Recently Published

What Reagan Learned from FDR

by H. W. Brands

Roosevelt showed what a president can achieve by tapping the power of the American people, and Reagan was nothing if not an apt pupil.

The Conservatives in Japan Who Are Refusing to Acknowledge the Crimes of World War II Think They’re Helping Their Country. They Are Sabotaging It.

by Joyman Lee

The Japanese conservative position on war responsibility is pushing China and Russia together, and it’s inadvertently reinvigorating Cold War divisions in Asia.

What's Wrong with Seymour Hersh's Conspiracy Theory

by Brian Glyn Williams

Hersh claims the White House lied about Osama bin Laden's death.  But history proves that Hersh's story is full of holes. 

The Last British General Election?

by Luke Reader

As the United Kingdom commemorates the seventieth anniversary of victory in WWII, Cameron must be left with a nagging worry that he will be the prime minister who presided over the end of Britain.

Talking Honestly About Islamic Hate Speech

by Timothy R. Furnish

At a conference in Boston scholars and journalists broached the subject many others refuse to acknowledge.

Why I Wrote a Book About the Wright Brothers (Interview)

by David McCullough

"They were both brilliant. They weren’t just a couple of clever bicycle mechanics who got lucky. I’m convinced, and it’s self-evident once you know the full story, that Wilbur Wright was a genius."

The North Won. This Wasn’t Inevitable.

by Joseph Wheelan

Until Lincoln’s reelection in November 1864, Union victory was never inevitable.

The History Wars in Ukraine Are Heating Up

by Christopher Gilley and Per Anders Rudling

Bad history is being enshrined in law. Critical historical research is under threat.

Thomas Jefferson’s Weird Fear of George Washington

by Thomas Fleming

The fantasy politics of our third president.

How Our War on Drugs Undermines Mexico

by Aileen Teague

The continued dominance of multi-billion dollar Mexican drug cartels cannot be seen as separate from the aggressive drug policies emanating from the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Mantra of the Industrial Revolution that’s Hobbling the Knowledge Economy

by Mark Powell and Jonathan Gifford

The pernicious persistence of Taylorism.

Why Learning from History Means Saying No to Rigid Ideologies

by Walter G. Moss

Believers in rigid ideologies can’t see the reality in front of their eyes.

In Defense of Flip-Flopping

by David O. Stewart

What’s so wrong about admitting you were wrong?

This Is What Else Harold Stassen Should Be Remembered for

by Steve Werle

He helped show in 1948 how you could use primaries to get around boss-run conventions.

Why Aren’t American Museums Doing more to Return Nazi-Looted Art?

by Elizabeth Campbell Karlsgodt

17 years after the US hosted the Washington conference on Nazi-confiscated art and pledged to facilitate “just and fair” solutions, a lack of transparency in American museums remains.

President Obama Said “We Must Not Feign Concern and Then Go About Business as Usual.” Here’s How He Could Address the Baltimore Riot’s Root Causes.

by Michael McQuillan

He asserted in his first Presidential campaign that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.” Now we are waiting on him.

Our Obsession with the Royals Goes Way Back

by Susan Doran

A biographer of Elizabeth I explains what the queen went through.

What Else You Should Know About Baltimore

by Calvin Schermerhorn

In the first half of the nineteenth century it was known as the slave traders’ capital city.

What Was on the Minds of the Big Three at Potsdam?

by Michael S. Neiberg

It wasn't the looming Cold War.  It was the way World War I had ended.  Call that the power of analogies from history. 

The Woman Who Liberated Herself from Sobibor

by Richard Rashke

In memory of Esther Terner Raab, 1922-2015.