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History News Network

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Week of January 28, 2013


HNN Poll: The Ten Most Important Documents in American History

RESULTS:

What were the criteria? Any textual document -- book, article, speech, law, essay, or even blog, but excluding the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights (they're in default) critical to the development of American government, society, or culture, by any author, from any time period right down to the present day, was eligible for nomination! These were the top ten nominees. For more information on the poll, click here.


Up Front

Kerry Admits It: “Foreign Policy is Economic Policy.”
Ira Chernus's MythicAmerica
Speaking one of the hidden myths of the State Department.
Tags: economics, economic history, foreign policy, John Kerry

News at Home

In Defense of Transactional Presidents
Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
Transformational presidents get all the attention, but it's actually transactional presidents who tend to be more competent.
Tags: George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, leadership, presidency
Whatever Happened to George W. Bush?
Burton Kaufman
Dubya's post-presidency is shaping up to be a lot like his father's.
Tags: George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, presidents, post-presidency

News Abroad

Obama’s Inaugural and the Danger of an Iran War
Juan Cole
At the brink of peace for the first time in ten years, we face the prospect of a new war.
Tags: Barack Obama, inaugural address, inauguration, Iran
Actually, Women Have Served in Combat Before
Bradley Craig
From the American Revolution to the Eastern Front of World War II, women have been on the front lines for centuries.
Tags: American Revolution, military history, women's history, World War II
Why the State Department is Breathing a Sigh of Relief over the Algerian Hostages
Lawrence A. Peskin
America didn't pay much attention to the crisis, but had it gone on the pressure would've built up.
Tags: Algerian hostage crisis, Barbary pirates, History News Service, Thomas Jefferson
Obama's Anti-Zionism
Daniel Pipes
His re-election gives him the room to express his anti-Israel bias.
Tags: Barack Obama, Israel, anti-Zionism, Israeli/Palestinian conflict
BFFs: America's Inauguration and Israel's Election Celebrated Democracy
Gil Troy
"It is past time we ceased to apologize for an imperfect democracy. Find its equal."
Tags: Israel, United States, Canada, democracy

Historians & History

Crafting the Rules for Hell
Robin Lindley
Interview with John Fabian Witt on the laws of war in American history.
Tags: Civil War, Francis Lieber, John Fabian Witt, laws of war
The Hidden Link Between Illegal Immigrants and Fugitive Slaves
Stanley Harrold
Thanks to fugitive slave laws, runaways were the illegal immigrants of their day.
Tags: fugitive slave laws, illegal immigrants, runaway slaves, slavery

Education

Beware the Corporatization of American Universities
Steve Hochstadt
Athletics are already ruled by the almighty dollar; academics are next.
Tags: colleges, education reform, higher education, universities

Culture Watch

Zero Dark Dirty: The "Good War" Lives
Ira Chernus's MythicAmerica
WWII-style moviemaking meets the morally ambiguous war on terror.
Tag: Hollywood, Osama bin Laden, war on terror, Zero Dark Thirty
Django Unchained's White Abolitionist Vision
Stephen Kantrowitz
By depicting most slaves as helpless, Tarantino portrays slavery through an antebellum lens.
Tags: abolitionism, Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino, slavery
Jam On
Bruce Chadwick
The thrills and spills of roller derby are back in The Jammer.
Tags: New York City, Off-Broadway, theater, theater review
A Gay Man, a Housewife, and Mussolini
Bruce Chadwick
All is not well in 1938 Fascist Italy in Working on a Special Day.
Tags: New York City, Off-Broadway, theater, theater review

Books

Review of Paul and Karen Avrich’s Sasha and Emma
Murray Polner
An engrossing dual biography Edof two of anarchism's leading international figures.
Tags: anarchism, Alexander Berkman, Emma Goldman, books