Current Events that Relate to History
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BiographyFreedom and the State in Thomas Sowell’s America
Tracing Thomas Sowell’s shift from Marxism to the Chicago school of economics.Journal of the History of Ideas Blog -
CommentThe Supreme Court Should Listen to the Founders on Tariffs
James Madison and John Marshall would say Trump’s tariffs are legal.Washington Post -
CommentClarence Thomas Accidentally Laid the Groundwork for Reviving Affirmative Action
In trying to shut the door on race-conscious affirmative action, he may have quietly left another affirmative action door wide open.Slate -
Book ExcerptHow America’s First Star War Reporter Set the Tone For a Century of Journalism
Unpacking the sensationalist, and occasionally biased, work of Richard Harding Davis.Literary Hub -
BiographyThe Myth of Mad King George
He was denounced by rebel propagandists as a tyrant and remembered by Americans as a reactionary dolt. Who was he really?The Atlantic -
Book ExcerptThe Ad Campaign for Capitalism
In the 1970s, corporate America struck back at the forces attempting to rein it in. One of their tactics was a public service announcement.The American Prospect -
exhibitNative Pasts
This exhibit showcases the cultural, political, and environmental histories of American Indians, from ancient civilizations to contemporary activism.
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. -
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.