News at Home

We’ve Just Learned the Origins of Illegal Surveillance in the United States Go Back to the 1930s

by Steve Usdin

An oral history just released shows that cryptologists working for the Army knew they were breaking the law when they conducted secret electronic surveillance.

The Gingrich Revolution and the Roots of Republican Dysfunction

by Steven M. Gillon

The person most responsible for injecting that virulent strain of partisanship into the Republican party was another dethroned House Speaker -- Newt Gingrich. But Gingrich was always more subtle than the bomb throwers.

I Had to Move After Exposing the Seamy History of the City of Decatur, Georgia

by David S. Rotenstein

In the course of my work I endured cyberstalking and threats.

The Presidential Candidate Everybody Compares Bernie Sanders with

by Wallace Hettle

Here’s how it’s fair (and how it’s not).

Republicans Are Reaping What They Have Sown

by James Robenalt

The world changed after the New Deal, but the GOP kept promising it could turn the clock backwards. But it can’t.

Faculty Are Ineffective, Students Are Whiny, and Colleges so Misguided as to Be a Waste of Money*

by Bradley Proctor

*This is what we hear. This is why it’s not true.

The Vital Fact that’s Been Lost in the Debate Over Those Planned Parenthood Videos

by Johanna Schoen

Fetal tissue research, which began in the 19th century and led to breakthroughs in Polio and other diseases, is not conducted on live human fetuses.

The Compromise Over Immigration in 1965 that Is to Blame for Much of the Mess Today

by Michael H. Ebner

Oscar Handlin, John F. Kennedy, and the Unfinished Quest to Reform National Immigration Policy

Manhattan’s Street Grid: Great or Greatest or . . . Not?

by Gerard Koeppel

The story of its origins shows it was the result of mostly slapdash planning.

The New Censors: Facebook and Instagram

by Brian Hoffman

In the social media age, it is not necessarily morality that determines what we can see, it’s branding.

How Gun Control Came to Britain

by Luke Reader

It happened in 1996 after a former scoutmaster shot dead sixteen five-year olds and a teacher before turning the gun on himself.

“It’s a Hell of a Thing, Killing a Man.”

by Anthony Galvin

George Stinney was one of the 4% of executed people who are completely innocent. His crime was being black in the forties. He was 14.

We Are Missing the Point of John Boehner’s Resignation

by Thomas Fleming

He wasn't forced out.  His resignation was intended as a warning to his party. We can only hope it's heard. 

Is There an Alternative to Taking Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Jackson Off Our Money?

by Thomas Fleming

Here’s my proposal.

A Historian's Assessment of John Boehner's Legacy

by K.C. Johnson

Boehner should best be seen as a figure whose Speakership came as a result of forces beyond his control, but who operated within this system to aggressively expand the institutional authority of the House.

TR and Trump: Two Very Different People, but There’s this One Significant Similarity

by Margaret O’Mara

At a restive moment in history, renegades draw millions to their side.

How Is Donald Trump Like Lincoln?

by Roy Finkenbine

Not in any way shape or form.

This Is Why Trump Surged (And How He Might Collapse)

by Jonathan Rose

The answer can be found in the works of Max Weber.

It’s Ok to Love your ’64 Mustang, but Here’s What You’re Missing

by Gary Cross

What’s good about nostalgia and what isn’t.

Why This Biographer of Henry Clay Is Appalled at the Behavior of Our Current Leaders

by Harlow Giles Unger

The short answer:  They won't compromise.