The early United States, scholars have noted, was a country in search of nationhood. Created as an ad hoc military alliance of disparate colonies to fight off a shared political… Read more »
Article Topic: Union
U.S. nationhood was created nearly from scratch in the 19th century. Was Daniel Webster responsible?
Nationhood Lab website and data journalism initiative launches
The website for my new think tank project at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, Nationhood Lab, went live last week with fresh American Nations-powered analysis of… Read more »
Talking American Nations and Nationhood Lab at the French Embassy in Washington
I’m cross-posting this Pell Center news release dated 30 January 2023: Woodard Speaks at French Embassy In Washington WASHINGTON – The director of Pell Center’s new Nationhood Lab project addressed… Read more »
How Frederick Jackson Turner lost faith in his famous Frontier Thesis
Until a few years ago I didn’t know much about Frederick Jackson Turner beyond his having authored the “Frontier Thesis,” which convinced at least four generations of Americans that their… Read more »
Launching Nationhood Lab at the Pell Center
I’m pleased to announce that I‘ve launched a think tank project built on the intellectual foundations of the American Nations trilogy and aiming to help save the U.S. republic and… Read more »
Speaking on the battle to define America’s purpose via Maine Public radio
The United States stands on the brink of a collapse into authoritarianism and dissolution. If we’re to fight back, what are we fighting for? What holds us together? That’s a… Read more »
Speaking on the crisis in U.S. democracy, Freeport, Maine, Oct. 20
I’m speaking on the crisis in U.S. democracy, how we got here, why we’re so vulnerable, and what we can do to save the situation in Freeport, Maine on October… Read more »
A U.S. breakup would be a disaster, but if it happens expect an independent New England
Back when American Nations came out in 2011, a lot of august experts dismissed the warning in the epilogue that if we were unable to form better compromises between the… Read more »
Talking with Clint Watts about U.S. nationhood, regional divides
Clint Watts, NBC security analyst and author of Messing With the Enemy, had me on his podcast, Selected Wisdom, this past week. We talked about how my experiences as a… Read more »
Presenting at Cornell IOPGA’s Summit on Democracy, NYC, May 24
This coming Tuesday, Cornell’s Institute of Politics and Global Affairs in New York City is bringing together an array of prominent experts — including Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and… Read more »
COLIN WOODARD is a New York Times bestselling author and award-winning journalist. He is the author of six books that have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and inspired an NBC television drama. He is currently Director of Nationhood Lab at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Affairs at Salve Regina University. As State and National Affairs Writer at the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram he won a 2012 George Polk Award and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2016. He is a contributing editor at POLITICO and his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, Smithsonian and dozens of other major publications.