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Michael Hattem

@michaelhattem.bsky.social
3K followers 622 following 392 posts

Historian and Author of "The Memory of '76" (YUP, 2024), “The Declaration of Independence: A Concise History” (OUP, 2026), and “Past & Prologue” (YUP, 2020) | Music: National Steel | @Arsenal

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Reposted by Michael Hattem
Emily Sneff @emilysneff.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Hey @shearites.bsky.social, stick around until Sunday morning, you won't want to miss this roundtable conversation featuring authors of recent books related to the Declaration of Independence! @michaelhattem.bsky.social @rparkinson.bsky.social @frankcogliano.bsky.social @stevesarson.bsky.social
Light wood bookshelf with images of book covers arranged in two rows. Text reads
Writing About the Declaration of Independence 250 Years Later
SHEAR 2026
Sunday, July 19
11:00 AM
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
My first-ever beach sighting of P&P!! 😀
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Carly Goodman @carlygoodman.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
The great @michaelhattem.bsky.social in today’s @inquirer.com www.inquirer.com/politics/nat...
inquirer.com
The biggest U.S. commemorations happen when we need them the most
The 250th has many echoes of the 1976 Bicentennial—but these complicated commemorations provide real opportunities for reflection and connection.
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Shira Lurie @shiralurie.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
The first Road to 250 piece is up! Featuring @michaelhattem.bsky.social www.inquirer.com/politics/nat...
inquirer.com
The biggest U.S. commemorations happen when we need them the most
The 250th has many echoes of the 1976 Bicentennial—but these complicated commemorations provide real opportunities for reflection and connection.
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Rachel Hope Cleves @rachelcleves.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
An open letter, to readers, about Charity and Sylvia. I am very pained to feel the need to write this. #queerhistory #pride
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Happy to share this piece in the @inquirer.com today!
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Quoted in a New York Times article that draws on my book & have a piece in the Philly Inquirer out soon. This fall I’ll doing the Missouri Historical Society’s Jefferson Lecture, Brattleboro Literary Festival, talks in VA, CA, SC, & MN, & have a new book out in Nov. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/m...
nytimes.com
Is There a Founding Story That Can Unify Left and Right?
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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 19/06/2026
The number of people at the Knicks parade today were roughly equal to the combined population of Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, Montana & Alaska. So if you heard about any issues in NYC today, but not about any crimes in those states, you know the agenda of that media.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
A lot of complaints about Arsenal “time wasting” but their keeper didn’t cause a three-minute stoppage just to fix his ponytail.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
@nbcsportsoccer.bsky.social has totally blown their coverage of the final day.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
I’m old and lucky enough to have seen #Arsenal win the league three times and in many ways this is the most satisfying because it’s the first one for my two boys who are now 20 and 19 and have been supporters from birth.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Looking forward to talking about how and why remember the American Revolution tonight at the Massachusetts Historical Society! www.masshist.org/events/revol...
masshist.org
Massachusetts Historical Society: Revolutionary Narratives: From Broadsides to Hollywood
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Looking forward to this event at the MHS in a week and a half!
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
In “The Memory of ‘76,” I wrote about how, in 1976, Jesse Lemisch had his students collect cheap ephemeral items branded for the Bicentennial and make an exhibit out of them. Prof. Jason Smith at SCSU has done the same thing for the 250 and I’m excited to speak at their exhibit’s opening next week.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
I’ve been fortunate to get to travel this year for talks. One of the highlights was returning to City College last week for the first time in 15 years. And I’m looking forward to the Annual Fiori Lecture event at the Massachusetts Historical Society next month. www.masshist.org/events/revol...
Schedule of events for 2026.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Looking forward to doing a talk this afternoon at MIT.
Schedule for MIT programming related to America 250.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
My new book on the Declaration of Independence, out in November, is now available for pre-order, which is especially exciting because I still have talks for my previous book over the next few months in MA, TX, NC, TN, NY, CT, NJ, PA, MO, and CA.
amazon.com
The Declaration of Independence: A Concise History
The Declaration of Independence: A Concise History [Hattem, Michael D.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Declaration of Independence: A Concise History
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
I don’t think I’ve ever seen my life so summed up in one image.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Soon you will walk into the office of Dr. who used AI to get through med school. Or you’ll be in their emergency or surgery rooms. And when you go to sue them for malpractice, your lawyer will have used AI to get through law school, etc…. We’re heading toward a future with no actual human expertise.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
My forthcoming book, out in November on Oxford University Press, has a cover!
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Kevin M. Levin @civilwarmemory.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
History by Algorithm or What AI Doesn’t Understand About Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts #CivilWarMemory open.substack.com/pub/kevinmle...
open.substack.com
History by Algorithm or What AI Doesn’t Understand About Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts
Why historians still matter in the age of AI.
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Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Legal scholars: does anyone know of good research on what the Founders thought about the pardon power? I'm trying to figure out it was intended to be as unlimited as the plain text suggests it is
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Cool to see JSTOR Daily do a story taken from my first journal article on pre-revolutionary New York City that was published in 2017. daily.jstor.org/when-profit-...
daily.jstor.org
When Profit Met Protest in Colonial New York - JSTOR Daily
Economic self-interest shaped how New Yorkers responded to British taxes and imperial crackdowns.
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Elise A. Mitchell @bydreamphd.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
It’s officially pub day for this incredible work! Thank you to Oscar de la Torre for making this possible!! And thank you to CUNY DSI for research consults and permission to use your images in my work!! www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978088...
hup.harvard.edu
Black Atlantic Worlds — Harvard University Press
Landscapes are key to the Black Atlantic. The history of how Africans and their descendants populated and transformed nations, regions, and ecosystems has always been attentive to the multiple meaning...
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Looking forward to doing a talk tomorrow at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul. Minnesota Monthly included the talk in its “Best Bets” of the week for things to do along with an Eagles tribute band. The event is hybrid so you can register to watch it remotely. www.mnhs.org/events/38217...
