Current Events that Relate to History
Recently Published
View AllOriginal features and excerpts of new books
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Features
Young Washington Is Old History
A new movie relies on 19th century myths to portray the very British George Washington as a moralistic proto-American ready to pursue independence. -
Excerpts
A Danger to Civilization
Lothrop Stoddard believed that the concept of “natural equality” between people was a threat to America. In the 1920s, it was hardly a fringe idea. -
Excerpts
The Bicentennial Made American History Look Ridiculous
Many Americans felt the U.S. had failed to live up to its ideals on its 200th anniversary. They hoped it might improve by the Declaration’s next big celebration.
In the Newsletter
View All EditionsCurated collections that explore a different theme each week
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CommentThe Lesson Watergate Was Supposed to Teach
Nixon’s downfall was supposed to restrain presidents for generations. Instead, Watergate helped write the script for the scandals that followed.The Atlantic -
Dispatch
Trump’s Border-Wall Construction Is Set to Bulldoze a West Texas Historic Site
It is considered sacred ground for the descendants of those killed in a mass execution. The border wall threatens to erase it from history.Texas Monthly -
CommentDemocratic Socialism Has Been Rising in the U.S. For Over 50 Years
A number of DSA-endorsed candidates are winning Democratic primaries, building on a strategy from the 1970s.Made By History -
DiscoveryBoston Tea Party Relic on Display for Decades Is Something Else Entirely
The findings don’t devalue the artifact’s significance, but the story behind it is much different from what we thought.Gizmodo -
Book ReviewAnything Could Become a Battleground
Isaac Butler mixes history and personal testimony to examine the ‘culture wars’ that shaped the 1980s—conflicts that differed in striking ways from today.Los Angeles Review of Books -
ArgumentThe Enemies of 1776
On the long history of the US's genocidal wars and pacification operations in the global frontier—from the Indian Wars, to the War in Vietnam, to Gaza.Protean -
exhibitCollege Costs
Historical perspectives on the money that fuels American higher education, and Americans’ attempts to reckon with the power dynamics that result.
