Dr. Jim Downs

As the history wars heat up, we’re releasing a new book that brings together some of the nation’s leading voices—Nikole Hannah-Jones, Annette Gordon-Reed, and many others—for an urgent, energizing conversation about the origins of the United States. Preorder is now available.

NYC friends: Please Join me for my book launch on Wednesday, November 4, at Barnes & Noble on 82nd Street, in conversation with the legendary New York Times science reporter Linda Villarosa. stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...

Guggenheim Fellow Jim Downs will discuss his new Norton Short, Medicine by the People. His recount of American medicine's grassroots history reveals the real architects of medical knowledge and those who've been at the cutting edge of medicine: regular people. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Yesterday was publication day for my new book, Medicine by the People: How Ordinary People Changed American Healthcare! If you are in the area, please join me at Brown University on Oct 28, at 4 for a conversation about the book, hosted by the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.

San Jose school bd official rebuked for false claims about the history of the nation’s founding #ushistory #founders #SCOTUS #fakehistory #tencommandments

Wanna know how the Trump-broken economy is damaging my little town?—we lost our one and only wonderful bakery due to tariffs and labor supply and overall affordability troubles. share.inquirer.com/dLbmFQ

As editor of Civil War History, I’m thrilled that Katie has won the award for Best Article! A wonderful recognition of her scholarship. Check out her interview to learn more about her research !https://kentstatebooks.wordpress.com/2026/10/06/kathryn-lofton-awarded-the-2026-john-t-hubbell-prize/.

Congrats to Kathryn Lofton, who has received the John T. Hubbell Prize for her article “Great Excitement Prevails: The American Lynching Myth." KSUP annually presents the award for the best article published in the journal "Civil War History," edited by @jimdowns.bsky.social.

A dynamic dialogue with top historians, unpacking the impact and paradoxes of our nation’s birthday 🇺🇸 Available at 50% off the entire month of July with code 08SALE250. https://www.ugapress.org/9780820377124/u-s-history-at-the-250th/

I'm a fellow at Brown University’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA). I'm giving a paper tomorrow. “When Health Became Public: The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Market for Prevention. 96 Waterman Street, Providence, Tomorrow at 10 a.m. csrea.brown.edu/about/people...

When I was a young activist, I was down on voting too -- the lesser of two evils is still evil, yada yada. Today, I'm more mindful of that other slogan: If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. And that's exactly what they're trying to do.

Now available at @projectmuse.bsky.social: the September issue of KSUP's journal "Civil War History," edited by @jimdowns.bsky.social. muse.jhu.edu/pub/14/issue...

Happy Publication Day, @archiverat.bsky.social And a wonderfully thorough review in the LA Review of Books! So happy for you! Many bacon-filled breakfast conversations at conferences over the past decade have imagined & anticipated this day.Thrilled to see it here lareviewofbooks.org/article/movi...

It's like that line from "Blazing Saddles": [Jim downs a bottle of whiskey in one long guzzle] Bart: A man drink like that and he don't eat, he is going to DIE. Jim: [eagerly] When?

BLUESKIS. This is what @katecarp.bsky.social and I have been working on! Check out the website and join our community of readers who want to know and talk about #history worth reading! www.draftingthepast.com

Glad to see that Johanna’s remarkable life will be preserved for posterity in The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/12/u...

With so many despicable, deplorable people in politics, a glimmer of hope comes in a hilarious deployment of camp. Thank you, Dr. El-Sayed x.com/jimdowns1/st...

Jim Downs has an essay at Lithub on the current role of public historians! @jimdowns.bsky.social @aupresses.bsky.social https://lithub.com/on-the-public-historians-reminding-us-how-easy-it-is-to-repeat-the-mistakes-of-the-past/

An important piece by @jimdowns.bsky.social on public history, responding to the recent wrong-headed New Republic piece about it Thank you, Jim, for discussing what good public history does--& what historians like you & me & Kevin Kruse & Heather Cox Richardson do, & why lithub.com/on-the-publi...

