Roundup

Colony of Cobblestone

by Carlos Santiago

San Juan's cobblestones are an illusion, aesthetic flourishes of "old world charm" intended to boost the tourism economy and conceal the island's status as a U.S. territory.

Amid Widespread Disease, Death, and Poverty, the Major Powers Increased Their Military Spending in 2020

by Lawrence Wittner

You might assume that the COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged the world's leading military powers, starting with the US, to reconsider their priorities and direct fewer resources to weapons. You would be wrong. 

Break Up the Ivy League Cartel

by Sam Haselby

The incredible wealth of Ivy League and other elite universities, combined with their ever-dwindling acceptance rates, suggests that contemporary meritocracy is working to reproduce a tiny economic and political elite at the expense of democracy. 

Women Dominate One Academy Award Category. Here’s Why

by David Resha

Women have dominated the Documentary Feature category at the Academy Awards, and have indeed shaped the genre from the beginning. But this reflects the fact that the film industry has been more willing to entrust leadership to women in the low-cost, low-stakes environment of documentaries than in feature film. 

100 Days is a Ridiculous Way to Judge a Presidency

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

FDR's 100 Days was a historical aberration; not least because of the lack of partisan opposition that is delaying the seating of Joe Biden's cabinet and the staffing of his administration. 

The Roundup Top Ten for April 23, 2021

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

Fritz Mondale and Decency

by Kai Bird

Jimmy Carter thought the vice presidency was "a wasted national asset." He gave Walter Mondale the charge and the freedom to redefine the role. 

The Crushing Contradictions of the American University

by Chad Wellmon

The proliferation of student loan debt reflects the acceptance by banks, borrowers, and the federal government of the idea that higher education is transformative and beneficial. Is this ideology bordering on magical thinking? 

The Great Forgetting: Why We Forget Epidemics and Why This One Must Be Remembered

by Nina Burleigh

"For most Americans, the history of the 1918 flu shares space in that ever-larger tomb of oblivion with the history of other diseases of our great-grandparents’ time that vaccines have now eradicated."

There’s Hope for Racial Justice in America. But it Comes from the People – Not the Courts

by Simon Balto

The killing of Ma'Khia Bryant by Columbus Police on the day of Derek Chauvin's conviction in Minneapolis is a reminder that achieving justice will be product of a long popular struggle to create solutions to social problems outside the model of policing. 

Revisiting a 19th Century Medical Idea Could Help Address COVID-19

by Melanie A. Kiechle

Although the miasma theory of disease has been replaced by the germ theory, it's nevertheless the case that it drew attention to the connection between air quality and health, and the practical measures inspired by it can be useful in the COVID pandemic. 

Racism Has Always Been Part of the Asian American Experience

by Mae Ngai

Anti-Asian racism draws from different historical origins than Jim Crow, but their histories are part of the same conflict: whether White Americans are entitled to rule over other people, domestically or globally. 

Revolution is Illegal: Revisiting the Panther 21 at 50

by Orisanmi Burton

"To revisit the history of the BPP is to experience the rhyme of history. Yet, the refrain is not a pleasant one."

The Long History of Members of Congress Talking Directly with U.S. Adversaries

by Richard A. Moss and Sergey Radchenko

New documents demonstrate that Senator Ted Kennedy had back-channel contact with the Brezhnev regime in the 1970s, which aimed both at resolving sticky diplomatic issues and at elevating Kennedy above Democratic party rivals. It's unclear if Kennedy was acting with or undercutting American intelligence agencies. 

Terminal Does Not Mean Dead: Why the History MA Deserves Our Attention

by Lauren Braun-Strumfels and Tim Herbert

Caught between the Bachelor's and the PhD, the Master's degree in history needs to get much more careful consideration as a part of the historical profession and as training for historians outside of higher education. 

Caught in a Plague of Gun Violence (Letters from an American, April 19, 2021)

by Heather Cox Richardson

What explains the different reaction to two Valentine's Day massacres, in 1929 and 2018? Heather Cox Richardson examines the connections between a culture of individualism, desegregation, and guns. 

All the President’s Historians

by Daniel N. Gullotta

Joe Biden's attraction to Jon Meacham's historical narratives of American ideals triumphant over adversity makes sense for a president dedicated to healing and reunification. 

The Derek Chauvin Verdict Won’t Stop Cops Murdering Black People. We Still Aren’t Safe

by Kellie Carter Jackson

Historical reflection shows that Derek Chauvin's killing of George Floyd was not an anomaly. His conviction won't purge policing of racial bias. 

How White Americans’ Refusal to Accept Busing has Kept Schools Segregated

by Matthew D. Lassiter

The legal distinction between "de facto" and "de jure" segregation has always been a convenient fiction allowing the perpetuation of segregation by obscuring the role of government in creating and sustaining a racially discriminatory housing market. 

The Men Who Turned Slavery Into Big Business

by Joshua D. Rothman

"We still live in the world that Franklin and Armfield’s profits helped build, and with the enduring inequalities that they and their industry entrenched."