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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!


Bring Back the Party of Lincoln

by Heather Cox Richardson

By the 1880s, the party’s leaders had abandoned their message of opportunity and tied themselves to big business.


The right’s food stamp embarrassment: A history lesson for the haters

by Caitlin Rathe

While conservatives love to beat up on the SNAP program, there's an awkward little fact that might horrify them.


The concept that has underpinned the modern geopolitical era is in crisis

by Henry Kissinger

The years from perhaps 1948 to the turn of the century marked a brief moment in human history when one could speak of an incipient global world order. But vast regions of the world have never shared and only acquiesced in the Western concept of order.


My students pay too much for college. Blame Reagan.

by Devin Fergus

Today’s student aid crisis has its roots in the 1980s.


Obama’s Pattern of Foreign-Policy Failure

by Max Boot

"It is high time for Obama to stop talking and start acting."


The Original Tea Partier Was an Atheist

by Matthew Stewart

Remembering America's forgotten founding father.


Liberal Nationalism Is Not Only Possible, It's Essential

by Ian Reifowitz

Ian Reifowitz is the author of "Obama’s America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity."


There's no such thing as a gentle execution

by Jonathan Zimmerman

We have spent two centuries trying to put people to death without putting them in discomfort. And it hasn't worked.


The Jews and the importance of history

by Michael Gerson

"History matters, or at least it should. Detached from its story, Israel is a quarrelsome, flawed democracy on the edge of the Mediterranean. But Israel is its story."


Obama's Biggest Problem: Political ADD

by Michael Kazin

The president's inability to focus on a single issue is hurting him with voters.