowns.bsky.social, and featuring articles by @legg.bsky.social, @nielseichhorn.bsky.social, and others—is now available at @projectmuse.bsky.social:

muse.jhu.edu/issue/56267

Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic.

The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.

Still getting used to my commute from Hattiesburg to New Orleans three days a week for classes. Today’s digital history class was so fulfilling. My students just amazed me and I left class with such a teaching high. That two hour drive back, however, wrecked me. Worth it.

This.

It’s why they’re grabbing at power more desperately and violently.

They can feel it slipping away.

It’s a moment for us to stand up and speak out.

It was such a pleasure to talk with Rich. You can watch the first part of the interview at the link below: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mxq...

I’m sure this may have had something to do with it— a prof from my PhD school.

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Great news today: I’ve been accepted to write a chapter for the Handbook on Digital Activism (ed. Paromita Pain). I’ll explore the ethics of digitizing sensitive Indigenous histories through case studies at Dickson Mounds, the American Civil War Museum, and the Minnesota Historical Society.

Contributors include:

David Dry, Hilary Green, Melissa Stuckey, Karen Sieber, M. Nathan Tanner, Christopher Getowicz, Carla Gonzales, Brenden Lee, Callie Avondet, Alexander Hyres, Jose Moreno, Tim Lacy, Ben Wright, Mun Abed.

Great news! @llassabe.bsky.social and I signed a contract for our edited volume, Degrees of Liberation: Public History, Campus Activism, and the Fight for Educational Justice. The book shows how campus activism drives change and advances public history work with communities. @sunypress.bsky.social

John Hamm dancing in a club, blue image, with people in the background.

Student evals came in:

Do you have any suggested improvements for the instructor (John Legg)?

Student: "stay exactly the way you are"

Me:

I’m thrilled to share that Board of Governors of the UNL Center for Great Plains Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has appointed me Affiliate Fellow for the 2026-2031 term. I’m very thankful for Melissa Anne Amateis's nomination and excited to serve the Center for the next several years.

Oh that’s cool! Well thanks for the follow. I’m working on an essay about Emiquon/Dickson Mounds and NAGPRA laws.

He’s been so very helpful. Are you from the community?

He’s been one of my contacts!

I have met a few, including leadership and museum personnel at Dickson Mounds in Illinois. I’d welcome talking and meeting with others!

Look what came in the mail! You can read “Cracks in the Granite: Contested Civil War Memories in the American West” in this year’s December issue of Civil War History. @nielseichhorn.bsky.social. W/great company: @jjacobcalhoun.bsky.social & William S. Kiser. Thanks @jimdowns.bsky.social & staff

Digital Humanities Librarian

Job: Digital Humanities Librarian
employment.ku.edu/jobs/faculty...

Historians - I'm looking for an article or essay that demonstrates how to tell the history of Black individuals/communities in the American West when you have a fragmented and sparse source base. Suggestions?

Feb. 6, 1939.

It's release day for -Of Many Minds-! Get your copy from Johns Hopkins University Press!

Federal Judge Orders ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ To Be Shut Down Within 60 Days—No New Detainees The ruling sided with environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe, who had filed a suit alleging that the facility built in the Florida Everglades violated federal environmental laws.

The ruling sided with environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe, who had filed a suit alleging that the facility built in the Florida Everglades violated federal environmental laws.

Nothing made slavery’s toxicity more obvious to Union troops than its effect on the fundamental unit of society, the family. For one thing, slave sales separated families. In the Upper South, where many Union soldiers were stationed in 1861, about one in three first marriages was broken by sale, and about half of all slave children were separated from at least one parent. 129 With their own eyes, soldiers saw slavery snap bonds between parents and children. The men of the Seventh Wisconsin were awakened by gunshots one November night. The following day, soldiers “learned, and saw the cause of the alarm in the form of two negro women—a mother and a daughter.” The pair had fled to Union lines to avoid the proposed sale of the “goodlooking” daughter into the so-called fancy trade, which soldiers viewed as a form of concubinage. Outraged by the plight and moved by the vulnerability of the mother and daughter, “every private in the ranks” cursed “that system which tramples on the honor of man, and makes merchandise of the virtue of women,” according to one member of the regiment. 130 When an Iowan encountered a young child about to be sold by her own father, who was also her master, he vowed, “By G–d I’ll fight till hell freezes over and then I’ll cut the ice and fight on.” 131

from chandra manning's wonderful book "what this cruel war was over"

Last week, Boston received a letter from AG Bondi threatening to prosecute officials and withhold funds unless we cooperate with carrying out mass deportations.

The US Attorney General asked for a response by today, so here it is: stop attacking our cities to hide your administration’s failures.

Unbelievable.

I've never had an issue with a MacBook.

Cities aren’t scary.
You are scared.
There’s a difference

...and that doesn't happen that quickly. Still trying to figure that out (I think comps really ruined reading for me).

It’s time to wake up - we are literally on the verge of losing our democracy if Donald Trump cheats his way to those seats in Texas.