Sixty-three "Historians for Obama" have signed a letter endorsing Obama's presidency so far:
Manan Ahmed, Catherine Allgor, Joyce Appleby, Ray Arsenault, Robert Baker, Doron Ben-Atar, William C. Berman, David Blight, Ruth Bloch, Edward J. Blum, Clayborne Carson, Mary F. Corey, Daniel W. Crofts, Dennis C. Dickerson, W. Marvin Dulaney, Peter Filene, Kenneth Fones-wolf, Matthew Gabriele, James Gilbert, Rebecca A. Goetz, Sara M. Gregg, James Grossman, David Hall, Nancy A. Hewitt, Jonathan Holloway, Jeffrey Houghtby, Harold Hyman, Randal Jelks, Robert KC Johnson, Michael Kazin, Richard H. King, Steven Lawson, William A. Link, James Livingston, Ralph E. Luker, Chandra Manning, Martha May, Joseph A. McCartin, James McPherson, Todd Moye, Michael Punke, Albert J. Raboteau, Janice Reiff, Leo Ribuffo, Edward B. Rugemer, Leonard J. Sadosky, Nick Salvatore, Rachel F. Seidman, Brett L. Shadle, Daniel J. Singal, Harvard Sitkoff, Daniel Soyer, Paul Spickard, Brian Steele, James Brewer Stewart, Mary Stroll, David Thelen, Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs, Bruce M. Tyler, Siva Vaidhyanathan, Richard Weiss, Craig Steven Wilder, David W. Wills
HNN Editor: The list of signers was updated 12-2-07.
Our country is in serious trouble. The gap between the wealthy elite and the working majority grows ever larger, tens of millions of Americans lack health insurance and others risk bankruptcy when they get seriously ill, and many public schools do a poor job of educating the next generation. Due to the arrogant, inept foreign policy of the current administration, more people abroad mistrust and fear the United States than at any time since the height of the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, global warming speeds toward an unprecedented catastrophe. Many Republicans and overwhelming numbers of Independents and Democrats believe that, under George W. Bush, the nation has badly lost its way. The 2008 election thus comes at a critical time in the history of the United States and the world.
We endorse Barack Obama for president because we think he is the candidate best able to address and start to solve these profound problems. As historians, we understand that no single individual, even a president, leads alone or outside a thick web of context. As Abraham Lincoln wrote to a friend during the Civil War, "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me."
However, a president can alter the mood of the nation, making changes possible that once seemed improbable. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and kept the nation united; Franklin D. Roosevelt persuaded Americans to embrace Social Security and more democratic workplaces; John F. Kennedy advanced civil rights and an anti-poverty program.
Barack Obama has the potential to be that kind of president. He has the varied background of a global citizen: his father was African, his stepfather Indonesian, his mother worked in the civil rights movement, and he spent several years of his childhood overseas. As an adult, he has been a community organizer, a law professor, and a successful politician - both at the state and national level. These experiences have given him an acute awareness of the inequalities of race and class, while also equipping him to speak beyond them.
Obama's platform is ambitious, yet sensible. He calls for negotiating the abolition of nuclear weapons, providing universal and affordable health insurance, combatting poverty by adding resources and discouraging destructive habits, investing in renewable energy sources, and engaging with unfriendly nations to ease conflicts that could otherwise lead to war. He takes more forthright stands on these issues than do his major Democratic competitors.
But it is his qualities of mind and temperament that really separate Obama from the rest of the pack. He is a gifted writer and orator who speaks forcefully but without animus. Not since John F. Kennedy has a Democrat candidate for president showed the same combination of charisma and thoughtfulness - or provided Americans with a symbolic opportunity to break with a tradition of bigotry older than the nation itself. Like Kennedy, he also inspires young people who see him as a great exception in a political world that seems mired in cynicism and corruption.
As president, Barack Obama would only begin the process of healing what ails our society and ensuring that the U.S. plays a beneficial role in the world. But we believe he is that rare politician who can stretch the meaning of democracy, who can help revive what William James called "the civic genius of the people."
Manan Ahmed, Cliopatria*
Catherine Allgor, University of California - Riverside
Joyce Appleby, University of California, Los Angeles
Ray Arsenault, University of South Florida
Robert Baker, Georgia State University
Doron Ben-Atar, Fordham University
William C. Berman, University of Toronto
David Blight, Yale University
Ruth Bloch, University of California, Los Angeles
Edward J. Blum, San Diego State University
Clayborne Carson, Stanford University
Mary F. Corey, University of California, Los Angeles
Daniel W. Crofts, The College of New Jersey
Dennis C. Dickerson, Vanderbilt University
W. Marvin Dulaney, College of Charleston
Peter Filene, University of North Carolina
Kenneth Fones-wolf, University of West Virginia
Matthew Gabriele, Virginia Tech
James Gilbert, University of Maryland
Rebecca A. Goetz, Rice University
Sara M. Gregg, Iowa State University
James Grossman, Newberry Library
David Hall, Harvard University
Nancy A. Hewitt, Rutgers University
Jonathan Holloway, Yale University
Jeffrey Houghtby, Iowa State University
Harold Hyman, Rice University
Randal Jelks, Calvin College
Robert KC Johnson, Brooklyn College
Michael Kazin, Georgetown University
Richard H. King, University of Nottingham
Steven Lawson, Rutgers University
William A. Link, University of Florida
James Livingston, Rutgers University
Ralph E. Luker, Cliopatria
Chandra Manning, Georgetown University
Martha May, Western Connecticut State University
Joseph A. McCartin, Georgetown University
James McPherson, Princeton University
Todd Moye, University of North Texas
Michael Punke, University of Montana
Albert J. Raboteau, Princeton University
Janice Reiff, University of California, Los Angeles
Leo Ribuffo, George Washington University
Edward B. Rugemer, Yale University
Leonard J. Sadosky, Iowa State University
Nick Salvatore, Cornell University
Rachel F. Seidman, Duke University
Brett L. Shadle, Virginia Tech
Daniel J. Singal, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Harvard Sitkoff, University of New Hampshire
Daniel Soyer, Fordham University
Paul Spickard, University of California, Santa Barbara
Brian Steele, University of Alabama - Birmingham
James Brewer Stewart, Macalester College
Mary Stroll, University of California - San Diego
David Thelen, Indiana University
Stephenie Ambrose Tubbs, Helena, Montana
Bruce M. Tyler, University of Louisville
Siva Vaidhyanathan, University of Virginia
Richard Weiss, University of California, Los Angeles
Craig Steven Wilder, Dartmouth College
David W. Wills, Amherst College
http://hnn.us/articles/44958.html