History Q & A

Who Are the Kurds?

by Carole A. O'Leary

The Kurds, an Iranian ethno-linguistic group--like Persians, Lurs, Baluch and Bakhtiari,--inhabit the mostly mountainous area where the borders of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Sy

When Did the Defense Department Begin Giving Wars Patriotic Names?

by Norman Solomon

Marketing a war is serious business. And no product requires better brand names than one that squanders vast quantities of resources while intentionally killing large numbers of people. The American trend of euphemistic fog for such enterprises began several decades ago. It's very old news that the federal government no longer has a department or a budget named "war." Now, it's all called "defense," a word with a strong aura of inherent justification. The

Did President Bush Have to Submit a National Security Strategy Report to Congress?

by John Lewis Gaddis

The National Security Strategy (NSS) report was born out of the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, the fourth major post-World War II reorganization of the U.S. Defense Department. It is one of more than 2,000 reports that federal departments, agencies, commissions, and bureaus must submit to Congress each year. In requiring a wide-ranging, yet detailed annual report, the 99th Congress that passed Goldwater-Nichols hoped to remedy what it considered a major shortfall of Cold War e

How Many U.S. Senators Have Returned to the Senate After Defeat or Retirement?

by Robin Toner

From the NYT, October 31, 2002: Walter F. Mondale and Frank R. Lautenberg return to the Senate, they will join a surprisingly large class of senators interruptus. Barry M. Goldwater did it, leaving the Senate for his 1964 presidential bid, returning in 1969. So did Hubert H. Humphrey and Alben Barkley, both former vice presidents who came back to the world's most exclusive club, and other Senate fixtures from

Are Lame Duck Sessions of Congress Unusual?

by Todd S. Purdum

The following brief explanation of the history of lame duck sessions of Congress appeared in the NYT on October 20, 2002. Congress has finally gone home, but partisan deadlock and unpassed measures mean it will return after Election Day for a lame duck session, the fourth since 1994. Until the 1990's, such sessions had become rare. "After the 1982 lame duck session, Tip O'Neill said he'd never allow another und

Would Daniel Webster Approve of an Attack on Iraq?

by HNN Staff

"Anticipatory self-defense is not a new concept," Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, told reporters the other day as she was explaining why pre-emption was replacing containment and deterrence as the foundation of American defense policy and serving as the justification for striking Iraq before Iraq strikes."You know, Daniel Webster actually wrote a very famous defense of anticipatory self-defense," she said. -- New York Times, September 27, 2002.

What Books Are Helpful in Understanding 9-11?

by Mike Mattocks

Since September 2001 there have been a great many books written about the September 11th terrorist attacks. As of August 14, 02, Amazon.com has 672 books for sale concerning September 11. But some of the most helpful books for understanding what happened were in print long before 9-11, having been written in response to previous anti-American terrorist attacks.The following books were all written before the 9/11 attacks, before the demand for 9/11-related books may have hastened the race to publish, and before the recent patriotic resurgence may have distorted objective analysis. Because of this they are in some ways an even better source of information than the books currently being published, and certainly more chilling to read, knowing as we do what subsequently occurred.EMPOWERMENT OF MILITANT ISLAMAhmed Rashid's Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, published just six months prior to 9/11, provides a first-hand account of the Taliban's rise to power in the wake of interference in the region by foreign superpowers:

What Caused the Stock Market Crash of 1987?

by Jennifer Itskevich

In the days between October 14 and October 19, 1987, major indexes of market valuation in the United States dropped 30 percent or more. On October 19, 1987, a date that subsequently became known as"Black Monday," the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 508 points, losing 22.6% of its total value. The S&P 500 dropped 20.4%, falling from 282.7 to 225.06. This was the greatest loss Wall Street had ever suffered on a single day.  

How Do Historians Assess Ronald Reagan?

by Chester Pach

As we begin a new year and a new millennium, it is time to just say no to simple assessments of Ronald Reagan's presidency. Of course, some observers will continue to think that Reagan deserves a place on Mount Rushmore, while others will still dismiss him as an"amiable dunce." But Reagan's presidential record defies easy categorization. How do you evaluate someone who could see in an instant from Gorbachev's smile that this Soviet leader was somehow different, but who couldn't recognize his own secretary of Housing and Urban Development at a White House reception? Or how do you balance the inspiring leadership that Reagan showed when he stood before the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin and declared,"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," with the moral obtuseness that he revealed when he insisted that Jews slaughtered in the Holocaust and SS troops were both victims of Hitler's tyranny?

