Current Events that Relate to History
-
Book ReviewThe Conservative Intellectual Who Laid the Groundwork for Trump
The political vision that William F. Buckley helped forge was—and remains today—focused less on adhering to principles and more on ferreting out enemies.The New Republic -
Q&AWhen US Labor Backed US Imperialism
After the successful purges of leftists from unions, US labor leaders were enlisted by government officials to join in their global imperialist operations.Jacobin -
Q&AWon’t You Be My Neighbor?
Christy Thornton and Greg Grandin discuss his new book, “America, América,” and the intertwined histories of the U.S. and Latin America.The Baffler -
OverviewThe Other American ‘Popes’
Before Leo XIV, the weird, century-long history of Americans claiming to be pope.The Bulwark -
CommentThe Supreme Court Undercuts Another Check on Executive Power
To defend the Trump Administration, the Court ignored long-standing precedent barring Presidents from firing independent-agency heads at will.The New Yorker -
Comparison
The New Politics Of Territorial Expansion
“Never again” and the “responsibility to protect” now license forcible territorial annexation.Noema -
exhibitCollege Costs
Historical perspectives on the money that fuels American higher education, and Americans’ attempts to reckon with the power dynamics that result.
From the HNN Archive
-
How to Succeed in Government Without Really Trying
The long history of promising an “efficient” federal government. -
What Is the Role of the Historian?
Rethinking the job of history — and the American Historical Association — after the veto of the Gaza “scholasticide” resolution. -
Indifferent to the Fate of Freedom Elsewhere
Jimmy Carter is known for his defense of human rights worldwide. But in 1979, he threatened to deport thousands of Iranian student protesters. -
An Attempt to Defeat Constitutional Order
After the Civil War, conservatives used terrorism, cold-blooded murder, and economic coercion to fight the new state constitution in South Carolina. -
Whose Side Are College Administrators On?
There’s a long history of politicians targeting student protesters — and of campus leaders abetting those efforts. -
The Constitution Does Not Speak for Itself
In 1841, John Tyler said he was the president. The Constitution said he wasn’t. What happened next? -
“At Any Future Time”
In 1880, the daughter of a Welsh politician turned to fiction to expose perspectives missing from the official record, upending histories for generations to come. -
Letting the World Scream
In 1984, the U.S. rejected the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, revealing its tendency to ignore international rules it sees as unfavorable — even when it helped write them. -
Scared Out of the Community
Between 1929 and 1939 approximately half a million Mexicans left the United States. Many of the departing families included American-born children to whom Mexico, not the United States, was the foreign land. -
When Good Housekeeping Meant Getting Vaccinated Against Polio
The pages of 1950s lifestyle magazines offer a glimpse of a time when childhood vaccines were anything but controversial.
