Alexis Coe @AlexisCoe Twitter profile

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

How it started: My first op-ed selfie for mom in 2015. How it's going: My latest op-ed selfie for mom in 2023.

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Last Seen Profiles

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@GraceEGold

Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Kay Lahusen (6/5/1930–5/26/2021). Kay & her partner, Barbara Gittings, successfully fought to get the American Psychiatric Association to drop homosexuality as a mental illness. That diagnosis began with Alice Mitchell, the subject of my first book. May her memory be a revolution

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

If you’re nosy, become a historian! It’s like legal snooping. Been reading VERY personal letters since 8am.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Ask me about my workout routine

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

You don’t have to love George Washington or anyone else in your textbooks. That’s not the point. They’re historically significant, central to our founding story, not legally mandated heroes.

Mother Jones

@MotherJones

3 years

To know George Washington is not necessarily to love him. Just ask historian @AlexisCoe .

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

Sure sex is great but have you ever received a response from an archivist

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

“Although I have not actually read the book yet” is a great start to this email from a man

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Man: Would you take my photo? Washington slept here. Me, a GW biographer: He did! And he slept at another inn nearby— Man: Your generation is so proud of your Internet trivia. I read books! Me: Me too! I’ve probably read every major Wa— Man: I’ve read more! 👀

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

These headlines!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

In some personal news, I am dog sitting. This is Peanut Butter.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

George Washington famously didn't claim a political party. 🤦🏻‍♀️ He was afraid they'd lead to rampant partisanship. You know, the kind that emphasizes party loyalty above all else.

GOP

@GOP

1 year

There isn't a single Democrat on Mount Rushmore

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

If you’re a history writer who borrows heavily from historians for your socials/podcast, CREDIT THEM

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

I love John Adams on monarchies: "A Monarchy would probably, somehow or other make me rich, but it would produce So much Taste and Politeness, So much Elegance in Dress, Furniture, Equipage, So much Music and Dancing, So much Fencing and Skating; So much Cards and Backgammon..."

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

Big news! On the last episode of Revolutions, the great @mikeduncan announced Duncan & Coe, our new podcast on history books, launching next year--after Mike gets a nice, long break!

Final Episode- Adieu Mes Amis

Listen to this episode from Revolutions on Spotify. If you wanna drop a tip on your way out the door, Click Here To Donate. See you on the other side my friends.

open.spotify.com

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

9 months

Oh no!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

About six months ago, Kay left me a message asking me for this photo of us, taken at her Pennsylvania retirement community a few years ago. She mentioned this dress, which she thought she’d given me. I’ll wear it today to celebrate Kay.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Men Explain Washington to Me

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

11 months

Since equal treatment comes up so much: @Acosta 's press credentials were revoked for "being a rude, terrible person," i.e. being a good journalist. Fox has chyrons calling Biden "a wannabe dictator" along with desperate, error-ridden content, but maintains access.

Susan Glasser

@sbg1

11 months

Just now on Fox:

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

8 months

As a historian, I question everything. That's why I just spent my lunch break doggedly fact-checking a biographical detail I'd long ago confirmed: Gerald Ford was an absolute smokeshow. For full transparency, I've attached my sources.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

The archive I most need for my work has been closed since March 2020. Tomorrow is the first day that researchers are allowed back in. I have the first appointment. My bag is packed, my breakfast order placed, my outfit draped over the chair. Two pairs of shoes. Who knows!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

@OnThisDayShe Lesbian, mastectomy—such specific words except for the most important: Nazi.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

20 minutes into the Anita Hill episode of @yourewrongabout and I’ve learned something pretty important: “Anita Hill came forward” is wrong. She didn’t come forward. She first spoke about it in an interview with the FBI.🤯

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

The kicker! "But there is So much Rascallity, so much Venality and Corruption, so much Avarice and Ambition, such a Rage for Profit and Commerce among all Ranks and Degrees of Men even in America, that I sometimes doubt whether there is public Virtue enough to support a Republic"

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Presidential cheese! In 1801, a wagon carting a 1,235 pound cheese ball was presented to President Thomas Jefferson at the White House.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

9 months

I bet Chernow gets this all the time

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

7 months

A tween in my village just asked me if Abraham Lincoln was the Taylor Swift of presidents. I have found an apprentice.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

Thanks for the feedback

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

"So much Horse Racing and Cock fighting; so many Balls and Assemblies, so many Plays and Concerts that the very Imagination of them makes me feel vain, light, frivolous and insignificant."

