Roundup

The Man Who Went Full Trump for FDR

by Gil Troy

He made up stories to smear the opposition and barely backpedaled when called out—Charlie Michelson perfected the nasty art of political mud-slinging.

How War Lost Its Politics

by Mary L. Dudziak

"Over time, this trilogy—no military draft, reliance on contractors, and high-tech warfare—has insulated the American public from the cost and the consequences of war."

How a Museum Reckons With Black Pain

by Vann R. Newkirk II

The Smithsonian’s new memorial of African American history and culture is at once triumphant and crushing.

Video of the Week: Television and Elections - Eisenhower, JFK & The Makings of the Celebrity President

Television has been integral to Presidential elections since the 1950s.

NYT reporter says this one thing works to improve black achievement scores (audio)

It was desegregation.

Colonial Slow Genocide: Palestinian Leader Abbas asks Britain for “Balfour” Apology

by Juan Cole

Mahmoud Abbas, president of Palestine, is asking Britain for an apology for its having in 1917 issued the infamous “Balfour Declaration.” He won’t get one.

The Myth of a Democratic Electoral Lock

by Jeff Greenfield

It wasn’t so long ago that Republicans though they had much of the country stitched up. Then a Clinton came along and that changed, fast.

The Year of the American Woman?

by Manisha Sinha

Trump’s unadulterated sexist criticisms of Hillary questioning her “mental capacity,” “physical stramina,” and recently claiming that she does not look Presidential, evoke arguments made by anti-suffragists nearly a century ago. 

Roundup Top 10!

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

Social Media News: What Historians Are Talking About

Featuring social media news by Annette Gordon-Reed, Blair Kelley, Mary Beard, Niall Ferguson, Jane Censer, Jack Censer, Julian Zelizer, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, and many more!

Crazy, Fascinating & Horrifying

This edition includes the story behind the infamous Chicago Trib "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline, Madison Grant's racist book, the odd black gravesite in the middle of a street, America's Marco Polo and more!

Pop Culture Roundup

This Week:  Watch the building of the black history museum. See trailer for the new Beatles movie. Oliver Stone's "Snowden." Oscar Wilde's prison cell.  And much much more!

How a Russian Fascist Is Meddling in America’s Election

by Timothy Snyder

The antidemocratic ideas of Ivan Ilyin are guiding the Kremlin’s interference in U.S. presidential politics.

Why I regret letting my teen sign up for an AP course

by Kate Haas

A college-level class should get kids excited about undergraduate coursework, not turn them off to learning.

Infographic of the Week: The Cost of U.S. Wars Then and Now

How the wars of the 21st Century compare with the wars of our past.

How racism has shaped welfare policy in America since 1935

by Alma Carten

With the continual unraveling of the safety net, the 20th anniversary of welfare reforms can be an impetus for taking a closer look at how racism has shaped welfare policy in the U.S. and to what extent it accounts for the persistently high poverty rates for black children.

There’s No Debate

by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship

The candidates and the media have thoroughly corrupted the presidential debates. Our democracy deserves better. There's still time for a change.

How Much Latent Sexism Is Out There?

by Ellen Fitzpatrick

For much of the twentieth century, that opposition remained robust, with some 40 percent of Americans polled affirming as late as 1969 that they would not vote for a woman President.

Remember Working-Class Feminism!

by Thomas J. Sugrue

Most feminists aren’t on campuses demanding safe spaces. They’re getting up at 6 a.m. and heading to underpaid, “pink-collar” jobs.

Are we in for an October Surprise?

by Julian Zelizer

On the rare occasions when October Surprises have happened, they have not really impacted the outcome of the election.