The Roundup Top Ten for January 27, 2023

What My Mother's Activism Before Roe Shows Us about the Upcoming Fights after Dobbs

by Felicia Kornbluh

"The first thing we’ve missed about Roe is that it was merely the final scene in a drama whose origins lay far from the U.S. Supreme Court... a movement that resembled the movement for abortion rights today, centered on policy change in individual states and localities."

The 14th Amendment Should Put a Stop to Debt Ceiling Hostage Taking

by Eric Foner

The provisions of the Reconstruction Amendments dealing with the national debt were tied to the nation's short-lived commitment to interracial democracy in the South; today they offer the Biden administration a possible tool to use if Congress pushes to the brink of default.

Margaret Bingham Stillwell, Women Archivists, and the Problem of Archival Inclusivity

by Amanda E. Strauss and Karin Wulf

Two scholars who are the first women leaders of their institutions reflect on the ongoing lessons of a pioneering woman archivist and rare books librarian for understanding how archival practices can be made to include or exclude.

Why We Went to War on Iraq

by Melvyn P. Leffler`

One foreign policy historian argues that the decision to invade Iraq was made out of genuine concern for thwarting attacks on Americans and preserving the United States' ability to use military power in the Middle East.

Why do Republicans Keep Calling it the "Democrat Party"?

by Lawrence B. Glickman

The odd rhetorical device isn't just trolling—it reflects 70 years of the Republican Party seeking to define itself against the opposition even as terms like "liberal" and "conservatism" had not yet taken on stable meaning.

Some Escaped Slavery Without Escaping the South

by Viola Franziska Müller

The majority of people escaping slavery before Emancipation never crossed the Mason-Dixon line, finding a measure of freedom in southern cities.

Bolsonaro's Long Shadow

by Nara Roberta Silva

The recently departed president is only the latest, and probably not the last, avatar of antidemocratic impulses in Brazilian politics, generally reflected by the elite recruiting the anxieties of the middle class to thwart broader social rights for the nation's poor.

Atlanta's BeltLine Project a Case Study in Park-Driven "Green Gentrification"

by Dan Immergluck

Although the ambitious combination of multiuse trails and apartment complexes "was designed to connect Atlantans and improve their quality of life, it has driven up housing costs on nearby land and pushed low-income households out to suburbs with fewer services than downtown neighborhoods."

Family Histories where Black Power Met Police Power

by Dan Berger

Fighting back against mass incarceration today means learning from the stories of Black Power activists who fought against the expansion of police power and surveillance since the 1960s.

Miami-Dade has Lurched Right, but Still Loves "Obamacare"

by Catherine Mas

Even though conservative Latinos in Miami are generally suspicious of "socialism", the long history of local government support for medical access means that many carve out a big exception for the Affordable Care Act.