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Historians respond to John F. Kelly’s Civil War remarks: ‘Strange,’ ‘sad,’ ‘wrong’

Kelly was asked about the decision of a church in Alexandria to remove plaques honoring George Washington and Robert E. Lee.

The Catalonian Fight for Independence Has Medieval Roots

For hundreds of years, Catalonians have thought of themselves as distinct from the rest of Spain.

Amid backlash, National Park Service yanks $98,000 grant for Black Panther Party legacy project

A month after announcing its plans to greenlight $98,000 in federal funds for a project by a UC Berkeley professor documenting the Black Panther Party’s legacy, the National Park Service has pulled the plug amid a fierce backlash by conservatives who decried the history of what they labeled “a violent extremist group.”

Controversial Islamic Scholar Tariq Ramadan Accused of Sexually Assaulting Three Women

Supporters say accusations are part of 'international Zionist plot' against him; all the complainants said they had been in contact with Ramadan for spiritual guidance.

Virginia church to move plaques honoring Lee and Washington

In response to violent protests over the fate of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this year, a 244-year-old Episcopal church in Alexandria is planning to move a set of plaques honoring former parishioners Robert E. Lee and George Washington.

The One Thing All Americans Agree On: JFK Conspiracy

The latest numbers from Gallup, from a 2013 survey taken to mark the 50th anniversary of the event, showed 61% of Americans believed the assassination was a conspiracy, while 30% believed Oswald acted alone.

How a WWII-era forger saved lives, one fake document at a time

Adolfo Kaminsky isn't a well-known hero, but thousands of Jews in France during World War II owe their lives to him.

James Madison's Montpelier explores its history of slaves

Montpelier was the Virginia home of James Madison, father of the Constitution and architect of the Bill of Rights. The plantation was also home to generations of slaves. Now, descendants have a chance to get in touch with their roots.

Scraping the bottom of the barrel

by Dale K. Myers

The latest JFK assassination files leave the media scrambling for something - anything - newsworthy.

Washington Post features 38 ideas for fixing our democracy

Several historians are among the group the Post consulted:  Nancy Isenberg, Andrew Burstein, and Ibram X. Kendi. 

Where Was the First Woman Condemned for Witchcraft? Not in Salem

Decades before the trials in Massachusetts, women in Connecticut were being accused. Now, a group of people there is moving to clear the names of the victims.

World's witnessing a new Gilded Age as billionaires’ wealth swells to $6tn

Not since the time of the Carnegies, Rockefellers and Vanderbilts at the turn of the 20th century was so much owned by so few.

Good History Takes Time, So Be Patient With the New JFK Documents

There are unlikely to be any bombshells, and it’ll be months or years before historians can draw conclusions from the new files.

Puerto Rico's power outages are the largest in US history, report says

In terms of the total number of lost hours of electricity, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are in the midst of the largest blackout in US history, according to a report from an economic research company.

Trump delays release of some JFK assassination documents, bowing to national security concerns

The CIA has until March to say why certain documents need to be withheld.  

How to Read the JFK Assassination Files

The government is releasing thousands of long-secret files on Kennedy’s murder. Here are some tips for making sense of all the code names, redactions and confusing jargon.

Italy uses Anne Frank's diary to combat anti-Semitism at sports games

After anti-Semitic stickers were strewn around Italian soccer club Lazio's stadium, the team and the Italian soccer federation are taking steps to combat racism and anti-Semitism at games, including reading a passage aloud from Anne Frank's diary before matches.

Insulting Gold Star women has a history

And it's a history once again involving African-Americans. 

Finally, we can see the long-hidden records of the U.S. government prosecution of the Chicago Tribune during WW2

This article draws on grand jury records that had been sealed for decades until historian Elliot Carlson, joined by the Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press, the National Security Archive, and other historians’ organizations, filed a lawsuit for their release.

A sign on scrubland marks one of America's largest slave uprisings. Is this how to remember black heroes?

The Stono rebellion of 1739 was the biggest slave rebellion in Britain’s North American colonies but it is barely commemorated – unlike Confederate leaders.