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Dr. Jim Downs

@jimdowns.bsky.social
2.2K followers 658 following 193 posts

Author of Author of Maladies of Empire & Sick from Freedom; Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation; Gilder Lehrman NEH Prof at Gettysburg College; www.jimdownsofficial.com

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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
UGA Press @ugapress.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
A dynamic dialogue with top historians, unpacking the impact and paradoxes of our nation’s birthday 🇺🇸 Available at 50% off the entire month of July with code 08SALE250. www.ugapress.org/9780820377124/u-s-…
White book cover showing a red speech bubble containing text that says: "U.S. History at 250th: From the Revolution to the History Wars in Converation with Catherine Clinton and Jim Downs. The blue speech bubble lists the book's contributors:"Sandra Enriquez, Annette Gordon-Reed, Sandy Grande, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Erika Lee, Robert Parkinson, Marc Stein, William Sturkey"
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I'm a fellow at Brown University’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA). I'm giving a paper tomorrow. “When Health Became Public: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Market for Prevention. 96 Waterman Street, Providence, Tomorrow at 10 a.m. csrea.brown.edu/about/people...
csrea.brown.edu
Visiting Scholars
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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
When I was a young activist, I was down on voting too -- the lesser of two evils is still evil, yada yada. Today, I'm more mindful of that other slogan: If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. And that's exactly what they're trying to do.
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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Now available at @projectmuse.bsky.social: the September issue of KSUP's journal "Civil War History," edited by @jimdowns.bsky.social. muse.jhu.edu/pub/14/issue...
Text: Civil War History
Vol. 72 No. 3
September 2026
with black-and-white image of disaster: William Ludwell Sheppard, Richmond Calamity—Interior of Hall of Delegates—Getting Out the Dead and Wounded, Harper’s Weekly, May 14, 1870.
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Happy Publication Day, @archiverat.bsky.social And a wonderfully thorough review in the LA Review of Books! So happy for you! Many bacon-filled breakfast conversations at conferences over the past decade have imagined & anticipated this day.Thrilled to see it here lareviewofbooks.org/article/movi...
lareviewofbooks.org
We Can Answer for Ourselves | Los Angeles Review of Books
Susan Eva O’Donovan argues that the political building blocks of freedom were inherent in the project of slavery itself.
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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
thepowerdroid.bsky.social @thepowerdroid.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
It's like that line from "Blazing Saddles": [Jim downs a bottle of whiskey in one long guzzle] Bart: A man drink like that and he don't eat, he is going to DIE. Jim: [eagerly] When?
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Megan Kate Nelson 📚 @mkn.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
BLUESKIS. This is what @katecarp.bsky.social and I have been working on! Check out the website and join our community of readers who want to know and talk about #history worth reading! www.draftingthepast.com
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Glad to see that Johanna’s remarkable life will be preserved for posterity in The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/u...
nytimes.com
Johanna Fernández, Historian of the Young Lords, Dies at 55
She wrote an award-winning book about the leftist collective, a Latino counterpart to the Black Panthers.
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
With so many despicable, deplorable people in politics, a glimmer of hope comes in a hilarious deployment of camp. Thank you, Dr. El-Sayed x.com/jimdowns1/st...
x.com
Dr. Jim Downs (@jimdowns1) on X
With so many despicable, deplorable people in politics, a glimmer of hope comes in a hilarious deployment of camp. Thank you, Dr. El-Sayed
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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
UGA Press @ugapress.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Jim Downs has an essay at Lithub on the current role of public historians! @jimdowns.bsky.social @aupresses.bsky.social lithub.com/on-the-public-historians…
lithub.com
On the Public Historians Reminding Us How Easy It Is to Repeat the Mistakes of the Past
A recent essay in The New Republic asks why historians have become such visible public voices during the Trump era. Katherine Kelaidis argues that figures such as Heather Cox Richardson, Jill Lepor…
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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
An important piece by @jimdowns.bsky.social on public history, responding to the recent wrong-headed New Republic piece about it Thank you, Jim, for discussing what good public history does--& what historians like you & me & Kevin Kruse & Heather Cox Richardson do, & why lithub.com/on-the-publi...
lithub.com
On the Public Historians Reminding Us How Easy It Is to Repeat the Mistakes of the Past
A recent essay in The New Republic asks why historians have become such visible public voices during the Trump era. Katherine Kelaidis argues that figures such as Heather Cox Richardson, Jill Lepor…
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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Association of University Presses @aupresses.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
"Anniversaries invite readers to reconsider histories they thought they already knew," writes @jimdowns.bsky.social as he reflects on the US at 250 bit.ly/4yGz4di Want more US history to ReadUP? Visit bit.ly/4xQZlFq @ugapress.bsky.social
bit.ly
On the Public Historians Reminding Us How Easy It Is to Repeat the Mistakes of the Past
A recent essay in The New Republic asks why historians have become such visible public voices during the Trump era. Katherine Kelaidis argues that figures such as Heather Cox Richardson, Jill Lepor…
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
My new essay in Literary Hub on the value—and the difficulty—of public history. lithub.com/on-the-publi...
lithub.com
On the Public Historians Reminding Us How Easy It Is to Repeat the Mistakes of the Past
A recent essay in The New Republic asks why historians have become such visible public voices during the Trump era. Katherine Kelaidis argues that figures such as Heather Cox Richardson, Jill Lepor…
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
The NYT piece on Greenidge skips the elephant in the room: her real argument wasn't about the Grimke sisters as founding feminist heroines — it was against that hagiography, told instead through their Black nephews. That's the intervention the article never engages. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/b...
nytimes.com
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Heather Cox Richardson to replace Platner! Historians in the Senate! Let’s go!
