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History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Roundup Top 10!

America’s Original Sin

by Annette Gordon-Reed

Slavery and the Legacy of White Supremacy

Memory and the Lost Cause

by Danielle A. Jackson

An incomplete nostalgia still undergirds parts of American life.

The Enduring Russian Propaganda Interests in Targeting African-Americans

by Jelani Cobb

Russia’s social-media effort to stoke racial strife during the 2016 election is another example in Moscow’s long, complicated history of seeking to undermine American authority.

Cultural sites at risk from climate change

by Richard Moe

Climate change threatens much of our history, especially the history embodied in our “cultural sites,” the ruins and remnants of the first Americans passed down through multiple generations to the Native Americans of today.

After James Mattis resigned, Trump's America is slinking off the world stage

by Tom Nichols

It does not matter how many adults are in the room, because Trump will not listen to any of them. Our allies are stunned and abandoned.

How women used civil disobedience to change American politics

by Connie Hassett-Walker

Breaking laws to break the glass ceiling.

What the Fall of the Roman Republic Can Teach Us About America

by Yascha Mounk

“[T]he good news is that Trump will... turn out to be a relatively minor character. Far from single-handedly destroying our political system, he is the transitional figure whose election demonstrates the extent to which the failings of our democracy are finally starting to take their toll."

Here’s What Happened to the Last Green New Deal

by Michael Brenes

If progressives want to pass environmental legislation, they should pay attention to what happened 50 years ago.

If Trump Wants to Divide Jerusalem into Three

by Daniel Pipes

If Ben Caspit is correct about Trump proposing to divide Jerusalem into three, the consequences will be major and long lasting.

Obsessed with being busy? A historical perspective may help you out

by Clare Holdsworth

The contemporary obsession with over-activity can be given some perspective by considering how humans have balanced periods of activity and repose over the course of history.

The World According to the “Adults in the Room”

by Danny Sjursen

A Year of Forever War in Review