News at Home

COVID-19 is Devastating Native American Communities. History Illuminates Why.

by Pete Sigal, Robbie Ethridge, and Nancy Shoemaker

Centuries of unequal access to resources and decision-making served to weaken indigenous health across the Americas and beyond.

Little Richard: Bold, Pioneering, Complex, and Unapologetic

by Elwood Watson

Little Richard left a lasting musical and cultural legacy because of his talent and his willingness to be more boldly black and sexual than other artists dared.

Ways that Donald Trump is Just Like Henry Ford, And Why That’s Not Good for American Democracy

by Victoria Woeste

Trump's comments praising Henry Ford's "bloodline" are no coincidence. Both men used the American cult of the businessman to amass power and wealth while championing the idea of racial hierarchy.

Disruption and Resilience: Lessons from the Ancient History of the 2000s

by Garrett Peck

The history of the 2000s is a story of human resilience in the face of crisis. We must find ways to respond to disruption with mutual care and creativity. 

Stop the Machine: Why We Should Resist Online Learning

by Jonathan Rose

A history professor argues that, even given the risks of COVID, the intellectual and social missions of higher education will be crippled if in-person education isn't resumed soon. 

Fly me to the Moon: Covering the Early Space Program

by Ron Steinman

Will people struggling to get through a normal day be inspired by a renewed space program? Will either the government or the media commit for the long haul?  At least I knew there was a time when we all had it in us. For the future, only time will tell.

The Pandemic Exposed a Major Flaw in America’s Health Care System

by Robert Brent Toplin

The crisis may create an opportunity to do what once seemed impossible: deliver universal healthcare and end the employer-based insurance system.

Pandemic, Pandering and Prejudice: Trump's Effort to Weaponize Xenophobia

by James D. Zirin

Blaming China and threatening reprisals is not going to save any lives. It won’t open up the country any sooner. It won’t create a single job. But it might just get Trump re-elected--at least he thinks so.

The Social Psychology of Popular Right-Wing Conservatism

by Daniel Burnstein

Right-wing conservative movements are driven by a psychological complex of threat and hostility to heterodox opinion that makes them difficult to stop once they've developed.

Will History Judge Trump? Only if We Preserve Our Capacity for Judgment

by Christine Adams and Nina Kushner

The idea of truth reached by reason and evidence is under grave threat. Historians must find ways to publicly defend their methods for the good of history and society.

No More Business as Usual! It’s Time for Joe Biden to Defend our Democracy

by Claudia Koonz

A historian of European dictatorship argues that Joe Biden must recognize that not just the election but the health of democracy is at stake and challenge the administration's efforts to operate above the law.

Citizen’s Arrest: Racist at its Roots

by Alan J. Singer

Georgia's Citizens's Arrest law has always been used to enable and support white supremacy since its enactment during the Civil War.

"The News Will Get Out Soon Enough": Homefront Jim Crow and the Integration of the U.S. Navy

by Dan C. Goldberg

Politico reporter Dan Goldberg's new book details how thirteen black men overcame prejudice and indifference to integrate the Navy's officer corps in 1944. 

The Post Office is Mentioned, but Not Protected, by the Constitution

by David Head

If the day comes when the USPS, like privateering, has outlived its usefulness, the Constitution will prove no obstacle. The only question that matters is the practical one: does the postal service accomplish its mission better than the alternatives?

Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, America’s Billionaires Thrive and Prosper

by Lawrence Wittner

Americans may wonder whether the nation can afford to maintain a small, parasitic stratum of society in splendor during economic collapse and pandemic.

100 Years of Political Spectacle: Women, Political Protest, and the White House

by Bernadette Crehan and Susan Liebell

Like suffrage protesters a century ago, nurses demonstrating at the White House to demand adequate protection for frontline medical workers can win by taking on the President on the grounds of spectacle and social media to shape public opinion. 

Morning or Mourning in America? Political Advertising and the Politics of Emotion

by Wendy Melillo

The Lincoln Project's recent "Mourning in America" ad seeks to connect Donald Trump to deep misery in America. The history of political advertising suggests it's likely to work.

Coronavirus Exposed the Contradictions Behind the Curtain. Will Americans Pay No Attention?

by Walter L. Hixson

Liberal centrism has come up short in the COVID-19 crisis. Decades of cold war demonization of social democracy have made it disturbingly likely that an American fascism will fill the void.

What Happened to My Future: The Pivotal Years of 1914, 1929, and 2020

by Walter G. Moss

There aren't many comparisons to 2020 as a year when illusions of normalcy and prosperity were shattered. 

Graduate Students: NOT THE WORST

by Michelle Nickerson

A history professor celebrates her graduate students' idiosyncrasies and their outstanding work under duress as redemption for a calamitous semester.