Roundup

The U. S. Needs a New Populist Progressivism

by Walter G. Moss

The American left can win by demonstrating its commitment to inclusivity and expressing a populism that is for all the people. There are models, if we know where to look for them. 

Lithium, Cobalt, and Rare Earths: The Post-Petroleum Resource Race and What to Make of It

by Michael Klare

Renewable energy may close the door on the era of oil war, but it's imperative that industrial nations not allow a new global conflict over access to the materials needed to build a renewable energy infrastructure. 

Tucker Carlson’s Cries about Immigrants

by Zachary M. Schrag

Before Tucker Carlson, Samuel Morse was the nation's leading anti-immigrant troll. And, like Carlson, he attributed evils to Catholic immigrant voters that simply reflected the day's political culture, shared by native-born and immigrant Americans. 

Colorizing Photos From the Past: The Ethics of Making History

by Tara Tran

Digital technology allows historians to change images, raising a host of ethical dilemmas. 

How Billy Graham Weaponized White Evangelical Christian Power In America

by Anthea Butler

Although the Reverend Billy Graham projected an image of religious revival divorced from politics, he encouraged an evangelical sense of fear that has been manipulated by right-wing politicians for decades. 

Dropout Professors

by Gretchen Soderlund

Sharing the stories of professors who, like her, dropped out of high school, one historian argues that we need open-admission and affordable public colleges and an education system that does more to keep students in. 

Letters From an American, May 17, 2021

by Heather Cox Richardson

The dim prospect for passing a new Voting Rights Act in Congress reflects a dire turn away from democratic values. Republicans may feel that their party will benefit today, but will they be among the disenfranchised in the future? 

Campus Cancel Culture Freakouts Obscure the Power of University Boards

by Asheesh Kapur Siddique

The real power at American universities lies with their boards of directors, which are increasingly drawn from the ranks of corporate America and have shown themselves willing to enforce ideological restrictions on teaching and research. 

What Is Critical Race Theory And Why Did Oklahoma Just Ban It?

by Kathryn Schumaker

Attacks on "critical race theory" in Oklahoma's legislature are part of a political effort to prevent discussion of the state's racist past – the legislature made CRT a culture war issue as the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre approaches. Here's why we need more, not less, of the ideas behind CRT.

The Century-Old Law That Inaugurated Biden’s Border Problems

by Reece Jones

This week marked the centennial of the Emergency Quota Act, which established racist quotas for immigration and continues to make immigration policy a political and humanitarian nightmare.

The Abortion Fight Has Never Been About Just Roe v. Wade

by Mary Ziegler

"The abortion debate has never been about just Roe—and it’s never been about letting a popular majority have a say. What’s new is that this argument now meets a receptive Supreme Court for the first time in more than a generation."

How Parking Destroys Cities

by Michael Manville

A long line of historians and urbanists from Lewis Mumford to Jane Jacobs have warned about the negative impacts of building cities around cars. Why have urban planners ignored these warnings? And will things change? 

Political Power Keeps Shifting from the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt. Here’s Why

by Keith Orejel

The recent Census results and ensuing reapportionment are part of a decades-old process initiated by New Deal and World War II era policies that encouraged economic development in the South and reshaped American demographics and political economy.

What Liberal Comparisons between Bush-Cheney and Trump Get Wrong

by Joseph Stieb

Liberal critics of Liz Cheney have suggested she's a hypocrite, blasting Trump's "Big Lie" while having championed the deceptions that led to the Iraq War. This is an imperfect comparison, which ignores the real lessons of Iraq – that fixing the fact-finding process to fit a policy is a common and continuing danger. 

This is a War Israel Can’t Win

by Max Boot

Post columnist Max Boot argues that the current cycle of attacks and reprisals are symbolic political gestures, and that Israel should declare that it's made its point and resume the work of political normalization with its Arab neighbors and political concessions with the Palestinian Authority that marginalize Hamas.

The Senate’s Unchanging Rules

by Donald A. Ritchie

Continued obstructionism is likely to push the Democrats to more radical alteration of Senate rules, including the filibuster, says the long-tenured Senate Historian.

Keeping it Real: Historians in the Deepfake Era

by Abe Gibson

"Deepfake" videos threaten to undermine the integrity of primary sources, particularly for researchers and students of recent history. Historians need to be ready to question, verify, or push back against deceptive videos.

Black Germans and New Forms of Resistance

by Tiffany Florvil

Black activists and intellectuals in Germany have worked to promote knowledge of colonial and Black history as a counter to the entrenched tendency to hide and evade the subject. 

The Roundup Top Ten for May 14, 2021

by HNN Staff

The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week. 

Why the Al-Aqsa Mosque has Often been a Site of Conflict

by Ken Chitwood

"Controlled access to the site reminds Palestinians of their relative powerlessness in their ongoing land disputes with Israeli authorities. At the same time, attacks at Al-Aqsa resonate with Muslims across the world who react with horror to what they see as the desecration of one of their most sacred sites."