What's Driving the Latest Texas History Wars?
By John Willingham
The Latest 
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Builders or Purgers? Presidents and Parties in American History
Michael A. Genovese
There is no constitutional or statutory definition of the roles of parties in American politics, but almost since the beginning presidents have been the heads of organized factions. Presidencies have been defined by whether the chief executive prized growth or loyalty.
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Blog
Allan Lichtman on the State of Democracy, the Second Amendment, and More
Robin Lindley
"Repealing the Second Amendment may seem like a daunting goal, but protecting the lives and safety of the American people makes it very much a worthwhile goal."
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A Holocaust Mystery: Ken Burns Gets Lost in a Bermuda Triangle
Rafael Medoff and Monty N. Penkower
At the 1943 Bermuda Conference, British and American diplomats offered a symbolic show of concern for Jewish refugees, but made no substantial commitment to help. Ken Burns's recent holocaust documentary passes over this event.
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Blog
Dr. Karen L. Cox on Confederate Monuments
Skipped History with Ben Tumin
“They see it as a tool of power.”
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Dangerous Rhythms: Jazz and the Criminal Underworld
James Thornton Harris
T.J. English examines the relationship between jazz and organized crime in Prohibition America, and how the music moved on from the mob.
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The Roundup Top Ten for September 30, 2022
The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week.
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Does Marital Status Discrimination Hold the Key to Protecting Sexual Freedoms from SCOTUS?
Marc Stein
As concern rises that the court might revoke the rights to same-sex marriage and contraception while reinstating the criminalization of gay sex, advocates for reproductive and sexual freedom need to consider how to make the equal protection argument that rights individuals enjoy in marriage can't be denied to individuals outside of them.
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Around the World, Censorship of Historians is Tied to Attacks on Democracy
Ruben Zeeman
Teachers and researchers of history are under attack – sometimes literally – by regimes who seek to make history a foundational element of their legitimacy and authority.
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The History of DDT Shows Government Agencies Have Responsibility for Today's Skepticism about Science
Elena Conis
The willingness to share information about the toxicity of pesticides has long been compromised by the government's interest in their economic usefulness. From COVID to climate, today's crises show the need for a new balance of transparency and profitability.
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Anne Frank's Next Diary Entries
Bernice Lerner
When I was a teenager, I imagined that Anne Frank was at my mother’s 15th birthday party. After all, they were the same age and they were both in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. How did I arrive at such a phantastic conflation?
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Thinking and Teaching the Implications of Federalist #10 for Democracy
Jeff Schneider
Teachers of Constitutional history must push their students to understand something difficult: James Madison's vision of the "public good" is a vision of elite rule that today stands in the way of democratic solutions to society's problems.
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Ukraine Shows the Need to Break the Cycle of National Insecurity
Roger Peace
It doesn't excuse Russian aggression against Ukraine to recognize that the United States has fumbled the opportunity to forge a global order based on cooperative and mutual security in the years since the end of the Cold War.
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The Roundup Top Ten for September 23, 2022
The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week.
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What Casey Jones Tells Us about the Past and Present of America's Railroad Workers
Scott Huffard
Although it's difficult to separate fact from fiction around his life, the famed railroad engineer had something in common with today's rail workers: being stretched to the limits of health and safety by companies' pursuit of profit.
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Blog
Director Lynn Novick on the New Holocaust Documentary
Robin Lindley
"We decided we had to go back to the 19th century—to the ideals behind the Statue of Liberty and our values as a society. And then we looked at how we lived up to or did not live up to t...
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El Caudillo: Colonialist Violence and the Rise of Francisco Franco
Giles Tremlet
A new book on Spanish history includes an examination of the influence of colonialism and conservative Catholicism on the authoritarian worldview and political ruthlessness of Francisco Franco.
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Boris Johnson's Legacy? It's Complicated
Luke Reader
The British constitution depends on adherence to norms and tradition commonly called the "good chap" principle. Johnson's ministry raised troubling questions about what happens when No. 10 Downing is occupied by a different sort of chap.
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Another Documentarian's Perspective on "The U.S. and the Holocaust"
Martin Ostrow
Like many other Americans, I will be watching closely to see if The U.S. and the Holocaust honestly portrays the responsibility of American leaders, or fails to confront the difficult truths that need to be faced.
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Gil Coronado: The Padrino of National Hispanic Month
Ricardo Romo
After dropping out of high school to begin his Air Force career at age 15, Gil Coronado became the most influential leader in expanding the federal recognition of Hispanic heritage from a week to a month.
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How the Constitution Can Accommodate Divergent Values
James D.R. Philips
When founding the nation, American political leaders had to both leverage Americans’ shared political culture and beliefs, and allow for Americans’ differing moral beliefs and values.
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The Roundup Top Ten for September 16, 2022
The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week.
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