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A map showing China and the United States

Another Cold War? China This Time?

… in China’s internal affairs, repulsive as they may sometimes be to us. This will be especially difficult because a … who were then fighting the founders of today’s communist government, a deployment almost unknown to … of Chinese territory, an estimated 260,000 Chinese soldiers poured across the border to push them and their allies away. …
President Bush visiting American troops in Saudi Arabia on Thanksgiving Day, 1990.

Selling Iraq with the Wrong Pitch

… to tell his usually hand-picked audiences that Iraq will become more democratic and prosperous because of America’s … Vietnam. After all, four administrations in Washington poured billions of dollars into that country without … enabled U.S. military forces to fight a war on behalf of a client state. In Iraq, U.S. intervention has fanned the …
Joseph Ambrose, an 86-year-old World War I veteran, attends the dedication day parade for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1982. Wearing a doughboy uniform like the ones used during the war, he is holding an American flag. It covered the casket of his son Clement, who was killed in the Korean War.

Tributes of Silence, the Honor of Words

… This years Veterans Day comes in the wake of fierce political campaigning over which … drove this fall’s march of troops through dueling political commercials. But history and tradition both suggest more …
American soldiers land near Algiers

Torch: The Allied Invasion of French North Africa, 1942

… the Axis, operation Torch constituted the biggest and most complex amphibious landing to that point in world history.  … pressure on British armies fighting in Egypt , American domestic pressure , British strategic interests in the … terrain separated the invasion’s three proposed landing sites in Morocco and Algeria. Stormy winter forecasts …
President George W. Bush addressing Congress in 2001 with Vice President Dick Cheney and House Speaker Dennis Hastert standing behind him.

Wartime Powers: Lincoln’s Restraint, Bush’s Excess

… War to defend their position. Then and now they argue, the commander-in-chief during wartime has an obligation to place … pro-secessionist forces and to ensure the transit of loyal troops to the capital, Lincoln, beginning in April … power, and it’s up to Congress to safeguard them. To their credit, legislators on Capitol Hill have recently taken a …
Barack Obama in 2008

How Eloquence Has Paved the Way to the White House

… into the White House primarily because they were effective communicators. In recent weeks the public has heard a good … Obama's eloquence. Critics have ridiculed his inspiring messages about "change." Columnist Robert Samuelson has said … David Brooks believes Americans will soon feel "Obama Comedown Syndrome," especially when they recognize that his …
American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932.

The Bailout: A Far Cry from Socialism

… “Socialism!” That’s the alarm many conservative commentators and legislators are sounding about the latest … to socialism. Unless the government’s investment in banks comes with effective government oversight, the real problem is … banks and to businesses that right now can’t get the credit they routinely depend upon. If the plan succeeds, …
Evo Morales in 2006.

Once More, Bolivians Seek Independence

… Bolivia’s new president, Carlos Mesa, came to power in mid-October after violent protests … are only make things worse. America’s goals in Bolivia come down to two things: limiting the production of cocaine … national resources that will benefit the country. Bolivians compared the recent protests to the most famous rebellion in …
Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War, by Harry S. Stout Book cover.

Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War

Review of Upon the Altar of the Nation: A Moral History of the Civil War, by Harry S. Stout (New York: Viking, 2006)
… a new "civil religion," a new sense of the nation's "messianic destiny," which Stout sees as the war's defining … 24,000 casualties, yet religious leaders only became more committed to their crusades and more strident in their … In Stout's hands the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 becomes the tool of a "total war," a war brought home to …
The words "Equal Justice Under Law" which are inscribed on the front of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

The Ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment

… too much about it." (Library of Congress) But that did not come to pass. The “no state shall” language was ideally … very controversial. President Andrew Johnson, the Tennessee loyalist who succeeded Abraham Lincoln as president, fought … Democrats. President Andrew Johnson ( left ), and a message he sent to Congress in June 1866, voicing his …
Under Attlee's direction, the Labour Party's position on foreign affairs in the 1930s was somewhat inconsistent. A believer in the "collective security" represented by the League of Nations, Attlee opposed rearmament even as he pushed for firmer measures against Nazi aggression.

A Sheep in Sheep’s Clothing

Review of Clement Attlee: The Man Who Made Modern Britain, by John Bew (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017).
… – the Labour Party emerged from the 1945 election with a commanding majority in the House of Commons – Attlee … after the outbreak of war. He served in Gallipoli and in Mesopotamia, before returning to the Western Front in France … into a wartime coalition with Attlee’s Labour Party. To his credit, Attlee accepted this invitation, taking up the …
Bust of Senator Robert La Follette in the Wisconsin State Capitol.

