@damonroot

Journalist & author. My latest book is EMANCIPATION WAR: THE FALL OF SLAVERY AND THE COMING OF THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT (2026).

amazon.com/Emancipation-War-Slavery-Thirteenth-Amendment/dp/1640126430/ref=books_amazons
Joined December 2010
  • Tweets2.5K
  • Following263
  • Followers5.8K
198Media
Damon Root retweeted
Damon Root@damonrootOct 16
Ambrose Bierce delighted in writing about strange and horrific acts of murder and the macabre. So it’s perhaps fitting that Bierce would meet his own end under mysterious and possibly gruesome circumstances. damonroot.substack.com/p/the…
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In this most recent episode of The Blessings of Liberty, @RosenJeffrey sat down with award-winning journalist @damonroot to discuss his new book, Emancipation War: The Fall of Slavery and the Coming of the Thirteenth Amendment.
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Damon Root retweeted
FIRE
@TheFIREorgSep 11
Knowledge can change lives and give people the tools to speak for themselves. Susie King Taylor’s story proves it. @damonroot joins FIRE’s @RosenJeffrey to share how Taylor learned to read while enslaved and, after escaping to freedom, taught Black soldiers to do the same.
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Damon Root retweeted
Greg Lukianoff
@glukianoffSep 6
What do a mandatory land acknowledgment, a forced apology for a meme, and censorship of flood footage in Tibet have in common? They all show what happens when institutions decide that avoiding offense, enforcing orthodoxy, or controlling a narrative matters more than freedom of expression. Stuart Reges for @nypost on how he fought the University of Washington over compelled speech — and won. 🔥@Persuasion tells Vinita Prabhakar’s story of being fired after teaching a short story. 🔥@sarahemclaugh looks at censorship and repression in China and Hong Kong. 🔥@damonroot mourns the legacy of hardcore punk legend and free-speech champion Lou Koller. 🔥@cosmos_inst announces 80 new grantees & a whole lot more! See it all in this weekend’s update: open.substack.com/pub/greglu…
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'Koller [& band] were never looking to be free speech champions or to be the public faces of some kind of culture war. But they recognized the attack on them for what it was and acted accordingly.' Great @damonroot eulogy for Sick of It All's Lou Koller reason.com/2026/07/28/rip-lo…

RIP Lou Koller, a hardcore punk hero and free speech champion

The lead singer and co-founder of the iconic New York hardcore punk band Sick of It All, died on Friday after a long battle with cancer.

reason.com
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Damon Root retweeted
Damon Root@damonrootJul 18
Here's something about the Battle of Fort Wagner, which was fought on this day in 1863, and its importance as a milestone on the long, winding road to freedom. damonroot.substack.com/p/to-…
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Damon Root retweeted
1776 Live
@250YearsAgoLiveJul 18
At 1 PM, the Declaration of Independence is read aloud at the Boston State House, where it is received merrily by the gathered citizenry. The audience responds with three huzzahs and 13 rounds of cannon fire, followed by public libations.
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Damon Root retweeted
Damon Root@damonrootJul 15
Huge wins for executive power in general; stinging losses for Donald Trump in particular; and a mixed bag for civil liberties. Here are the key takeaways from another big year at the Supreme Court. reason.com/2026/07/14/4-take…

4 takeaways from the Supreme Court’s 2025–2026 term

Executive power was the overriding theme of SCOTUS' recently wrapped term. It is also at the center of the biggest questions going forward.

reason.com
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Damon Root retweeted
1776 Live
@250YearsAgoLiveJul 11
News of the Declaration of Independence reaches Boston after one week.
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Damon Root retweeted
Damon Root@damonrootJul 9
Clarence Thomas made it clear that if it were up to him, President Trump would have prevailed in every single case that tested the scope of Trump’s executive power. reason.com/2026/07/09/claren…

Clarence Thomas doubled down on presidential power

The conservative justice pushed for greater executive authority even in cases in which Trump won.

reason.com
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Damon Root retweeted
1776 Live
@250YearsAgoLiveJul 9
The Declaration of Independence is translated into German for Pennsylvania’s German residents, who do not speak English.
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Damon Root retweeted
Potomac Books@PotomacBooksJul 7
Joel J. Miller reviews EMANCIPATION WAR by @damonroot in 'There Were Two Civil Wars, and We Weren't Always Sure Which We Were Fighting.' bit.ly/44gs0Gb

There Were Two Civil Wars, and We Weren’t Always Sure Which We Fighting

Damon Root’s ‘Emancipation War: The Fall of Slavery and the Coming of the Thirteenth Amendment’

millersbookreview.com
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Damon Root retweeted
1776 Live
@250YearsAgoLiveJul 4
Continental Congress HAS SIGNED A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE!  The UNITED STATES are OFFICIALLY INDEPENDENT from BRITAIN. LIBERTY BELLS ring out throughout Philadelphia; the streets ERUPT IN ECSTASY.
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Damon Root retweeted
CineCalendar@CineCalendarJul 4
Jul 4th 1996 - President Whitmore delivers the most rousing Independence Day speech ever and the humans fight back against the aliens in #ID4 📽️📅 Independence Day (1996)
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Damon Root retweeted
Damon Root@damonroot4 Jul 2025
Frederick Douglass fought the good fight, helping to make his country a freer place than it was before. He set an example for all of us to follow, not only on Independence Day, but on every day. reason.com/2025/07/03/what-f…

What Frederick Douglass can still teach us about the Fourth of July

Douglass set an example for all of us to follow, not only on Independence Day, but on every day.

reason.com
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On this day in 1863, Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army is decisively beaten after three days of bloody fighting at Gettysburg. Both the defeat there and the fall of Vicksburg on July 4 come as major blows to the Southern rebellion.
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Today in 1863, a 34-year-old college professor from Maine named Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain helps fend off repeated Confederate attacks against the left flank of the Union line at Gettysburg. The fight for Little Round Top will become one of the battle's most celebrated moments. [Happy Bayonets!!! Day to all who celebrate.]
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As the child of two parents granted citizenship by dint of being born in the US, I'm especially happy to see the Supreme Court uphold the plain language of the Constitution. Read @damonroot on birthright citizenship case at @reason. reason.com/2026/06/30/suprem…

Supreme Court affirms original meaning of birthright citizenship, strikes down Trump's executive...

Understanding 'Trump v. Barbara'.

reason.com
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Damon Root retweeted
1776 Live
@250YearsAgoLiveJun 28
Thomas Jefferson submits the final draft of his Declaration of Independence to Continental Congress.
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On this day in 1863, George Meade takes command of the Army of the Potomac. Five days later, he'll defeat Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg.
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