History Impossible

War for the Frontiers of History and America (w/ Jack Henneman of The History of the Americans)

15 snips
Dec 1, 2025
Guest
Jack Henneman
In this engaging discussion, Jack Henneman, host of The History of the Americans and former lawyer, shares his insights on American history with a focus on King Philip’s War. He explores the significance of frontiers in shaping historical narratives and contrasts his granular approach to the grand narratives typically employed by historians. Jack emphasizes the dangers of presentism, critiques political uses of history, and highlights the impact of digitization on research. Their conversation also touches on the unique challenges of colonial life and the broader implications for contemporary historiography.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Avoid Presentism To Understand Context

  • Applying modern morals to historical figures distorts understanding of their context.
  • Jack Henneman argues historians should avoid presentism to preserve accurate analysis.
ADVICE

State Your Standards When Judging The Past

  • Be transparent when you criticize past actors by stating your own standards up front.
  • Admit your viewpoint rather than hiding behind a false pretence of objectivity.
INSIGHT

Weaponized History Erodes Humility

  • Weaponizing history for political aims creates confirmation bias and corrodes truth-seeking.
  • Jack warns political uses of history undermine historians' credibility and epistemic humility.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app