Roundup

California’s forgotten slave history

by Sarah Barringer Gordon and Kevin Waite

San Bernardino’s early success rested on a pair of seemingly incongruous forces: Mormonism and slavery.

Impeachment: Republicans are in the tank for Trump, but Democrats aren't impartial, either

by Jonathan Zimmerman

As of right now, I think Trump should be removed. But I must keep my mind open to new arguments and evidence, instead of closing myself off before we have heard them. 

The American Chaos Machine: U.S. Foreign Policy Goes Off the Rails

by Danny Sjursen

President Trump’s rash, risky, and repugnant decision to assassinate Iranian Major General Qassem Suleimani on the sovereign soil of Iraq was only the latest version of what has proven to be a pervasive state of affairs.

Universities must open their archives and share their oppressive pasts

by Evadne Kelly and Carla Rice

The archives of academic institutions can tell previously untold stories of eugenics. Universities can begin to undo oppressive legacies by opening them to artists and communities.

The Injustice of This Moment Is Not an ‘Aberration’

by Michelle Alexander

From mass incarceration to mass deportation, our nation remains in deep denial.

Can Historical Analysis Help Reduce Military Deaths By Suicide?

by Jeffrey Smith, Michael Doidge, Ryan Hanoa, and B. Christopher Frueh

A longer look reveals interesting patterns and may clarify what is driving a rise in suicides.

What Antiabortion Advocates Get Wrong About The Women Who Secured The Right to Vote

by Reva Siegel and Stacie Taranto

The most famous suffragists largely weren’t antiabortion and wanted women to have more control over their bodies.

Charlotta Bass for Vice-President: America’s Two-Parties and the Black Vote

by Denise Lynn

Bass, an influential political activist, ran for Vice-President on the Progressive Party ticket in 1948. Her campaign demonstrated some of the shifting loyalties of Black voters and the failure of both political parties to address the needs of the Black community.

The Road to Auschwitz Wasn't Paved With Indifference

by Rivka Weinberg

We don’t have to be ‘upstanders’ to avoid genocides. We just have to make sure not to help them along.

The battle for Notre Dame

by Philip Kennicott and Aaron Steckelberg

As the cathedral rises from the ashes, a tug of war over its transformation and history. 

The Myth of Middle-Class Liberalism

by David Motadel

The bourgeois are supposed to ensure open, democratic societies. In fact, they rarely have.

Video of the Week: Historian Mary Frances Berry on Martin Luther King and the Power of Protest

Historian Mary Frances Berry discusses misconceptions about Martin Luther King, Jr., the essential role of protests in politics and her book "History Teaches Us to Resist."

A Matter of Facts

by Sean Wilentz

The New York Times’ 1619 Project launched with the best of intentions, but has been undermined by some of its claims.

Reflections on Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North

by Walter G. Moss

Besides a page-turning novel and discussions of love, death, and the meaning of life, there is much more to value in The Narrow Road.

Martin Luther King Jr. on Making America Great Again

by Justin Rose

“I’d like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others…I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.”

The Neighborhoods We Will Not Share

by Richard Rothstein

Persistent housing segregation lies at the root of many of our society’s problems. Trump wants to make it worse.

The National Archives' dangerous corruption of history

by David Perry

While the National Archives issued an apology and vowed to undergo "a thorough review" of its policies after the Washington Post first reported on the alteration, having discovered it by chance, as a historian I worry about how many other altered documents the Trump administration has buried in our records. Will we ever know?

Pence's outrageous op-ed holds deeper meaning

by Jeremi Suri

Vice President Mike Pence published a powerful, but deceptive article in Friday's Wall Street Journal. 

Imagining an Iranian Spring

by Andrew Meyer

The recent brush with war between the US and Iran underscores the persistent question of US-Iranian relations: will the two countries ever reach a point of mutual toleration ever again?

Roundup Top 10!

This week's broad sampling of opinion pieces found on the Internet, as selected by the editor of HNN.