'Really jarring moment': Historian lays out 'alarming' parallels to turbulent time period

Current events largely resemble what happened in the early 1800s, but there is a way to fight back, a historian said Saturday.

Nicole Lee Schroeder, PhD, an Assistant Prof at Kean University, took to social media this weekend to explain some parallels between the 2000s and the 1820s.

"It is a really jarring moment to be a historian. To know what might be coming is alarming," Schroeder wrote Saturday. "To realize that no one around you sees it or acknowledges it is a weird place to be in. It's like time traveling without time traveling."

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Schroeder continued, "I study the 19th century and the 2020s look a lot like 1820s. Frequent epidemics? Check. Inflation? Check. Xenophobia and deportation schemes? Check. Women's rights losses? Check. Rampant backlash against women's economic freedoms and jobs outside the home? Check."

Schroeder went on to list even more similarities between the two time periods.

"Growth of carceral facilities? Check. Legislation to forcibly institutionalize disabled people? Check. Targeted attacks on Indigenous peoples? Check," Schroeder wrote. "Extreme religious fervor? Check. Efforts to shape public school curriculum with religious rhetoric? Check. Tariffs? Check."

Schroeder went on to say that, while "the antebellum era was a time of progress," it "was also a time fueled by hate."

"Slavery fueled the economy, and antislavery efforts were not very radical on the whole. Hatred against immigrants was widespread and poverty was extensive," Schroeder added. "Everything we are seeing right now happened in the early 1800s. And these choices were fueled by white supremacy, misogyny, and xenophobia. I really wish more people understood that we've been here and done this. Life only got better for those who actively oppressed others."

Schroeder also gave a ray of hope by encouraging people to learn from the history.

"It's time to learn from that history if you haven't already. We cannot go back to that. For anyone despairing, it's also time to learn from the radical activists who shaped resistance. 19th century activists didn't lose hope, we cannot lose hope either," Schroeder said. "Abolitionists, women's rights organizers, workers rights unions, disability rights orgs, and pro-immigration orgs did the work under far worse circumstances with very little global solidarity. We have better tools, connections, and resources."

If you're "in despair," Schroeder said, "pick up a history book."

"Before every win for human rights came a fight for it. We are now a part of that fight. We are not alone. We have all of these histories to guide us," the assistant professor added.