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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 Must Impeach

by Sean Wilentz

The president’s abuse of power has surpassed any we’ve seen in our history — and Congress must act.

Celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day should mean honoring migrants’ rights

by Liz Ellis

People must have a human right to migrate and to move across borders that historically crossed them.

How Italians Became ‘White’

by Brent Staples

Italians who had come to the country as “free white persons” were often marked as black because they accepted “black” jobs in the Louisiana sugar fields or because they chose to live among African-Americans.

The Case for Populism

by Maria Schmidt

As citizens of a free country in the heartland of Europe, we have served as gatekeepers between East and West for a thousand years. We hope to do so for a thousand more.

Climate protests have roots that go deep into the rich history of British social change

by Lucy Robinson

Extinction Rebellion draws on a radical lineage that brings together a range of beliefs and ages.

The 19th amendment was a crucial achievement. But it wasn’t enough to liberate women.

by Holly Jackson

It’s time to fight for the original and unfulfilled goals of the women’s movement.

The Greening of the New Deal

by Steve Fraser

The Great Depression and the Climate Crisis, New Deals Then and Now.

Smithsonian Museums Are Supposed to Tell the American Story. So Where's the One Dedicated to Latinos?

by Julissa Arce

The harm of not being treated as valuable members of this country can be seen in the rise of anti-Latino hate crimes, as well as in the higher rate of depression among Latino youth than their white peers.

Americans have spent 230 years trying to rein in presidential misconduct

by James M. Banner Jr.

While freighted with danger, impeachment is the only instrument offered by the Constitution to bring an administration otherwise out of direct reach of the law to book.

The Lesson History Teaches Is Tragic

by Robert Zaretsky

The idea that we can avoid the mistakes of the past is misguided.