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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!


Where Evangelicals Came From

by Garry Wills

Trump has a style that seems like no style to the “proper” viewer, the “politically correct.” But it's familiar to evangelicals.


Resurrecting Another ‘Big Lie’: The Myth of Social Security as ‘Ponzi Scheme’

by Bernard A. Weisberger

This especially ugly lie resurfaces periodically like the Loch Ness Monster and the Abominable Snowman and is just as devoid of proof, but at least those fakes are harmless.


America's Cult of Ignorance—And the Death of Expertise

by Tom Nichols

More people are better educated than ever before, and knowledge is easier to come by. So why do we so often scorn those who plainly know more than we do?


Democratizing U.S. Foreign Policy

by Daniel Bessner and Stephen Wertheim

In order to restore public trust, foreign policy experts must engage citizens in different, more democratic ways. Fortunately, American history offers guidance for bringing experts and the public back together.


The History of the Filibuster

by Sarah Binder

Historical lore says that the filibuster was part of the original design of the Senate. Not true. When we scour early Senate history, we discover that the filibuster was created by mistake.


The Importance of National Myths

by Steven Conn

What "Make America Great Again" encapsulated managed to fire up just enough people in just enough places that it won the election.


Did Obama err in not outing Russian meddling?

by Kyle Longley

He made the same decision LBJ did a generation earlier when evidence surfaced that Nixon had exploited foreign ties to manipulate the election.


The Missing Link: Conservative Abolitionists, Slavery, and Yale

by Eric Herschthal

The fortunes of our nation’s universities depended not only on slaveholders, but on their strange and sometime allies, conservative abolitionists.


After Health Bill’s Defeat, What Trump Can Learn From L.B.J.

by Michael Beschloss

Unlike Donald Trump, Lyndon Johnson had years of political experience that enabled him to pass his landmark Medicare legislation.


A Liberal Fantasy Ripped from a Hollywood Script

by Jeff Greenfield

No, Democrats—the 25th Amendment won’t save you from Donald Trump.