Hello! I write about American folk culture, social history, and the evolution of American political thought. Understanding how legal institutions, political movements, and social change have influenced one another requires looking beyond statutes and court opinions to the broader historical forces that shaped them. History is most interesting when it explains the past rather than enlisting it in contemporary political disputes—a distinction that is, at times, easier to state than to observe. I have come to think that understanding the social history of the United States requires first understanding the statutes, judicial decisions, and legal institutions that created it. The temptation to read the past chiefly as a commentary on present political concerns is understandable, but rarely illuminating. The historical record seldom exhibits the foresight to anticipate today's political controversies. I strive to present topics accurately, neutrally, and in their historical context, relying on high-quality sources.
