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RCH: Annexation of the Hawaiian islands

Brandon Christensen History, Links , , , , ,

That’s the topic of my latest over at RealClearHistory. An excerpt:

That is to say, there are theoretical lessons we can draw from the American annexation of Hawaii and apply them to today’s world. The old Anglo-Dutch playbook turned out to serve American imperial interests well, especially when contrasted with the disastrous Spanish-American War of 1898, when the United States seized the Philippines, Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico from Spain in an unwarranted act of aggression. Hawaii, now an American state, has one of the highest standards of living in the world (including for its indigenous and Japanese citizens), while the territories seized by the U.S. from Spain continue to wallow in relative poverty and autocratic governance.

Please, read the rest.

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The Chinese governance system: impressive strengths and appalling flaws Pradnab Bardhan, 3 Quarks Daily
  2. Time to make good on the US-Philippine alliance Poling & Sayers, War on the Rocks
  3. Secession and international alliances go together Edwin van de Haar, NOL
  4. Maps and legends John Holbo, Crooked Timber

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. In search of non-toxic manhood Ross Douthat, New York Times
  2. How a cartoon depiction of Mohammad provoked Muslim outrage – in 1925 Brian Micklethwait, Samizdata
  3. Carbon taxes and the Marginalists’ difficult idea Stephen Gordon, Worthwhile Canadian Initiative
  4. On scientific mystery and religious mystery Nick Nielsen, Grand Strategy Annex

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The many lives of liberalism David Bell, New York Review of Books
  2. Is the political leader teachable? Avi Mintz, Law & Liberty
  3. Why ex-churchgoers flocked to Trump Timothy Carney, American Conservative
  4. A history fit for the Taliban Hugh Beattie, History Today

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The extraterrestrial next door Adam Hadhazy, Space.com
  2. Reporting reports: colonial medical institutions Jonathan Saha, Colonizing Animals
  3. The best way to defeat totalitarianism? Treat it as a joke Anna Aslanyan, Spectator
  4. Bureaucrats in the Defense Department: An ethnography Jonathan Wong, War on the Rocks

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The nonconformist in society Gerald Russello, Modern Age
  2. Francis Fukuyama’s master concept Patrick Lee Miller, Quillette
  3. Are we all big-government conservatives now? William Voegeli, Claremont Review of Books
  4. America is deporting Cambodian refugees convicted of crimes Charles Dunst, the Atlantic

Nightcap

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  1. The costs of hospital protectionism Chris Pope, National Affairs
  2. Parasitic SETI and parasitic space science Nick Nielsen, Grand Strategy Annex
  3. Between two empires (Armenia) Peter Brown, New York Review of Books
  4. The transition from socialism to capitalism Branko Milanovic, globalinequality

RCH: Cassius Clay as the “greatest American” of the 20th century

Brandon Christensen History, Links , , , , , ,

My latest at RealClearHistory:

It was also the heyday of the Cold War, a nearly 50-year struggle for power between the liberal-capitalist United States and the socialist Soviet Union. The struggle was real (as the kids say today). The United States and its allies were losing, too, at least in the realm of ideas. The Soviet Union was funding groups that would today be considered progressive — anti-racist and anti-capitalist — around the world. One of the sticks that Moscow used to beat the West with was racism in the United States, especially in the officially segregated South.

It is doubtful that most of the African-American groups who took part in the struggle for liberty were funded, or even indirectly influenced by Soviet propaganda. The clear, powerful contrast between black and white in the United States was enough for most African-Americans to take part in the Civil Rights revolution. Yet Soviet propaganda still pestered Washington, and Moscow wasn’t wrong.

Please, read the rest.

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Bringing natural law to international relations Samuel Gregg, Law & Liberty
  2. How to face down the Secret Service Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth
  3. Affirmative Action at Harvard and statistics Gelman, Goel, & Ho, Boston Review
  4. The right’s triumph; the Left’s complicity Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The left-wing case against open borders Angela Nagle, American Affairs
  2. A classic account of travel in Laos Peter Gordon, Asian Review of Books
  3. The remarkable rise of John Lilburne Jackie Eales, History Today
  4. The dilemma of India’s undersea nuclear weapons Yogesh Joshi, War on the Rocks

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. The art of bullshit detection, as a way of life Joshua Hochschild, First Things
  2. On the mind-body and consciousness-body problems Nick Nielsen, Grand Strategy Annex
  3. Lost innocence: the children whose parents joined an ashram Lily Dunn, Aeon
  4. Polish mayor, a centrist, was just stabbed at a charity event Jan Cienski, Politico

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Gilets Jaunes and the age of commuter democracy Andrew Smith, Age of Revolutions
  2. Victor Klemperer’s dispatches from interwar Germany Peter Gordon, the Nation
  3. Harold Demsetz (1930-2019) and UCLA price theory Peter Boettke, Coordination Problem
  4. The rise and fall of the British nation Richard Davenport-Hines, Times Literary Supplement

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Thoughtcrime and punishment at a Canadian university Lindsay Shepherd, Quillette
  2. The prophet of envy Robert Pogue Harrison, New York Review of Books
  3. Ominous parallels? Stephen Cox, Liberty Unbound
  4. Georges Washington & Marshall: Two studies in virtue David Hein, Modern Age

RCH: Five facts about Emancipation Proclamation

Brandon Christensen History, Links , , , , ,

That’s the subject of my weekend column over at RealClearHistory. An excerpt:

4. The Confederacy was, for all intents and purposes, an independent country. When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, the Confederacy had long since declared independence from the United States and set up a federal government of its own. Montgomery, Ala. acted as its capital city until 1861, when the Confederacy’s government moved to Richmond, Va. Lincoln viewed Richmond’s diplomacy with the British and French as the most dangerous element of the Confederacy’s secession. If Richmond could somehow manage to get a world power on its side, the consequences for the future of the republic would be dire. For London and Paris, the calculations were a bit different. If either one joined the side of the Confederacy, the other would officially join the north and a global war could ensue. The Confederacy lobbied especially hard for the British to fight on their side, but there was one issue London’s hawks, the factions that wanted a war with Washington, couldn’t get past.

Please, read the rest.

My son is being born right about now (I scheduled this post). I hope everything goes well (it’s a c-section). Wish me luck!

Nightcap

Brandon Christensen Links , , ,
  1. Mexico’s democracy is already in bad shape Noel Maurer, The Power and the Money
  2. Gorsuch and Sotomayor join forces in defense of Sixth Amendment rights Joe Setyon, Hit & Run
  3. How the Latin East contributed to a unique cultural world Jonathan Rubin, Aeon
  4. “…he amused himself by creating passports, certificates, permits, government memos, and identification papers.” Paul Grimstad, New Yorker