"In a place and a time that celebrated sincerity while practicing insincerity, [Benjamin] Franklin seemed far too accomplished at the latter. . . . Owing to his smooth manner and shifting tactics, Franklin invited suspicions far beyond his actual intent to trick. Even when he was frank and honest--especially when he was frank and honest--he aroused the distrust of rivals and colleagues certain that he must be up to something especially devious."
The New Republic, March 19, 2001

"In past generations, Virginia's and New England's historians competed to claim the birthplace of democracy; but now they contend over when and where racism emerged. The common denominator is a persistent pride in their chosen region as more important in defining 19th-century America--which used to be known as a land of liberty but is now seen primarily as a domain of inequality and injustice."
The New Republic, April 13, 1998

"The elusive border that so frustrated national and imperial officials in the early 19th century holds a lesson for historians of Maine. Fundamentally, that porous border reveals that Maine has long been much more than the northeastern margin of the United States. Instead of accepting a marginal status within a nation-centered story, we should recognize that, as a borderland, it is a region that draws people together, rather than one that keeps people apart."
Maine History, spring 2000

"The historical imagination works best, surely, when it takes us beyond the self, beyond personal and contemporary limits and into the lives of people who have been rendered alien by the passage of time."
The New Republic, Dec. 9, 1996

"Smashing open the cabin door, the vigilantes quickly butchered the Indian families, then plundered and set ablaze their homes. Later that day, colonists rummaging through the smoldering ashes and the scorched bones found a bag containing the Conestoga's most precious possessions: two wampum belts and six old documents, all produced at past treaty councils to certify the Indians' status as allies of Pennsylvania. The longest and oldest document was a cherished copy of the treaty made in 1701 with William Penn, the colony's Quaker founder. By the terms of that treaty, the Indians and the colonists pledged "that they shall forever hereafter be as one Head & One Heart, & live in true Friendship & Amity as one People.'"
The New Republic, Aug. 9, 1999

"As the first president over the empire of liberty, [George] Washington created and mastered an almost impossible role that has consumed most of his successors: somehow to appear always, perfectly, and simultaneously imperial and democratic."
The New Republic, Jan. 19, 1998