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J.M. Opal

Associate Professor of History, McGill University
Jason Opal teaches history at McGill University and is the author of Avenging the People: Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law, and the American Nation, published by Oxford University Press.

Jason Opal studies colonial North America, the American Revolution, and the early decades of the United States. His work tries to integrate social, cultural, and intellectual history and to shed light on such broad topics as nationalism, capitalism, and democracy.

Opal did his undergraduate work at Cornell and his doctoral studies at Brandeis, where he worked with historians such as Jane Kamensky, David Hackett Fischer, and James T. Kloppenberg. His first major project was on the cultural transformation of ambition in the post-Revolutionary New England countryside. It resulted in a 2004 Journal of American History article that won the Organization of American Historians’ Binkley-Stephenson Award and in a 2008 book, Beyond the Farm: National Ambitions in Rural New England, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press. His second book project focused on the southern borderlands of the American Revolution and on the rise of Andrew Jackson as the leader of an American national concept rooted in the desire for vengeance. Supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant, this project culminated in the 2017 book, Avenging the People: Andrew Jackson, the Rule of Law, and the American Nation by Oxford University Press. His new projects include a global history of Barbados and a collaborative project with his father, Dr. Steven M. Opal, on the history of epidemic diseases in American life.

At McGill, Opal teaches surveys of the early United States and the American Revolution as well as more specialized courses on the history of slavery, U.S. foreign relations, democracy, and the family.

The U.S. Founding Fathers would want us to get the COVID-19 vaccine

Jan 19, 2021 05:48 am UTC| Politics Insights & Views

With the United States Capitol overrun by Trumps deplorables, it was easy to miss the other calamity that hit America last week: the pace of COVID-19 deaths hit a frightful new high. In Los Angeles County, a victim now...

The resilience of Barbados counters Trump's 'sh-thole' remarks

Nov 14, 2018 11:46 am UTC| Insights & Views

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, former attorney and future inmate Michael Cohen revealed some of the uglier things Donald Trump said to him during their many years together. Among the alleged quotes: Name one...

The elimination of smallpox showed how humans can work together to solve deadly global problems

Oct 04, 2018 14:22 pm UTC| Insights & Views Health

If you were to watch a split-screen broadcast with global weather on one side and world politics on the other, you could easily conclude that we are doomed. Prodigious storms and killer heat waves announce the arrival...

Location, location, location: Trump has the best spot in American politics

Sep 10, 2018 13:51 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

How long until hes impeached? Canadian observers of the political dumpster fire down south are right to pose this question, for the list of scandals and offences is long and growing. One week, we learn about...

Economy

Trump Pushes China Market Access During High-Stakes Xi Summit

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that his top priority during his state visit to China will be urging President Xi Jinping to open the Chinese market further to Western companies. Speaking aboard Air Force...

Asian Currencies Hold Steady as Strong U.S. Inflation Data Boosts Dollar

Asian currencies traded mostly flat on Wednesday after posting strong gains in the previous session, as higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data strengthened the U.S. dollar and pushed Treasury yields higher. Investors...

Asian Stocks Steady as Iran War Concerns Persist Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit

Asian stock markets traded in a narrow range on Wednesday as investors remained cautious over the ongoing Iran conflict and its potential impact on global inflation. Market sentiment also stayed focused on the upcoming...

Australia Housing Tax Reform Sparks Debate Over Property Investor Tax Breaks

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has triggered a major political and economic debate after announcing plans to scale back tax breaks for property investors, a move welcomed by many aspiring homebuyers but...

New Zealand Budget 2026 Focuses on Fiscal Discipline and Infrastructure Investment

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced that the government will maintain strict control over day-to-day spending in Budget 2026 while significantly increasing capital investment to strengthen the countrys...

Politics

Trump Administration Appoints David Venturella as Acting ICE Director Amid Immigration Crackdown

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official David Venturella will become the agencys new acting director following the departure of Todd Lyons at the...

Bahamas Election 2026: Prime Minister Philip Davis Secures Historic Second Term

Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis and the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) secured a decisive victory in the 2026 Bahamas general election, marking the first time in nearly three decades that a Bahamian leader has...

Tennessee Republicans Remove Democrats From Committees After Redistricting Protest

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton removed Democratic lawmakers from all committee and subcommittee assignments following protests over the states controversial congressional redistricting plan. The disciplinary action...

Russia Resumes Heavy Drone Attacks on Ukraine After Ceasefire Ends

Russian forces launched a new wave of attacks across Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region on Tuesday, killing at least six people and injuring several others shortly after a temporary U.S.-mediated ceasefire expired. Ukrainian...

US-China Trade Talks Begin in South Korea Ahead of Trump-Xi Beijing Summit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in South Korea on Wednesday for high-level trade discussions with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng ahead of the much-anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Japan’s Top Banks to Gain Access to Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI Model

Japans three largest banking institutions are expected to receive access to Claude Mythos, the advanced artificial intelligence model created by U.S.-based AI startup Anthropic, according to a report published by Nikkei on...

Samsung Shares Slide as Wage Talks Collapse, Raising Strike Fears

Samsung Electronics shares fell sharply on Wednesday after negotiations between the company and its largest labour union failed to produce a wage agreement, increasing concerns over a possible large-scale strike that could...

Arteris Stock Surges After Strong Q1 Earnings Beat and Higher 2026 Outlook

Arteris Inc. (NASDAQ: AIP) shares surged in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the semiconductor software company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter 2026 earnings and raised its full-year revenue forecast. The...

Anthropic Eyes $300M Stainless Acquisition Amid Enterprise AI Expansion

Anthropic is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire developer tools startup Stainless in a deal valued at more than $300 million, according to a report from The Information. The potential acquisition highlights the...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Join Trump’s China Visit Amid AI Chip Tensions

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is expected to join a group of top American business leaders accompanying U.S. President Donald Trump during his upcoming visit to China, according to two Reuters sources familiar with the matter....