I don’t normally spend a lot time thinking about essential, or fundamental, tensions in American history. I think positing these tensions is a bit cheap—a reductionist way of sweeping a lot important details, or contingencies, under the rug. I suppose I should think more about these tensions, however, since they are useful. Many well-known historians resort to them. And many solid historians respect others who resort to these shorthands. For a long time Hegel, for instance, was important—a force to be reckoned with—in terms of theorizing about history. In case you’re forgotten (or are unfamiliar), Hegel discussed a dialectic, or Read more