mnhs.org
The Memory of '76: The Revolution in American History
The surprising history of how Americans have fought over the meaning and legacy of the Revolution for nearly two and a half centuries.
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Dr. Jessica Lepler @jlepler.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Today's release of the Canal Dreamers audio book made me realize that I should pin a thread with links related to the book. Starting with the @uncpress.bsky.social website: uncpress.org/978146969055...
uncpress.org
Canal Dreamers
In the 1820s, there was a little-known quest to unite the world by building a waterway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As Spanish American nations d...
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Had a great time speaking at the North Carolina History Center last night and looking forward to doing another talk there in a few weeks.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
I may have to print this out and frame it!
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
US District Judge Fred Biery cites several grievances from the #DeclarationofIndependence in an order releasing Adrian Conejo Arias and his five year old son, Liam, who were seized by ICE in Minneapolis, and tells the Trump administration that "'We the people' are hearing echos of that history."
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Looking forward to doing a short remote talk and then some conversation hosted by the American Antiquarian Society tonight at 7pm. Registration link below. www.americanantiquarian.org/programs-eve...
americanantiquarian.org
The Memory of '76: The Revolution in American History | American Antiquarian Society
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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
We are watching one of the wildest things a nation-state has ever done: A superpower is committing suicide because the GOP Congress is too cowardly to stand up to the Mad King. This is one of the wildest moments in all of geopolitics ever.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 14/01/2026
this is all to say that should democrats win the house and senate this november, they should hold similarly dramatic — which is to say televised and highly publicized — hearings on the conduct of ICE and CBP, with testimony from victims. we want as much of *this* as possible in the record. (3/?)
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Nathan Ellstrand @nellstra.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Hi all, I rarely do this, but I'm posting that I'm back on the academic job market. As a Californian, my partner and I are trying to stay on the West Coast. Any leads for jobs in History, American Studies, Cultural Studies, etc. in the Western U.S. are greatly appreciated! Sincerely, Nathan
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Paola Bertucci @paolabertucci.bsky.social · 19/12/2023
Ivano Dal Prete was awarded the 2023 ACHA Marraro prize for distinguished book in Italian history or history of Italo-American relations. If you're interested in the history of (mythmaking about) deep time, this is the book! global.oup.com/academic/pro...
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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Kind of wild there has been almost no coverage of the fact that the federal government unleashed chemical weapons against literal kids *at school*. workdaymagazine.org/minneapolis-...
Only a few hours after ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Minneapolis resident and mother Renee Good on January 7, federal immigration enforcement agents descended onto Roosevelt High School property during school dismissal as students were exiting the building. MFE members say that ICE agents tackled and detained a school staff member and union member who was working at the time. The MFE member was since released, according to a union spokesperson. The agents also deployed a chemical irritant against students and staff on school grounds, MFE says. A school official, speaking to MPR News on condition of anonymity, said many students sheltered in a nearby library.
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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
If only we had some sort of historical precedent that could help us understand what might happen when a constellation of highly militarized far right governments, organized around an angry and resentful, blood and soil version of nationalism, emerges and tries to remake the world in their image.
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Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Friends, I hope you’ll share this widely. The @jcblibrary.bsky.social is hiring 2 3-yr research associates for collaborative work on religions and freedoms in the early Americas. Info is here and I’m happy to take questions offline: brown.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/staff-...
brown.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Research Associate
Job Description: The John Carter Brown Library, located on the campus of Brown University, has one of the world’s most significant collections relating to the history of the early Americas, particular...
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Looking forward to this talk at the Pequot Library later this month!!
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Donnarumma is embarrassing.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Looking forward to this talk in a few weeks!
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
I know there will be bigger priorities but the next Dem president, if there is one, needs to remove Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center. They also need to undo all the renovations to the White House and restore it exactly to how it was.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
A paragraph from the preface of Michael Kammen’s “People of Paradox.”
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
As a grad student my research & handwriting analysis solved a 240-year old mystery about the authorship of a 1775 Cont. Congress document. And during my diss, I identified the author of an anon. mss in the NYHS’s Jay Papers that turned out to be one of the first histories of the AmRev by D. Ramsay.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
They’re trying to poison the entire intellectual structure and with it the very notions of expertise and authority. Some for the purpose of discrediting it entirely and others for the purpose of making it easily manipulated on both the micro and macro levels. www.rollingstone.com/culture/cult...
rollingstone.com
AI Is Inventing Academic Papers That Don't Exist -- And They're Being Cited in Real Journals
Academic articles from authors using large language model are creating an ecosystem of fake research that threatens human knowledge itself.
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Michael Hattem @michaelhattem.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Watching this segment I kept waiting for Washington to break out into an ad for a supplement promoting increased testosterone.
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Drew Daniel @drewdaniel.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
having heard talks from this project at field conferences for the past few years, this is a major new book from an inspired, indeed field defining scholar- many of us in early modern studies and beyond have been eagerly anticipating this book- and now- it’s here at last!
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MissPlaced @missplaced.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
#book new!! American Revolution Scholarship
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A. Marmot 🌱 @aminus.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
facing down all this AI shit, I want to tell everyone you really can do any creative thing you set your heart on. It just takes time and you aren't going to be good at it right away! You do not have to be "gifted"
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