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

In 2012, I requested that Graydon Carter bring a menu to a meeting at the NYPL for donation to the NYC restaurant collection. His assistants instead paid a messenger to hand deliver it across the street because “Graydon doesn’t carry things.”

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

@MoiraDonegan America loves a man who overcomes a thwarting woman to seize his destiny! I talk about this, maybe in those exact words, is my last book. If presidential biographers (almost all male) love to turn a supportive woman into a shrew

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

14 Republican members of the House of Reps considers the end of slavery one of "America's darkest moments"

Matt Rosendale

@RepRosendale

3 years

Their intent is to replace the Fourth of July with this new day, one that will inevitably focus on America's darkest moments.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

@cmclymer A handful of times. Never disappoints!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

By very, I mean filthy

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

Do you have a history book coming out in Spring 2023 and beyond? Small following? Small press? Small print run? Not a pres bio, book on Rome or Revolutions? Then drop that title below. @mikeduncan and I want to consider titles we might otherwise miss for our new podcast!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 months

FDR had a perfect word for isolationists who believed American democracy would be just fine while fascist barbarism destabilized other parts of the world: Shrimps. All nerve, no brain.

J.D. Vance

@JDVance1

3 months

This video’s being circulated by advocates of unlimited funding in Ukraine, but it shows some historical illiteracy. To beat the Germans, the British needed far more than weapons: they needed a mass mobilization of not one but two major powers (the US and the Soviets)

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Pretty wild to walk into ⁦ @BNBuzz ⁩ in Union Square and see this display front and center!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 months

This is absolute nonsense. As a presidential historian, I promise you that none of us care if the president *does a Super Bowl interview*

Nate Silver

@NateSilver538

3 months

Revealed preferences tell you a lot. Biden isn't doing a Super Bowl interview for the second year in a row; Biden did one in 2021 and Obama did one all 8 years. If he can't do a Super Bowl interview, h3 shouldn't be running for a second term.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

“Which president was not involved in a scandal?” Enslaving 123 people is not a “scandal.” George Washington decided how much they ate, how much physical abuse they endured, and what backbreaking work they did. He could and did buy and sell them.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

@karenhunter @EbonyJHilton_MD @NiggaTheory @thedailybeast It’s not just the headline. The article is terrible too. He’s not a “spurned” suitor.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 month

Oh ffs, Lee led a string of failed campaigns in order to continue enslaving people. 20% of his troops were killed or wounded. Grant defended the union that by leading successful campaigns. 15% of his troops were killed or wounded.

The Armchair Historian

@ArmchairHist

1 month

Who do you think was the better general, Lee or Grant?

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

Who wants to reread Moby Dick with me? Black tie optional.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

@camillard Best clue in the archive--and they rarely use the woman's first name, never a last name.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

He’s worked abortion into this email about my George Washington biography, which he’s considering purchasing.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

Why Do We Think Mary Lincoln Was Crazy? I’ll share the whole story next week, but first, a little ⭐️historiography⭐️—and a plea: Don’t call her Mary TODD Lincoln.

Why Do We Think Mary Lincoln Was Crazy?

