Stephen West

Opinion | No Empire. No Kings.

Gift link to Beinart's op-ed, which is very much worth reading.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/o...

What the National Park Service Has Flagged Thus Far. It's Much Worse Than I Thought. Note: This is a long post.

I spent hours looking through hundreds of files of materials that have been flagged for review by National Park Service sites around the country. Here is just a small sample of what I found. #NationalParks 🗃️ open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...

"I knew jackasses could bray, but I didn't know they could preen."

William Tecumseh Sherman, perhaps

snip from video of Pete Hegseth press conference. he stands at a lectern with flags behind him. captioning reads, "War is hell and always will be."

Fox weekend host empties his reservoir of historical knowledge

This isn’t just erasure of African American history, it’s abject lies about white American history

A Civil War battlefield driving tour map was also flagged for its inclusion of direct quotes about the cause of the war from secession documents and Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy. The quotes cite slavery as the cause

Quoting secessionists about why they seceded? Outrageous!

the state of public history, 2026:

with one eye on the Trump administration, NPS staff worries that describing the murder of an abolitionist "might denigrate the murderers"

Ny Post headline "Dramatic new footage of the Clinton depositions released by the powerful House Oversight Committee shows how a frustrated Hillary Clinton nearly stormed out after firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert snapped an unsanctioned photo of her."

"firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert"

BREAKING: As I was first to report earlier, Trump has nominated Bradford Wilson, who does not meet the statutory requirements—which include that the nominee be nonpartisan and professionally qualified—to be the next Archivist of the United States.

lastcampaign.substack.com/p/breaking-t...

the state of public history, 2026:

with one eye on the Trump administration, NPS staff worries that describing the murder of an abolitionist "might denigrate the murderers"

operation meh fury

It's so telling that these people are rushing to condemn "the campus left" at this moment
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/o...

Researchers probe unmarked graves at Virginia site where slaves once toiled The Diocese of Arlington and Catholic University are trying to identify who is buried in the unmarked graves at a cemetery for the family of George Brent, one of Virginia’s earliest settlers.

Researchers probe unmarked graves at Virginia site where slaves once toiled

The Diocese of Arlington and Catholic University are trying to identify who is buried in the unmarked graves at a cemetery for the family of George Brent, one of Virginia’s earliest settlers.

James Talarico: Are you aware that this bill removes the writings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.?

Republican: Yes

Talarico: Yet this bill still includes the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville, and he's not even an American. Could that be because he's a white man?

Republican: N-not exactly…

his Gettysburg address, some people are saying

Right - this student knows about the Washington City Canal. Their question was, what section of the canal does this sketch depict?

It doesn't look like the section on the north side of the mall, nor the bit in that photo you shared, in front of the Capitol.

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here" - words that Donald Trump could not identify, nor that it would ever occur to him to speak

his Gettysburg address, some people are saying

Thanks! It definitely didn't look to me like the northern stretch of the Washington City Canal.

I told the Times that if Trump installs the statue of Rodney at Freedom Plaza then they should rename it the Freedom For Some Plaza but they didn't run that quotation.

Maybe? I wonder if there are other contemporary images of that canal.

It's labeled "1850" - after the retrocession of the western portion of the district to VA.

Eastman was an army officer. Down at the Arsenal, this might have been his view of the southern end of the Washington City Canal.

Today marks 15 years for me as MLB's official historian; the 16th year commences. For its Weekly Notes (and Our Game), I have in mind to write 20 stories or so about how America and MLB's traditions intersect.

DCNHT: Federal Triangle Guide This interactive flipbook is created with FlippingBook, a service for streaming PDFs online. No download, no waiting. Open and start reading right away!

it's used, btw, as an illustration in the DC Neighborhoods Heritage Trail guide for Federal Triangle

online.flippingbook.com/view/1220906...

Washington, D.C. Canal Men seated at left. Men poling a flat-bottomed boat in middleground across the canal; bridge in background. Drawing is from sketchbook of 1850-1853.

DC history folks:

A student asked about this image, an 1850 sketch by Seth Eastman, labeled "Canal - Washington D.C."

The question, which I couldn't answer: *where* is this?

It appears to be the canal connecting to a larger body of water. It doesn't look like the Potomac. Maybe the Anacostia?

worried that i was underdressed for brunch but the menu has tater tot poutine so i think im ok

Badge for the USS Abraham Lincoln It shows the aircraft carrier and several aircraft with a portrait of Lincoln. Along the bottom edge is the phrase "shall not perish"

did not realize there was a badge

Yahoo News clipping headline USS Abraham Lincoln 'targeted with ballistic missiles' after Iran's supreme leader killed

Thanks to Donald Trump, an enemy is again taking shots at Abe Lincoln

Got a cab near the Department of Education. Hadn’t seen the Charlie Kirk banner before.

screenshot from video. Donald Trump stands at a lectern. Closed captioning reads "That was a fancy way of saying the Civil War."

"Reconstruction, what was it" challenge

"The governor called me after the last election, you won every border town and border city.... First time it's ever happened since ... you used the word reconstruction. That was a fancy way of saying the Civil War."

Donald Trump, speaking in Texas on Friday