Current Events that Relate to History
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Q&AThe Courts Won’t Save Us
Rather than resisting authoritarianism, the courts have enabled Trump’s rise.Jacobin -
Book ReviewAmbition, Discipline, Nerve
The qualities that enabled Belle da Costa Greene to cross the color line also made her a formidable negotiator and collector for J.P. Morgan’s library.New York Review of Books -
ComparisonThe Trump Administration’s Showdown with PBS and NPR
While Democrats waving a Big Bird doll around on the House floor saved public broadcast funding in the past, this strategy does not seem likely to work in 2025.Clio and the Contemporary -
Comment
From Chinese Exclusion to Pro-Palestinian Activism: The History of Politically Motivated Deportation
Removal orders targeting student activists echo America’s long past of jailing and expelling immigrants because of their race, or what they say or believe.The Conversation -
CommentHow We Oversimplified the History of the Vietnam War
Popular memory of the war in both the U.S. and Vietnam tends to cast the fall of Saigon as inevitable.Made By History -
Book ExcerptHow Baseball Shaped Black Communities in Reconstruction-Era America
On the early history of Black participation in America's pastime.Literary Hub -
exhibitStrike!
Stories about American workers who have taken collective action to demand better conditions from those who benefit from their labor.
From the HNN Archive
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What Is the Role of the Historian?
Rethinking the job of history — and the American Historical Association — after the veto of the Gaza “scholasticide” resolution. -
“A Party for the White Man”
The scene at the 1964 Republican National Convention, when Barry Goldwater was nominated and black Republicans’ worst fears about their party were confirmed. -
Indifferent to the Fate of Freedom Elsewhere
Jimmy Carter is known for his defense of human rights worldwide. But in 1979, he threatened to deport thousands of Iranian student protesters. -
Ohio’s Little-Known Fascist Member of Congress
How a local prosecutor protected white supremacists and went on to a career in Washington, DC. -
Whose Side Are College Administrators On?
There’s a long history of politicians targeting student protesters — and of campus leaders abetting those efforts. -
The Constitution Does Not Speak for Itself
In 1841, John Tyler said he was the president. The Constitution said he wasn’t. What happened next? -
“At Any Future Time”
In 1880, the daughter of a Welsh politician turned to fiction to expose perspectives missing from the official record, upending histories for generations to come. -
Letting the World Scream
In 1984, the U.S. rejected the International Court of Justice’s jurisdiction, revealing its tendency to ignore international rules it sees as unfavorable — even when it helped write them.