An introduction to next week's newsletter

alexiscoe.substack.com

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Do we want empathetic leaders who work to make life better? I do, so it bums me out that dimensions are stealing the show here. It’s funny, sure, but there’s more to consider. /1

The Carter Center

@CarterCenter

3 years

We’re pleased to share this wonderful photo from the @POTUS and @FLOTUS visit to see the Carters in Plains, Ga.! Thank you President and Mrs. Biden!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Seven years ago today! I’d be nowhere without #indiebookstores

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

If someone declines to be a talking head in your project, assume she’ll decline the uncredited, unpaid opportunity to fact-check and rewrite the script, too.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

For women’s history month, a living legend

Rachel Sklar (she/her)

@rachelsklar

7 years

I went on TV while nursing and you couldn't tell (until the end) cc @CBCNews

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

4 months

George Washington founded the union. He was world famous for giving up power--twice--in a world that knew kings, queens, despots and worse. Abraham Lincoln ended slavery. He saved the union. And then there's this asshat.

Biden-Harris HQ

@BidenHQ

4 months

Trump, who lost in 2020, says he would beat George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in an election by 35 points

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

👀👀👀

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

My point? President Biden is being kind. He knew it would mean so much to Carter. Bonus: Carter’s good works all over the world have kept his name in the papers, so Biden is aligning himself with that reputation. /3

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

@IsabellaRosner So many Poopes!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

Oh, it's the "if If I special order a pretty journal with my name on it, will it make a difference" time of year.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

11 months

It happened to me: A suitor left me a voicemail as George Washington reviewing my book.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 months

"But the author has/hasn't done his/her homework." I'm just a historian standing in front of too many book reviews asking them to stop talking about yearslong archival research like its the same as a few hours down a rabbit hole on Wikipedia

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

Tell me your secrets. My Basque cheesecake is consistently delicious but never fully caramelized.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

8 months

George Washington absolutely never said this

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

If you share this goal, stay away from books on James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

The Carters have done more good for American and the world than any other retired president. But the sitting POTUS rarely calls on Carter for service/advice. He feels excluded from the ex-presidents club. Add diminishing health & Covid. /2

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

8 months

@Ford_Library I don't think America appreciates Ford's athleticism, but a thorough, image heavy digital exhibition would be...edifying.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

I’ve become an amazing diagnostician. The most common illness this American historian sees? Racism. Signs vary but most racists in America are performatively patriotic yet aggressively uninformed.

Jordan (she/her)

@jbpellerito

3 years

Public historians are counselors and therapists, no I will not elaborate 🤍

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

“Mr. Hitler doesn’t get enough credit for his economic policies” is a great line to use on your historian neighbor if you want her to avoid you for the rest of time.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

4 months

The only George Washington comp I want to see for the rest of 2024

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

This WPA poster is too real

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

Like most abstinence education, this makes a lot of sense.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

More professional advice

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

99.9% of the people complaining about Carter's "virtue signaling" don't even know that the Carter Center eradicated 99.9% of Guinea worms--among other humanitarian feats. So let's not adjudicate his presidency by asking "did he think he was better than us?!" Fwiw I think he was.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

From John Adams to Mercy Otis Warren, 8 January 1776, Founders Online, @USNatArchives

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

You’re not doing original/archival research. You’re using books and articles written by people who do. Maybe you don’t explicitly say “I found this,” but you’re implying it by omitting your sources—which you likely know, so it’s lazy or intentional. Be best.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

. @amazon We received a gift with no identifying info or return slip. Your call center said they couldn't tell us the name, fine, but that they wouldn't let the gift giver know, either. They suggested we keep or destroy it. This seems like a terrible policy.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

9 months

Not a single journalist has asked me to compare Trump's bail to past presidents 🙃

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

My “how it started/how it’s going” photos are the same. Good to be back!

