Up Front

Why Doesn't D.C. Have a Military Parade on the Fourth of July? David Austin Walsh Because Independence Day has always been less about patriotism and more about festivities. Tags: Fourth of July, July 4, Independence Day, Washington D.C.

Top 5 Myths About the Fourth of July Myth #1: American independence was declared on July 4, 1776. Nope. Tags: Fourth of July, Independence Day, July 4, myths

Who Says Conservatives Are More Patriotic? Ira Chernus's MythicAmerica Progressives love America just as much as the Tea Party, but in a different way. Tags: conservatism, patriotism, July 4, Independence Day

On Topic: The Civil War

The Terror of Being Black at Gettysburg Kevin M. Levin Lee's advancing army regularly kidnapped and enslaved African Americans in Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg campaign. Tags: African American history, Civil War, Gettysburg, slavery

The Battle of Gettysburg at 150 David Austin Walsh Editor's picks on the best resources for the Battle of Gettysburg. Tags: Gettysburg, Civil War, Hot Topics, resources

What If Robert E. Lee Accepted Command of the Union Army? Thomas Fleming Could the Civil War have been reduced to the "uprising of 1861" by one man? Tags: Civil War, counterfactuals, Robert E. Lee, Union Army

Would We Have the 14th and 15th Amendments If Lincoln Had Lived? Maybe Not. Alan Singer Frederick Douglass certainly didn't think Lincoln was a friend to the freedman. Tags: Frederick Douglass, Lewis Lehrman, Civil War, slavery

From the Archives

Was Ulysses S. Grant Really a Drunk? Edward G. Longacre Yes, the famed general and eighteenth president of the United States was an alcoholic. But it really didn't affect his tactical and strategic judgment. Tags: alcoholism, Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant, Vicksburg

Why the South Really Seceded James W. Loewen One word: Slavery. Tags: secession, South, slavery, Civil War

Stonewall Jackson: Hero to the Religious Right? Wallace A. Hettle The eccentric Confederate general renowned for his piety is embraced for his martyrdom. Tags: Civil War, Stonewall Jackson, Bull Run, Confederacy

How Historians Have Rehabilitated President Grant Charles Bracelen Flood Grant's administration used to be considered one of the worst in American history ... but that was due to the influence of the "Lost Cause" school of history. Tags: Civil War, presidency, Reconstruction, Ulysses S. Grant

Jim Downs: Emancipation "Greatest Biological Catastrophe of the Nineteenth Century." Robin Lindley Freedom came at a steep price for African Americans, thanks to a postwar smallpox epidemic. Tags: Civil War, emancipation, epidemics, interviews

News at Home

HNN Hot Topics: July 4th Tags: Hot Topics, Independence Day, July 4, Fourth of July

AHA Amicus Brief Ignores Radical Queer History Steven Maynard A radical queer dissent to the dominant liberal LGBT moment. Tags: DOMA, LGBT history, same-sex marriage, Supreme Court

The Progress of John Roberts Josh Brown's Life During Wartime Tags: John Roberts, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, Voting Rights Act

News Abroad

How Game of Thrones Mirrors Modern Geopolitics Scot Faulkner Just as in the fictitious Westeros, America's elites squabble pointlessly while sinister forces are gathering abroad. Tags: BRICS, Game of Thrones, United States, foreign policy

Meet Charles Marvin, the Nineteenth-Century Edward Snowden Leslie Rogne Schumacher The real-life Mr. Memory leaked secrets of Britain's Russian policy to a newspaper in 1878 using only his brain. Tags: Edward Snowden, Charles Marvin, United Kingdom, leaks

Historians & History

Spotlight on the Digital Humanities at GMU's THATCamp Prime Lincoln A. Mullen History meets tech. startup culture at everybody's favorite "unconference." Tags: conferences, George Mason University, THATCamp, THATCamp Prime

HNN Book of the Month: The American Senate: An Insider's Story Neil MacNeil and Richard A. Baker Tags: Book of the Month, books, political history, Senate

Books

Review of Joel Shatzky's Option Three: A Novel About the University Lawrence S. Wittner The new face of corporate education. Tags: book reviews, Joel Shatzky, Option Three