Current Events that Relate to History
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CommentWhat We Get Wrong About the Montgomery Bus Boycott – and What We Can Learn from It
The movement’s success was never a given. It took much longer and required tremendous sacrifice without certainty it would workThe Guardian -
ObituaryThe Longest Journey Is Over
With the death of Norman Podhoretz at 95, the transition from New York’s intellectual golden age to the age of grievance and provocation is complete.The Nation -
Book ExcerptOn Henry David Thoreau’s Ultimate Instrument of Perception, the “Kalendar”
Exploring Henry David Thoreau's meticulous track of natural phenomena.Literary Hub -
ArgumentNew York City’s Forgotten Public Bank Plan
Lessons from a 1975 proposal for a state-owned public bank.Jacobin -
CommentMob Rules
The Chicago Outfit’s second life as nostalgia—and as presidential politics.The Baffler -
NewsStatue of Black Teen Replaces Robert E. Lee at U.S. Capitol
Barbara Rose Johns was only 16 when she led a walkout in 1951 to protest horrendous conditions at her segregated high school in rural Virginia.Washington Post -
exhibitChristmas Past
Histories of American Christmas songs, stories and rituals.
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.