History

A broadside advertising a slave auction outside of Brooke and Hubbard Auctioneers office, Richmond, Virginia, July 23, 1823.

Slavery Was Not Just Forced Labor but Sexual Violence Too Slavery Was Not Just Forced Labor but Sexual Violence Too

Calls to attenuate the brutality of slavery in museum depictions is absurd when our institutions already downplay one of its most horrific features.

Sep 3, 2025 / Channing Gerard Joseph

A man takes a photograph at Deng Xiaoping Portrait Square in Shenzhen, China, 2020.

How China Engineered the Next Century How China Engineered the Next Century

Dan Wang argues that the battle between China and the United States is simply a conflict between engineers and lawyers. The situation is much more complicated than that.

Aug 26, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Rollin Hu

A worker in a coal yard inside a coal mine in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, India, 2021.

The Myth of Clean Energy The Myth of Clean Energy

Is all the hope placed in renewables an illusion?

Aug 25, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Trevor Jackson

An effigy of President Donald Trump is lowered outside the Pennsylvania State Capitol.

On the Power of Small Acts of Noncompliance On the Power of Small Acts of Noncompliance

At a moment when large-scale resistance can feel futile,
there are other ways to oppose, engage, and fight back.

Aug 18, 2025 / Column / Elie Mystal

A May Day protest against the committee’s witch hunt at City College.

Eric Foner’s Personal History Eric Foner’s Personal History

Reflecting on his decades-long career, the historian considers what his field of study owes to the public.

Aug 14, 2025 / Feature / Eric Foner

Joseph McCarthy and Roy Cohn at a HUAC hearing.

Red Scares, Past and Present Red Scares, Past and Present

What are the parallels between the rise of McCarthyism in the 1950s and today? 

Aug 12, 2025 / Books & the Arts / David Cole

What History Tells Us About the Rise of Fiorello La Guardia

What History Tells Us About the Rise of Fiorello La Guardia What History Tells Us About the Rise of Fiorello La Guardia

Zohran Mamdani’s favorite mayor was nobody's idea of a shoo-in—until he became inevitable.

Aug 12, 2025 / Richard Kreitner

Mark Twain’s Many Lives

Mark Twain’s Many Lives Mark Twain’s Many Lives

A new biography depicts the different sides of the American author.

Aug 11, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Adam Hochschild

A pedestal that once held a statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike sits near Judiciary Square on August 5, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Trump Wants to Make the Confederacy Great Again Trump Wants to Make the Confederacy Great Again

The president is making a big push to rewrite the past in favor of some of America's top historical traitors, racists, and scumbags.

Aug 6, 2025 / Chris Lehmann

Magnus Hirschfeld, 1899.

Magnus Hirschfeld’s Forgotten Revolution Magnus Hirschfeld’s Forgotten Revolution

The Weimar physician advocated for a more fluid understanding of sexuality and gender—a pioneering idea that was erased by the rise of Nazism.

Aug 5, 2025 / Books & the Arts / Lizzie Tribone

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