Roundup

The Century-Old Law That Inaugurated Biden’s Border Problems

by Reece Jones

This week marked the centennial of the Emergency Quota Act, which established racist quotas for immigration and continues to make immigration policy a political and humanitarian nightmare.

How Billy Graham Weaponized White Evangelical Christian Power In America

by Anthea Butler

Although the Reverend Billy Graham projected an image of religious revival divorced from politics, he encouraged an evangelical sense of fear that has been manipulated by right-wing politicians for decades. 

Dropout Professors

by Gretchen Soderlund

Sharing the stories of professors who, like her, dropped out of high school, one historian argues that we need open-admission and affordable public colleges and an education system that does more to keep students in. 

Letters From an American, May 17, 2021

by Heather Cox Richardson

The dim prospect for passing a new Voting Rights Act in Congress reflects a dire turn away from democratic values. Republicans may feel that their party will benefit today, but will they be among the disenfranchised in the future? 

How Parking Destroys Cities

by Michael Manville

A long line of historians and urbanists from Lewis Mumford to Jane Jacobs have warned about the negative impacts of building cities around cars. Why have urban planners ignored these warnings? And will things change? 

This is a War Israel Can’t Win

by Max Boot

Post columnist Max Boot argues that the current cycle of attacks and reprisals are symbolic political gestures, and that Israel should declare that it's made its point and resume the work of political normalization with its Arab neighbors and political concessions with the Palestinian Authority that marginalize Hamas.

Tucker Carlson’s Cries about Immigrants

by Zachary M. Schrag

Before Tucker Carlson, Samuel Morse was the nation's leading anti-immigrant troll. And, like Carlson, he attributed evils to Catholic immigrant voters that simply reflected the day's political culture, shared by native-born and immigrant Americans. 

The Senate’s Unchanging Rules

by Donald A. Ritchie

Continued obstructionism is likely to push the Democrats to more radical alteration of Senate rules, including the filibuster, says the long-tenured Senate Historian.

Keeping it Real: Historians in the Deepfake Era

by Abe Gibson

"Deepfake" videos threaten to undermine the integrity of primary sources, particularly for researchers and students of recent history. Historians need to be ready to question, verify, or push back against deceptive videos.

Black Germans and New Forms of Resistance

by Tiffany Florvil

Black activists and intellectuals in Germany have worked to promote knowledge of colonial and Black history as a counter to the entrenched tendency to hide and evade the subject. 

The U. S. Needs a New Populist Progressivism

by Walter G. Moss

The American left can win by demonstrating its commitment to inclusivity and expressing a populism that is for all the people. There are models, if we know where to look for them. 

To Navigate the Dangers of the Web, You Need Critical Thinking – But Also Critical Ignoring

by Sam Wineburg

"Learning to ignore information is not something taught in school. School teaches to read a text thoroughly and closely before rendering judgment. But on the web, where a witches’ brew of advertisers, lobbyists, conspiracy theorists and foreign governments conspire to hijack attention, critical ignoring is just as important as critical thinking."

The Roundup Top Ten for May 14, 2021

by HNN Staff

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

The Shocking MOVE Bombing was Part of a Broader Pattern of Anti-Black Racism

by J.T. Roane

The Philadelphia Police Department bears responsibility for the deadly bombing of the rowhouse occupied by MOVE members, but the carnage shows a long pattern of indifference by multiple municipal departments to the health, safety, and quality of life of Black residents in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Why the Al-Aqsa Mosque has Often been a Site of Conflict

by Ken Chitwood

"Controlled access to the site reminds Palestinians of their relative powerlessness in their ongoing land disputes with Israeli authorities. At the same time, attacks at Al-Aqsa resonate with Muslims across the world who react with horror to what they see as the desecration of one of their most sacred sites."

Cliché and Caricature: Why January 6 Was Not Like a Banana Republic

by Dario A. Euraque

Describing the January 6 assault on the Capitol and Congress as fit for "banana republics" ignores the way that American businesses and politicians supported the same kind of antidemocratic violence in Latin America. 

House Republicans’ Leadership Fight Signals A New Direction

by Zack C. Smith

Intramural leadership fights in Congress are nothing new; a battle for Republican leadership that began with the Reagan Revolution led ove a decade to a party committed to confrontation. It remains to be seen what the fallout will be from today's purge of Liz Cheney from the Republican House leadership. 

It’s a Golden Age for Chinese Archaeology — And the West is Ignoring It

by Rowan K. Flad

Recent discoveries in Egypt have overshadowed more significant finds in China. This may reflect the romanticized popular culture image of colonial-era tomb-raiders, or the prevalent sense that Western civilization is derived from the Mediterranean world. It's time for a broader view of why the ancient world matters. 

Black Resistance from Augusta to BLM

by John Hayes and Nefertiti Robinson

Even among Black residents of Augusta, Georgia, an "official" story about an episode of civil unrest has become the dominant narrative and overshadowed historical and contemporary issues with police brutality. 

Anti-Trans Legislation has Never been about Protecting Children

by Nikita Shepard

"Tracing the ugly history of conservative efforts to combat school desegregation, welfare, reproductive freedom and gay and lesbian rights by claiming threats to children helps us understand why politicians today think they can gain votes by brutalizing vulnerable children in the name of protecting them."