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Steve Hochstadt

Steve Hochstadt is a writer and an emeritus professor of history at Illinois College.

  • Sep 11, 2019

    The Divine Right Presidency

    by Steve Hochstadt

    King George III said during the American Revolution that “A traitor is everyone who does not agree with me.” Trump has often characterized his critics as traitors.

  • Sep 3, 2019

    Seeing Our Environment

    by Steve Hochstadt

    The so-called age gap in climate consciousness is a less hopeful sign for the future than one might think. 

  • Jul 30, 2019

    How African American Land Was Stolen in the 20th Century

    by Steve Hochstadt

    At the heart of the story is racism in many forms: how the promise of emancipation after the Civil War was broken; how whites used bureaucracy and twisted legalisms to take black land from owners too poor to defend themselves; how the teaching of American history was whitewashed to bury this story.

  • Jul 25, 2019

    Another Kind of Patriotism

    by Steve Hochstadt

    The messages of the Pow Wow were clear: “We are patriots. We love our land and our unique culture. We love America and have defended it in every war. We welcome and respect all Americans.”

  • Jul 18, 2019

    What is a Concentration Camp?

    by Steve Hochstadt

    "A new argument has broken out over the Holocaust, or more precisely, over references to the Holocaust in contemporary life. The sequence of events is revealing about politics, but not especially reliable about history."

  • Jul 9, 2019

    What Does It Mean to Be Patriotic?

    by Steve Hochstadt

    A survey one year ago showed that 72% of Republicans rated themselves “very patriotic”, while only 29% of Democrats chose this label for themselves. Since Trump’s election, the self-proclaimed patriotism of Democrats has dropped significantly.

  • May 28, 2019

    Good Intentions, But Still A Long Way To Go

    by Steve Hochstadt

    Only once those who have enjoyed the privilege of belonging to dominant groups ask themselves whether other people also deserve the same rights will our society get beyond good intentions to equal results.

  • May 14, 2019

    Citizenship and the Census

    by Steve Hochstadt

    Democrats need to tell Americans how we think about citizenship, not just the paperwork and the legalities, but the ethics and good behavior.

  • May 7, 2019

    Team of Rivals in the Democratic Primary

    by Steve Hochstadt

    Democratic voters are clear about what they want from a candidate: not a particular race or gender, but attention to race and gender; not someone who criticizes other Democrats, but someone who can work with Republicans, while also standing up to their pernicious policies.

  • May 1, 2019

    Reduce, reuse, recycle – and a lot more

    by Steve Hochstadt

    We have had plenty of warning for years that we are changing our planet in ways that are bad for it and for us. There is still time to make the necessary changes. But not much.

  • Apr 23, 2019

    To His Followers, Trump is a Folk Hero

    by Steve Hochstadt

    Villainy unalloyed by any goodness has also propelled many people, almost all men, into the ranks of folk heroes, like Jesse James, Butch Cassidy, and Bonnie and Clyde. These criminals captured the popular imagination, not despite being bad, but because of it.

  • Mar 26, 2019

    The Weakness of Democracy

    by Steve Hochstadt

    When we extend our gaze beyond the US, we can more easily perceive that democracy often works badly.

  • Mar 20, 2019

    What is Antisemitism?

    by Steve Hochstadt

    Many, perhaps most accusations of antisemitism are made in good faith for the purpose of calling attention to real religious prejudice. But such accusations are often made for less honest political purposes.