Historians in the News

Ken Burns argues that Vietnam is to blame for much of our current alienation and polarization

by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick

In an op ed in the NYT he and Lynn Novick make the case that we need to understand Vietnam to understand ourselves.

Military Journalist Calls on General McMaster to Step Down—And Let Trump Be Trump

by Thomas E. Ricks

Save your reputation while you still can. The country will be fine, says Thomas Ricks.

Drew Gilpin Faust discusses free speech in Harvard commencement address (video)

Why is free speech important at universities?  Why is it under attack now?  How can we nurture it? 

Historian David Kaiser says the most exciting day of his life was JFK’s election

by David Kaiser

Possibly the worst trauma of his life was when JFK died.

Michael Bliss, Historian Who Dispelled Myths of Insulin’s Discovery, Dies at 76

Professor Bliss unraveled the story behind the discovery of the hormone, which transformed diabetes from a death sentence into a manageable condition.

Mississippi historian Otis W. Pickett calls on the state to let Confederate emblem on Mississippi flag go

by Otis W. Pickett

"There is no value in celebrating an image that so deeply hurts my African-American brothers and sisters.”

Jill Lepore: Americans Aren't Just Divided Politically, They're Divided Over History Too

“All politics is really an argument about the relationship between the past and the future. And the more polarized our politics has become, the more polarized our past.”

AHA joins protest of Trump’s plan for drastic cuts to the NEH

The administration is budgeting just enough money to shut down the agency and to honor pre-existing grant commitments.

Diane Ravitch says the Democrats paved the way for the education secretary's efforts to privatize our public schools

by Diane Ravitch

"The Democratic Party has lost its way on public education."

Mark Moyar explains why he came to believe the Vietnam War was winnable

by Mark Moyar

Although a minority of professors welcomed a well-substantiated challenge to conventional wisdom, the collective hostility coalesced wherever I applied for an academic faculty position.

How should Texas high schoolers learn history?

by Gene B. Preuss

HB 1776 would replace STAAR with a new requirement: Passing a citizenship exam.

What's the 'greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history’?

We asked the experts.

H.R. McMaster criticized – and not for his defense of Trump

by Daniel Bessner

He’s taken to task because he "clearly and unquestioningly embraces the premises that have supported the American empire since 1945.”

Germany establishes its first Holocaust Studies professorship

Although Germany has been actively researching the Holocaust since the 1960s, it did not have any specific research professorships until now. Historian Sybille Steinbacher is about to change that.

A journalist confesses his Filipino family kept a slave and a historian tries to put the news in perspective

University of Washington historian Vicente L. Rafael says the word slave might conjure up misleading images.

It’s Time for Historians of Slavery to Listen to Economists

by Keri Leigh Merritt

What economists have proved is that the idea of white unity over black slavery and the Confederacy is nothing more than myth.

Yale’s David Blight is asked if New Orleans should rewrite its Civil War legacy

"One thing that is always an answer is: To build new monuments rather than tear down old ones."

Why so many students hate history — and what to do about it

The topic’s explored in a new book, “Rebooting Social Studies: Strategies for Reimagining History Classes,” by Greg Milo, who taught high school social studies for 13 years.

H.R. McMaster Takes a Dive

by Jack Shafer

"The national security adviser’s fanboys are having a sad over his shilling for Baby Donald."

Meet historian Roger Ekirch: Mr. Sleep

His research area? Sleep.