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History News Network

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Roundup Top 10!

Felon disfranchisement preserves slavery’s legacy
by Pippa Holloway

Nearly six million Americans are prohibited from voting in the United States today due to felony convictions.


Ronald Reagan's Benghazi
by Jane Mayer

Congress actually undertook a useful investigation and made helpful recommendations.


Clarence Thomas’s Counterrevolution
by Corey Robin

Thomas believes that racism is so profoundly inscribed in the white soul that you’ll never be able to remove it.


Phineas Gage, Neuroscience’s Most Famous Patient
by Sam Kean

Each generation revises his myth. Here’s the true story.


The Abuse of History in the Ukrainian Crisis
by Marco Siddi

By invoking inflammatory slogans like “Putin is Hitler” and “Ukrainians are fascists”, both Russian and western leaders distort the realities of 21st Century Ukraine.


Thomas Piketty Is Pulling Your Leg
by John Judis

Perhaps, Piketty is on the defensive because of the pathetic review on National Review’s blog.


ANC Uses History to Sweep South Africa’s 2014 Elections
by Emily Bridger

The African National Congress’s continued political success owes much to its use of the past and the memory of Nelson Mandela.


Netanyahu’s Blood and Soil: The Racist-Nationalism of his “Jewish State” Ideal
by Juan Cole

Binyamin Netanyahu is again beating the “Israel is a Jewish state” drum, and now wants to have it legislated into Israeli organic law.


How Memory Speaks
by Jerome Groopman

The role of memory in virtually every activity of our day is put in sharp focus when it is lost.


What Should Historians Make of "Black Confederates?"
by Glenn Brasher

Most of the sightings were likely of slaves serving as body servants for their soldier masters.