Recently Published

The Comparison of Brexit and the Reformation Is Misleading, and Yet ...

by Ed Simon

Both movements were encouraged by London elites supposedly for the benefit of common people who rejected them.

What Should We Make of the Democrats' Sit-In in Congress?

by Ray Smock

The part of me that is a congressional historian sees this as a useful signpost and a colorful narrative of the ongoing stress that comes from an obstructionist Congress.

The Echoes of Nazism in Orlando

by Jim Downs

Gay people have had to live with the memory of Nazi persecution. Orlando revives the memory.

If You Want to Understand Slavery It Helps to Visit the Places Where Slaves Lived

by Pearl Duncan

The actors in the new “Roots” did just that. So did I. The experience was transformative.

Trump Is the Price We’re Paying for Our Lost Wars

by Jerry Lembcke

Hitler came after Germany lost World War I.  Joe McCarthy came after China went Communist.  Trump has arrived after a string of losses.

Brexit: What You Need to Know

Brexit in historical perspective. 

Does Trump Place More Value in the 2nd Amendment than the 1st?

by James D. Robenalt

Trump’s aggression against the press should serve as a powerful caution to his candidacy.

The Cruel History of Eugenics in America: An Interview with Adam Cohen

by Robin Lindley

Acclaimed author Adam Cohen traces the grim history of American eugenics in his groundbreaking new book "Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck."

Shark! What Happened 100 Years Ago this Summer Shocked a Nation

by Rick Shenkman

The story of the worst shark attack in American history. 

What Would Trump Fascism Look Like?

by Al Carroll

A top 10 list that’s highly possible given what we’ve seen – and perfectly horrifying.

A Trump Presidency Would Amount to an Environmental Nightmare

by Walter G. Moss

Trump’s glorification of consumption would spell environmental doom, as E. F. Schumacher warned decades ago.

Is Donald Trump the New Aaron Burr?

by Donald J. Fraser

Like Trump, Burr was despised by his peers.

The Surprising Role of Rocks in the Civil War. Yes, Rocks.

by Scott Hippensteel

Differential weathering of carbonate rocks creates sharp-sloping ridges that are ideal for defensive tactics, it turns out.

Can You Indict Someone for Their Beliefs? It Happened in 1948. In the United States.

by Aaron Leonard

In this interview author Scott Martelle explains what happened and why he decided to write about the case.

The Heirs of Meyer Lansky Want Compensation from Cuba. They Shouldn’t Get a Dime.

by Jack Colhoun

Lansky’s hotel empire in Cuba was built with the support of the corrupt dictator Batista.

The Time, the Place, the Date and the Hour that the Confederacy Died

by Jim Stempel

It happened in 1864 in Virginia and now it’s the subject of a novel, as the novel’s author explains.

It’s Time to Make Juneteenth a National Holiday

by Karl Jacoby

This was the day – June 19, 1865 – in 1865 when slaves in Texas finally were freed.

Trump, His Virus and the Dark Age of Unreason

by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship

He's the latest in a long line of American demagogues but has come closest to the White House. That makes him the most dangerous of them all.

Reflecting on the Charleston Syllabus One Year Later

by Chad Williams, Kidada Williams and Keisha N. Blain

How 3 educators tried to put the Charleston massacre into historical perspective online.

That the Worst Shooting in US History Took Place in a Gay Bar Is Unsurprising

by Nancy C. Unger

It’s also an especially grievous insult in view of the role that gay bars have played in LGBTQ history.