Recently Published

A Community of Necessity: The Quabbin Reservoir's History and the Future of "Managed Retreat"

by Elisabeth C. Rosenberg

In 1939 the dammed Swift River submerged four Massachusetts towns beneath the new Quabbin Reservoir. The story of the residents, politicians and engineers of the Swift Valley foreshadows the negotiations that will accompany a managed retreat from places jeopardized by climate change.

Historians Can't Leave the Teaching of History to Politicians

by Walter G. Moss

As a historian of Russia, the author finds today's political interference with history teaching "like Soviet authorities forbidding Soviet history teachers to mention Trotsky’s role in bringing the 1917 communist revolution about."

What Can We Learn from Historians vs. Malcolm Gladwell?

by Gregory A. Daddis

As the discipline's claims to authority are under attack, it would be a mistake for historians to sacrifice rigorous pursuit of truth to be "interesting."

Drug Prohibition and the Political Roots of Cartel Violence in Mexico

by Benjamin T. Smith

Violence is not so much in the DNA of the drug trade as the DNA of drug prohibition. And until both American and Mexican police forces stop treating it like a war, the violence won’t stop.

Ringer Eddie "The King" Feigner Strikes Out 6 HOF'ers in 1967 Celebrity Softball Game

Hear Vin Scully and Jerry Lewis announce a celebrities vs. big leaguers softball game, watch barstorming softball legend Eddie "The King" Feigner strike out six hall-of-famers in a row. 

Ike Would Like the New Private Space Race

by Yanek Mieczkowski

Wary of government spending and the entanglement of public money with private contractors, Dwight Eisenhower would find much to like in today's billionaire space race. 

Time to Revisit the History of School Integration in the North

by Zoë Burkholder

The history of school integration in the North shows that Black northerners have viewed quality education and democracy as core goals, while disagreeing about which educational policies serve those goals best.

"Without Pressure from Germany": Hungary's Revisionist History of the Deportation of 18,000 Jews

by Karl Pfeifer

The Hungarian government has sought to deny and obscure its responsibility for the deportation of Jews beginning in 1941. 

Charlottesville's Lee Statue Belongs in a Museum

by John Troast

"Charlottesville’s recently removed statue of Robert E. Lee is not a statue of a man, it is a statue of a myth," and the history of that dangerous myth needs to be preserved.

Lessons on Love from Sullivan Ballou's Civil War Letters

by Fred Zilian

Historians dispute the authorship of love letters sent by Rhode Island lawyer and Union Major Sullivan Ballou to his beloved, but risk missing the larger point about love, sacrifice and duty. 

The Media's Failure on Agent Orange

by Ron Steinman

The media seldom covers the ongoing harm caused by Agent Orange because little of the story is "news." This is a failure of duty to inform the public about the callous use of the defoliant that may allow similar wartime ecological catastrophes in the future. 

Interview: Joyce Berkman on the Value of History and the Historian's Mindset

by Erik Moshe

“It’s much better to develop one’s mental toolbox, one’s skills, rather than necessarily master huge bodies of knowledge.”

Explaining the Different Post-Colonial Trajectories of Ireland and Haiti

by Alan J. Singer

"The divergent paths of Haiti and Ireland are rooted in the history of 19th century European colonialism, European and American racism, and the very different alternatives offered to the people of the former colonies for the last two hundred plus years."

The Legacies of Un-critical Race Theory at Berkeley

by Tony Platt

For most of its history, the University of California has been a bastion of un-critical race theory from Manifest Destiny to The Bell Curve. 

America's Leaders Haven't Learned from Past International Rivalries

by Danielle Taana Smith

American leaders have failed to learn from the past and are staking the nation's health to competition with foreign adversaries instead of improvement of American lives. 

The Difference a Day Makes: Robespierre's 9 Thermidor

by Colin Jones

The eventful 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794) is seen as a pivotal day for French Revolution. Colin Jones digs deep into the archival documentation of the day and argues that the day's significance is real but misunderstood. 

Amateurism, Sneaker Money, and the Forgotten Protest of the 1968 Games

by Harry Blutstein

Tommie Smith and John Carlos are remembered for their gloved-fist protest of American racism at the 1968 Mexico City Games. But they also demonstrated against the hypocritical and exploitative rules of amateurism and opened the door to endorsement payments for Olympians.

As Americans Hit the Road Again, It's Time to Revisit the Ideals of Liberty

by Heidi M. Ravven

Americans are contemplating travel as COVID gives way to greater freedom to move. There's no more apt place for a visit than the Statue of Liberty. 

The 1906 Decision in Hodges v. United States Shows the Error of Leaving Fundamental Rights to the States

by William H. Pruden III

The Court ruled that the 13th Amendment did not create a federal right to fairly contracted labor, and called for Black workers to "take their chances with other citizens in the states where they should make their homes," despite the plain determination of those citizens to oppress and expolit them.

Can Sports Realize Frederick Douglass's Ideal of the Composite Nation?

by Walter G. Moss

From Jackie Robinson to Simone Biles and Shohei Otani, sports have been like the point of a knife piercing myths of white supremacy.