The Brion McClanahan Show

The Thomas Jefferson Hour on NPR is a hoot. This Thomas Jefferson, played by Clay Jenkinson, is nothing like the real Mr. Jefferson. In fact, this show is nothing more than a tax payer funded leftist crusade. I cover one very funny episode of that podcast on this show. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

The fear of a standing army drove many men in the founding generation to oppose one. By the 19th century, the cost of such an institution became a real issue, with some American leaders classifying a standing army as little more than a welfare system. By the 20th century, these critiques of a standing army had virtually disappeared, but should they? https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmccla...

Polling data suggests more Americans are open to decentralization, i.e. nullification, secession, real federalism, than at any time in decades. Why? People know the emperor has no clothes. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

Most Americans are concerned about education. Conservatives generally believe that schools are not teaching people correctly, and that if we just returned to the "correct" American education, everything would be great. But what if American schools are doing exactly what they were designed to do? What if American education has always been corrupted? https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclan...

David French gets a lot wrong, but in almost got everything right in a recent piece at The Atlantic. French finally understands that Congress is the real culprit behind the mess in Washington D.C. You know who else knew this? John C. Calhoun. I explain why. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com 

Kevin Kruse has a reputation on social media as being "History's Attack Dog." The progressive left loves him, but is he a plagiarist? Phil Magness thinks so, and the evidence is convincing. This is important. Kruse represents everything wrong with the history profession, and no one deserves what he is getting more than the dean of "Twitter Historians." https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmc...

Nothing makes leftists (and their neocon allies) see the devil more than the Confederacy and in particular Robert E. Lee. As this stupid piece from 2020 illustrates, they smell the sulfur and stench of Satan when in the presence of any Confederate artifact. How can anyone compromise with these people? https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

New York Times columnist Ezra Klein thinks we need to "fix" the Supreme Court. Why? Because the Left cannot currently control it as a policy arm of the general government. His solutions are as bad as the problem, as I explain. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

Is America more "disunited" than ever? The New York Times seems to think so, and perhaps for good reason. But of course, they have only noticed because of leftist discontent with recent Supreme Court decisions. This is a great development. If we want a return to real federalism, then America needs to remain "disunited." https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learn...

The phrase "All Men Are Created Equal" has created a fissure in American politics. It is the one phrase that everyone knows from the Declaration but no one can define, at least not with consensus. That has always been the case and is why the "proposition nation" myth is so dangerous. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

How do you define an "American"? This is a fundamental question, and one that has drawn discussion since the 19th century. It's the core of American "nationalism", and if we have a singular American "state", then a "national" solution to every political problem makes sense. But we have never had an "American people," and hence never a singular "American" identity. https://mcclanahanacademy.com htt...

On July 4th, 1976, President Gerald Ford gave a speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia in honor of the bicentennial. No one remembers it today, nor should they, because it was a July 4th speech for everyone and no one. Any modern neoconservative could have made it, and some have. But this highlights the real problems with Independence Day in American society and what we are going to face in 2...

Cancel culture has come for Abraham Lincoln, and the Lincolnits are ticked. Who didn't predict this? Of course, Lincoln should be in the same category as Confederate leaders. He wasn't any less racist. It could be argued he was MORE racist than his Southern counterparts. Cornell University took down a bust of Honest Abe after someone complained about it. I discuss the implications on this episode...

A Massachusetts court ruled that Harvard can be sued by a descendant of two slaves for emotional distress. The reason? Harvard possesses two nineteenth century images of this person's ancestors and either charges to use them or displays them at academic conferences or on book covers. I explain why this is the pathway to reparations. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support...

Damon Root at Reason.com argues the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade is an "insult to the 9th Amendment." Is this true? No, and his reasoning is as bad as the constitutional arguments behind Roe v. Wade. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

The Supreme Court rattled America last week, and it call centered on the 14th Amendment. This was to be expected. I discuss what the Court got right and wrong on both the Dobbs and New York State Rifle and Pistol decisions. Incorporation AND substantive due process are dangerous. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

Did Lincoln "free the slaves"? No. Did Lincoln favor several Constitutional amendments that would have made slavery either 1) permanent in the South or 2) allowed for slavery to exist until 1900? Yes. Did Lincoln reject compromise and push for war? Yes. This is the real Lincoln. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

According to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, "Today, the court leads us to a place where separation of church and state becomes a constitutional violation." This is antithetical to what the "Framers" of the Constitution intended, she argues. I take on this latest ahistorical nonsense from the SCOTUS. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

If you needed another reason to "think locally and act locally," the Texas GOP Platform should be enough. It's pretty good, and part of it was driven by a show listener. This is clear evidence that you can have an impact at the local and State level if you get involved. I also take apart the progressive arguments against Texas secession, so buckle up. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcc...

Is Joe Biden just Jimmy Carter 2.0 as Ted Cruz suggested? Biden could only wish for such lofty praise. In fact, Biden is far worse than the  supposedly worst president in American history.  https://mcclanahanacademy.com  https://brionmcclanahan.com/support  http://learntruehistory.com

The Edmund Burke Foundation has released their "National Conservatism Statement of Principles." While I agree with most of what they advance, their reliance on "nationalism" undermines the entire project. I explain on this episode of The Brion McClanahan Show. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com

The Left likes to throw around the word "democracy," but what do they mean when they say it? It isn't what you think, at least according to  Tom Piatak at Chronicles Magazine. I agree.   https://mcclanahanacademy.com  https://brionmcclanahan.com/support  http://learntruehistory.com

Was Thomas Jefferson a hypocrite? It depends on how you view Jefferson's actions vs. Jefferson's statements. Kevin Gutzman does an excellent job dealing with this; other historians, not so much.   https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support  http://learntruehistory.com

Victor Davis Hanson correctly thinks America is headed the way of (take your pick) leftist hellhole. He calls it the "Sovietization" of America. While I agree in substance, perhaps "Sovietization" isn't the right word, and regardless, this is the same man who just seven years ago cheered the removal of Confederate flags because they are "divisive." Lincolnian nationalists are as much to blame for...

A couple of progressives have decided that the Supreme Court has too much power. Imagine that? Conservatives have been saying that for decades, yet now that these dopes are no longer in power, they want to flip the entire structure of the federal system on its head. https://mcclanahanacademy.com https://brionmcclanahan.com/support http://learntruehistory.com