History News Network

Scratching the Record On the long history of governments attempting to restrict access to documents about their inner workings.

“Trump’s effort to manipulate the federal infrastructure of historical knowledge is a reminder that the past is a site of constant political contestation — and that the public must be vigilant and insistent that our archives are managed toward democratic ends.” www.hnn.us/article/scra...

Pelvic Obsessions How the “obstetrical dilemma” and the dark history of pelvimetry met in the present.

How the “obstetrical dilemma” and the dark history of pelvimetry met in the present. www.hnn.us/article/pelv...

Pelvic Obsessions How the “obstetrical dilemma” and the dark history of pelvimetry met in the present.

“Situating Musk’s post in this tradition of dehumanizing and pathologizing birthing people’s bodies also gives us an occasion to redefine the phrase ‘obstetric dilemma’: not as an evolutionary conflict of the human anatomy but as a man-made, historical conflict.” www.hnn.us/article/pelv...

A Ghost from Kitchens Across the Nation The 1893 World’s Fair and the origins of Aunt Jemima.

Read an excerpt from ‪“The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic” by Lindsey Stewart. @grandcentralpub.bsky.social www.hnn.us/article/a-gh...

A Ghost from Kitchens Across the Nation The 1893 World’s Fair and the origins of Aunt Jemima.

“It began with a party.” www.hnn.us/article/a-gh...

Pelvic Obsessions How the “obstetrical dilemma” and the dark history of pelvimetry met in the present.

🗃️ Read our latest feature from Lynne Feeley. www.hnn.us/article/pelv...

Pelvic Obsessions How the “obstetrical dilemma” and the dark history of pelvimetry met in the present.

How the “obstetrical dilemma” and the dark history of pelvimetry met in the present. www.hnn.us/article/pelv...

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

JD Vance is tapping a corrosive tradition of nativism that runs through much of American history. But the specific history that Vance is invoking in this case runs directly counter to the anti-immigrant argument he is attempting to make. www.hnn.us/article/elev...

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

Really good essay by Prof. Varon (UVA) on what J.D. Vance misunderstands about the pivotal reliance on immigrants (500,000 / 2.1 million soldiers) in the Union army during the Civil War. His brand of nativism is pernicious. As usual? Omission of facts reshapes a narrative completely.

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

JD Vance took a swipe at Zohran Mamdani, questioning his patriotism and asking, bizarrely, “I wonder, has he ever read the letters from boy soldiers in the Union Army to parents and sweethearts that they’d never see again?” But it’s Vance who needs to hit the books. www.hnn.us/article/elev...

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

“The U.S. army was roiled by the same racism and nativism that impoverished American society. Immigrant soldiers attained at best a sort of probationary acceptance.” www.hnn.us/article/elev...

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration. www.hnn.us/article/elev...

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

“They were not bound together by a shared heritage but instead motivated by a shared hope: that the Union could be the vehicle for their progress and prosperity, and a beacon to the world.” www.hnn.us/article/elev...

A very good essay by civil war historian Elizabeth Varon. Shows how Vance’s schtick is neo-Confederate as well as anti-immigrant nativism.

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

"In every war it has won, the United States owes a major debt of gratitude to immigrant and minority soldiers. The Civil War might be the best example of this history."--Elizabeth Varon www.hnn.us/article/elev...

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration. www.hnn.us/article/elev...

Elevating the Few What JD Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

If V@nce wants to use history to validate nativism and nationalism he should pick another subject besides the American Civil War. It does not help his case.

www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/elev...

A quote about patriotism during the Civil War.

The historian Elizabeth Varon challenges JD Vance's view of the Civil War:

"...immigrant and minority soldiers shed their blood to prove their patriotism, in the hopes that citizenship could be won as well as inherited."

www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/elev...

In his Claremont speech, Vance took a swipe at New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, questioning his patriotism and asking, bizarrely, “I wonder, has he ever read the letters from boy soldiers in the Union Army to parents and sweethearts that they’d never see again?” But it’s Vance who needs to hit the books. He can start with the September 18, 1864, letter of Seargeant Charles W. Singer, of the 107th United States Colored Infantry, published in the A.M.E. Church newspaper the Christian Recorder. Singer wrote, “Remember, soldiers, we are fighting a great battle, for the benefit, not only of the country, but for ourselves and the whole of mankind … While this Government stands, there is hope for the most abject, disabled and helpless of mankind … The so-called southern Confederacy is fighting for the establishment of a Government, which will have for its corner-stone the perpetuation of human slavery—the degradation of the many for the purpose of elevating the few; but never shall they succeed so long as I can raise my arm against them.” Invoking the sacrifices of soldiers’ families, Singer added, “Shall we not console our aged mothers with the hope, that, when hereafter their souls, crowned with the garlands of martyrdom, look down from the home of the blessed, the united joys of the heavens shall thrill through their immortal spirits, seeing their dear people free from the bondage of slavery?” Singer saw in America’s promise of equality a creed worth fighting for.

“The so-called southern Confederacy is fighting for the establishment of a Government, which will have for its corner-stone … the degradation of the many for the purpose of elevating the few; but never shall they succeed so long as I can raise my arm against them.” www.hnn.us/article/elev...

Scratching the Record On the long history of governments attempting to restrict access to documents about their inner workings.

"In seizing control of National Archives, Trump admin is taking aim at central, widely shared if often unarticulated belief about nature of public records preservation: bureaucratic past should be preserved & managed independent of political interference"

www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/scra...

Elevating the Few What J.D. Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

🗃️Read Elizabeth R. Varon on why J.D. Vance is wrong about the Civil War, immigration, and “real” Americans. www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/elev...

Elevating the Few What J.D. Vance excludes from the history of the Civil War and immigration.

In every war it has won, the United States owes a major debt of gratitude to immigrant and minority soldiers. The Civil War might be the best example of this history. www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/elev...

Scratching the Record On the long history of governments attempting to restrict access to documents about their inner workings.

“For much of history, it has been normal for elites to manipulate the past to protect their privileges.” www.hnn.us/article/scra...

A Mere Mass of Error Two stories from the 19th century about government records being falsified to foment distrust of nonwhite Americans.

Read an excerpt from @philipkadish.bsky.social‬’s “The Great White Hoax: Two Centuries of Selling Racism in America.”
‪@thenewpress.bsky.social www.hnn.us/article/a-me...

On the long history of governments manipulating records, and the surprisingly recent origins of the idea of archival independence 🗃️

Scratching the Record On the long history of governments attempting to restrict access to documents about their inner workings.

🗃️ www.hnn.us/article/scra...

Scratching the Record On the long history of governments attempting to restrict access to documents about their inner workings.

Read our latest feature from @asheeshksi.bsky.social. www.hnn.us/article/scra...

Scratching the Record On the long history of governments attempting to restrict access to documents about their inner workings.

“Trump’s effort to manipulate the federal infrastructure of historical knowledge is a reminder that the past is a site of constant political contestation — and that the public must be vigilant and insistent that our archives are managed toward democratic ends.” www.hnn.us/article/scra...

War Stories Without the History Films about the Iraq War prize “truth-telling,” but don’t offer many insights about the war itself.

Are war films ever true? The historian Norman Kagan introduced this question in his 1974 book The War Film, adding, “true to what?” www.hnn.us/article/war-...

When Good Housekeeping Meant Getting Vaccinated Against Polio The pages of 1950s lifestyle magazines offer a glimpse of a time when childhood vaccines were anything but controversial.

The pages of 1950s lifestyle magazines offer a glimpse of a time when childhood vaccines were anything but controversial. www.hnn.us/article/good...