The Reputation of Presidents Takes a Hit in Their Second Term

[David Lockmiller]

In the opinions section of today's online New York Times, it reads: "Americans are fighting over history. Those who study it are in increasingly short supply, Daniel Bessner writes."

A hyperlink within this quotation takes one to the NYTimes opinion piece dated January 14, 2023 and was written by historian Daniel Bessner. His opinion begins as follows:

"When I received my Ph.D. in history in 2013, I didn’t expect that within a decade fights over history — and historiography, even if few people use that word — would become front-page news. But over the last few years that is precisely what has happened: Just look at the recent debates over America’s legacy of slavery, what can be taught in public schools about the nation’s founders and even the definition of what constitutes fascism. The interpretation of the American past has not in recent memory been as public or as contentious as it is now.

Maybe it started with The New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project . . . ."


In my opinion, it was a very good idea that a number of distinguished American History authorities correctly challenged, at the time of publication, the veracity of President Abraham Lincoln allegations in the The New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project publication.