Historians in the News

The COVID-19 Vaccination Drive May be Slow—But it’s Already Faster than Any in History

Public Health historian Jason Schwartz suggests that discontent about the pace of vaccination is due to the Trump administration's politically motivated and unrealistic promises. 

In His Inaugural Address, Biden Seeks To Move Past 'American Carnage'

Historians of the presidency and political rhetoric discuss how Biden's address on Wednesday may adapt the traditions of the inaugural address to an unprecedented context.

Trump's Last Year In Office Will Define His Legacy, Historians Say

A group of presidential historians including Timothy Naftali, Jeff Engel, Julian Zelizer, Laura Belmonte, Kathryn Brownell, H.W. Brands, Lindsay Chervinsky, Martha Jones, and Barbara Perry discuss what results of the Trump presidency – from resurgent white nationalism to battered norms of governing – will prove to be the most historically consequential.

How a Historian Got Close, Maybe Too Close, to a Nazi Thief

Historian Jonathan Petropoulous forged a relationship with Bruno Lohse, the art agent of Hermann Göring. That relationship proved ethically dubious when the professor did paid contract work for heirs of a German Jewish family to trace a stolen painting and the trail led to a foundation owned by Lohse.

Will Trump’s Mishandling of Records Leave a Hole in History?

Historians and potential prosecutors are concerned about the White House's noncompliance with the Presidential Records Act, but the truth is that the act is toothless. 

When White Extremism Seeps Into The Mainstream

Historian Kathleen Belew discusses the history of the far right and the work of separating the hard core of the movement from its fringes and those who might be persuaded to join it. 

Reconstruction Era Expert On Why Politicians Use Terms Unity And Healing

"Reconciliation needs accountability. You can't just wash your hands and say, let's forget about the past and move forward with healing."

The Lessons of the Nixon Pardon

Isaac Chotiner interviews Rick Perlstein on the nature of presidential misconduct and accountability. 

These Textbooks In Thousands Of K-12 Schools Echo Trump’s Talking Points

Historian Kathleen Wellman studies two major Christian textbook publishers, whose interpretations of history emphasize moral decline and the need for Christian nationalism and resonate with the themes on display at the Capitol riot. 

Keri Leigh Merritt on the New Lost Cause

Independent historian Keri Leigh Merritt talks with FAIR's CounterSpin about the problem with the media calling the January 6 Capitol riots "unprecedented." 

White Women’s Role In White Supremacy, Explained

Historian Stephanie Jones-Rogers and author Seyward Darby explain why the presence of women among the Capitol rioters should not be surprising. 

Trump Could be Sued for Damages under the Federal Ku Klux Klan Act

by Thomas Geoghegan

A lawyer and labor advocate suggests that Donald Trump's actions both before and on January 6 expose him to civil liability under the Ku Klux Klan act of 1871. 

A TV Documentary Shows the Deep Roots of Right-Wing Conspiracy

New Yorker critic Richard Brody discusses the 1964 broadcast of "Danger on the Right" on the John Birch Society. 

What the History of the Ku Klux Klan Can Teach Us about the Capitol Riot

Historian Linda Gordon urges readers to recognize that the Klan has always drawn from "respectable" members of white society, giving it a dangerous ability to claim to represent real American values.

How Heather Cox Richardson Built a Sisterhood of Concerned Americans

Heather Cox Richardson's successful newsletter and growing grassroots media stardom reflects Americans' hunger for historical understanding but also, especially among her female readers, for a calm and compassionate style of analysis. 

Reconstruction Offers No Easy Answers for How to Handle the Trump Insurgency

by Rebecca Onion

It's tricky to draw any definitive lessons about how to deal with the Capitol insurgents from Reconstruction, particularly since many facile "lessons from history" make counterfactual assumptions. Historian Cynthia Nicoletti discusses the complex imperatives of justice, punishment, reconciliation, and national reunification that contributed to the course of Reconstruction.

How Fear Took Over the American Suburbs

Historian Kyle Riismandel's new book “Neighborhood of Fear” examines the cultivation of a white suburban culture of vigilantism and the political exploitation of fear of community change in the late 20th century. 

Can the Republican Party be Saved?

Geoffrey Kabaservice is the author of "Rule and Ruin," a history of the Republican Party since 1950. He discusses the party's turn toward right-wing radicalism with Vox's Sean Illing. 

Wealthy Bankers And Businessmen Plotted To Overthrow FDR. A Retired General Foiled It

by Gillian Brockell

Major General Smedley Butler (USMC) told Congress in 1933 that a group of business leaders had asked him to lead a coup against FDR. He insisted the plot was serious and credible. Has this episode faded from awareness because it was a hoax, or because Roosevelt and Congress all wanted to conceal how close it came to succeeding?

Learning from the Failure of Reconstruction

Isaac Chotiner interviews Eric Foner on the echoes of Reconstruction-era political violence in last week's Capitol riots.