Historians in the News

Review: The Schemes and Ambitions of Joseph P. Kennedy

by Alexis Coe

A new book locates the origin of the "Kennedy Curse" in the ruthless ambition and ego of patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy. 

Timuel Black, Historian and Civil Rights Activist, Dies at 102

Among those expressing sadness at Mr. Black’s death was Barack Obama, who said “the city of Chicago and the world lost an icon with the passing of Timuel Black."

Academic and Amateur Historians Clash over Location of 1,000 Year-Old Battle

"In Britain, historians love to fight over battle sites, but few elicit such stridence and obsession as Brunanburh. There are more than 30 proposed locations for the battle, which took place in 937, and helped shape what would become England."

History of Past Pandemics Shows COVID Will Be an Era, not an Event

Medical and Science Historians Allan Brandt, Jeremy Greene, Frank Snowden and Jonathan Moreno argue that we are unlikely to experience any clear end of the COVID pandemic. 

When the Young Lords Took Over a Hospital and Changed Public Health Care

by Emma Francis-Snyder

"The dramatic takeover of Lincoln Hospital produced one of the first Patient’s Bill of Rights, changing patients’ relationship with hospitals and doctors nationwide."

Toni Gilpin on Her New Book "The Long Deep Grudge"

"I was motivated in large part to write The Long Deep Grudge because I do believe the FE’s story has relevance for those seeking to revitalize the labor movement."

Historian Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on the Structures of Racial Inequality and Social Movements Fighting It

“In the United States, it’s very stark that the past is not yet past. Problems that we think of as historical in fact continue to impact our lives on a daily basis.”

The Overlooked LGBTQ History of the Harlem Renaissance

The new film "Passing," based on Nella Larsen's novel, deals with a female character's crossing of the color line, but also with the openness to same-sex desire the Harlem Renaissance enabled. 

The Homophobic Background to Jim Garrison's Persecution of Clay Shaw

by Martin J. Kelly, Jr.

Alecia Long's book argues that Jim Garrison's prosecution of Clay Shaw as a conspirator in the Kennedy assassination was steeped in homophobia and leveraged the defendant's inability to properly defend himself because of the illegality of homosexuality to make up for lack of evidence. 

The Welsh Schoolboys Who Went on Strike Against Corporal Punishment in 1911

Historian Russell Grigg says that the student action represented a refusal of the rule-by-terror of caning. 

Native Americans Explain the Significance of Indigenous Peoples' Day

"It is difficult to grapple with the complete accomplishments of individuals and also the costs of what those accomplishments came at," said Mandy Van Heuvelen, the cultural interpreter coordinator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

Time to Stop Talking about "Generations"

by Louis Menand

By this light, generations are just a novel way of slicing up the space-time continuum, no more arbitrary. The question, therefore, is not “Are generations real?” The question is “Are they a helpful way to understand anything?”

The Man Who Conned the Confederacy

Samuel Upham's trade in counterfeit Confederate bills started to cash in on the craze for war souvenirs. It's possible that the U.S. Government helped him improve his operation to destabilize the Confederate currency. 

How the Chicago Fire Changed the City's Architecture

Chicago-based historians D. Bradford Hunt and Dominic Pacyga argue that the Great Fire of 1871 did impact the city by inaugurating an age of big renewal plans, as well as through the city's prized architecture and parks. 

Joe Manchin's Denigration of "Entitlements" is Nothing New

Historian Larry Glickman's work shows that Joe Manchin's fear of "entitlements" is part of a longstanding idea that American capitalism can't work without the threat of poverty and immiseration.

The American Muckrakers Who Spoke Truth to Power

Gilded Age muckrackers, often rooted in the African Amerian press, disrupted the prevailing journalism of the day, which was content to uphold the status quo. 

School Board Meetings Get Wild

Historian Adam Laats suggests that school board meetings are an accessible venue for conservative anger in the ongoing culture wars, but also help connect conservative think tanks to the grass roots. 

History Answers the Inexplicable: Interview with Madeline Hsu

by Shirley Lung

"Asian Pacific Americans is a census category. It does not reflect the lived experiences, in fact, of many ethnic Asian persons living in the United States....But it is politically a necessity, in part because of the racial projects at work. These killings were racially motivated."

"No There There": Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on the Future of the Left

"I’m sitting in the car, barreling down the highway, asking myself, 'What happened in my life that has put me in this position where I have to like listen to this &%$*@ nonsense?' I needed to leave. But like most people, I needed the health insurance."

Reading Noel Ignatiev's Memoir of Radical Political Awakening

The historian Noel Ignatiev's memoirs offer insight into the labor roots of his radical politics.