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Fireworks last 20 min.Historical myths last centuries. As America celebrates 250 years,let’s spend as much time questioning our stories as celebrating them.That’s why I published this book w/ @agordonreed.bsky.social @nhannahjones.bsky.social @redped.bsky.social et al. www.amazon.com/dp/082037712...
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
@brookenewman.bsky.social excellent talk today on C-SPAN on your compelling book!
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Thrilled to announce my book will be out in Oct! When politicians claim to speak for "the people" on health, history tells a different story: ordinary Americans — not demagogues — built this country's healthcare from the ground up. Pre-order link ⬇️ [link] Please share! www.amazon.com/gp/bestselle...
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Historians and teachers: For Juneteenth, I’ve organized what promises to be a fascinating panel featuring three extraordinary scholars—Vincent Brown, Evelynn Hammonds, and Kendra Taira Field. Please register soon, as space is limited. support.librarycompany.org/event/junete...
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Zinn Education Project @zinnedproject.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
Reconstruction booklist for K-12 (as on image) & for adults incl. by WEB Du Bois, @kidadaewilliams.com, @hngreen.bsky.social, @katemasur.bsky.social, Justene Edwards, @clintsmithiii.bsky.social, Lerone Bennett, Eric Foner, S. Hahn, Jim Downs, & many more. www.socialjusticebooks.org/booklists/re...
Book covers of books for K-12 on Reconstruction
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Brian DeLay @briandelay.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
My friend & colleague Francisco Barbosa died too young. Thanks to the tireless Erika Blum, Francisco's wonderful book is finally being published. INSURGENT YOUTH is an inspired history of the young people who powered the Nicaraguan Revolution. 40% discount code: BARB26. #@lasabluesky.bsky.social
upcolorado.com
Insurgent Youth
Insurgent Youth
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
During Pride Month, I keep thinking about a question that shaped my research: How did LGBTQ people find one another before social media? The answer was often through community institutions they built themselves. That’s the story I tell in Stand by Me. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0820...
amazon.com
Stand By Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation
Stand By Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation [Downs, Jim] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Stand By Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation
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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
UGA Press @ugapress.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Jim Downs shares our newest title, U.S. History at the 250th, in our History in the Headlines series with Julian Zelizer. Watch the full interview here: open.substack.com/pub/julianzelizer…
A screenshot of a video interview between Julian Zelizer and Jim Downs, co-editor of U.S. History at the 250th.
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Many thanks to @zelizer.bsky.social for having me on his podcast. We discussed the History in the Headlines series, the history wars, and our latest book on the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. open.substack.com/pub/julianze...
open.substack.com
What’s at Stake with the History Wars: A Live Conversation with Jim Downs, Gettysburg College and co-author of U.S. History at the 250th
A recording from Julian Zelizer's live video
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
HISTORIANS, Please share widely.I'm hosting an exciting Juneteenth event at the Library Company of Phila,June 16. "From Ledger to Genome: Data & the History of Black Life," exploring how Black lives have been recorded & recovered across time. Register here. support.librarycompany.org/event/junete...
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Reposted by Dr. Jim Downs
Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Now available at @projectmuse.bsky.social: the June issue of our journal "Civil War History," including contributions from @gwionwynjones.bsky.social, @jimdowns.bsky.social, @dblight.bsky.social, and more: muse.jhu.edu/issue/56800
Five people seated in a row on a stage for a discussion, with text: Civil War History
Vol. 72 No. 2
June 2026
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Ida Bae Wells @nhannahjones.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Because this country likes to forget what it’s capable of, I take it as a duty to remind us. We sit at the brink of the largest decimation of Black political power since the fall of Reconstruction — a Second Redemption. And the end of Black political power means the end of democracy itself.
nytimes.com
The Civil Rights Era Is Collapsing Before Our Eyes
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
As a tool: AI is now part of how social research gets done-- coding interviews, classifying images, simulating populations. The hard question isn't only whether or not to use it, but what we lose, not just gain, when our methods run through systems we can't fully see into. Is that social science?
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Three things said about AI and social science: it's a topic to study, a thing to critique, a tool to use. My new Daedalus essay argues these aren't three conversations; they're one. A 🧵 on "Field Theory: AI as Social Science Question, Object, and Tool." www.amacad.org/publication/...
amacad.org
Field Theory: AI as Social Science Question, Object & Tool
Uses of advanced artificial intelligence are changing how societies organize labor, govern, produce knowledge, and make meaning. In light of these developments, this essay argues that AI models, tools...