"Anniversaries invite readers to reconsider histories they thought they already knew," writes @jimdowns.bsky.social as he reflects on the US at 250 https://bit.ly/4yGz4di Want more US history to ReadUP? Visit https://bit.ly/4xQZlFq @ugapress.bsky.social

My new essay in Literary Hub on the value—and the difficulty—of public history. lithub.com/on-the-publi...

Fireworks last 20 min.Historical myths last centuries. As America celebrates 250 years,let’s spend as much time questioning our stories as celebrating them.That’s why I published this book w/ @agordonreed.bsky.social @nhannahjones.bsky.social @redped.bsky.social et al. www.amazon.com/dp/082037712...

@brookenewman.bsky.social excellent talk today on C-SPAN on your compelling book!

Thrilled to announce my book will be out in Oct! When politicians claim to speak for "the people" on health, history tells a different story: ordinary Americans — not demagogues — built this country's healthcare from the ground up. Pre-order link ⬇️ [link] Please share! www.amazon.com/gp/bestselle...

Historians and teachers: For Juneteenth, I’ve organized what promises to be a fascinating panel featuring three extraordinary scholars—Vincent Brown, Evelynn Hammonds, and Kendra Taira Field. Please register soon, as space is limited. support.librarycompany.org/event/junete...

Reconstruction booklist for K-12 (as on image) & for adults incl. by WEB Du Bois, @kidadaewilliams.com, @hngreen.bsky.social, @katemasur.bsky.social, Justene Edwards, @clintsmithiii.bsky.social, Lerone Bennett, Eric Foner, S. Hahn, Jim Downs, & many more. www.socialjusticebooks.org/booklists/re...

My friend & colleague Francisco Barbosa died too young. Thanks to the tireless Erika Blum, Francisco's wonderful book is finally being published. INSURGENT YOUTH is an inspired history of the young people who powered the Nicaraguan Revolution. 40% discount code: BARB26. #@lasabluesky.bsky.social

During Pride Month, I keep thinking about a question that shaped my research: How did LGBTQ people find one another before social media? The answer was often through community institutions they built themselves. That’s the story I tell in Stand by Me. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0820...

Jim Downs shares our newest title, U.S. History at the 250th, in our History in the Headlines series with Julian Zelizer. Watch the full interview here: https://open.substack.com/pub/julianzelizer/p/whats-at-stake-with-the-history-wars

HISTORIANS, Please share widely.I'm hosting an exciting Juneteenth event at the Library Company of Phila,June 16. "From Ledger to Genome: Data & the History of Black Life," exploring how Black lives have been recorded & recovered across time. Register here. support.librarycompany.org/event/junete...

Now available at @projectmuse.bsky.social: the June issue of our journal "Civil War History," including contributions from @gwionwynjones.bsky.social, @jimdowns.bsky.social, @dblight.bsky.social, and more: muse.jhu.edu/issue/56800

Because this country likes to forget what it’s capable of, I take it as a duty to remind us. We sit at the brink of the largest decimation of Black political power since the fall of Reconstruction — a Second Redemption. And the end of Black political power means the end of democracy itself.

Disturbing. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

We are living through an attack on science and public health, and the consequences are deadly. www.propublica.org/article/vita...

Coming up tomorrow night in NYC!

Tomorrow night (May 13) at Barnes & Noble 82nd St 7pm the launch of U.S. History at the 250th: From the Revolution to the History Wars I’m honored to be joined by: @nhannahjones.bsky.social, @zelizer.bsky.social, Catherine Clinton @jbf1755.bsky.social : stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/978006...

Today is Pub Day! US History at the 250th.This grew out of a conversation about the past a & what it means now @nhannahjones.bsky.social, @agordonreed.bsky.social @sienriquez.bsky.social, @redped.bsky.social Erika Lee Robert Parkinson Marc Stein @william-sturkey.bsky.social y, & Catherine Clinton

2026 marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, but when does the U.S. truly begin: 1776, 1619, or earlier? "U.S. History at the 250th" brings top historians together to debate the nation’s origins. Out today!: bit.ly/3OiqEXe @ugapress.bsky.social @jimdowns.bsky.social