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

11 months

"In the olden days, they didn't even have heads." My 4-year old, but she won't cite her sources.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Tulips pointing towards the hospital where I’m about to get my second dose

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

8 months

Women who are only just discovering that a certain type of man thinks about Rome 1-3x a day: You have @mikeduncan to blame

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

"Do writers not care about my kidney donation?" turned me into a rollie pollie. I may never unfurl.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

Just a periodic reminder that George W. Bush's grandfather was once the treasurer of Planned Parenthood

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

@Blizzard1200 @soledadobrien Washington and Jefferson were enslavers. Enslaver and enslaved, not slave owner and slaves. Slave implies that the people held in bondage were, at their core, slaves. An enslaver holds people in bondage.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

@cmclymer “Saunders’ body as it was handed off to a private company that the family thought would use his corpse for medical research. Instead, Saunders ended up in a Portland Marriott hotel ballroom as the centerpiece of an autopsy & dissection before a live, paying audience.” Horrifying

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

In retrospect, moving my books at 9pm was unwise.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

11 months

Thank you for the feedback

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

“Mama wants to drink coffee and talk about George Washington.” —my 2yo

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

Amazing day in DMs and it's only 1pm.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

8 months

I think about him the way men think about Rome

Jonathan Gienapp

@TheGNapp

8 months

As tomorrow is Constitution Day, let's remember Gouverneur Morris, aka "The Gouv."

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

#OTD in 1796, Ona Judge emancipated herself from George Washington’s home in Philadelphia, then the President's House. The Washingtons had planned on giving her as a wedding present. We can’t remember that without thanking @ericaadunbar for telling her story in “Never Caught.”

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

@jduffyrice I regret not quizzing him, so desperate was I to flee before he told me about this great historian named Ron Chernow

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

4 months

Happy Birthday to Richard Nixon, who did the craziest thing when he was president! He had his attorneys argue that the President enjoys “absolute” privilege or immunity. They lost.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

What is this lighting situation

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 years

looks like a fun group

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

18 days

If history is boring, it's the speaker's fault

John Herreid

@HerreidJohn

19 days

Not naming names, but based on a sample size of wife and daughter, my survey indicates that Civil War strategy isn’t high on the list of interests

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

2 months

Kate Middleton is George Washington's eighth cousin seven times removed. She has until 2026, when America turns 250, to dismantle the monarchy. So far, she's ahead of schedule.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

George Washington raised quite a few nephews et al and just paid for them himself--and that man was land rich, cash poor, and loved free shit!

Mark Paoletta

@MarkPaoletta

1 year

STATEMENT OF MARK PAOLETTA, FRIEND OF JUSTICE THOMAS The Thomases have rarely spoken publicly about the remarkably generous efforts to help a child in need. They have always respected the privacy of this young man and his family. It is disappointing and painful, but unsurprising

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

I have a confession to make: I’m a presidential historian who dislikes Presidents’ Day. In the NYT, I look at the depthlessness of this holiday—and why that needs to change.

New York Times Opinion

@nytopinion

1 year

”National indifference to Presidents’ Day should be, at this critical moment, embraced as a rare opportunity to return to a founding ideal we should all be able to get behind: democracy,” writes @AlexisCoe .

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

Loved talking to @jbouie about writing, reading, and interacting with history!

On Popular History: Jamelle Bouie

Welcome to Popular History Month! Here’s the schedule: April 24: Introduction May 1: Rebecca Traister May 8: Jamelle Bouie May 15: Rebecca Onion May 19: T.J. Stiles May 22: Pamela Newkirk May 26:...

alexiscoe.substack.com

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

10 days

Duncan + Coe update: We're hydrated! And you're patient. cc @mikeduncan

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

1 year

We talk about writer's block but not writer's butt. I sat down at my desk at 9am to do a final pass on a doc. It's somehow now 2:50pm and I've rewritten the first paragraph 100x, eaten nothing, taken zero walks.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

The mammoth cheese was engraved: "Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." When Leland presented the cheese to Jefferson, he noted it was produced "without the assistance of a single slave." Jefferson didn't accept gifts in office so paid Leland $200 for it.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe

3 years

I went to a dear friend’s house for dinner and ate unexpected food on plates I didn’t own. I’m absolutely buzzing.

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Alexis Coe

@AlexisCoe