Roundup

Socialists Don’t Know History

by Joseph Epstein

Young people don’t remember the Soviet nightmare. But what’s Sanders’s excuse?

Adam Cohen: Clarence Thomas Knows Nothing of My Work

by Adam Cohen

The justice used my book to tie abortion to eugenics. But his rendition of the history is incorrect.

Tony Horwitz’s Greatest Book, Confederates in the Attic, Seems Even More Crucial Today

by Rebecca Onion

Confederates in the Attic is a gift to teachers of American history. It’s wryly funny but sneakily profound.

In our tumultuous times, history offers hope

by Katrina vanden Heuvel

In his book, my father ceaselessly reminds us that hard work and idealism can create change.

Billionaires can't fix college: Jim Sleeper on the real crisis in higher education

by Jim Sleeper

In this conversation between historian Matthew Frye Jacobson and Professor Jim Sleeper, they discuss how to reclaim college from market ideology

The Indian Law That Helps Build Walls

by Maggie Blackhawk

The Supreme Court’s legal abuse of Native Americans set the stage for America’s poor treatment of many of its vulnerable populations.

Roundup Top 10!

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

The “Forever Wars” Enshrined

by Andrew J. Bacevich

The memorial to American soldiers who were sent into the wars in the Middle East and died is essentially hidden away in a small Midwestern town, which tells you what you need to know about the value Americans actually place on those wars.

Video of the Week: How discovery of the slave ship Clotilda informs U.S. history

The remains of the last slave ship that came to America have been found in Alabama's Mobile River. In 1860, the schooner Clotilda brought 110 Africans to U.S. shores, decades after it was illegal to import slaves into the country.

Why nuclear diplomacy needs more women

by Elena Souris

Historically, a homogenous group of policymakers make innovation less likely.

The Real Reason Iran’s Hardliners Don’t Want To Talk To America

by Shireen T. Hunter

Tehran’s reluctance to engage in direct talks with America at a normal state-to-state level within a bilateral framework long predates the Trump administration. 

Living in a Nation of Political Narcissists

by Tom Engelhardt

American election exceptionalism from 1945-2019.

Why study history? Because it can save us from democratic collapse.

by John Jeffries Martin

What the Founding Fathers can teach us about applied historical knowledge.

On the Recent Executive Order on"Free Inquiry" in Higher Education

by James Grossman and Edward Liebow

President Donald Trump’s executive order of March 21 on “free inquiry, transparency, and accountability in colleges and universities” is a textbook example of a classic negotiating ploy—misdirection. 

We need to stop focusing on the mental health of mass shooters

by Deborah Doroshow

Mentally ill Americans are already stigmatized — and wrongly so.

How Democrats can win the abortion war: Talk about Roe's restrictions as well as rights

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Republicans are lying when they paint us as the party of death and infanticide. Fight back by championing both the right to abortion and limits on it.

Video of the Week: Brown v. Board at 65, A Promise Unfulfilled

This six-minute video gives a powerful overview of the Supreme Court decision.

Reclaiming History From Howard Zinn

by Naomi Schaefer Riley

The left’s portrait of America’s past has triumphed thanks to the abdication of serious historians. Wilfred M. McClay offers an antidote.

Calhoun statue should not stand in prominent public space

by Joseph A. Darby

The only good “compromise” is to take it down and involve those who cherish his memory in choosing a suitable venue for its more appropriate display.

Rashida Tlaib’s critics have Palestinian history all wrong

by Maha Nassar

The decades-long process that led to the creation of Israel involved plenty of Palestinian suffering.