Historians in the News

Why Getting the Most Votes Matters

Times Editor Jesse Wegman examines the unique absence of majoritarian principle in the election of the American president and argues it goes against the most basic understanding of political fairness. 

‘A Fearsome Decision’: Abigail Adams Had Her Children Inoculated Against Smallpox

Abigail Adams had justifiable fears of the primitive smallpox inoculation available in 1776, but larger fears of the disease. 

Are Republicans Serious about a Secession Movement?

Richard Kreitner, author of "Break It Up," argues that calls for secession have been a regular feature of American political life, though they usually amount to criticism instead of action. 

An Inspiring History of the Enlightenment

A new book focuses on the generation of the body of Enlightenment thought through debate and dispute which foreshadows many of today's debates about the merits of universal humanism and liberal democracy. 

Two Women Tackle Their Shared History

by Ann Banks

Ann Banks is interviewed along with Karen Orozco Guttierez about the two women's shared roots in antebellum Alabama. 

The Growth Of Market-Oriented Urban Policy — A Review Of Neoliberal Cities

by Tracy Neumann

A new collection of essays seeks to develop a historical understanding and grounding for the often vague term "neoliberalism" through its transformation of urban space and politics. 

From Fish House Punch to Bud Light: America’s Long, Complicated Relationship with Alcohol (Web Event, 12/17)

To mark the centennial of Prohibition, please join AEI’s Kevin R. Kosar for a conversation exploring how alcohol has influenced America’s economy, politics, and culture.

How History Classes on the Women’s Suffrage Movement Leave Out the Work of Black Voting Rights Activists

Historian Lisa Tetrault argues that the idea of the 1848 Seneca Falls convention as the birthplace of the American women's movement was a retroactive story used to include white, respectable, moderate suffragists and exclude both more radical women and women of color from the movement. 

2020 Frederick Douglass Book Prize Winner

Notre Dame professor Sophie White's "Voices of the Enslaved: Love, Labor and Longing in French Louisiana" is the winner of the 22nd annual Frederick Douglass Book Prize for the best book on the history of slavery, resistance and abolition. 

Stolen into Slavery (Excerpt)

by Richard Bell

An excerpt from Richard Bell's award-winning book "Stolen" which tells the story of five free Black boys sold into slavery. 

At Johns Hopkins, Revelations About Its Founder and Slavery

Historian Martha S. Jones led an internal investigation into whether Johns Hopkins owned slaves after a researcher in the Maryland State Archives discovered evidence in the 1850 Census. 

Kamala Harris Will Play Major Role As Vice President, Historian Says

Historian Julian Zelizer suggests Kamala Harris will make history not just because of her ethnic identity but because of her likely considerable involvement in White House policymaking. 

America’s Most Hated Garment

Atlantic writer Amanda Mull turns to fashion historians Marley Healy and Valerie Steele to place the growing social acceptance of sweatpants in a pattern of clothing standards changing in response to cultural influences and social conditions. 

Trump’s Voter Fraud Yarn is Unraveling. But it can Still Help the GOP

Rick Perlstein suggests that the Republicans' unwillingness to condemn Trump's wild theories about a stolen election are part of a historical pattern of fear that if the electorate expands Republicans will be lose. The theories won't overturn this election, but they will be used to justify future restrictions on the ballot.

How Rocky Presidential Transitions Have Shaped American History

Beverly Gage of Yale University explains how presidential transitions have tested the nation in the past. 

‘Never Waste a Good Pandemic’

"Robert J. Ferry, associate professor of history and chair of Boulder’s Faculty Assembly, said that he hadn’t been involved in any discussions about the proposal thus far but that future consideration 'needs to have full involvement of the faculty'."

How Atlanta’s Politics Overtook the Suburbs, Too

Kevin Kruse is among the scholars of Atlanta who offer insight on how the growth of the metro area has overcome the division between the city and its suburbs and turned Georgia purple.

The Contentious History of U.S. Presidential Pardons—From the Whiskey Rebellion to Watergate

Rumors that Donald Trump has considered offering preemptive pardons to his children and inner circle of advisors prompt a consideration of the history of the pardon power. 

Performance Anxiety: How Cold War Men’s Adventure Magazines Shaped Soldiers’ (Mis)Understandings of the Vietnam War (Review)

by Nicholas Utzig

A consideration of Gregory Daddis's book "Pulp Vietnam: War and Gender in Cold War Men’s Adventure Magazines."

Of the 700 Attempts to Fix or Abolish the Electoral College, this One Nearly Succeeded

by Gillian Brockell

The most serious effort to abolish the Electoral College followed George Wallace's third party bid in 1968, when both major parties realized that a spoiler candidate could throw the election to the House of Representatives and extort political concessions for electoral votes. Southern conservatives, happy with the leverage the system gave them, blocked the amendment in the Senate.