Category Archives: American History

White Paper: Legal Questions & Second-Order Effects of the U.S. Military Operation in Venezuela

Posted on January 3, 2026 by nathanalbright

January 3, 2026 edition This white paper analyzes the legal underpinnings and emerging second-order regional and global consequences resulting from the reported U.S. military action in Venezuela—specifically the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and assertions by Donald Trump that the … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, History, International Relations, Military History, Musings | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

White Paper: How 25,000 Barrels of DDT Waste Could Be Dumped Near Los Angeles—and What That Reveals About Regulatory Failure

Posted on January 1, 2026 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Reports emerging since 2020 indicate that industrial waste associated with DDT manufacturing was disposed in deep waters off the Los Angeles–Catalina corridor, including a debris field that early sonar interpretations suggested might include tens of thousands of barrel-like … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, History, Musings | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

White Paper: The Declaratory Act as a Structural Error in Parliament’s Management of Colonial Discontent

Posted on December 30, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The Declaratory Act (1766) was intended by the Parliament of Great Britain to restore authority after the repeal of the Stamp Act. Instead, it entrenched colonial suspicion and accelerated a pattern of mistrust. This white paper argues that … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, History, Musings | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

White Paper: Samuel Ryan Curtis as a Political and Military General in the American Civil War

Posted on December 18, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Samuel Ryan Curtis (1805–1866) was one of the most unusual Union generals of the Civil War: an engineer, a West Point graduate, a three-term Congressman, a military administrator, and the victor of the strategically important Battle of Pea … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, History, Military History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Command Ambiguity and Operational Friction: The Negative Effects of Robert E. Lee’s Vague Orders on the Army of Northern Virginia

Posted on December 13, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary This white paper examines the operational consequences of General Robert E. Lee’s habitual use of vague, discretionary orders within the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV), particularly during the middle and late phases of the American Civil War. While … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, History, Military History | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

White Paper: Grant at Cairo: Logistical Strategy in the Early Civil War and the Modern Failure of Cairo, Illinois to Capitalize on Its Strategic Location

Posted on December 11, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary During the opening phase of the American Civil War, Cairo, Illinois served as one of the most strategically important logistical hubs in the Western Theater. Its position at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers made it … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, History, Musings | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

White Paper: The Pattern of Paired Free and Slave State Admissions (1820–1850) and the Delays It Imposed on American Statehood

Posted on December 6, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Between 1820 and 1850, the United States Senate became the institutional battleground for maintaining a sectional equilibrium between free and slave states. This equilibrium—never formally codified but fiercely enforced through political custom—dictated that every new free state must … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, History | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

White Paper: Ken Burns’ Reputational Arc from The Civil War to The American Revolution: Historical Perspective, Cultural Change, and the Shifting Landscape of Documentary Reception

Posted on December 4, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Ken Burns rose to national prominence with The Civil War (1990), a miniseries that achieved unprecedented audience size, cross-partisan admiration, and cultural reach. Yet by the time his American Revolution miniseries premiered, the public reception was far more … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, History, Musings | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

White Paper: Timing of Design Standards in Temple Terrace, Florida

Posted on November 27, 2025 by nathanalbright

1. Introduction Temple Terrace, Florida, is unusual among Tampa Bay suburbs: it was marketed in the 1920s as a golf-course garden city anchored by Mediterranean Revival architecture, and still promotes that identity today. At the same time, the city has … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, History | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

White Paper: West Virginia’s Appeal To Heaven

Posted on November 21, 2025 by nathanalbright

This white paper analyzes the “Appeal to Heaven” movement to invite western Virginia and western Maryland counties to join West Virginia, focusing on its historical symbolism, legal framework, political drivers, economic implications, and likely trajectories. It is descriptive and analytical, … Continue reading →

Posted in American Civil War, American History, History, Musings | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment