History Department News and Research

America's first third party, the Anti-Masonic Party, was founded on the conspiracy theory that an elite group of Freemasons were secretly controlling the U.S. government. Freemasonry continued to grow in the United States during the first two decades of the 19th century, in part because it was a good way for people who wanted to enter politics to network, says Mark Schmeller, associate professor of history.

Osamah Khalil, associate professor of history, tells USA Today the meeting between the leaders could have an impact on the United States' efforts to garner more support for Ukraine.

Dominic Chiappone is making the most of his undergraduate experience. A member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, he is a double major in history at the Maxwell School and College of Arts and Sciences and broadcast and digital journalism at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. 

The scholarship, funded by the Obama Foundation, provides $25,000 a year for two years toward education expenses, $10,000 for research/service travel between junior and senior year (Summer Voyage), $20,000 in travel funding for the next 10 years, and leadership training.

British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned on Thursday after a tumultuous 45 days in office. Alan Allport, professor of history, calls the resignation "extraordinary" and explains what it means for British politics in an interview with NewsNation.

Alan Allport, Dr. Walter Montgomery and Marian Gruber Professor of History, was interviewed for the HISTORY article, "Queen Elizabeth’s First Televised Broadcast Presented a New Type of Monarch."

Between 1800 and 1860, individuals deemed female by society donned male attire, represented themselves as men, and tried unlawfully to vote, thus challenging the gender binary at the foundation of U.S. democracy. The history of their confrontation with an electoral system reserved for men suggests a more porous and inclusive history of gender and citizenship before the Civil War.

Alan Allport, professor of history, provided commentary during NewsNation's livestream of Queen Elizabeth's funeral on Monday, September 19.

"Choreography and Confession: The Memoriale qualiter and Carolingian Monasticism," authored by Professor of History Albrecht Diem, was included in the book, "Monastic Communities and Canonical Clergy in the Carolingian World (780–840): Categorizing the Church" (Brepols, 2022).

Chris Kyle, associate professor of history, was interviewed for the WNYT segment, "Professor puts queen’s long reign into historical context."

The Maxwell School welcomes several new faculty members and announces the appointment of three department chairs.

Professor Emeritus James Roger Sharp was quoted in the Washington Post article, "Maryland races could take days to call. The election of 1800 was worse."

The discussion covered the history of governing abortions in the U.S.; how the Dobbs v. Jackson decision might affect access to abortion and other reproductive services; impacts the decision could have on economic and health outcomes and voting behaviors in upcoming elections; and what precedent this decision might set for other Supreme Court decisions going forward.