Historians in the News

What Europeans Believe about Hiroshima and Nagasaki—and Why it Matters

A European's belief that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a military necessity that ultimately saved lives correlates with less acceptance of nuclear disarmament. History is important for citizens' ability to judge issues related to the dangers of nuclear weapons. 

Capitalism and Slavery: A Discussion with Caitlin Rosenthal, Tom Cutterham, and Eric Hilt

"Much has been made about how much historians can learn from economists, and I think that this is an area where economists could learn a lot from historians. We are trained to look at things from multiple perspectives and to understand complex contexts."--Caitlin Rosenthal

The White, European Jesus of Western Imagination is Fiction

Opinion columnist Michael Gerson takes issue with conservative writer Eric Metaxas's comments on the ethnicity of Jesus Christ. 

The Mask Slackers of 1918

In 1918 and 1919, as bars, saloons, restaurants, theaters and schools were closed, masks became a scapegoat, a symbol of government overreach, inspiring protests, petitions and defiant bare-face gatherings. All the while, thousands of Americans were dying in a deadly pandemic.

How White Supremacy Infected Christianity and the Republican Party

Columnist Jennifer Rubin discusses the findings of Robert P. Jones of the Public Religion Research Institute, presented in his new book, that elements of evangelical theology are strongly supportive of hierarchy and inequality. 

Reaganland Is the Riveting Conclusion to a Story That Still Isn’t Over (Review)

"Rick Perlstein’s epic series shows political history and cultural history cannot be disentangled."

Remembering Our Friend and Colleague, Professor David H. Bensman

A champion for workers, Bensman mentored two generations of future labor activists, organizers, and scholars during a 42-year career at Rutgers.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Women Survivors of the Atomic Bombs

Those who survived the bombings are known as hibakusha. Survivors faced a horrifying aftermath in the cities, including radiation poisoning and psychological trauma.

US History: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

John Oliver takes a look at how the history of race in America is taught in schools, how we can make those teachings more accurate, and why it’s in everyone's best interest to understand the most realistic version of the past.

Isabel Wilkerson’s ‘Caste’ Is an ‘Instant American Classic’ About Our Abiding Sin

“Caste” lands so firmly because the historian, the sociologist and the reporter are not at war with the essayist and the critic inside her.

When Henry Wallace Warned of ‘American Fascism’

John Nichols's new book argues that Franklin Roosevelt's decision to cut loose Vice President Henry Wallace crippled egalitarian politics in the Democratic Party with lasting consequences.   

Black Women’s Long Struggle for Voting Rights

"As historian Faye E. Dudden writes in 'Fighting Change,' her book on the suffrage movement in the Reconstruction period, Stanton dipped her pen into a tincture of white racism and sketched a reference to a nightmarish figure, the black rapist'.”

Bill Talks with Heather Cox Richardson About ‘How the South Won the Civil War’

It's all about America’s ongoing battle between oligarchy and democracy.

Southern Newspapers were Vocal Supporters of the Confederacy. It Lasted for Generations

For most of American history, newspapers in the South supported the people and systems that promoted and maintained prejudice and discrimination.

The Future of American Liberalism

Columnist David Brooks looks to historians of the New Deal era to suggest Joe Biden can succeed like FDR by offering an active but pragmatic plan to pull America out of the hole created by the coronavirus pandemic. 

More Than a Month: The Push to Change how Black History is Taught

“Educators need to educate themselves,” educator Rann Miller says. “Quite frankly, you have a lot of white people who are unaware of the history of our nation. You may also have a lot of Black people who are unaware of the history of our nation.”

The Reconciliation Must Be Televised

by Wesley Morris

The United States has flirted with truth and reconciliation. But it abandoned Reconstruction and failed to act on the warnings of the 1968 Kerner Commission. Most of all, these failures reflect the vain hope that overcoming the country's racist past can be done quickly. 

Untold Fight for Black Women's Voting Rights

In anticipation of Martha Jones' book 'Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All'.

Fascism: A Concern

Is the application of "fascism" to describe today's politics accurate or useful? Historians including Samuel Moyn, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, David A. Bell, and Heather Ann Thompson add perspective. 

How a Historian Stuffed Hagia Sophia’s Sound Into a Studio

Bissera Pentcheva used virtual acoustics to bring Istanbul to California and reconstruct the sonic world of Byzantine cathedral music.