Roundup

The Liberal Order Can't Defend Itself by Repeating History

by Peter Trubowitz and Brian Burgoon

Political leaders hoping to defend the liberal international order often invoke the Cold War idea of nations joining forces against the threat of Communism. They forget the lesson that western industrial nations built a sense of shared purpose around expanded democracy and domestic social security. 

The Police Aren't Part of Change in Chicago

by Dan Berger

A historian critiquing a recent book on Black Lives Matter argues that the political, fiscal and cultural influence of police is so broad that it's impossible to think of meaningful social reform in a society that includes modern police departments. 

The National Trust Must Update its Idea of What Makes History and Speak in Multiple Voices

by Neil MacGregor

Neither preserving sites of national glory nor stripping them of honor represents the true mission of the National Trust as a preserver of British history for the public. 

Wins at Amazon and Starbucks Shouldn't Obscure the Hard Road Independent Unions Face

by Erik Loomis

The improvised and worker-led efforts to organize the new economy giants has led some commenters to proclaim the end of big labor. A labor historian says that workers still need the resources and support of legacy unions – if they commit to organizing new workplaces – to win against employers more determined than ever to bust unions. 

On the History, Alito's Wrong: Attacks on Justices Nothing New

by Kevin M. Kruse

Even if Samuel Alito or Clarence Thomas were burned in effigy or impeached, those challenges to their judicial integrity would be very much precedented. 

How Labor Won the Repeal of "Right to Work" in Michigan

by Jennifer Standish

Labor and its political allies must recognize the importance of state level legislation and coalition-building and resist the temptation to nationalize politics if they hope to repeat their success in Michigan and roll back the state-by-state advance of anti-labor legislation. 

Thomas Jefferson Would be Following the Met Gala

by Camille Davis

Finely attuned to the symbolic politics of fashion as the president of a young, republican nation, Thomas Jefferson probably had more in common with Karl Lagerfeld than you think. 

The Roundup Top Ten for April 28, 2023

The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week. 

Humanists Must Take Back Teaching from the Reformers and their "Learning Objectives"

by Johann N. Neem

Rejecting standardized, quantifiable, mechanistic objectives and assessments is the key to making education an exchange of understanding between human beings, and to reversing the tendency to see each other as bundles of human capital or useful skills. 

We Must Not Revive Slavery-Era Jurisprudence to Deal with the Complexities of Reproductive Technology

by Tamika Y. Nunley

The use of antebellum laws about the ownership of human property to resolve a dispute between a divorcing couple over frozen embryos shows the necessity of fully addressing women's reproductive freedom under the law rather than seeking simple abstractions of property. 

The "Great" Powers are Seeing Remarkably Diminished Returns from War

by Tom Englehardt

The legacy of the victory culture engendered by World War II has been a string of costly defeats and stalemates against theoretically overmatched foes and the destructive subordination of the economy and democracy to "national defense" and militarism. 

Ukraine has Never been America's War

by Lawrence Wittner

A historian of diplomacy and peace movements argues that efforts to blame the war on American imperialism don't stand up to scrutiny. 

A Deal with the Devil: Nonprofits, Social Movements, and Your Taxes

by Rebecca Gordon

As taxpayers tallied their contributions to nonprofit organizations last month, few probably reflected on the fact that the tax code, by shielding large wealthy foundations from taxes, has historically allowed funders to capture social movements, often stopping them from making demands for drastic change in society. 

Putin Also Making War on Ukrainian Memory

by Richard Ovenden

Victory in war involves imposing one's own version of history on the next generation. Russian forces appear to be targeting Ukrainian archives where records of KGB surveillance and Soviet-era repression of Ukrainian civilians are held, part of an effort to delegitimize claims of independence. 

Florida's College Presidents Should Speak Up or Quit

by Robert Birnbaum

A former top executive at a public university says that few circumstances justify college presidents breaking silence on public policy. One is when politicians interfere with the work of professionals when it comes to the content of research and teaching. If Florida's public college presidents can't speak out, they should resign. 

The United States Colored Troops Killed at Olustee, Florida are Still Owed a Proper Burial

by Barbara A. Gannon

Why are the remains of members of the United States Colored Troop still interred in unmarked graves at the Civil War battlefield of Olustee, Florida, when the defenders of a treasonous rebellion on behalf of slavery are buried with honors? 

Honoring the Confederacy, Tennessee GOP Stands for Insurrection

by Daniel Feller

Amid the recent furor over the expulsion of two Black Democrats from the state House, Tennessee lawmakers made another shameful move: affirming acclaim for the Confederacy while disregarding the work of historians who have demonstrated that the CSA was founded to protect slavery and white supremacy. 

DeSantis's Real Campus Attack is on Labor

by Dan Royles

"I’m exhausted because I teach U.S. history, including African American and LGBTQ+ history, at a public university in Florida." This places the author at the intersection of DeSantis's public attacks on verboten ideas and his quieter steps to gut tenure protections for the state's faculty and union representation for all educators in Florida.  

A Hunt Through the Queer Past for the Anonymous "HHC" Ended in an Unexpected Place

by Aaron Lecklider

The repression of the past has meant that few early LGBTQ activists have kept detailed records of their work or their communities. But sometimes the present community of historians can collectively find those ghosts of the past. 

U. of Michigan Faculty Shouldn't Flatter New President while the Administration Busts Unions and Politicians Trash Higher Ed

by Silke-Maria Weineck

Top administrators increasingly share with conservative politicians a "desire to refashion universities in the image of the American workplace, where at-will employees do what they’re told by feudal overlords who have poems commissioned in their praise."