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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!

Why we all have the knowledge to decide whether Donald Trump should be impeached

by Karin Wulf

The crucial importance of keeping historical records public and easily accessible.

History is clear: Voters reward, rather than punish, political courage

by Jon Meacham and Michael E. Shepherd

Over the past six decades, courageous high-profile votes have tended not to cost the courageous their seats. From Southern Democrats who supported the Civil Acts Right of 1964 to Republicans who backed Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 through the Clinton impeachment in the 1990s, tough votes have been difficult but not necessarily fatal.

Women Have Always Had Abortions

by Lauren MacIvor Thompson

False histories of abortion dominate contemporary politics, selling Americans on a past that never existed and creating the possibility of a future that has no precedent.

Sacred Objects: Medieval History and Star Wars

by Stephenie McGucken

For European believers, relics allowed worshipers to encounter some aspect of an object of devotion—a holy person or place—when the object itself was physically unavailable or geographically inaccessible.

Confederate Christmas ornaments are smaller than statues – but they send the same racist message

by Nicole Maurantonio

Take a good look at those old Christmas ornaments before hanging them on the tree – you may find it's time to retire some family keepsakes.

The Secret Plan to Force Out Nixon

by Tim Naftali

A newly released diary shows House Republican leaders pledging to oust the president months before he resigned. Why did they back down?

How War Targets the Young

by Andrea Mazzarino

War on Terror, War on Education

The (Failed) War on Terror's Precursor

by Danny Sjursen

It Was “Progress” All the Way Then, Too

The purpose of history in the Age of Trump

by Daniel W. Drezner

The president’s “strongest and most powerful protest” has a familiar ring to it.


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The apocalyptic worldview hidden in Trump’s letter to Pelosi

by Thomas Lecaque

Throughout history, the letter has been one of the literary genres most closely associated with apocalyptic texts.