Historians/History

In World War II these Two British Sisters Worked as Spies. Then the War Ended and so Did Their Chance for a Liberated Life

by Susan Ottaway

If caught the female agents were given the same treatment as their male counterparts. Many of the women were captured, some were tortured and others executed.

This Is What Mythologizing History Looks Like in 2014

by Alan Singer

It’s time to call out mythologizing when we see it.

Historians May Never Rule the World, but Their Models will Rule the Data-Driven Future

by Jo Guldi and David Armitage

The arbitration of data is a task in which the history departments of major research universities will almost certainly take a lead since it requires talents and training which no other discipline possesses.

Why Don't More People Know About Harry Hopkins

by James MacManus

Britain’s wartime survival in the face of the Nazi onslaught owed a great deal to a man whom Winston Churchill had called “a lighthouse from which there shone the beams that led great fleets to harbour.”

Tim Egan on Edward S. Curtis, 'Seattle's Michelangelo' (Interview)

by Robin Lindley

The author talks about the life of Edward S. Curtis, a prolific photographer of American Indians at a time when they faced huge pressure.

Top 10 Excuses for Plagiarism

by Ethan Feinstein

Sometimes we hear fascinating reasons.

A Response to the Critics of the National Women's History Museum

by Joan Wages

“How to Build a Women’s History Museum?” The answer, as the National Women’s History Museum can tell you, is more complicated than it would first appear.

Historians Should Honor Protesting Colorado Students

by Peter Dreier

Wouldn't it be fitting and appropriate for the OAH and the AHA to give these students an award at the next meetings for their commitment to the teaching of American history?

Ken Burns Overlooks the Secret of FDR's Success: The Power of the People

by Peter Dreier

Missing from The Roosevelts is the real secret of FDR's success - the escalating protests that created a sense of urgency throughout the country and the political savvy of a small cadre of FDR's progressive advisers.

How to Build a Women’s History Museum

by Alice Kessler-Harris and Sonya Michel

Professional historians have to be included in the commission for a women's history museum.

What’s Curious about This Picture?

by Michael C. C. Adams

The accompanying field sketch is by combat artist Alfred R. Waud, one of two pictorial correspondents to cover Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. Notice anyting odd?

It's Mainly Skipped Over in the History Books because MLK Failed There. But It Shouldn't Be.

by Lee W. Formwalt

For many people with a knowledge of the civil rights movement the term “Albany Movement” connotes failure. But a full account tells a different story.

Six Things You Didn't Know About the Vikings

by Anders Winroth

There was more to the Vikings then their reputation suggests.

What Do We Get from Novels About World War II?

by Robert Huddleston

Novels can reinforce history.

An Interview with MacArthur Genius Award Winner Tara Zahra

by Ethan Feinstein

"I come from a working-class background (my father is a butcher) and I am a first-generation college student. I was facing some serious culture shock at Swarthmore."

These Stories Were too Good to Be True. Then I Found Out They Were True.

by D.W. Duke

What a descendant of the Dukes in North Carolina discovered when he decided to write a novel about his illustrious family's history.

This Is What Happens When We Try to Reduce the Evil of Slavery to a Simple Formula

by Jim Downs

The Economist's withdrawal of a controversial book review should be considered a "teachable moment." Here's how to teach it. 

A Forgotten Stage of the Atlantic Slave Trade

by Gregory E. O’Malley

Port records, merchant papers, and imperial correspondence all suggest that a thriving intercolonial slave trade dispersed as many as a quarter of the African people who arrived in the New World, extending their dangerous journeys to American plantations.

Liberal Education in America Is Under Threat: An interview with Historian Michael S. Roth

by Rich Heffron

Michael S. Roth is president of Wesleyan University. His most recent book explores the centuries long debate over the value of liberal education.

These Stories Were too Good to Be True. Then I Found Out They Were True.

by D.W. Duke

What a descendant of the Dukes in North Carolina discovered when he decided to write a novel about his illustrious family's history.