With support from the University of Richmond

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!

When Slaveowners Got Reparations

by Tera W. Hunter

Lincoln signed a bill in 1862 that paid up to $300 for every enslaved person freed.

Why you don’t need to be French or Catholic to mourn the Notre Dame fire

by Kisha G. Tracy

The cathedral is an important part of our shared cultural heritage.

How historians got Nike to pull an ad campaign — in under six hours

by Megan Kate Nelson

The multinational corporation dropped its “Lost Cause” ads after historians pushed back.

Immigration, Race, and Women’s Rights, 1919 and Today

by Arnold R. Isaacs

The comparison couldn’t, in many ways, be grimmer or more telling.

How California is dumbing down our democracy

by Max Boot

It is a matter of national concern that the California State University (CSU) system is on the verge of further diluting its already inadequate history and government requirements.

Elizabeth Warren’s historically sound case against the filibuster

by Julian Zelizer

The Senate rule has long been used as a weapon against civil rights and other progressive legislation.

The return of ‘reefer madness’

by Emily Dufton and Lucas Richert

Both supporters and opponents of legalization are quick to use sensationalism to prove their points, stunting the pursuit of real research needed to determine cannabis’ social effects.

Why Democratic Presidential Candidates Should Make Climate Change Their #1 Issue

by Walter G. Moss

Nothing else—including medical care, the economy, income inequality, immigration, racism, or the gender or race of a candidate—is more important.

Why Trump Won’t Stop Talking About Ilhan Omar

by Jamelle Bouie

The president is following a Republican playbook that is now nearly two decades old.

Join my Nato or watch critical thinking die

by Niall Ferguson

A new red army is out to silence debate. We must rise up and resist it.

Niall Ferguson isn’t upset about free speech. He’s upset about being challenged

by Dawn Foster

Powerful people used to express their views on others unopposed. Now their targets fight back, they find it intolerable.