Historians in the News

Experiencing War Far From the Battlefield

Two new books examine unexpected facets of World War II. 

Nixon Did Call the Military on Protesters. He Just Covered It Up.

by Lawrence Roberts

The antiwar movement had already helped turn public opinion against Mr. Nixon’s conduct of the war. He was determined to deny activists a victory that could cause further political damage.

Trump Doesn’t Understand Today’s Suburbs—And Neither Do You

Suburbs are getting more diverse, but that doesn't mean they’re woke. Historian Thomas Sugrue says if you want to understand where American politics is going, look how suburban whites are sorting themselves out.

The Secret History of America’s Worthless Confederate Monuments

They’re cheap, mass produced, and celebrate the Jim Crow South. So why do conservatives persist in calling them art?

Taking My Children to See Frederick Douglass

by Clint Smith

“It is always a fact of some importance to know where a man is born, if, indeed, it be important to know anything about him.” So wrote Frederick Douglass in his 1855 autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom. It was with these reflections and Douglass’s words in mind that, on Juneteenth, I got in the car with my family and drove from our home, outside Washington, D.C., to Talbot County, Maryland, where Frederick Douglass was born.

Black Americans Who Served in WWII Faced Segregation and Second-Class Roles

“The experience was very dispiriting for a lot of Black soldiers,” says Matthew Delmont, a history professor at Dartmouth College and author of "Black Quotidian: Everyday History in African American Newspapers."

Lincoln Library Cancels Exhibition Over Racial Sensitivity Concerns

The library, in Springfield, Ill., said Black community leaders who previewed it feared parts of the traveling exhibition, created 15 years ago, were outdated and lacked context.

It’s Time The ‘Truth Be Told’ About Black Women’s Leadership In The Fight For The Vote

New digital collection tells the untold stories of Black women’s vital role in the suffrage movement.

He Predicted Trump’s Win in 2016. Now He’s Ready to Call 2020 (Video)

Allan Lichtman describes polls as "snapshots" which are fairly useless for predicting the outcome compared to stable "keys" reflecting how the President's party is perceived to be governing. Watch the video (if you dare) to see his 2020 prediction.

Biden Will Beat Trump, Says Historian Who Predicted Every Presidential Race Since 1984

Polls are “snapshots in time,” Allan Lichtman said. “None of this in the end has any impact whatsoever on the outcome of a presidential election.”

In The 75 Years Since Hiroshima, Nuclear Testing Killed Untold Thousands

The Marshall Islands were exposed to the daily equivalent of 1.6 Hiroshima-sized explosions between 1946 and 1958, if the impact were spread evenly.

Urban Disaster And Recovery: An Overview And Bibliography Of The Resilient City

"Different sorts of urban disasters—terrorist attacks, floods, earthquakes, diseases—have elicited different responses, policy prescriptions, and behaviors." A bibliographical essay explains what cities have done and how historians have interpreted it. 

Historians Pay Tribute: ‘Today We Live In John Hume’s Ireland, And Thank God For That’

‘His extraordinary impact reflects the exceptional political leader and person he was.’

Let Us Drink in Public

Many modern open container laws derive from previous “public drunkenness” and “vagrancy” ordinances that criminalized not just alcoholism, but also poverty and homelessness.

‘Irresistible Weapon’: Historians Say American History Oversimplifies Atomic Bombings On Japan

Alex Wellerstein, a historian of science at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., author and blogger on atomic bomb history, said time has smoothed the wrinkles and simplified the facts that are often taught about the first and, so far, only wartime use of atomic weapons.

The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II

Extensive Compilation of Primary Source Documents Explores Manhattan Project, Eisenhower’s Early Misgivings about First Nuclear Use, Curtis LeMay and the Firebombing of Tokyo, Debates over Japanese Surrender Terms, Atomic Targeting Decisions, and Lagging Awareness of Radiation Effects

The History of the October Surprise (Audio)

Julian Zelizer discusses the prospects of a major surprise announcement from the administration before Election Day.  

Why Are Child Care Programs Open When Schools Are Not?

Drs. Robert Pianta and Myra Jones-Taylor expressed hope that parents’ pandemic experiences of working while juggling care and education will lead to a newfound appreciation for both elements, and the modern economy’s reliance on them.

How Portland’s Wall of Moms Collapsed — and Was Reborn Under Black Leadership

Keisha N. Blain provides historical context for the high visibility of white moms in Portland, and the problems this posed for the city's protest movements. 

The Hidden Faces of Apartheid (Review)

A new book documents the way that the South African security forces targeted percevied opponents of apartheid for extrajudicial killing.