Craig Bruce Smith

Smith is a historian and the author of American Honor: The Creation of the Nation's Ideals during the Revolutionary Era. Follow him on Twitter: @craigbrucesmith. All views are those of the author.  

Recent Articles

Apple TV+'s Franklin Gets the History Right

What the new Apple TV+ series gets right and wrong about Benjamin Franklin's time in Paris.

By Craig Bruce Smith

The Spirit of 1776 or 1619?

Does the 1776 Broadway musical embody the spirit of 1776 or 1619—or somewhere in between?

By Craig Bruce Smith

Ken Burns' New Documentary Shows Benjamin Franklin in All His Contradictions

“Posterity will never forgive us,” lamented John Adams in the musical 1776 after the Second Continental Congress compromised to omit an anti-slavery passage from the Declaration of Independence. “What would posterity think we were? Demi-gods?”...

By Craig Bruce Smith

George Washington's Order to 'Inoculate the Troops' Saved America

George Washington saw smallpox as "the most dangerous enemy"

By Craig Bruce Smith

Renaming Army Bases Should Start with Unrecognized Veterans

We remember and memorialize those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. One of the more permanent and public memorializations of our veterans is by naming military bases (aka posts and forts) after them....

By Craig Bruce Smith
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