Intended as a tool to circumvent the power of big business in the state legislature, California's ballot initiative process has become yet another channel for the political influence of big money.
We usually parse Dred Scott v. Sandford as the Worst Decision Ever, but it also offers an overlooked political lesson. The Court waded into a high partisan battle and badly damaged the institutions behind the ruling.
Whether they knew it at the time, the wounded servicemen the author met at the 3rd Field Hospital outside of Saigon were the spirit of America. Winners all, they were not then suckers, losers, fools or mugs.
"The fact that Americans have not always lived up fully to that Enlightenment universalism, or that ethnicity has often gotten bloodily in the way of it, merely shows that we are human, not that it is wrong."
American institiutions are threatened with transformation into unrecognizable and undemocratic forms; stopping these changes means holding on to a collective sense of national purpose in the face of misinformation and gaslighting.
The incident that became known as the Boston Massacre didn't have to happen, and didn't have to become a flashpoint for violence after. As political tensions break into violence today, it's worthwhile to think about Boston in 1770.
September marked the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Salamis, where the Greeks won a surprising naval victory over Persian forces, thwarted their efforts to conquer Greece, and set the stage for the golden age of Athenian civilization.
The South African National Party won a parliamentary victory in 1948 and consolidated power quickly to institutionalize Apartheid and focus national politics on racial issues. This surprise turned into a half-century of hard right rule and stands as a warning to Americans today.
Digitization projects have made historical newspapers much more readily accessible, but the process admits error and historians should be cautious making bold claims based on them.
As the new 1776 Commission begins to consider how to wield history as a weapon against indoctrination, America’s educational work in Germany can serve as a guidepost for a commitment to preparing vigilant young men and women to build and defend democracy.
A founding member of the Commission on Presidential Debates argues that the body must take stock of its rules and procedures after Tuesday's debacle or risk irrelevance.
Independent civil servants checked Richard Nixon's worst impulses to use the executive branch to punish enemies. The independence of the bureaucracy has since eroded, to Donald Trump's advantage.
Governments need to establish trust so that their public health announcements are credible and persuasive, but have undermined that trust by conducting ethically questionable studies. A model of apology is part of the solution.
Historian Guy Lancaster found a letter of praise from his Congressman tough to take in light of the elected representative's disregard for racial justice.
