Historians/History

How Even President Obama Gets U.S. History Wrong: We Weren’t a Colonial Power?

by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

President Obama thinks we lack a colonial past.  What does he think Columbus Day is all about? 

Is Jefferson the Fall Guy for the Problems of Our Time?

by M. Andrew Holowchak

Why historians cannot readily situate Jefferson.

We Must Not Gloss Over America's Past

by Walter Kamphoefner

Our form of government has survived for more than two centuries not because it was perfect at the creation. It survived because it contains mechanisms for self-criticism and self-improvement, mechanisms that are undermined by "feel-good" history.

This Is What It's Like When You're Living in an Old Folks' Home (It Could Easily Be Worse)

by Vaughn Davis Bornet, Ph.D., CDR (USNR, ret)

A 97 year old scholar tells what it’s like to live in an institution for the elderly.

The Curious Case of the University of Nebraska's Lack of Curiosity When Plagiarism Allegations Were Leveled Against Two Books by Matthew Whitaker

by Rick Shenkman

The Nebraska Press has published two of Whitaker's books.  They have never been withdrawn.

Matthew Whitaker, Arizona State University, and the University of Nebraska Press: How Plagiarism is Addressed in the New American Academy

by Brian Gratton

What happened to Matthew Whitaker after he was accused of plagiarism. 

Here Is What Can Make a Difference in Race Relations – And It Happened in Major League Baseball Decades Ago

by Michael H. Ebner

The obituary a few weeks ago of a former major league baseball player – George Shuba – has furnished a useful lesson about race.

This Is How a Historian Ends Up Becoming a Novelist Who Writes About Vampires

by Brandy Schillace

"Did I mention I’m a historian? Right. I also write vampire fiction.”

Three Things to Keep In Mind When You Are Trying to Write Compelling History

by S.C. Gwynne

Rule # 1 is ...

A Response to the Critics of the National Women's History Museum

by Joan Wages

“How to Build a Women’s History Museum?” The answer, as the National Women’s History Museum can tell you, is more complicated than it would first appear.

Historians Should Honor Protesting Colorado Students

by Peter Dreier

Wouldn't it be fitting and appropriate for the OAH and the AHA to give these students an award at the next meetings for their commitment to the teaching of American history?

An Interview with MacArthur Genius Award Winner Pamela O. Long

by Ethan Feinstein

"I am especially interested in pre-modern history because you are studying a culture that in some fundamental ways is different from your own."

Ken Burns Overlooks the Secret of FDR's Success: The Power of the People

by Peter Dreier

Missing from The Roosevelts is the real secret of FDR's success - the escalating protests that created a sense of urgency throughout the country and the political savvy of a small cadre of FDR's progressive advisers.

In World War II these Two British Sisters Worked as Spies. Then the War Ended and so Did Their Chance for a Liberated Life

by Susan Ottaway

If caught the female agents were given the same treatment as their male counterparts. Many of the women were captured, some were tortured and others executed.

These Stories Were too Good to Be True. Then I Found Out They Were True.

by D.W. Duke

What a descendant of the Dukes in North Carolina discovered when he decided to write a novel about his illustrious family's history.

An Interview with MacArthur Genius Award Winner Tara Zahra

by Ethan Feinstein

"I come from a working-class background (my father is a butcher) and I am a first-generation college student. I was facing some serious culture shock at Swarthmore."

This Is What Mythologizing History Looks Like in 2014

by Alan Singer

It’s time to call out mythologizing when we see it.

How to Build a Women’s History Museum

by Alice Kessler-Harris and Sonya Michel

Professional historians have to be included in the commission for a women's history museum.

Ancient Amazons -- Imaginary, Man-Hating Virgins Invented to Be Killed by Greek Heroes? Wrong.

by Adrienne Mayor

Rethinking the most notorious "facts" about the ancient Amazons.

What’s Curious about This Picture?

by Michael C. C. Adams

The accompanying field sketch is by combat artist Alfred R. Waud, one of two pictorial correspondents to cover Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. Notice anyting odd?