Historians/History

What It Was Like to Write for the New York Times Series on the Civil War

by Terry L. Jones

“What made a strong impression on me was the loathing many commenters had for the South and political conservatives. This truly shocked me.”

On the 65th Anniversary of the Korean War, It’s Worth Noting This: We Got the Meaning of the War Wrong

by Masuda Hajimu

It marked the real beginning of the Cold War for millions of ordinary people around the world.

When Europeans Contemplated Turning over Africans to Nazis to Save Their Own Skins

by Susan Pedersen

It happened in 1938. We should remember this.

Y’all: It’s Older Than We Knew

by David B. Parker

New digital databases are changing the history of linguistics.

George Whitefield, Hero of the Revolution?

by Jessica M. Parr

As independence was declared, and the new country sought to frame its new political and social identity, there was even more of a need to construct an American religious identity.

The Countess Who Bested Shakespeare

by Chris Laoutaris

And the reason, not known until now, that Shakespeare’s patron sided with her.

The Now Forgotten Battlefield for Hearts and Minds in the Cold War

by Sara Fieldston

Hint: It features the sad faces of impoverished children.

The Ship Americans Forgot

by Larry W. Waterfield

And the role it played in the American Revolution.

Why Vita Sackville-West Was Not a Gay Icon During Her Lifetime

by Matthew Dennison

An intensely secretive nature, and old-fashioned sense of ‘good behavior’ and British laws criminalizing homosexuality, kept the writer and gardener firmly in the closet.

Why Historians Should Use Social Science Insights When Writing History

by Josiah Ober

Even ancient Greek history can be illuminated by the use of these techniques.

What Led this Historian to Write a Novel About Indians and Slavery?

by Tiya Miles

It was the extraordinary opportunity to explore the emotional lives of the people she’d been studying.

Why I Believe Meriwether Lewis Was Assassinated

by Kira Gale

The villain behind the assassination? General James Wilkinson, the “most consummate artist in treason the nation has ever produced.”

Why It’s Time to Remember Waterloo for a Different Reason

by Christine Haynes

The battle deserves to be celebrated not as the end of the first “total war,” but as the beginning of a “total peace.”

The Man Who Lost the Gideon Case: An Interview with Bruce R. Jacob

by Mark Weisenmiller

What he thinks now about the case and whether at the time he hoped he’d lose.

Would the D-Day Invasion Have Been Possible if Facebook Existed?

by Christopher Kelly

An interactive poll on Allied strategy would be tweeted: "Which beach do you like more, Normandy or Pas de Calais?"

Lucy Ann Lobdell : The 19th Century Woman Who Pretended to Be a Man

by William Klaber

But this author’s verdict is that she wasn’t transgender.

How Would History Read Differently If We Treated Humans as Just Another Species?

by Alexander Harcourt

In his new book, this biogeographer discovers how biology and geography shape human diversity.  

5 Things You May Not Know About Jonas Salk

by Charlotte D. Jacobs

A biographer discovers her subject is far from the figure beloved by the public or ridiculed by his scientific peers.

Showing Pictures of Muhammad Is Ok

by Timothy R. Furnish

Islamic artists have been doing it for centuries.

Here's Where to Turn If You Have a Question About Presidents of the United States

by Mark Hallum

The American Presidency Project draws researchers of different demographics to its site with a massive easy-to-use archive.