Roundup

Two Cheers for Constitution Day!

by F. H. Buckley

With the benefit of hindsight, the Framers might prefer the Constitution they didn’t sign.

Top 5 Contradictions in Obama’s Emerging ISIL Strategy

by Juan Cole

"Here a some of the more important obstacles to a smooth alliance or coherent war plan."

Can a Nation's Soil Explain Its Economic Fortunes?

by Joe Pinsker

If your ancestors could grow crops easily—and thus get proof that patience pays off—you're more likely to value distant payoffs, argue two economists in a new paper.

The chaotic Middle East and beyond

by Tom Engelhardt

In the twenty-first century, the U.S. military has been neither a nation- nor an army-builder, nor has it found victory, no matter how hard it’s searched.

Must Muslim Americans Condemn ISIL? Must Turkish Jews Condemn Gaza War?

by Juan Cole

It is like forcing all Russian-Americans to say publicly what they think about Vladimir Putin.

The Case for a Unified Kurdistan

by Daniel Pipes

Is a united and independent Kurdistan a prospect we should welcome, or a dangerous idea that would create more problems in the Middle East than it would solve?

What both conservatives and liberals are missing in the fight over the new AP U.S. History standards

by Nicholas M. Gallagher

The old test was better.  It emphasized facts. 

Is It Time to Ditch the Star-Spangled Banner?

by Ted Widmer

We should remember Francis Scott Key was a defender of slavery. 

What Hong Kong’s Occupy Movement Can Learn From History

by Jeffrey Wasserstrom and Denise Ho

"As historians of China’s revolutions, we suggest that the Tiananmen analogy is powerful, but it is not the only or even the best one to keep in mind."

Football: Unsafe at any level

by Jonathan Zimmerman

We need to think long and hard about why we're putting so many kids at risk to subsidize a league that's already awash in money.

Ken Burns’s ‘Roosevelts’ Fine But Flawed

by Harvey J. Kaye

Arguably America’s most influential historian, Burns fashions a fascinating documentary from the lives of Teddy, Franklin, and Eleanor. But his story has grave gaps.

Think Tanks for Sale or Rent

by Daniel Pipes

"Foreign funding of think tanks is corrupting our democracy."

Why few people know who Richard Whitney was or what his crime was

by Michael Beschloss

It’s because of FDR.

Don’t Throw the Bums Out

by Jon Grinspan

If you know nothing about presidents like Benjamin Harrison or William McKinley, this is why. After the tumultuous 1870s, parties learned to stop nominating speechifying demagogues, so easy to caricature, and put dull, harmless men at the top of their tickets.

Why trying to make government more accountable has backfired

by David Frum

Transparency is useful for lobbyists—it lets them keep track of their competitors.

Why Scotland should get the government it votes for

by Robert Crawford

National identity is dynamic, not fixed. Democracy is about vigorous debate, about rocking the boat.

Sabato’s Folly: His new book about JFK gives credence to bogus theories about the assassination

by David Reitzes

Evaluating a president’s place in history, even with the benefit of hindsight, is seldom easy.

Roundup Top 10!

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

Independence for Scotland? An Historical Perspective on the Scottish Referendum

by George Christian

When considered in its historical context, we might view this fall’s independence referendum as part of an ongoing series of adjustments, some by coercion and others by negotiation (often under the threat of coercion), of the relationship between the two countries.

Syria couldn't destroy ISIS with air power, but we can?

by Andrew Meyer

Final defeat of ISIS will thus require a strategy that combines tactical and political elements.