Current Events that Relate to History
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ExplainerWhat the New JFK Files Reveal About the CIA’s Secrets
A presidential lawyer and historian combed through the latest document dump so you don’t have to. Here’s what he found.The Hive -
ExplainerSoft Power
What it means, why it matters, and where it started.Imperfect Union -
Q&AThe Future Happens in Oakland First. That’s a Cautionary Tale for Global Cities
International trade boomed with the city’s early adoption of technological and economic changes, but Black neighborhoods became ‘sacrifice zones.’The Guardian -
Origin StoryHow Sports Betting Took Over March Madness
For decades, the NCAA vigorously opposed sports gambling. Now, March Madness is one of the most bet-on sporting events.Made By History -
Book ReviewHow White-Collar Criminals Plundered a Brooklyn Neighborhood
How East New York was ransacked by the real estate industry and abandoned by the city in the process.The Nation -
BiographyDiscover Patrick Henry’s Legacy, Beyond His Revolutionary ‘Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death’ Speech
Delivered 250 years ago, the famous oration marked the Henry’s influence. The politician also served in key roles in Virginia’s state government.Smithsonian -
exhibitSocial Safety Net
How Americans through the years have approached the thorny questions of identifying who the government is obliged to help and how such assistance should be funded and distributed.
From the HNN Archive
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What Is the Role of the Historian?
Rethinking the job of history — and the American Historical Association — after the veto of the Gaza “scholasticide” resolution. -
“A Party for the White Man”
The scene at the 1964 Republican National Convention, when Barry Goldwater was nominated and black Republicans’ worst fears about their party were confirmed. -
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. -
Ohio’s Little-Known Fascist Member of Congress
How a local prosecutor protected white supremacists and went on to a career in Washington, DC. -
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. -
The Forebears of JD Vance and the New Right
Revisiting the Agrarian-Distributists and their fabrication of an American past. -
The Burned-Over District
The Northeast caught fire this fall, in a way that recalls its past. History has some lessons about how to manage the region’s fire seasons to come. -
Who Built the Panama Canal?
Finding testimony from the Afro-Caribbean workers who changed the Americas forever.