Thomas Mackaman

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Thomas Mackaman (born 1975) is a historian and member of the Socialist Equality Party. [1] He is a professor of history at Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. [2] Mackaman is noted for his writing and interviews with prominent historians challenging the New York Times' 1619 Project, first published on the World Socialist Web Site. [3]

Contents

Education and career

Mackaman attended University of Minnesota for his BA in history. [4] He earned his PhD in history at the University of Illinois. [5] While at Illinois, Mackaman won awards for undergraduate teaching from the university. [6] [7] In 2023 he was named John H.A. Whitman Distinguished Service Professor. [8]

Mackaman's New Immigrants and the Radicalization of American Labor was published in 2017. [9]   Mackaman has written on labor history, immigration history, and American history. [10] [ non-primary source needed ] He is active in public labor history, serving on the Anthracite Heritage Foundation [11] and helped secure a historical marker for the 1919 Baltimore Mine Tunnel disaster. [12]

1619 Project Controversy

After the publication of the New York Times’ 1619 Project, Mackaman conducted interviews with a number of noted historians, including James McPherson, Gordon S. Wood, James Oakes, Clayborne Carson, and Richard Carwardine. The interviews, which asserted that the 1619 Project had committed conceptual and factual errors, drew significant media attention [13] [14] and were attacked on social media by project creator, Nikole Hannah-Jones. [15] The interviews, along with essays by Mackaman, David North, and other writers, were assembled in a book, The New York Times and Racialist Falsification of History. [16]

Socialist Equality Party

Mackaman ran for state legislature in Illinois in 2004 as a Socialist Equality Party candidate in the 103rd District covering the Champaign-Urbana area. [17] The state Democratic Party attempted to keep his name off the ballot by challenging the veracity of petitions, but the state election board ruled against the Democrats’ claims. [18] [19] Mackaman won 3.52% of the vote, while Democrat Naomi Jakobsson was returned to the Illinois House of Representatives. [20]

Mackaman has written extensively for the World Socialist Web Site, especially on topics related to American history. [21]

Works

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References

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  3. Kaufman, Elliot (16 December 2019). "The '1619 Project' Gets Schooled". Wall Street Journal.
  4. "First Belting Scholar in American History" (PDF). History at Illinois.
  5. "Recent PhD Employment and Postdocs | Department of History | UIUC". history.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  6. "More Excellence in Teaching | College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Illinois". las.illinois.edu. 2006-04-01. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  7. Payne, Mare. "Twenty-one at Illinois to be honored for excellence in teaching and advising". news.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  8. "Five King's faculty receive teaching awards". King's College. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  9. Zimmer, Kenyon (1 September 2018). "New Immigrants and the Radicalization of American Labor, 1914–1924 by Thomas Mackaman". Duke University Press.
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  11. "Irish Scholar to Give Lecture on Irish Migration to Northeastern Pennsylvania | King's College". www.kings.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  12. "Coal Zoom | Fire in the Hole - The 100th Anniversary of Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster". coalzoom.com. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  13. Dreher, Rod (2019-11-29). "Leftists Attack The '1619 Project'". The American Conservative. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  14. "The Way of Improvement Leads Home: American History, Religion, Politics, and Academic life.: The 1619 Project on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  15. Magness, Phillip W. (2022-03-29). "The 1619 Project Unrepentantly Pushes Junk History". Reason.com. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  16. renegadesouth (2021-03-09). "Now in Print: An Edited Collection of Historical Criticism and Political Analysis of the NYT's 1619 Project". Renegade South. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  17. Clements, Kate (2004-10-24). "Three choices for 103rd District voters". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  18. "Democrats move to keep SEP candidate off Illinois ballot". World Socialist Web Site. 2004-07-01. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  19. "NADER v. ILLINOIS STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS (2004)". FindLaw.
  20. Clements, Kate (2006-11-08). "Jakobsson cruises to another House term". The News-Gazette. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  21. "Tom Mackaman - World Socialist Web Site". www.wsws.org. Retrieved 2024-01-27.