When Principle May Be the Best Policy

… the Democratic Party may self-destruct during the coming elections because it’s becoming softer on the war. … now that incumbents should never take their constituents’ loyalty for granted. History offers striking examples of the … and encouraging the enemy while casting dishonor and discredit on his own nation. Kellogg and Roosevelt joined …
Graffiti on wall: "Broken Promises"

Jefferson Cowie on Deindustrialization, Trade, and the 2016 Presidential Election

… , host Patrick Potyondy interviews Jefferson Cowie , the James G. Stahlman Chair in the Department of History at … to stop bad trade deals and global special interests, we welcome you with open arms, perhaps sensing an opportunity with … Memphis, or Sierra Juarez, which are the three of the four sites I studied, they would open with a very simple wrote …

Frenemies: Iran and America since 1900

… relations between the United States and Iran have been complicated and edgy as long as anyone can remember. … and urged him privately to change course. Yet when Carter visited Tehran on New Year's Eve 1977, he felt obliged to … to military purposes, and $1.1 billion in agricultural credits. For their part, the Iranians resorted to human wave …
A photograph of Viola Desmond

Remembering Viola Desmond

… that day, Desmond became the target of a racist incident, a common event for Blacks in Canada. Her decision to challenge … beauticians. In addition to meeting their hair needs, clients were able to purchase Desmond’s own hair and beauty … and a public opinion survey on the Bank of Canada website is indicative of a willingness to acknowledge a small …
The donkey party logo remains a well-known symbol for the Democratic Party despite not being the official logo of the party.

Democrats — the Party of Disorder, and Achievement

… less funny than Rogers — to describe the dilemma of the incoming Democratic majorities in both Congressional houses. … of its own internal contradictions. This conclusion has become an orthodoxy in the press. But this consensus seems … the Democrats who controlled those congresses were always messy, unwieldy coalitions. As President, Franklin Delano …
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Oval Office in 2009.

Don’t Get Tough, Barack

… It’s good history, and it reflects a willingness to give credit where credit is due. It’s also called generosity of spirit, a … understands the virtues of generosity and collegiality. James Grossman is the author of 'Land of Hope: Chicago, Black … James Grossman …

Treating the Symptoms: Northern Ireland’s Incomplete Peace

… that, 17 years after its inception, remains stubbornly incomplete. On the positive side, the Belfast Agreement … (usually referred to as “Republican”) and Unionist (“Loyalist”) communities continued to use violence to enforce … were forthright about what they were doing and why. James Craig (right) , the first Prime Minister of Northern …
Border Fence/Wall

Shifting Borders: The Many Sides of U.S.-Mexican Relations

… Jessica Vinas-Nelson  Welcome to History Talk , the podcast that brings together a … Albarrán  Indeed, there has always been animosity that frames discourse and often policy that takes place on the … fortunes, but also historical serendipity or the opposite of that, if you will, because if you look at the time …
The colorful buildings of Tirana, viewed from the steps of the National Museum.

A Postcard from Tirana: Overcoming the Past

… era with political corruption and failed pyramid schemes. The cityscape is still dotted with reminders of this past, but the residents welcome visitors with true Albanian hospitality and intend to … the Soviet state, and with little regard for the historical sites of the city, Hoxha began a massive building campaign …
A memorial dedicated to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) in Yaroslavl.

From Kulikovo Field to Kursk: Russia’s Forever War

Review of Russia: The Story of War, by Gregory Carleton (Cambridge, MA and London: Belknap/Harvard University Press, 2017)
… Further away from the city center, a sprawling memorial complex known as Victory Park pays homage to Russia’s wars on the site where Napoleon’s army invaded Moscow in 1812. A church … the Soviet-Afghan War told through oral histories. To his credit, Carleton also addresses wars that do not …
15th century painting of Christine de Pisan, QUeen Isabeau, and 7 other women

Medieval Women's Rights: Setting the Stage for Today

… Dr. Nicholas Breyfogle  Welcome to "Medieval Women's Rights: Setting the Stage for … of subjects from abortion, alimony, child abuse, divorce, domestic violence, to juries of matrons, regulation of medical … named woman. Thus, woman is the work of man. While man is a site full of consolation for woman, neither of them could …
the monument of the Soviet army in Sofia, completed in 1954

11/4/2014: Empty Fountains: Communist-Era Monuments Revisited

… What is the afterlife of an old communist statue? Just what to do with all the Soviet-era … replaced by a newly commissioned image of St. Sofia, the namesake of the capital. The star and other communist-era … it for granted that a Stalinist monument did not belong opposite from the National Gallery, once a royal palace ( as …