Roundup

The History That Happened: Setting the Record Straight on the Armenian Genocide

by Ryan Gingeras

For a brief moment this fall, world interest fixed its attention to an event of the past. News that the U.S. Congress approved a formal resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide was carried as a leading story by media outlets worldwide. 

A Historic Crime in the Making

by Rebecca Gordon

400 years of history leading up to Donald Trump. 

Calling Trump ‘the chosen one’ is a political act — not a theological statement

by Wallace Best

Claims about God’s plans for the United States often morph into justifications for wrongdoing.

Republicans Defending Trump on Impeachment Should Fear the Judgment of History

by Michael Luo

This week, as the current Judiciary Committee begins impeachment hearings on President Donald Trump, these obituaries might serve as a reminder to the committee’s Republican members that the consequences of their decisions in the coming days will likely extend far beyond the next election.

Spinster, old maid or self-partnered – why words for single women have changed through time

by Amy Froide

Attitudes toward single women have repeatedly shifted – and part of that attitude shift is reflected in the names given to unwed women.

China Isn’t the Soviet Union. Confusing the Two Is Dangerous.

by Melvyn P. Leffler

An unusual confluence of events World War II led to America’s bitter rivalry with the U.S.S.R. That pattern is not repeating.

Donald Trump, Meet Your Precursor

by Manisha Sinha

Andrew Johnson pioneered the recalcitrant racism and impeachment-worthy subterfuge the president is fond of.

Roundup Top 10!

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

How to Talk About the Truth and Trump at Thanksgiving

by Ibram X. Kendi

If we are serious about bringing Americans together, the work has to start with our own families.

Contrary to conservative claims, the ERA would help families — but it’s not enough

by Alison Lefkovitz

Decades after its introduction, the Equal Rights Amendment is still urgently needed, and passing it may soon be possible

Trump’s xenophobia is an American tradition — but it doesn’t have to be

by Erika Lee

Some have always pushed to keep out immigrants, but people have always fought back, too.

Trump's Toadies Should Take Note: Watergate Says Everyone Goes Down

by Kevin M. Kruse

The lesson Nixon imparts to today’s POTUS loyalists is that courts of law and of public opinion will judge them harshly.

Thanksgiving is a good time to lose our illusions about U.S. history

by Nick Alexandrov

We misread the past each November, when we consider our country’s earliest phase. We like to think tolerance, a love of liberty and a democratic impulse motivated English colonists. But history tells a different story.

Queer Like Pete

by Jim Downs

Buttigieg is getting slammed for being a type of gay man America doesn’t understand.

The apocalyptic myth that helps explain evangelical support for Trump

by Thomas Lecaque

Implicit is a vision of the president as a triumphantly apocalyptic figure, one who evokes the medieval legend of the Last World Emperor.

A 1970 Law Led to the Mass Sterilization of Native American Women. That History Still Matters

by Brianna Theobald

The fight against involuntary sterilization was one of many intertwined injustices rooted in a much longer history of U.S. colonialism. And that history continues to this day.

It’s Easy to Dismiss Debutante Balls, But Their History Can Help Us Understand Women’s Lives

by Kristen Richardson

The debutante ritual flourished roughly from 1780 to 1914—beginning with the first debutante ball in London and ending with the outbreak of World War I. 

Two Things to Do Between Now and Next November (All the Rest Is Gravy)

by Andrew Meyer

Between the impeachment hearings, the Democratic primaries, and the accelerating chaos that has marked our domestic and foreign policy since January of 2017, the task of civic engagement can seem hopelessly complex. 

Après Moi, le Déluge...

by Tom Engelhardt

The Age of Trump, the End of What? 

Don’t despair if your teen wants to major in history instead of science

by Ian Milligan

Choosing to become a history major is a future-friendly investment. A history degree teaches skills that are in short supply today: the ability to interpret context, and — crucially — where we’ve been, so as to better understand the world around us today and tomorrow.