Historians/History

Reporter's Notebook: Highlights from the World History Convention

by Jeremy H. Neill

What: World History: The Next Ten Years ... A Conference on Research, Teaching, and Graduate Education Where: John Hancock Hotel and Conference Center, BostonWhen: Friday - Sunday, March 12-14, 2004As a way of introduction, I'm at this conference as a Ph.D. student at Northeastern University here in Boston , on the verge of finishing up

Is "Imperialism" Really the Right Word for What We're Doing in Iraq?

by Derek Catsam

The American and indeed global political dialogue is increasingly sloppy. People throw around terms with blatant disregard for their meanings, usually with malice, or at least political point scoring. Thus conservatives with whom one disagrees become fascists, Nazis, or better yet, somehow evocative of Hitler. Lefties become Communists, Marxists, and, natch, Stalinists. Right-wingers want a police state. Left-wingers hate America . The effects of this increasingly divisive dialogue, or rather

An Interview with Victor Davis Hanson

by Jamie Glazov

Following is an interview with historian Victor Davis Hanson, author of the newly released book, Between War and Peace: Lessons from Afghanistan to Iraq. The interview was conducted by historian Jamie Glazov, the managing editor of frontpagemag.com, where the interview was first published. Frontpage Magazine: Mr. Hanson, it is a pleasure to have you jo

Daniel Pipes: Both Right and Wrong

by Irfan Khawaja

Editor's Note: Mr. Pipes's reply to this article can be found by clicking here."And on that day will men... be shown the deeds that they had done. And who has done an atom's weight of good shall see it, and who has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it, too." -Quran, 99:6-8 As many readers will already know, on April 4 of this year, President Bush nominated Daniel Pipes, directo

The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis

by Kathryn Moore

He fought his way to the Pacific and back but took the wrong turn to Nashville. Meriwether Lewis committed suicide - or did he? Lewis's death has been the subject of debate for nearly 200 years. Whispers of his depressed state of mind (and/or alcoholism, and/or an addiction to opium) made their way east, and these allegations as well as many other details remain rather ambiguous. For example, the nature of Lewis's wounds is a major area of discrepancy in the

Response to James McPherson et al.

by David Vancil

Click here to read a second response by David Vancil to Professor McPherson. Jane Singer's Response to David Vancil's Article In"Fact or Fiction?" excerpted online (http:// www.theaha.org/perspectives/issues/ 2004/0401/0401pre2.cfm) from the January 2004 President's column i

And They Didn't Include Bernard Lewis?

by Martin Kramer

The president of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) has just published a letter to members of the association. So I have exercised my prerogative as the anti-MESA, to write my own letter to the members. Check back soon: letters to MESA could become a habit. Dear MESA members, We last met in Chicago in December 1998—the MESA conference that celebrated and canonized Edward Said on the twentieth anniversary of his book Orientalism.

What Can "Survivor" Teach Us About Writing History?

by Jonathan Rees

During my first year as a full-time college teacher, I hung out with a couple of English professors who were in the same job situation I was. The first time we ever talked about our classes, I told them that I wanted to teach the students in my survey “basic facts” about American history. “You believe in facts?,” one of them asked. And from that point on, I never heard the end of it. “Silly historian,” I could here them mutter to one another whenever I used that “F” word. Like m

A Hawk on Vietnam, a Dove on Iraq

by Hans Trefousse

I have been asked by HNN how I could have been a hawk during the Vietnam War when I am a dove now during the conflict in Iraq. The answer is very simple. A refugee from the Nazi dictatorship, I came to the United States after I had just turned fourteen and soon became accustomed to American ways and manners. Thoroughly assimilated, I joined the army during World War II, was naturalized and swore allegiance to this country. Rising to the rank of captain, I stayed in the reserves until I retir

In Response to David Vancil

by Edward Steers, Jr., and Joan Chaconas

EDWARD STEERS, JR., RESPONDS In responding to Dr. Vancil's remarks let me begin by stating that Dr. Vancil and his staff were extremely helpful during our visit to the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Cunningham Memorial Library. Joan Chaconas and I are aware that Dr. Vancil went to considerable effort to locate and copy most of the documents and photographs requested by us. This required some effort on

It's Time to Explode the Myths About the New Deal

by Jim Powell

Following is an excerpt from Mr. Powell's controversial new book, FDR's Folly: How Roosevelt and His New Deal Prolonged the Great Depression (Crown Forum, 2003). The Great Depression has ha

The Racist Money-Bags Behind Sacramento State University

by Tony Platt

Every time that I drive through the main entrance to Sacramento State University, I am taken aback by the signage that announces the "C. M. Goethe Arboretum." As a longtime faculty member, I know that Charles M. Goethe (1875-1966) was a widely respected philanthropist and benefactor of the university. But because I've been doing research on eugenics, a now discredited science popular in the 1920s and 1930s, I also know that in his 1936 presidential address to the Eugenics Research Asso

What Should We Teach Our Kids About World History?

by Department of History, Georgia State University

In February the Department of History at Georgia State University approved a series of resolutions objecting to the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) proposed for public schools. Below is the Department's critique of world history standards. World History, 1500 to the Present—10th gradeThe defining sentence of the 10th-grade World History

Document Supplied by Charles Hanley

Mr. Hanley has asked HNN to draw the attention of readers to the end of the second paragraph, July 28 entry, where the text refers to"enemy equipment."

The Nixon Foundation Can't Be Trusted with the Nixon Papers

by Maarja Krusten

Richard Nixon's White House records soon will be transferred from the National Archives to a library associated with the Nixon Foundation. John Taylor, a Nixon Foundation official, is negotiating the transfer of the records. As a former archivist with the Archives' Nixon records staff, I am alarmed by this news. As their administrations come to a close, presidents establish foundations to raise money for libraries to house their records. The National Archives runs the libraries but

JFK Wanted Out of Vietnam

by Howard Jones

Like many of my generation, I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when the news arrived from Dallas that President John F. Kennedy had been shot.

Are the Revisionists Right About FDR?

by Alonzo Hamby

Late last year, a band of conservative Republican congressmen, seemingly motivated by an overwhelming urge to smash a liberal icon and replace it with one of their own, unexpectedly declared they would offer a resolution to remove Franklin Roosevelt's image from the dime and replace it with Ronald Reagan's. Their polar opposites among the Democrats rushed to the barricades. Nearly sixty years after his death, Franklin Roosevelt elicits near-worshipful adulation from those who position

Identification and Autopsy of John Wilkes Booth (Page 10)

by Leonard F. Guttridge

Identification and Autopsy of John Wilkes Booth (Page 9)

by Leonard F. Guttridge

Identification and Autopsy of John Wilkes Booth (Page 8)

by Leonard F. Guttridge