Recently Published

Giuliani for President? America's Mayor for President?

by Michael H. Ebner

Set aside the standard list of reasons why Rudolph W. Giuliani – should he declare his candidacy – would find it challenging to secure the presidential nomination of the Republican party and then election to the White House in November of 2008. Instead focus on a factor largely overlooked: his sobriquet – America’s Mayor – is rooted in the urban history of the United States. The standard obstacles confronting him are familiar enough and frequently recited.

Reflections on Thomas Ryan’s Article About Barbara Weinstein

by Margaret Power

I was surprised, in fact appalled, to read the article on AHA president Barbara Weinstein published on the History News Network on January 30, 2007. Thomas Ryan wrote the article, which was originally posted on David Horowitz’s FrontpageMag.com. The article embodies precisely the kind of journalism that we as scholars repudiate. It is slanderous, replete with unsubstantiated aspersions and red herrings, and, most important

Why Have Scholars Underplayed George Washington’s Faith?

by Peter A. Lillback

The faith of our founding father, George Washington, has been the source of debate among scholars throughout the 20th, and now into the 21st century. Prior to that, it was generally the case that very few questioned the strength or validity of the claim that George Washington was a Christian. It was not until around the time of the bicentennial of Washington’s birth, in 1932, that the consensus began to shift to the view that Washington was a Deist, that is, one who is generally non-rel

It’s not Bush, Stupid! Polling “The Worst President”

by Lee P. Ruddin

Well before the ink had dried on Sean Wilentz’s article in Rolling Stone, lefty blogosphere’s were in meltdown sounding off the problem–plagued presidency of George W. Bush. This is compounded by the accompanying mala fideswebsite. Yet, since the Princeton historian’s piece ran last May we have been caught in a torrent of historians (a Nobel Prize laureate, Pu

Anti-Semitism in Islam: Israel Didn’t Start the Fire

by Timothy R. Furnish

Conventional wisdom among many American citizens, as well as numerous journalists, politicians and media anchors, has it that anti-Semitism1 in the Islamic world constitutes a not unreasonable reaction to the late 19th c. Zionist movement which led to the creation of the state of Israel right after World War II. In this view, were Israel to totally withdraw from the West Bank (and other disputed Arab territories), as well as enact th

Could the Democrats Lose the Senate before the Next Election?

by Richard K. Neumann, Jr.

Democratic Senator Tim Johnson had emergency surgery in December and remains hospitalized.  For a time, he was listed in critical condition.  The governor of his state is a Republican and would appoint a replacement if the seat became vacant. Joe Lieberman lost the Democratic senatorial primary lost summer and was reelected as an independent.  Most of the people who voted for him last November were Republicans.  He supports the White House on Iraq, and although he p

Three lessons of World War II for Today’s Generation

by Michael Bess

World War II was profoundly different from the conflict the United States currently finds itself waging in Iraq, but that titanic struggle of the mid-twentieth century does offer three valuable lessons for the leaders and citizens of today.  Here is how I would sum them up:1. Acknowledge messy complexity.

Send More Troops to Baghdad?

by Anthony James Joes

A major justification for President Bush’s plan to send 20,000 additional troops to Iraq is that they will restore a semblance of peace to turbulent Baghdad.  They will achieve this aim not by surrounding the city (which is far too big) but by pacifying selected areas of it one by one. This “clear-and-hold” approach – expelling guerrillas and establishing civilian security in one delimited area and then repeating the process in another -- has been the method of di

A Clash of Civilizations or Just a Phase in Democratic Development?

by Josiah C. Russell and Elbert W. Russell

The catastrophic events in Iraq demonstrate the effect of political decisions that are based on a wrong reading of history. President Bush and even much of the United States accepted the concept that dictatorships are an “evil” form of government that must be eliminated. Had the present government held an alternative concept of political history the actions of the United States might have been less disastrous. Such an alternative was held by my father, the historian J.C.

