Current Events that Relate to History
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CommentFrom Aid to Trade
What U.S. policymakers should know about U.S.-Africa relations.Perspectives on History -
DebunkSouthern Strategies
You're misreading Lee Atwater’s infamous “southern strategy” quote as a confession.Campaign Trails -
Origin StoryMy Search for Barbie’s Aryan Predecessor
The original doll was not made by Mattel but by a business that perfected its practice making plaster casts of Hitler.The Nation -
Book ExcerptGive Me Independence: On 1776, the Pivotal Year For What Would Become America
Why 1776 became the year Americans declared themselves an independent nation.Literary Hub -
Book ExcerptHonest Truths From Wrongful Deaths
Left-wing intellectuals' early responses to the 9/11 terror attacks.Public Seminar -
Book ReviewThe US Propped Up the Shah’s Dictatorship to the Bitter End
The shah of Iran faced a secular opposition that wanted to restore constitutional government.Jacobin -
exhibitCrimes of War
Stories about the civilian victims of past wars, and the extent to which Americans have acknowledged and accounted for atrocities committed in their name.
From the HNN Archive
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How to Succeed in Government Without Really Trying
The long history of promising an “efficient” federal government. -
If the Slipper Doesn’t Fit
A scorched shoe is a crucial part of Zelda Fitzgerald’s modern mythology. But there’s no proof it existed. -
Indifferent to the Fate of Freedom Elsewhere
Jimmy Carter is known for his defense of human rights worldwide. But in 1979, he threatened to deport thousands of Iranian student protesters. -
Elevating the Few
What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration. -
Whose Side Are College Administrators On?
There’s a long history of politicians targeting student protesters — and of campus leaders abetting those efforts. -
Solve for AI
What the history of the pocket calculator reveals about the future of AI in classrooms. -
“At Any Future Time”
In 1880, the daughter of a Welsh politician turned to fiction to expose perspectives missing from the official record, upending histories for generations to come. -
Slamming America’s Door Behind Him
How a son of European immigrants fought to keep Indian immigrants out of America. -
Governing by Police
The Metropolitan Police Department in DC has been an essential component of Washington politics since its founding. -
When Good Housekeeping Meant Getting Vaccinated Against Polio
The pages of 1950s lifestyle magazines offer a glimpse of a time when childhood vaccines were anything but controversial.