Filter by:

Filter by published date

Students in a Kent State University classroom.

Decades After Kent State Shooting, the Tragic Legacy Shapes its Activism

The university where 13 student protesters were killed or injured during the Vietnam War era worries that other schools have learned nothing from its history.
A young girl kneels by a dead body, yelling.

The Girl in the Kent State Photo and the Lifelong Burden of Being a National Symbol

In 1970, an image of a dead protester at Kent State became iconic. But what happened to the 14-year-old kneeling next to him?

‘Tin Soldiers and Nixon’s Coming’

The shootings at Kent State and Jackson State at 50 years later.

Kent State and the War That Never Ended

The deadly episode stood for a bitterly divided era. Did we ever leave it?
Richard Nixon and Billy Graham at the podium at the University of Tennessee.
partner

The Leaders of Tomorrow

What happened in 1970 after Richard Nixon was told, “I doubt that there would be any problem of student demonstrations in Tennessee.”
New York workers, angered by the Mayor's apparent anti-Vietnam-War sympathies, wave American flags as they march in a demonstration near City Hall in New York City on May 15, 1970.

The 'Hard Hat Riot' of 1970 Pitted Construction Workers Against Anti-War Protesters

The Kent State shootings further widened the chasm among a citizenry divided over the Vietnam War.
University of California, Los Angeles students protest against Israel's war in Gaza.

Why Do Student Protest Movements Fail?

The uncompromising idealism of student protesters is rooted in social and economic isolation and detachment.
Barry Goldwater giving a speech at the Republican National Convention.
partner

The Republican National Convention That Shocked the Country

The pulsating anger in San Francisco 60 years ago became the party's animating spirit.
Pro-Israel counterprotesters hold Israeli flags on the edges of a pro-Palestine encampment at Northeastern University in Boston, April 26, 2024.

The New Anti-Antisemitism

The response to college protests against the war on Gaza exemplifies the darkness of the Trumpocene.
Pro-Palestinian campus protest.
partner

Why Colleges Don’t Know What to Do About Campus Protests

Despite frequent litigation, U.S. courts have created a blurry line that puts administrators in an impossible situation.
Police arresting a protestor at U.T.-Austin.

College Administrators are Falling Into a Tried and True Trap Laid by the Right

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, conservative activists led a counterattack against campus demonstrators by demanding action from college presidents, courts, and police.
A Buddhist monk stands next to a banner with a picture of monk Thich Quang Duc who set fire to himself to protest the Vietnam War.

Why Would Anyone Kill Themselves to Stop A War?

In the past 3 months, two people in the US have taken or risked taking their own lives in an attempt to change US policies on Palestine and call for a cease-fire.
A political cartoon of Spiro Agnew holding an axe behind his back.

Oh, We Knew Agnew

On Spiro Agnew's lasting legacy.
Checkpoint Charlie, seen from West Berlin in 1960.

The Disastrous Return of Cold War Strategy

Hal Brands urges the U.S. to make China and Russia “pay exorbitantly” for their policies. History shows that has never worked.
Mark Rudd addresses students as president of the Columbia chapter of Students for a Democratic Society on May 3, 1968.

Mark Rudd’s Lessons From SDS and the Weather Underground for Today’s Radicals

The famous activist reflects on what radicals like him got right and got wrong, and what today’s socialists should learn from his experiences.
A drawing of the Boston Massacre.

Early American Urban Protests

Eric Hinderaker offers a masterclass in how to peel back the layers of data, scholarship, and propaganda to understand what we call the Boston Massacre.

Allen Ginsberg at the End of America

The polarized dialogue over Vietnam and the civil rights movement convinced Ginsberg that America was teetering on the precipice of a fall.

Why Were the 1970s So… Weird?

When the counterculture optimism receded, things got ugly.

New Memorial Day: Remembering Children Killed in School

It’s an exhaustive list. Far longer and deeper than you might suspect.

Remember the Orangeburg Massacre

The February 1968 killing of three student protesters in Orangeburg, SC marked a turning point in the black freedom struggle.

In 1968, Three Students Were Killed by Police. Today, Few Remember the Orangeburg Massacre

The shootings occurred two years before the deaths at Kent State University, but remain a little-known incident in the Civil Rights Movement.
Richard Nixon

What Happens When There’s a Madman in the White House?

“When the president does it, that means it is not illegal.”

Filter Results:

Suggested Filters:

Idea