Roundup

Justice Antonin Scalia: more quotable than influential

by Robert Schapiro

Justice Antonin Scalia will be remembered for his brilliant intellect, his acerbic wit and his insistence on interpreting law by reference to text and history.

How well do you know Black History?

This Black History Month test your knowledge of African American history from the early 1800s to the 2000s. 

In Election Years, a History of Confirming Court Nominees

by Timothy S. Huebner

Even unpopular or lame duck presidents successfully carried out their constitutional duties to fill Supreme Court vacancies during election seasons.

Henry Kissinger: Sage or Pariah?

A debate between Niall Ferguson and Todd Gitlin.

Top 5 Scalia Rulings that helped Progressives

by Juan Cole

Perhaps his passing is an opportunity to point to a few things on which we, as Americans, did agree, because of our commitment to the Constitution, however different our interpretation of it might be in general.

The Golden Quarter

by Michael Hanlon

Some of our greatest cultural and technological achievements took place between 1945 and 1971. Why has progress stalled?

How Flint’s water and Brazil’s Zika stoke anxiety about kids

by Steven Mintz

The key question is whether Americans will respond to Zika and lead poisoning as problems predominantly of the poor, met with pity and a shrug of the shoulders, or as a call to arms.

Henry Kissinger was just following orders

by Ray Locker

Sanders and Clinton should be arguing about Richard Nixon, not his henchman.

The Clintons Aren’t to Blame for Mass Incarceration

by Leon Neyfakh

The 1994 crime bill was wrongheaded and draconian. But it didn’t cause the explosion in the prison population.

What A 19th Century Campaign To Declare Mormons ‘Non-White’ Tells Us About Modern Islamophobia

by Jack Jenkins

There is one particularly unusual historical example that helps make sense of today’s barrage of Islamophobia: when American writers, politicians, and even scientists argued that Mormons — yes, Mormons — weren’t white.

Henry Kissinger’s “mad and illegal” bombing: What you need to know about his real history — and why the Sanders/Clinton exchange matters

by Greg Grandin

Sanders is right about Kissinger. His civilian death toll nears 4 million, his policies built today's Middle East

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

This week ... Yohuru Williams, Simon Schama, Rick Perlstein, David Greenberg and more. 

Pop Culture Roundup: This Week

This week ... NASA, Hitler, Japan, Roots, crossword puzzles, and more. 

Infographic: The evolution of humans

To celebrate his birthday and Darwin Day, the University Press Scholarship Online (UPSO) team has read through the hundreds of academic works available to delve into the history of humanity. View their infographic and find out for yourself how we became human.

A Jewish candidate won a U.S. presidential primary for the first time

by Jonathan Zimmerman

And America yawned.

Video of the Week: The legacy of slavery in New York City

The different ways slavery affected the ministry of Trinity Church.

‘Liberal’? No. ‘Progressive’? Nah. How About ‘Democratic Socialist’?

by Leon Fink

The democratic socialist tradition that Sanders is invoking may be just what we need.

Trump’s 19th Century Foreign Policy

by Thomas Wright

His views aren’t as confused as they seem. In fact, they’re remarkably consistent—and they have a long history.

How Margaret Chase Smith stood up to Joseph McCarthy — and won

by Ted Widmer

When the Republican senator from Maine stood up to Joseph McCarthy in 1950, attacking him for his shameful reliance on "the Four Horsemen of Calumny — Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry, and Smear," it caused a sensation.