Roundup: Historians' Take

Opinion: 75 Years On, Remember Hiroshima And Nagasaki. But Remember Toyama Too

by Cary Karacas and David Fedman

AAF officials commonly used sanitizing language to mask the fact that they were targeting entire cities for destruction. Press releases described attacks not on cities, but on "industrial urban areas." Tactical reports set their sights not on densely populated neighborhoods, but on "worker housing."

Of Course There Are Protests. The State Is Failing Black People.

by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

If there were ever questions about whether poor and working-class African-Americans were disposable, there can be none now. It’s clear that state violence is not solely the preserve of the police.

Trump Knows He’s No Lincoln. That’s Why He’s Obsessed With Him.

by Sidney Blumenthal

Trump, with his martyr envy, has felt a compulsion to diminish Lincoln whenever he raises his name.

Fighting Words

by Sean Wilentz

No, “liberal” and “progressive” aren’t synonyms. They have completely different histories—and the differences matter.

The Certainty of Donald Rumsfeld

by Errol Morris

If you have an unshakable belief in something, then no amount of evidence (or lack of evidence) can convince you otherwise.

Rand Paul Doesn't Stand a Chance

by Michael Kazin

Libertarianism may be on the rise, but it has no real chance of taking over the Republican Party, much less the nation.

Think Russia's Land Grab is Unique? Think Again.

by Eugene Kontorovich

Just ask Turkey.

Jonathan Schell's Legacy

by Jim Sleeper

Schell strengthened the bridge between republican commitments and cosmopolitan openings.

Good for the Bushes and the Clintons, but Not Good for America

by Jonathan Zimmerman

Since 1980, presidential politics have heavily featured two families. But dynasties aren't what's best for democracy.

Ready for World War III?

by Murray Polner

Remember Winston Churchill's key to Russian action: Russian national interest.

A Fond Farewell to Jonathan Schell

by Jim Sleeper

Schell represented a WASP cultural sensibility and poured it into the beginnings of a transracial, global civil society.

Madman in the White House

by James Rosen and Luke Nichter

This time, it's the Russians who are making use of Nixon's "madman theory."

Mao Won the Battle, Chiang Kai-shek Won the War

by Robert D. Kaplan

History will prove the defeated Generalissimo had a greater impact on modern China than its most famous father.

The My Lai Massacre Just Got Worse

by William J. Astore

CBS News has an article that shows that President Richard Nixon sought to cover up the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War.

Lessons from the Little Ice Age

by Geoffrey Parker

The Little Ice Age of the seventeenth century triggered global disruptions to civilization. Policymakers need to heed the warning.

The Unwisdom of Crowds



by Anne Applebaum

Why people-powered revolutions are overrated.

The Civil Rights Heroes the Court Ignored in New York Times v. Sullivan

by Garrett Epps

Celebrations of this landmark case are incomplete without any mention of Ralph David Abernathy, S.S. Seay Sr., Fred L. Shuttlesworth, and J.E. Lowery.

How LBJ Saved the Civil Rights Act

by Michael O’Donnell

Fifty years later, new accounts of its fraught passage reveal the era's real hero—and it isn’t the Supreme Court.

How We Built the Ghettos

by Jamelle Bouie

A brief introduction to America's long history of racist housing policy.

Obama Goes Solo in His 2nd Term

by Peniel E. Joseph

The president is pushing ahead with the initiatives laid out in his State of the Union, with or without help from Congress.