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History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Roundup Top 10!


Pop Culture Roundup: This Week

This week ... Man in the Iron Mask, Brazil Olympics, controversy over Hitler, presidential kids who went to Harvard, Da Vinci, Black Panthers in the comics, and much much more.


Obama, Truman and Hiroshima

by Wilson D. Miscamble

There’s zero reason to apologize for the atomic bombing, which forestalled invasion and saved lives.


In defense of the humanities

by Ken Burns

In his 2016 Jefferson Lecture Ken Burns says "the humanities have been needlessly scapegoated in our country by those who continually benefit from division and obfuscation."


Historian: How would Jefferson view Trump?

by Joseph J. Ellis

The presidential candidacy of Trump defies national comprehension, though the Republican establishment, for good reason, is not laughing.


Is the American Party System About to Crack Up?

by Rick Perlstein

"What are the prospects for a realignment of American politics? On the Democratic side, practically nil."


The "Shocking Document" that Shaped the Middle East Turns 100

by Daniel Pipes

The Sykes-Picot accord that has shaped and distorted the modern Middle East was signed one hundred years ago, on May 16, 1916.


Roma Slavery: The Case for Reparations

by Margareta Matache

Reparations for historical injustices are an increasingly urgent topic of public discussion. It's time to include Roma in the conversation.


History lesson for Paul Ryan: The Republicans have always been Donald Trump’s party

by Paul Krause

Donald Trump unmasked a remodeled, civil conservatism that tried to dress its crass and insular elements in a suit.


Proving the Scientific Case For Public School Desegregation

by Patti Verbanas

An unsung hero of the Civil Rights Movement, the Rutgers alumna fought racism from within the system – and won.


When Socialists Won Elections (and Where)

by James Gregory

A new set of online maps and tools shows the historical geography of American socialism in ways that have never before been possible.


The Easter Rising 100 years on: how the Irish revolution fired up American politics

by David Brundage

Over the last few months, the United States has been marking its connection to the Easter Rising of 100 years ago.


The Cost of the Cultural Revolution, Fifty Years Later

by Evan Osnos

China today is in the midst of another political fever, in the form of an anti-corruption crackdown and a harsh stifling of dissenting views. But it should not be mistaken for a replay of the Cultural Revolution.