The Best Twitter Accounts to Follow to Stay Informed

My original love and passion has been around United States history. It started when I was young with a fascination around Abraham Lincoln. Seriously, in third grade, I was sent to the principal’s office because I wouldn’t put down a biography about Abraham Lincoln and do my math assignments. I went to East Carolina University and majored in history education, which meant I took a diverse assortment of humanities offerings. I took several political science and geography classes, and it was at that point that my interest in politics took off. My favorite part of politics is seeing the connection between political climates and other historical events that impact elections.

With the amount of news that comes through daily, I have long relied on Twitter for quick updates throughout the day and articles to read at night. In recent times, I have taken a liking to following #twitterstorians on Twitter for historical analysis to current events, primary sources, and what books I should add to my Audible list.

Here are the best Twitter accounts to follow to stay informed.

Top 5 Best Twitter Accounts to Follow to Stay Informed:

Dr. Kevin M. Kruse

Last year, a friend introduced me to Dr. Kruse, a professor at Princeton, and he quickly became my go-to for staying informed and finding other #twitterstorians. He uses Twitter to educate the masses on various historical concepts and themes, fact checks and corrects all while using primary sources to back up his argument. His twitter feed makes this history-loving heart of mine sing with passion and joy. He also went to UNC-CH, so he will sometimes tweet about North Carolina, including his favorite BBQ places. I just recently started listening to his book, One Nation Under God, and have added additional books of his to my reading list, including his newest, Fault Lines.

TheSkimm

One of the best decisions I made was to sign up for the daily emails of TheSkimm, which includes news briefings with links to the longer articles and always includes sarcasm. I wake up, pour myself a cup of coffee, and read TheSkimm before getting started on my day. Their Twitter feed includes the information from each day’s news briefings, but also provides information on other topics of interest as well. I highly recommend signing up for their daily emails and following long with them on Twitter as well.

Women Also Know History

I found this account thanks to the #twitterstorian hashtag on Twitter and love seeing historians who are female doing their thing in the profession. While this account is used to help promote curriculum that women historians produce, it also provides the same type of analysis to current events. It also provides a variety of women historians to follow in a male dominated field, so I highly recommend.

NPR

My go-to news source for updates on current events. There are also great connections to other programs that NPR offers, including their 5 minute briefing podcast (more on this in a later post).

Dr. Annette Gordon-Reed

I discovered Dr. Gordon-Reed in one of my graduate school classes when picking a topic to research for the American Revolution. I read her book The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, and fell in love with her way with words, her historical analysis, and her perspective on history. She is a professor of law and history at Harvard, and provides incredible takes on history and makes that connection to current events and culture. I definitely recommend checking out her books as well.