The Brion McClanahan Author & Historian Blog

The recent leak of the potential reversal of Roe v. Wade has the left going nuts and predicting the apocalypse. It’s pure stupidity. On the other hand, as Michael Boldin at the Tenth Amendment Center likes to point out, it’s usually “constitutional conservatives” that have the hardest time coming to grips with real federalism. They want nationalism as much as the next Yankee. But I …more

I’m constantly amazed at how many Americans are perplexed by the South. It is the curious specimen that must be viewed under microscope. The curiosity that just doesn’t mesh with American norms. John C. Calhoun, according to a recent biography, is an “American heretic,” as if the entire South was heretical. Hillary Clinton certainly let the cat out of the bag when she called Trump …more

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is currently on trail for being an “insurrectionist.” A federal judge allowed Greene to stand trial in State court in an effort to have her removed from the November ballot for violating the 14th Amendment. There are several legal problems with this line of thinking, as legal scholar Jonathan Turley recently pointed out in a piece on his website. Greene is …more

If Kevin Levin wasn’t bad enough yesterday, Lindsay Chervinsky upped the ante. Chervinsky is a well regarded popular historian. She wrote a little book on Washington’s cabinet that generated some buzz and has a fairly prominent public speaking routine. She is good on media and has a nice personality. But she’s not a great historian. Case in point, a recent post at her substack account …more

I almost feel sorry for these people. Almost. I’m speaking of the righteous cause mythologists, people like Kevin Levin who think they are “bringing their A game” when attacking “Neo-Confederate Lost Causers.” What would constitute Levin’s “A game”? Pointing out that there were pockets of Union sentiment in the South during the War. No way! You got us, Levin. No one knows this! Of course, …more

In 1999, no one would have believed that in less than 25 years, secession would be a topic of discussion in the United States, so much so that major pollsters are starting to ask questions about it. A lot has happened since the late 90s, particularly the growth in the size and scope of the general government. But many Americans are finally getting it. They …more

About a week ago, Michael Boldin at The Tenth Amendment Center asked me to explain why George Washington was a nationalist. Good question. After all, Washington hailed from Virginia, and to many men from the Old Dominion, Virginia was a fine enough country without another central government telling it what to do. But Washington wasn’t alone. John Marshall was a nationalist, so was Robert E. …more

Were “black Confederates” a myth? If you listen to Kevin Levin, then yes. In fact, he wrote an entire polemic, published by the University of North Carolina Press, on the topic. Problem is, he didn’t really write on the topic. Most of the book is a screed against “neo-Confederates” and in particular the UDC, SCV, and UCV and anyone who dares utter a sentence that …more

Sometimes you win, and sometimes you have to take a victory lap for even small things. Like Bill Maher admitting that local government is more important than the “national” stupidity in D.C. Maher is a staple for the left, though he has fallen out of favor with the more idiotic progressives because he has hammered woke cancel culture and the loss of free speech. He …more