What Did Teddy Roosevelt Think About Anarchism?

by Theodore Roosevelt

Almost one hundred years ago exactly, on September 6, 1901, Leon Czolgosz, a self-professed anarchist, shot President William B. McKinley, mortally wounding him. Theodore Roosevelt, in his first message to Congress after succeeding McKinley, harshly denounced anarchism. His complete remarks on the subject follow. We mourn a good and great President who is dead; but while we mourn we are lifted up by the splendid achievements of his life and the grand heroism with which he met his death. When we turn from the man to the Nation, the harm done is so great as to excite our gravest apprehensions and to demand our wisest and most resolute action. This criminal was a professed anarchist, inflamed by the teachings of professed anarchists, and probably also by the reckless utterances of those who on the stump and in the public press, appeal to the dark and evil spirits of malice and greed, envy and sullen hatred. The wind is sowed by the men who preach such doctrines, and they cannot escape their share of responsibility for the whirlwind that is reaped. This applies alike to the deliberate demagogue, to the exploiter of sensationalism, and to the crude and foolish visionary who, for whatever reason, apologizes for crime or excites aimless discontent.

Arab-Israeli History 101

by Stephen Shalom

What are the modern origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?During World War I, Britain made three different promises regarding historic Palestine. Arab leaders were assured that the land would become independent; in the Balfour declaration, Britain indicated its support for a Jewish national home in Palestine; and secretly Britain arranged with its allies to divide up Ottoman territory, with Palestine becoming part of the British empire. Historians have engaged in d

Was Jesus Born at the Church of the Nativity?

by Yii-Ann Christine Chen

The Church of the Nativity, located about 6 miles south of Jerusalem in the heart of Bethlehem, is traditionally regarded as the site of Christ's birth. The church is built over a cave identified by 2nd century apologist St. Justin Martyr as the site of the manger where Jesus was laid after his birth.The belief that Jesus was born in Bethlehem is based mostly upon the birth narratives of Christ provided in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke: And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." (Luke 2:4-7)According to this passage, Jesus' parents were from Nazareth, but traveled to Bethlehem in order to be counted in a census; this leads to Jesus being born in a manger in Bethlehem, rather than his parent's native home in Nazareth. In the book of Matthew, Jesus is also born in Bethlehem. But his parents are said to have been from Bethlehem. And he isn't born in a manger, much less a cave. (Matthew 1:18-2:12)

When Did Women First Go on Strike for Their Rights?

by Brian Smith

One hundred and forty-five years ago this month women took matters into their own hands for the first time, seeking equality and better conditions. The date was March 8, 1857, and several hundred women laboring in New York City's sweatshops took to the streets, striking against low wages, dangerous conditions, and the 12-hour workday in textile and garment factories.This strike -- the first by women exclusively for the purpose of women's rights -- was broken up by police, who attacked the protesters, but this didn't break their spirit. Two years later they formed a labor union.Fifty years after this, on March 8, 1908, more than 15,000 women in New York marched under banners demanding equal pay, the right to vote, child care during the work day, and better working conditions, adopting the slogan"Bread and Roses": bread for economic stability, and roses for a better way of life.In 1910, Clara Zetkin, at an international conference held by socialist organizations from around the world in Copenhagen, proposed that March 8 be declared International Women's Day in recognition of the strikes of 1857 and 1908. Over 100 women from 17 countries greeted the idea with unanimous approval.

What Happened to the Filibuster?

by John H. Barnhill

"For those of you who have not been around for an all-night session, get ready, bring your sleeping bags, your blankets . . . because that's how long we're going to be here to complete this work, if necessary. I'm not going to waste nights . . . . This is going to be an old-fashioned filibuster if we're forced to confront one."Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle referring to campaign finance reform legislation pending in the Senate.(Washington Post, March 6, 2002)Real or sham, a legitimate control or unconstitutional restriction on freedom of speech, campaign finance reform legislation currently in Congress is within a Senate vote of becoming law. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will have his vote by month's end. At the same time, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, never noted as a strong advocate of campaign finance reform, is talking the need for"technical" changes. McConnell vows he won't allow a vote before the energy legislation is finished. Daschle vows he will have the vote if it takes all night to break a Republican filibuster. So what exactly is a filibuster?Nowadays, it's mostly a threat, not public theater as it was in the good old days.

So Who Was St. Patrick?

by Mike Cronin and Daryl Adair

There has long been dispute between scholars about the life and lore of St Patrick. Twenty years ago, an academic sub-discipline “Patrician Studies” crystallized in the wake of debates among historians and theologians. We begin with a synopsis of the life of Maewyn Succat, and his transformation into Patricius the cleric. There is spirited debate about basic aspects of Succat's existence. His birthplace was probably Roman Britain -- most likely Wales, but perhaps Scotland or even France -- and his birth date around AD 416, though some writers suggest as early as AD 387. His father was a Roman-Christian civil servant and his grandfather a Catholic priest. From Patricius's Confessio we are informed retrospectively that he was about sixteen years old when abducted by Irish marauders and enslaved. He worked as a shepherd on the slopes of Slemish (now part of County Antrim), praying to a Christian God while captive in a pagan land. After six years an angel came to him in a dream, prompting him to escape and seek out his homeland.