Bad Arolsen Holocaust Insurance and Corporate Revelations Years Delayed

by Edwin Black

When Jews too weak to work were routinely marched from their concentration camp barracks into oblivion, when shrieking families with arms and fingers outstretched were torn apart during deportations, when the winds of politics and opportunity scattered refugees and survivors throughout the world, many rightfully thought that the story of their persecution and fate would be as indistinguishable as a single ash rising from a chimney. Even though millions did not survive, much of their story

Is Bush a Revolutionary?

by Lee P. Ruddin

Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future  And time future contained in time past -- T.S. Eliot Don King has taken on some new fights recently weighing in to promote his commander–in–chief. Kings says “I love George Walker because I think he’s a revolutionary. He’s a president that comes in with conclusiveness.” King later states that he is “fig

Bush the Empire Slayer

by Bernard Chazelle

If you fancy losing an argument, try shooting down my contention that Mikhail Gorbachev is the leading historical figure of our time. Not one to miss a shooting opportunity, Dick Cheney tried. To my surprise, he won.Westerners fondly remember Gorbachev for finishing off an ailing Soviet empire left bleeding from its Afghan travails. Defusing half a century of nuclear tension can leave a mark on impressionable minds. On Cheney's—not so much. The former Defense Secretary had a tend

What is Bush and Cheney's Game vis-à-vis Iran?

by Jeffrey Kimball

In a January 2005 article in the New Yorker based on unnamed sources inside the Bush administration, Seymour Hersh argued that an ideologically rigid, militaristic, messianic, neocon clique—which included Bush and Cheney—was serious about using military force against Iran over the issue of its nuclear program. When reporters asked President Bush about such claims, his refrain was deliberately ambiguous: “This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack I

What Do Presidents Say in State of the Union Addresses When the News Is Gloomy?

by Rick Shenkman

Last week HNN intern Caleb Miller explained how U.S. Presidents break bad news in times of war. But how do they handle bad news in their state of the union addresses? Do they still insist that the state of our union is strong? In 1975 President Gerald Ford said frankly,"the state of the Union is not good." This was a rare moment of candor in the history of the presidency. Most of the time presidents find a way to sugarcoat the truth.

When Lawyers Go Wrong, Historians Set the Record Straight

by Ralph Luker

I spent a good share of early October working with a group of historians on an amicus brief that we filed on Tuesday the 10th in two cases that the Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearing on 4 December. Known formally as Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 and

Is Government Propaganda Legal? Well . . .

by Kevin R. Kosar

In the past couple of years, the Bush administration has been blasted by the media and citizens alike for spending taxpayer’s dollars on propaganda. “Very quickly after 9/11 the administration shifted its focus to Iraq. Then, intelligence departments spent months and huge amounts of money on propaganda, to enlist popular support for an invasion,” wrote an annoyed reader in Takoma Park, Maryland to the New York Times in late December. Meanwhile, the Washington Po

Barack & Hillary: Clash of the Titans

by Gil Troy

 The twin announcements of Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton that they plan to run for President mark great triumphs for both the Civil Rights movement and the women’s movement. The two enter the 2008 contest as the leading Democrats, with his race and her gender appearing as political assets not debits. Let’s put aside the inevitable groans that the American presidential campaign is starting so soon. Let’s overlook the obvious fact that the next 22 months

Out of Iraq Now

by William R. Polk

Address to the Progressive Caucus and the Out of Iraq Caucus of the U.S House of Representatives on Friday, January 12, 2007. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, I address you particularly as chairwomen of the Progressive Caucus and the Out of Iraq Caucus. It gives me particular pleasure both as an American and as a historian to do so because the curious word “caucus” is deeply rooted in the American experience. One of the

President Bush and History

by Mark Nevin

Will history look favorably on President Bush? Admittedly, things don’t look good. In April, historian Sean Wilentz told us: “Many historians are now wondering whether Bush . . . will be remembered as the very worst president in all of American history.” Although historians may be a liberal lot, they are not the only Americans to think that history will judge Bush harshly. In a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted last month

We Tried to Use Force to Reach a Settlement in Nicaragua, too

by John R. Bawden

In Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. and NATO forces have few good options. A rapid military withdrawal from either country is likely to result in civil violence. Yet increasing the number of foreign troops will not necessarily speed political agreement among political factions in Iraq or Afghanistan. This dilemma has a historical parallel in the 1920s, when U.S. Marines were sent to Nicaragua under the banner of restoring order and building institutions to foster democracy. The