Historians/History

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• 7/3/2020
  

  Abolition Movement Historian Ethan Kytle Discusses Confederate Monuments and Teaching Younger Students about Slavery

  by James Thornton Harris

  "I don’t think it is fair for a scholar like me to tell a community what sort of monuments it should put up. This should be a local decision—and one that takes into account the perspectives of the entire community, which was not the case with Confederate monuments."

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• 7/3/2020
  

  Of Steamboats and Fireworks: The Great Mississippi River Race of 1870

  by Eric Simanek

  On the 4th of July of 1870, a 1,200 mile race between two steamboats on the Mississippi River was decided. The race attracted global interest. Reporters wrote about it. Gamblers wagered on it. People gathered and cheered for it.

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• 7/5/2020
  

  "It Has Not Been My Habit to Yield": Charles Sumner and the Fight for Equal Naturalization Rights

  by Lucy Salyer

  Senator Charles Sumner lost his battle on the Fourth of July 1870, with dire consequences for both Asian immigrant communities and the prospects of a more racially egalitarian America. 

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• 7/5/2020
  

  But Why Is America Exceptional?

  by Guy Chet

  Political separation from Britain allowed old English traits to remain preserved in America, like a bug in amber, even as they were whittled away by change in the old country. 

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• 6/28/2020
  

  In This Election Year We Historians Need to Insist on Truth-telling

  by Walter G. Moss

  “Tell the truth” should be as central to our mission, as “First, do no harm” is to doctors and nurses. 

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• 6/30/2020
  

  Pawns of History: The Poetics of Russian Revolutionary Politics

  by Tim Brinkhof

  The repression of political dissent in Czarist Russia led many future revolutionaries to literature as a gateway to political thought; their poetic idealism may have made them both effective and dangerous.

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• 6/28/2020
  

  Vannevar Bush: Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Indispensable Expert

  by Michael H. Ebner

  Vannevar Bush's efforts to bring the expertise of scientists to bear on public policy decisions led to the establishment of the National Science Foundation under Harry Truman's presidency.

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• 6/21/2020
  

  Peace is Temporary Without Trustworthy Leaders: Lessons from the Philadelphia Mutiny

  by David Head

  In an environment of intense mutual suspicion—soldiers accused civilians of stingy ingratitude while civilians saw the army as a threat to their liberty—Washington’s trustworthiness bound the two sides together.

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• 6/21/2020
  

  Witness Against the Beast

  by Christopher Tomlins

  Nat Turner followed his evangelical faith to challenge a profane and degenerate slaveholding regime. Today's white evangelical Christians must decide whether to support the successor of that regime. 

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• 6/21/2020
  

  The Great Upheaval of 1877 Sheds Light on Today’s Protests

  by Richard Schneirov

  1877 saw a wave of mass protests and strikes by the urban poor of multiple ethnicities, violent repression by the forces of law and order, and a news media that focused on sensational instances of looting and property damage while ignoring the protesters' complaints about inequality during a brutal economic downturn.

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• 6/14/2020
  

  John F. Kennedy Did What Donald Trump Only Wishes He Could Do

  by Paul Matzko

  Rules to promote “fairness” or prevent “discrimination” can all too easily turn into tools for gaining partisan advantage at the expense of free speech, a free press, and a functioning democracy.

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• 6/14/2020
  

  Hungarian-American Relations in 1849 and Today: Why We Need Another Lajos Kossuth

  by Tim Roberts

  A Hungarian nationalist visited the United States in 1849 to plead the case for an independent, democratic state, inspiring the cause of abolition in America. Today Hungarian-American relations are running in the direction of authoritarianism. 

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• 6/14/2020
  

  Misremembering the Fall of France 80 Years Later (Part 2)

  by Robert J. Young

  The French defeat was driven by strategic error and faulty battlefield strategy, but not by a lack of will to fight. 

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• 6/14/2020
  

  Misremembering the Fall of France 80 Years Later (Part 1)

  by Robert J. Young

  On the 80th anniversary of the Fall of France, it's time to retire the idea that the French surrendered without a fight. 

• 
• 6/7/2020
  

  How Could 400 Years of Denied Humanity Find Voice in a Whisper?

  by Leonard Steinhorn

  Visual images convey power relationships, and many famous images have shown that African Americans are not yet fully recognized as American citizens to whom police are accountable. 

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• 6/7/2020
  

  Contagion and Recovery in the Hittite Empire

  by Eva von Dassow

  The progress of an ancient plague shows that when faith--in gods or medical research--fails, it's a long road to safety.

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• 5/31/2020
  

  When the President’s Son-In-Law Truly Was a Great Success

  by Gail Radford

  Treasury Secretary William McAdoo was a presidential son-in-law whose knowledge, experience, and belief in the role of government made him an effective public servant.

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• 5/31/2020
  

  JFK at 103: What We Miss

  by Joseph A. Esposito

  John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917. Although much of the Camelot ideal was mythical, Kennedy's optimism and purposefulness are nevertheless missed today.

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• 5/31/2020
  

  Why Study History? More Than Ever, a Question that Needs Answering

  by Peter N. Stearns

  One of the few bright features of the past two months has been the extent to which the pandemic crisis has clarified the real public need for historical perspectives. 

• 
• 5/27/2020
  

  "This Too, Shall Pass." History, and Life, Say So!

  by Vaughn Davis Bornet

  Nearing age 103 gives Vaughn Davis Bornet a perspective on change that might help readers struggling today.