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.

Week of December 9, 2013

#1 The Anti-Jacksonians
by Sean Wilentz

Historical analogies are oft imperfect, and the Tea Party=Jacksonian Democrats meme is more imperfect than most.

DEMOCRACY: A JOURNAL OF IDEAS


#2 Beware an Unchecked President
by Jacob S. Hacker and Oona A. Hathaway

The solution to a dysfunctional Congress is not for Obama to govern the country all by himself.

LOS ANGELES TIMES


#3 Nelson Mandela, Communist
by Bill Keller

Yes, the fact that Mandela was a member of the South African Communist Party matters, but not in the way you think.

NEW YORK TIMES


#4 Mandela, RIP
by Conrad Black

The world has lost a great man.

NATIONAL REVIEW


#5 Why Machiavelli Still Matters
by John Scott and Robert Zaretsky

We still believe a leader should be virtuous: generous and merciful, honest and faithful. Machiavelli knew better.

NEW YORK TIMES


#6 Gay Sex Bans: One of the British Empire's Most Enduring Legacies
by Gwynn Guilford

India's supreme court reinstated a British ban on same-sex relationships dating to 1861.

THE ATLANTIC


#7 Insisting Jesus Was White Is Bad History and Bad Theology
by Jonathan Merritt

In trying to police his depiction, Megyn Kelly is wrong on both the facts and the essential universality of the Christian message.

THE ATLANTIC


#8 Why the Tea Party’s Hold Persists
by Theda Skocpol

Pundits keep predicting the Tea Party's demise, but it never sticks. Here's why.

DEMOCRACY: A JOURNAL OF IDEAS


#9 Why Doesn't War Appear in Modern American Fiction?
by Beverly Gologorsky

It's all about social class.

TOMDISPATCH


#10 Is New China the Old Germany?
by by Patrick Stephenson

Could we be edging to a Great War in Asia?

HUFFINGTON POSt