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Historians Against the War: Con

by Greg Yardley

This article appeared on frontpagemag.com earlier this month. Afterwards, HNN contacted Historians Against the War for a response. David Montgomery agreed to write one. Click here to read his article.When the study of history became a profession, historians defended 'that noble dream' - objectivity, balance, and evenhandedness - in their scholarship. They never imagined that dream would pass into history itself, but it has. In

Isolationism Strikes Again

by Ronald Radosh

The isolationism that was employed to undermine American will and self-confidence in fighting the fascist and militarist aggressors in World War II has been revived, this time targeted against our President and our commitment to the liberation of Iraq. It had to happen. The naysayers opposed to the campaign for liberation of Iraq, and the doomsday scenario they laid out, struck those of us with knowledge of history with an eerie se

Happy Birthday President Ford

by Yanek Mieczkowski

On July 14, Gerald R. Ford celebrated his 90th birthday. Only four former presidents have reached this milestone (John Adams, Herbert Hoover, and Ronald Reagan share the honor). A lifelong athlete, he still enjoys good health, and swims and golfs regularly. Ford's physical stamina is not the only thing that holds up well. So does his record as chief executive, twenty-six years after he left office, especially in light of events that followed his presidency. The mid-1970s was

The Witch Hunt You Never Heard Of

by R. Brian Ferguson

In lower Manhattan's Foley Square, the center of its courthouse district, stands a new monument. The Triumph of the Human Spirit, commemorates the nearby African Burial Ground, itself a focus for new appreciation of the history of slavery in New York City. To the distress of many, the railings and smooth surfaces around the soaring monument have become a beacon for skateboard artists, whose spirit cannot be denied ("The Twilight Outlaws of Foley Square," New York Times

Why I Felt Out of Place at the World History Conference

by Timothy Furnish

Two weekends ago I managed to attend some of the panels at the World History Association (WHA) conference, in-between grading for my three summer world history courses, working on a book proposal and--most importantly--pulling Mr. Mom duty for our two small sons. Since I teach at a community college, it had been a number of years since I last attended a WHA gathering. Sifting through the program, and aiming to optimize my attendance, I finally decided to attend panels on Is

Does Colin Powell Remember the Powell Doctrine?

by Ruth Rosen

I KEEP WONDERING what Secretary of State Colin Powell really thinks about the war in Iraq and the fact that we appear to have no exit strategy. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Powell was determined to prevent another military quagmire. In the early 1990s, he developed the Powell Doctrine, a set of criteria for using military force. War, he said, should be a last resort, the purpose should reflect a well-defined national interest and enjoy strong public support, and once deci

The Diversity Scam: It Isn't Affirmative Action

by Howard N. Meyer

"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less"It has been widely said and almost unanimously accepted that June's Supreme Court decision in Grutter (the Michigan law school admissions case) was a "victory for Affirmative Action." Historians who recall what was involved in the 1978 Bakke c

What Did Truman's Outburst About Jews Signify?

by Josh Pollack

Published excerpts from President Harry S Truman's newly discovered diary feature relatively little that appears to be substantively new about his policies or opinions. Certainly Truman's tendency towards anti-semitism, highlighted recently by Michael Beschloss, comes as no great revelation. But the diary's stream-of-consciousness quality does seem to shed some light on questions of psychological interest, particularly Truman's well-know

The Day the Supreme Court Quoted My Book

by John D'Emilio

It isn't every day that a Supreme Court justice quotes my work in a decision. But that's what happened this past June when Justice Arthur Kennedy delivered the majority opinion in Lawrence v. Texas, a challenge to the state's sodomy law. In finding that the law violated vital liberties and privacy guaranteed by the due process clause of the 14th Amendment, the court declared sodomy statutes unconstitutional.

