Current Events that Relate to History
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Book ExcerptHow Crossword Puzzles Underwrote Three of America’s Major Publishers
The origin stories of Simon & Schuster, Random House, and Farrar, Sraus and Giroux.Literary Hub -
CommentFor Trump, “Fostering the Future” Looks a Lot Like the Past
Putting religious rights of foster parents above civil rights of L.G.B.T.Q. youth, a new executive order reënacts the original sin of the child-welfare system.The New Yorker -
Book ReviewThe Nation’s Guest
The Marquis de Lafayette’s final visit to the United States in 1825 can show us how to commemorate the Revolution.Law & Liberty -
Journal ArticleQuakers Against Thanksgiving
In colonial America, government “thanksgivings” blurred faith and politics. For Quakers, rejecting them was an act of religious conviction.JSTOR Daily -
AntecedentHow New York’s Grand Central Terminal Helped Provide the Blueprint for American Cities by Accident
A train wreck that caused the death of more than a dozen commuters was the impetus behind a monumental project that changed the urban landscape.Smithsonian Magazine -
Book ReviewBenjamin Franklin’s Experiments
The mindset Franklin demonstrated in his scientific work helps us understand his political accomplishments.London Review of Books -
exhibitOn Drugs
Histories of the way those in power have attempted to regulate the flow of drugs, and of the impacts the impacts of those decisions on Americans’ lives.
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.