Why Hurricanes Harvey and Irma won’t lead to action on climate change
For the first time in years, Americans are acutely aware of the perils of extreme weather, but don't expect views on climate risks to shift overnight.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on US history
Displaying 1 - 20 of 145 articles
Roots of racism: 6 essential reads
When were the seeds of racism sown in the US and why is it so hard to root out?
How Vietnam dramatically changed our views on honor and war
Is there honor in a losing battle? The US military faced this question in Vietnam. Its response would eventually change how the media covered war and how Americans perceive it.
Old West theme parks paint a false picture of pioneer California
Knott's Berry Farm and others romanticize the state's past and influence visitors’ sense of history. But their ideology reflects mid-20th-century political conservatism more than settlers' reality.
Massachusetts executed two Italian immigrants 90 years ago: Why the global fallout still matters
At a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was widespread, the Sacco and Vanzetti trial starkly divided American opinion and stirred up a violent backlash around the world.
White supremacists are on the march, but the Ku Klux Klan is history
Far from the millions-strong mass movement of years gone by, today's 'Klan' is really just a smattering of assorted local hate groups.
At the Texas Prison Rodeo, a color line dissolved
Racial barriers that existed in the free world were toppled as black and white convicts competed for the Top Hand Prize.
Robert E Lee, George Washington and the trouble with the American pantheon
In defending white nationalists in Charlottesville, Donald Trump took aim at the founding fathers.
Ruby Ridge: 25 years since the siege that fired up the US’s radical right
The radical right has a keen sense of its own history, and the violence of the 1990s is still fresh in its memory.
The politics of public monuments: it’s time Australians looked at what, and whom, we commemorate
Many of our public commemorations honour people and incidents that brought great harm to others. We need to look at what that says about us, and how we build more inclusive public memorials.
Cows in Antarctica? How one expedition milked them for all their worth
What would possess an Antarctic expedition to take dairy cows to the icy continent? Back in 1933, Admiral Byrd did so for reasons of image-making, publicity and territorial ambition.
The untold stories of women in the 1967 Detroit rebellion and its aftermath
In the film 'Detroit,' the voices of women are largely absent.
Eclipsing the occult in early America: Benjamin Franklin and his almanacs
Franklin advanced a scientific – not supernatural – understanding of astronomical events such as eclipses. His satirical character 'Poor Richard' mocked those who bought into astrological predictions.
Why Detroit exploded in the summer of 1967
Fifty years ago, Jeffrey Horner watched news broadcasts of the riots that erupted just miles from his home. But he was worlds apart from the racial tensions that had been festering for decades.
George Romero’s zombies will make Americans reflect on racial violence long after his death
Romero’s ‘Night of the Living Dead’ and ‘Dawn of the Dead’ will be remembered among the first films to use horror as a form of political critique.
The Georgia peach may be vanishing, but its mythology is alive and well
The peach looms large in Georgia history and lore. Today the Georgia peach crop is dwindling, but its history remains deeply entwined with Southern history, politics and culture.
Combatting stereotypes about Appalachian dialects
The founder of the West Virginia Dialect Project hopes to debunk some of the myths about the way Appalachian people speak and instill pride in a rich, oft-maligned culture.
How Spam became one of the most iconic American brands of all time
Eighty years ago, Hormel Foods introduced a simple, canned meat product called Spam. It would go on to become one of the greatest marketing success stories of all time.
Pickett’s Charge: What modern mathematics teaches us about Civil War battle
Pickett's Charge was one of the seminal battles of the U.S. Civil War, setting the stage for the ultimate Confederacy defeat. Could it have played out differently?
Trump’s loyalty fixation recalls one of the US’s most disastrous presidencies
Andrew Johnson's plan to win the loyalty of former Confederate leaders doomed his presidency to historical ignominy.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor of History, Pennsylvania State University
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Distinguished Professor of History and Environmental Studies, Pennsylvania State University
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Teaching Fellow, Queen Mary University of London
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PhD Candidate in History, University of Leeds
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Associate Professor of History and African and African Diaspora Studies, University of Texas at Austin
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Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History, Case Western Reserve University
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Executive Director, International Association for Communication and Sport, Emeritus Professor of Communication, Saint Xavier University
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Associate Professor and Reader in History and American Studies, Northumbria University, Newcastle
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Professor of Journalism, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
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Associate Professor of African and Afro-American Studies, Brandeis University
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Associate Professor, History and African-American Studies, University of California, Los Angeles
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Associate Professor of Political Science and El Instituto, University of Connecticut
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Senior Lecturer in American Politics and Foreign Policy, Academic Director of the US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
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Assistant Professor of History, Hunter College
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Senior Lecturer School of Architecture and Design, RMIT University
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