Column: Things Are Worse Than I Thought

by P. M. Carpenter

An appreciable thickness of skin is required to wear the garb of an online correspondent, especially one still inhabiting America's shrinking isle of sensible progressivism. Write anything on a regular basis that challenges the regnant curiosities of modern conservatism -- itself a 40-year-old admixture of scripture-thumping hypocrites, vapid economic terrorists and taunting man-boy jingoists -- and you'll become a target for every brow-protruding reactionary who's learned to manipulat

Are the Black Panthers Part of the "Bad Sixties"?

by Robert Self

The Black Panther Party never fails to stir both interest and controversy, even decades after its hey day. Brilliant revolutionaries or notorious thugs? A generation's best or worst? The arguments tend to sort into such unhelpful opposites. Indeed, the objective of a recent conference on the Panthers at Wheelock College, titled "The Black Panther Party in Historical Perspective," was to nudge the historical conversation beyond simplistic either/or judgments. The more than 40

World War I's Forgotten Hero

by Thomas Fleming

The scene could not have been more dramatic. President Woodrow Wilson was calling for war. In a soaring peroration, he told the American people that they had no other choice. They must fight to defend the rights of small nations, to make the world safe for democracy, to establish global peace. "God helping us," he said, echoing Martin Luther's famous defense of his Protestant faith, "We can do no other!" Congress exploded into frenzie

Highlights of Truman's Hidden Diary

On July 10, 2003 the Truman Library revealed the discovery of a previously unknown Truman diary from 1947. The diary had been hidden in the back of a manual for the Real Estate Board of New York. Two entries attracted immediate attention. In an entry on July 25, 1947 Truman says that he had met with Dwight Eisenhower and offered to back him for the Democratic nomination in 1948 if MacArthur decided to run for the

Why We Are in Danger of Losing the Peace in Iraq

by Judith Apter Klinghoffer

I cannot think of a more appropriate time for the message of this article than the week after "we the people" celebrated the anniversary of our liberation. For it was liberation. On the Fourth of July we ceased to be subjects and became citizens of a country. To be a citizen meant then, and means now, having the right to vote. Our founders knew that those lacking that right were but "slaves, . . . complete vassals, who have no voice to utter in choosing thei

Slavery Was One of the Greatest Crimes of History

by George W. Bush

Transcript provided by the White House of remarks of President Bush at Goree Island, Senegal, July 8, 2003, at the beginning of his first trip to Africa. Mr. President and Madam First Lady, distinguished guests and residents of Goree Island, citizens of Senegal, I'm honored to begin my visit to Africa in your beautiful country. For hundreds of years on this island peoples of different continents met in fear and cruelty. Today we gather in respect and friendship, mindful

Column: Holy Hogwash Batman!

by P. M. Carpenter

A leading conservative strategist recently offered this explanation as to why, going into a reelection campaign, Bush II has right wingers in the bag and Bush I did not: "Every group that this president [keeps] faith with, the previous president double-crossed." Most would concede the assessment's overall fairness. Yet, while doing no injury to the strategist's originality, there is a more telling way to phrase it: "Every group that the previous president kept fa

Frank Keating's Brave Reprimand to the Bishops

by C.E. Richard

I'm thinking about getting a little statue of Frank Keating to put on my dashboard. Until recently, the former Oklahoma governor was chairman of a panel of lay Roman Catholics appointed by the bishops to oversee their handling of the church's sex abuse scandal. Frustrated by a few unrepentant prelates, Keating compared their conspiratorial behavior to that of the Mafia. He wrote in a letter to Bishop Wilton Gregory, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, &q

Are Middle East Scholars Funded by the Taxpayer Doing the Country Much Good?

by Daniel Pipes

The U.S. Congress recently broke with a 45-year tradition: It permitted a dissident to critique the federal funding for the study of foreign language and cultures -- to suggest that the program often serves the very opposite of academia's goals or the nation's interests. The topic impinges on core questions of how Americans see the outside world and themselves. It also has major implications for U.S. policy.Federal funding of international studies (known in govermentese as

Column: The Grosse Pointe Gross Point System

by William Thompson

What goes around comes around--in the same circle. In the 1960s I was a political science student, first at Michigan State University, then at the University of Missouri. I observed a process of applying points to one's race up close in local media as well as in the literature of my academic discipline. Political Scientist Norman C. Thomas of the University of Michigan wrote a book entitled, Rule 9: Politics, Administration, and Civil Rights (1966). The book chronicled and ana

What the Arab World Needs Is to Adopt the Rule of Law

by Paul Sullivan

The Arab world is a place of great and glorious, creative and cultured, innovative and inspiring history. The first known civilizations in Iraq and Egypt were there. Great science, architecture, poetry, architecture and art were created throughout the centuries in the Arab world. Greek civilization was preserved and built upon by the Arabs. The Arabs were the pacesetters for other civilizations for centuries. The Koran and Islam came out of the Arabian deserts. The Arabs carry a