Current Events that Relate to History
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ComparisonFrom Selma to Minneapolis
On M.L.K. Day, the death of Renee Good calls to mind another woman who died protesting for the rights of others.The New Yorker -
CommentThis Is the History of Anti-Trans Bigotry Amy Coney Barrett Doesn’t Want to Talk About
Barrett thinks transgender people have experienced “relatively little” discrimination. A brief filed in the trans sports cases aims to set the record straight.Balls And Strikes -
TimelineThe Citywide General Strike Has a Rich History in America
In response to the killing of Renee Good and the ICE invasion, the Minneapolis labor movement has called for a citywide general strike call in nearly 80 years.Jacobin -
ComparisonTrump Wants to Be the New Polk
His interest in the 11th president’s legacy has conjured up the specter of manifest destiny.The Atlantic -
Book ReviewThe Most Rancorous Line
How did the Mason–Dixon Line—meant to resolve a longstanding colonial border dispute—come to represent the US’s foundational divide between slavery and freedom?New York Review of Books -
Book ReviewThe Bleak History of the American Work Ethic
In "Make Your Own Job," Erik Baker shows just how long Americans have scrambled to pile work on top of work—and at what cost.The Nation -
exhibitImperial Ambitions
Five hundred years of empire building in North America and beyond its borders.
From the HNN Archive
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How to Succeed in Government Without Really Trying
The long history of promising an “efficient” federal government. -
If the Slipper Doesn’t Fit
A scorched shoe is a crucial part of Zelda Fitzgerald’s modern mythology. But there’s no proof it existed. -
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. -
Elevating the Few
What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration. -
Whose Side Are College Administrators On?
There’s a long history of politicians targeting student protesters — and of campus leaders abetting those efforts. -
Solve for AI
What the history of the pocket calculator reveals about the future of AI in classrooms. -
“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. -
Slamming America’s Door Behind Him
How a son of European immigrants fought to keep Indian immigrants out of America. -
Governing by Police
The Metropolitan Police Department in DC has been an essential component of Washington politics since its founding. -
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.