Recently Published

The Texas State Board of Education’s Reasons for Elevating Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson

by John Willingham

Recent news reports have commented on the Texas State Board of Education’s elevation of Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis in the social studies curriculum of the state, but in treating the development as just another example of the board’s bizarre behavior, the reports do not recognize that the action is part of a coordinated effort by social conservatives on the board to emphasize states’ rights and Christianity throughout the curriculum. From the beginni

The Texas State Board of Education and the Vindication of Joe McCarthy

by John Willingham

Some journalists and those under their spell believe that the Venona cables, publicly disclosed in 1995, provide an antidote to the poisonous influence of McCarthyism in the 1950s.  The cables confirm extensive Soviet espionage in America during the 1940s, and so, the story goes, the late Senator Joseph McCarthy deserves at least partial vindication. A leader of the social conservatives on the Texas State Board of Education for more than ten years, Don McLeroy, has

Texas State Board of Education Tries to Dilute History of Women, Minorities

by John Willingham

The last days of February mark the end of Black History Month, and in March the nation will reflect on the accomplishments of women during Women's History Month.  Americans as a whole are encouraged to participate in readings and other forms of commemoration.  Meanwhile, in the midst of this national recognition, the dominant faction on the Texas State Board of Education is working to make these groups "redundant" in the state's curriculum. The g

To End the Gaping Political Divide over Roe, Revisit Doe

by Jerome C. Wakefield

President Obama called during his campaign for finding common ground on abortion, but such calls may strike many as hopelessly Pollyanna, especially now, with the abortion divide in American politics emerging with unrestrained vehemence in the congressional debate over comprehensive health care reform.Even so, might some common ground yet be found?A possible answer lies in encouraging the Supreme Court to reconsider Doe v. Bolton, a decision that accompanied R

14 Attorneys General vs. the Constitution

by Stanley Kutler

Fourteen state Attorneys General have indicated their determination to challenge the recently-enacted health care legislation on the grounds that their states have pre-empted federal action.  Why is it no surprise that all these officials are Republicans? Constitutional law, as understood and implemented for more than two centuries, trumps the AGs' contentions.  Article VI, Section 2 provides that "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be m

The University Is Not a Factory

by Christopher Merrill and Linda K. Kerber

Vice President Cheney's admission on ABC's This Week that he ordered the torture of terrorist suspects may be a defining moment in our political discourse.  It was remarkable not so much for the substance of its revelation -- we have long known that "enhanced interrogation" methods, including waterboarding, were integral to the Bush administration's prosecution of its War on Terror -- as for its banality.  Perhaps it was the release of a poll in which a majo

Photographer Peter van Agtmael's Unsparing Images from Iraq and Afghanistan

by Robin Lindley

In a recent column entitled "The Pictures of War You Aren't Supposed to See," esteemed correspondent Chris Hedges described the nature of modern w

In Defense of Historians as Expert Witnesses: A Rebuttal to Jon Wiener

by John C. Burnham

"I want to clarify some of the misunderstandings that underlie the current attempts to mobilize opinion in the current tobacco cases."

This Recession is Going To Be a Long One

by James Livingston

Why do we think we’re in a recovery?  What makes us think that the economic crisis has passed?  Why don’t we see that it’s getting worse, and now threatens, more than ever, to become a replica of the Great Depression?

The Sad History of Kansas City Public Schools

by Joshua M. Dunn

Two weeks ago the media reported the apparently shocking news that the Kansas City, Missouri School District (KCMSD) school board voted 5-4 to close nearly half of its schools, 28 of 61 schools in the district. But those

Health Care Reform and Liberal Values

by Walter G. Moss

When on March 23 President Obama signed into law health care legislation, among those in attendance were 11-year-old Marcelas Owens and relatives of Natoma Canfield.  In his remarks the president noted that “Marcelas lost his mom to an illness, and she . . . couldn't afford the care that she needed,” and “Natoma [who has cancer] had to give up her health coverage after her rates were jacked up by more than 40 percent.” In his 2006 book, The A

The Road Not Taken by the U.S. in 1950s Iran

by John T. McNay

The streets of Tehran are often filled these days with anti-government protesters criticizing a government that came to power largely as a reaction to a repressi

Loray Mill Strikers Deserve to be Remembered

by David Lee McMullen

April 1 marks the anniversary of one of the most infamous strikes in the history of American labor history, the 1929 Loray Mill strike in Gastonia, North Carolina.  Today, while many have heard of the strike, few have a clear understanding of the events that took place or the circumstances surrounding the two murders that occurred during the strike.Most people who know anything about Loray are quick to note that the strike was organized by communists, a distinction that bu

The Perils of the Philanthropist President in Haiti

by Martine Jean

The editors of the New York Times must suffer from collective amnesia!  That is what I kept repeating to myself as I watched their latest report on the aftermath of the devastating January 12th earthquake in Haiti.  I relish reading the reports on Haiti for a variety of reasons.  It’s my way to keep hope for my country amid the devastation that the earthquake has brought on an already devastated land.  On March 20th, the online edition of the New

Lying About Nuclear Weapons

by Lawrence S. Wittner

One of the most popular muckraking American journalists of the late twentieth century, I.F. Stone, once remarked:  "All governments lie.&qu

Turkey Yesterday... and Today: An Interview with Jenny White

by Aaron Leonard

Anthropologist and Boston University professor Jenny White has just published The Winter Thief, the third book in her “Kamil Pasha” historical novel series.  The book takes place in the waning da

Medicine as History: A Conversation with Historian of Medicine Dora Weiner

by Jill O'Neill

Professor Dora Weiner's fields of scholarly inquiry include the social and intellectual history of eighteenth and nineteenth century me

K.C. Johnson Missed the Point About Naftali

by Max Holland

I write in response to K.C. Johnson’s “Holland, Naftali, and the Wisdom of Discretion.”  In it he chides me for supposed bias in my criticism of Tim Naftali’s work for the 9/11 Commission. (See The Historian as Hustler).I agree with what I believe to be Johnson’s underlying point:  it’s improper to criticize a former colleague based on personal an

Holland, Naftali, and the Wisdom of Discretion

by K.C. Johnson

I spent several years as a non-resident research associate at the Miller Center for Public Affairs, working with the Center’s Presidential Recordings Program.

Location, Location, Location Affected the Media in the D.C. Sniper Case

by Jack Censer

During the 2002 D.C. sniper incident, journalists, who considerably outnumbered the police serving on the task force to catch the perps, were motivated both by the opportunity to get a good story and by personal fear of getting