"Twas founded be th' Puritans to give thanks f'r bein presarved fr'm th' Indyans, an' . . . we keep it to give thanks we are presarved fr'm th' Puritans." —Finley Peter Dunne, "'Thanksgiving,' Mr. Dooley's Opinions" (1901) Holidays are like peaks in a nation's topography. Without them, the landscape...
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American History
Slinging Mud and Talking Trash: The Gutter Age of American Journalism
The Golden Age of America's founding was also the gutter age of American journalism. It seems a remarkable paradox. And the Founding Fathers were both the perpetrators and the victims of this brand of journalism. The Declaration of Independence was literature, but the New England Courant talked trash. The Constitution...
Searching for the Forgotten Movie Mogul: William Fox, Founder of Twentieth Century Fox
When I began work several years ago on my in-progress biography of William Fox (1879–1952), founder of Twentieth Century Fox, I knew I was in for trouble. Although Fox was arguably the most important of all the early movie moguls because of his foundational contributions to the art, technology and...
Commodore Vanderbilt: Patriot or War Profiteer?
When I set out to write a biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, a man known by the informal title of "Commodore," I faced one mystery after another. Even though he was one of the richest and most powerful businessmen in American history, he conducted most of his operations in secret. He...
Puritan Amnesia and Secular Attitude: Newspapers and National Identity in Revolutionary America
For many, the American Revolution represents the beginning of our history as a society. In the public memory of the past, the preceding colonial years are relegated to Puritan pre-history, as if only after 1776 we began to walk upright. This assertion of public sentiment can be traced through diverse...