What Was Teapot Dome?

by Phillip Payne

The Enron scandal has been exploding, to the point where it is threatening to eclipse the War on Terrorism, the economy, and even the State of the Union address. If the country is not in media frenzy over Enron then it soon will be. Journalists and politicians are trying to categorize Enron: Is it a political scandal? Is it a business scandal? The cover of the February 4, 2002, issue of Time features not the economy or the war, but rather a darkened White House with the caption,"The Enron Mess: How Sticky Will It Get?" That seems to be the question of the moment.HISTORICAL PARALLEL As revelations regarding Enron unfold, journalists and partisans have begun to look for historical parallels in order to find the lessons of history and the moral of the story. Inevitably they have turned to the Teapot Dome scandal of the 1920s. Like Enron, the Teapot Dome scandal involved the influence of oil money on politics in the Republican administration of Warren G. Harding. Although the extent of the connections between the Bush administration and Enron is not completely clear, it is clear that Enron made large political donations and in turn welded a good deal of influence in Washington. The lesson of Teapot Dome is that it is sometimes difficult to maintain scandals in neat categories.

How Do Revisionists Evaluate the Administration of Harry Truman?

by Arnold A. Offner

At the start of the twenty-first century, President Harry S. Truman's reputation stands high. This is especially true regarding his stewardship of foreign policy although, ironically, he entered the Oval Office in 1945 untutored in world affairs. Moreover, during his last year in the White House the Republicans accused his administration of having surrendered fifteen countries and 500 million people to Communism and of having sent twenty thousand Americans to their"burial ground" in Korea. Near the end of his term. Truman's public"favorable" rating had plummeted to 23 percent.

What Did We Do with Aliens in World War II?

by Stephen Schwartz

ON DECEMBER 7, 1941, the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States government faced an array of internal enemies. These included aliens and Americans of German, Italian, and Japanese ancestry. The Roosevelt administration's handling of Japanese Americans--some 120,000 were sent to relocation camps--has become notorious, although few of those who expatiate on the topic nowadays know very much about it. For example, it is rarely mentioned that Japanese government-controlled Shinto religious temples in America were found to be subversive organizations, a precedent for possible investigation today of mosques financed by foreign governments. Much less discussed is the government's internment and relocation of Germans and Italians. At the outset of the war, U.S. authorities made judicious use of a custodial detention list already compiled by the FBI. About 5,000 German aliens and 250 Italian aliens were interned during the war, mainly pro-Axis agitators, members of pro-Nazi and fascist groups, and others with demonstrable ties to Germany and Italy. Among Italian Americans, 10,000 were reportedly evacuated from strategic zones and tens of thousands more were required to observe a nightly curfew by remaining in their homes.

How Do African-American Scholars Rank Presidents?

by Ronald Walters

There are two traditional factors experts usually take into account when measuring presidential greatness. First, the unique set of circumstances facing each president that tests whether or not they have the personal qualities considered necessary for greatness. Second, whether a president takes an incremental approach to solving problems or tries to deal with the"big ideas" which move the nation forward to a new plateau. Nevertheless, I believe that it matters, with respect to both their character and the scope of their agenda, whether presidents govern in a manner that balances majority interests and those of excluded groups. Given that so much of American politics has been devoted to the debate over the inclusion of excluded groups -- blacks and other racial minorities, women, the elderly, the disabled and the poor -- it is only fair to suggest that one standard of greatness is whether or not a president has achieved such a balance. Indeed, in practical terms, this standard constitutes a qualitative difference in the current evaluation of presidential greatness between white and black intellectuals.

How Are Presidents Rated?

by William Thompson

Suffering through the Y2K litany of"The Greatest" this and that of the Millennium and the Century, I was not impressed with the discussion of American leaders. Show after show featured historians expounding the same drivel we have been fed ever since we opened our high school history books. Franklin Delano Roosevelt"saved the free enterprise system" (although panels admitted our economic distress was as great in 1939 as it was in 1933 when he took office). Franklin Delano Roosevelt"humanized" government (with programs such as public housing). Franklin Delano Roosevelt saved Democracy both here and in the world (although the panels admitted he gave eastern Europe to Stalin).Albert Einstein was seen as the greatest man of the century because he helped give us the"Bomb," the accomplishment that was"the greatest." And of course Harry Truman remained a"great one," with his forceful decision making, such as using the"Bomb," albeit there was no mention of the civilians who were on the ground to receive the greatest gift. And, of course, we heard again of Woodrow Wilson, who gave us the League of Nations (no mention that the Iroquois Nations came up with the same idea four centuries ago).