History

What’s the Problem with ‘Reparations’?0
- History
- March 12, 2019
As the issue of reparations for victims of slavery rages within the Democratic party, and on cable news stations, we encounter a common problem: virtually no one is addressing the specifics of how such a reparations effort would be administered. Who would receive these reparations payments? Who would pay them? How would guilt and victimhood be determined?
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The Unbundling of America’s Political Parties 0
- History
- March 6, 2019
Should movies be seen in theaters, at least in their first runs, or are they just as good when they premiere on the home screen? To put that question in business jargon terms, should movies continue to be bundled to theaters, or should they be unbundled to appear anywhere—even on a tiny-screened smart phone? That’s the big fight in
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What Might Have Been: Russia’s Missed Opportunity of 1917 0
- History
- February 6, 2019
The Bolshevik uprising of October 1917 is usually thought to have resulted in the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy, which had ruled the Russian Empire since 1547. This belief has led to a certain idealization of the Russian Revolution. Despite the crimes that were later committed in the USSR in the name of communism, the
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What Cicero Would Say about Roger Stone 0
- History
- January 25, 2019
In his speech before the Roman Senate, when he accused Catiline of conspiracy to overthrow the state, Cicero famously proclaimed, “O ye immortal gods, where on earth are we? In what city are we living? What constitution is ours?” A former Latin teacher, I thought of those words when I read the news online
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Was There a Star of Bethlehem? An Astronomer Presents the Evidence.0
- History
- January 4, 2019
Christmas is over, right? Or so many of us think. But before the Christmas season ran from Thanksgiving to December 25th, as it does today, the first few days of January were a major part of the Christmas celebration. The “Twelve Days of Christmas” officially end on January 6th, or Epiphany, the day on which
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Congress Used to Pass Bipartisan Legislation – Will It Ever Again?0
- History
- January 4, 2019
Congress seemingly hasn’t accomplished much apart from a tax cut and criminal justice reform since the election of President Trump in 2016, despite all three branches being controlled by the GOP. Will that record get even worse now that the U.S. has divided government? As a political scientist who studies Congress, I find it tempting
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