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
AI is being built into hiring, housing, medicine, courts, classrooms-the institutions social science has spent more than a century studying. Social science didn't invent AI, but the social worlds AI is trained on, sold into, and reshaping-those are ours. The future of AI is a social science problem.
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Disturbing. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com
Protecting Children’s Dental Care Access Amid Policy Changes
Choi and colleagues1 project the oral health and economic consequences of anticipated children’s Medicaid disenrollment following the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA). Medicaid insures 37 millio...
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
We are living through an attack on science and public health, and the consequences are deadly. www.propublica.org/article/vita...
propublica.org
What I Can’t Forget About the Babies Who Died After Not Receiving a Vitamin K Shot
Babies have died after not receiving the vitamin K shot at birth. Their autopsy records underscore how preventable their deaths could have been.
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Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Coming up tomorrow night in NYC!
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Tomorrow night (May 13) at Barnes & Noble 82nd St 7pm the launch of U.S. History at the 250th: From the Revolution to the History Wars I’m honored to be joined by: @nhannahjones.bsky.social, @zelizer.bsky.social, Catherine Clinton @jbf1755.bsky.social : stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Join us Wednesday at 7 PM at Barnes & Noble Upper West Side on 82nd Street in NYC for the launch of U.S. History at the 250th: From the Revolution to the History Wars, part of the History in the Headlines series. The evening will also feature contributors from our January 6 volume.
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Today is Pub Day! US History at the 250th.This grew out of a conversation about the past a & what it means now @nhannahjones.bsky.social, @agordonreed.bsky.social @sienriquez.bsky.social, @redped.bsky.social Erika Lee Robert Parkinson Marc Stein @william-sturkey.bsky.social y, & Catherine Clinton
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Liverpool Distribution Services at Liverpool University Press @lupdistribution.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
2026 marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, but when does the U.S. truly begin: 1776, 1619, or earlier? "U.S. History at the 250th" brings top historians together to debate the nation’s origins. Out today!: bit.ly/3OiqEXe @ugapress.bsky.social @jimdowns.bsky.social
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
#Measles update: In the first 4 months of 2026, there have been 1,814 confirmed measles cases (& doubtless many more that were never confirmed). For context: That's 79% of the total for the entirety of 2025 — but in 4 months, not 12. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...
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Rich Condon @richcondon.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Between May 1-3, 1866 a mob of white supremacists, led by local police, attacked the Black community surrounding Fort Pickering in Memphis, Tennessee. An estimated 46 Black residents were murdered while 4 churches, 12 schools, and 91 homes had been burned. 🧵 1/3
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
THIS IS AN AMAZING GAY HISTORY PROJECT. I am thrilled to be quoted in FORBES in support of it. “How One Man Is Preserving Queer History Marker By Marker.” www.forbes.com/sites/rdanie...
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Kent State University Press @ksupress.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Now available at @projectmuse.bsky.social: the March issue of our journal "Civil War History," edited by @jimdowns.bsky.social.
muse.jhu.edu
Project MUSE - Civil War History-Volume 72, Number 1, March 2026
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Historians Attending OAH — Join Us! We invite you to gather at the Library Company of Philadelphia to honor the extraordinary work of Deirdre Cooper Owens in conversation with the irrepressibly dazzling Kellie Carter-Jackson. support.librarycompany.org/event/the-pa...
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
The rage about DOGE canceling NEH grants b/c they mention “LGBTQ” is justified But academia should also look in the mirror How many departments actually teach LGBTQ history? How many efforts have there been to recruit LGBTQ faculty? Too often LGBTQ scholarship is treated as marginal or expendable
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Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Michael Louella: “Community engagement is not an accessory to science — it is one of its driving forces.” #CROI2026
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
4-5 years ago there were MDs like Lucy McBride crowing about the urgency of normal, getting kids back to school. There were PR hacks like David Zweig supporting them. Now kids are being sent to immigration detention, getting measles & these folks are nowhere to be found. It was never about the kids.
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
My article in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Always better in print! “Slavery was central to the presidency. The President’s House should say so” www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
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Philadelphia Inquirer @inquirer.com · 29/01/2026
OPINION: "George Washington's home in Philadelphia stood on hallowed ground where the ideals of liberty were articulated alongside the daily practice of human bondage." — Jim Downs
inquirer.com
Slavery was central to the presidency, and the President’s House |Opinion
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
I wrote an Opinion Essay for the Phila Inquirer. The piece mentions the conference I’m directing for the Library Company of Phila. I’ve gifted the article, so there’s no paywall. www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...
inquirer.com
Slavery was central to the presidency, and the President’s House. | Opinion
George Washington's home in Philadelphia stood on hallowed ground where the ideals of liberty were articulated alongside the daily practice of human bondage.
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Dr. Jim Downs @jimdowns.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Proud to be directing this conference. Even more excited about the speakers. Please share widely and register librarycompany.org/academic-pro...
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