Wikipedia talk:WikiProject United States History

Survey about How Historical Knowledge is Produced on Wikipedia

Hi everyone,

I am Petros Apostolopoulos, a Ph.D. candidate in Public History at North Carolina State University. My Ph.D. project examines how historical knowledge is produced on Wikipedia. If you are interested in participating in my research study by offering your own experience of writing about history on Wikipedia, you can click on this link https://ncsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9z4wmR1cIp0qBH8. There are minimal risks involved in this research.

If you have any questions, please let me know. Petros Apostolopoulos, paposto@ncsu.edu

Early American novel FAC

For those of you interested in early American literature and/or the Revolutionary War, you may be interested in reviewing Brother Jonathan by John Neal. Here's the nomination page. Dugan Murphy (talk) 17:01, 29 October 2023 (UTC)

Bracero Prograom

Bracero Program needs editing/rewrite help. I've done some work on the lead by the rest of the article is difficult. Coretheapple (talk) 18:18, 7 January 2024 (UTC)

Assistance Request - Perpetual Union

I'm requesting editor assistance here: Talk:Perpetual Union#Unsupported attribution - far too weak

Thanks! (sdsds - talk) 03:12, 12 January 2024 (UTC)

Manifest Destiny

I suggest some eyes on Manifest Destiny. --David Tornheim (talk) 00:26, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

Internment of Japanese Americans - Article name and terminology used in article text

Despite the consensus seeming to be in favour of keeping "internment" as the title of Internment of Japanese Americans, the article's text now solely uses the term "incarceration". Consistency between the two would be preferred, especially since the change to the article's text seems to have been made recently without discussion. Eldomtom2 (talk) 14:48, 1 March 2024 (UTC)

The text should use the term "incarceration". That's the phrase used in current scholarship—for examples:

• Roger Daniels, "Incarceration of the Japanese Americans: A Sixty-Year Perspective", History Teacher 35, no. 3 (May 2002): 297–310, DOI:10.2307/3054440
• Alice George, "Eighty Years After the U.S. Incarcerated 120,000 Japanese Americans, Trauma and Scars Still Remain", Smithsonian Magazine (February 11, 2022)
• Susan H. Kamei, When Can We Go Back to America? Voices of Japanese American Incarceration during WWII (Simon & Schuster, 2022).
• National WWII Museum, "Japanese American Incarceration"
• National Park Service, "Terminology and the Mass Incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II"

As the last of these sources states, It is important to accurately describe the history of the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II without perpetuating euphemistic terms. P-Makoto (she/her) (talk) 20:42, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Then you should argue for a change in the article's name. As I stated, there is presently not a consensus in favour of "incarceration".--Eldomtom2 (talk) 21:40, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

There's no need to argue for a change in the article's name. There were persuasive comments on the talk page about why using "internment" is suitable for the name of the article. My comments are about the appropriate language to use in the text of the article. P-Makoto (she/her) (talk) 21:46, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

If the article is named something that the text of the article does not use (not even in the lede or infobox!) and indeed effectively calls a euphemism, I would say that the article and title are in disjoint with one another and thus present an issue.--Eldomtom2 (talk) 21:52, 6 March 2024 (UTC)

Lead image of Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson
Portrait c. 1835

Andrew Jackson
Photograph c. 1845

Discussion at Talk:Andrew Jackson#Photograph has not achieved consensus over what image to use as the lead image in the infobox for Andrew Jackson. Both are visible to the right: the upper (and current) image is a painting of him created in 1835; the lower (proposed to replace the former) is a photograph of Jackson taken in 1845.

Proponents of the painting have pointed to earlier talk page discussions as a consensus in favor of a painting of Jackson for the lead image. Those in favor of the painting have said that the painting depicts him as a man of vigor and at the height of his powers. It was argued that the painting depicts Jackson as he was during the presidency that made him notable. It's also been argued that readers are unlikely to recognize the photograph as being of Jackson, and that MOS:LEADIMAGE favors an image that can give readers visual confirmation that they've arrived at the right page, which they say is more the case with the painting than the photograph. Editors favoring the painting say they do not consider it a hagiographic image.

Proponents of the photograph have said consensus can change and argue that since Lead images should be natural and appropriate representations of the topic (MOS:LEADIMAGE), What is more natural than a photograph?. Editors in favor of the painting have pointed to Wikipedia articles about other presidents around this time period that use post-presidential photographs as lead images (John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren). It was argued that the photograph is recognizable as Jackson, with his characteristically tousled hair and the distinctive shape of his face, and that the painting's smoothed over features and hair aren't as obviously Jackson. Some concern was expressed that the painting may be hagiographic.

For clarity, there is a different photograph of Andrew Jackson that was brought up early in the thread, but which no editors any longer favor.

Courtesy pinging editors involved in the talk page thread: Ccole2006, Carlstak, Wtfiv, Shearonink, ARoseWolf

P-Makoto (she/her) (talk) 21:27, 2 March 2024 (UTC)

Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Hello! On behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, I have drafted a replacement Wikipedia entry for editor review. On the article's Talk page, I have outlined how the current entry is problematic and shared how I think the draft is a significant improvement. I do not edit the main space because of my conflict of interest, so I'm seeking assistance from other editors to implement the improved text on my behalf. Are any WikiProject US History members willing to take a look? Thanks for your consideration, Inkian Jason (talk) 16:37, 18 March 2024 (UTC)

 Done The draft has been reviewed. Thanks! Inkian Jason (talk) 14:42, 21 March 2024 (UTC)