History | Reason Archives (original) (raw)
Abolish the Army
"Standing armies are dangerous to liberty," Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 29.
Matthew Petti | 11.14.2024 6:00 AM
In Praise of Ignoring Facts: A Review of Jack Balkin's "Memory and Authority"
Why constitutional theory needs more theory.
Stephen E. Sachs |The Volokh Conspiracy | 11.11.2024 10:26 AM
Modern Crafters Rediscover an Old Sweater
Knitting's evolution from necessity to leisure activity is a testament to economic progress.
Fiona Harrigan | 11.11.2024 6:00 AM
Review: Evil on Trial Seeks To Reach A Younger Audience
WWII correspondent William L. Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich comes to life in this Netflix docuseries.
Bekah Congdon | 11.8.2024 6:00 AM
What Is the 'Working Class'?
When even most upper-income Republicans say they're working class, the term has become meaningless.
Eric Boehm | 11.4.2024 6:00 AM
Us-Versus-Them: The Pronouns of Populism
Populism’s pronoun usage taps into the darker elements of the human condition.
Jay Stooksberry | 11.2.2024 6:00 AM
That Time Al Franken Kept Telling Me Jokes About Mullets
There was music in the cafés at night, and talk of liberal-libertarian cooperation was in the air.
Jesse Walker | 11.1.2024 4:23 PM
After 100 Years, End the Open Fields Doctrine
Federal agents are allowed to search private property without a warrant under this Prohibition-era Supreme Court precedent.
Joe Lancaster | 10.31.2024 6:00 AM
How the Political Spectrum Turned Inside Out
From 9/11 to the COVID-19 pandemic, crisis moments keep reshaping the political landscape.
Jesse Walker | 10.26.2024 6:00 AM
Neal Stephenson's Polostan Is a Compact Epic About Communism, Science, and the Dawn of the Atomic Age
A short-yet-sprawling historical tour of the atomic age.
Peter Suderman | 10.16.2024 10:26 AM
The Presidential We
How U.S. presidents habitually use—and abuse—pronouns to deceive.
Jay Stooksberry | 10.14.2024 11:45 AM
A D.C. Cocktail Bar Takes on Taboos
"The more you tell people they can't have something, the more they want it."
Peter Suderman | 10.14.2024 6:00 AM
How Did Immigration Politics Get So Toxic?
Changing migration patterns, outdated policy tools, and growing presidential power made it inevitable.
Fiona Harrigan | 10.12.2024 6:00 AM
Review: A Medieval Black Comedy With No Monarch
The state is almost completely absent in 'The Decameron. The characters don't exactly handle this responsibility well.
Emma Camp | 10.11.2024 6:30 AM
Looking at Reagan Through the Lens of Trump
Max Boot's biography of Ronald Reagan is deeply researched and informative, but it sometimes stumbles when it tries to use the past to make sense of the present.
Marcus Witcher | 10.10.2024 4:00 PM
Hot to Trot: Puzzle #62
"Homer's missus"
Stella Zawistowski | 9.27.2024 8:00 AM
Mike Rowe on Patriotism, Paul Harvey, and American Progress
"We're never going to be finished. Our country is a work in progress," says the producer of the new Something to Stand For documentary.
Nick Gillespie | 9.26.2024 6:30 AM
Empires Thrive on Pluralism, Not Brutality
Empires with more room for cultural difference were more successful, anthropologist Thomas Barfield argues.
Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili | 9.24.2024 6:00 AM
A Czech Clock's Forgotten Pasts
The Olomouc clock's changing design reflects history's victors and their legacies.
Fiona Harrigan | 9.23.2024 6:30 AM
The Libertarian Pioneer Who Wrote for America's Biggest Black Newspaper
To Rose Wilder Lane, African Americans' achievements were all the more amazing given their disadvantaged starting point.
David T. Beito and Marcus Witcher | 9.21.2024 6:00 AM
No, Trump-Style Tariffs Do Not Grow the Economy
The America of the past grew in spite of tariffs, not because of them.
Veronique de Rugy | 9.19.2024 11:37 AM
We Still Live in the Physical World
The digital world has not effaced our humanity, no matter what social critics like Christine Rosen say.
Virginia Postrel | 9.10.2024 8:00 AM
The Fantastical Scenarios of Yuval Noah Harari: From the Roman Past to the AI Future
In his haste to cram complex events into crisp little episodes, the historian passes over inconvenient details.
Corbin Barthold | 9.10.2024 7:00 AM
How Inflation Breaks Our Brains
From salt riots to toilet paper runs, history shows that rising prices make consumers—and voters—grumpy and irrational.
Eric Boehm | 9.7.2024 6:00 AM
When Leftists Were Free Traders
In Pax Economica, historian Marc-William Palen chronicles the left-wing history of free trade.
Anthony Comegna | 9.5.2024 7:00 AM
Review: A Satirical How-To Guide for Imperialists
Freedom "requires you to curtail freedom of speech and freedom of the press," the book declares.
Jesse Walker | 8.30.2024 6:00 AM
When Attacks on Anarchists Accidentally Improved Free Speech Law
After the crackdown on anarchists died down, it became more difficult to imagine anyone could go to jail in America solely for political heresy.
Brian Doherty | 8.18.2024 6:00 AM
The Republican Radical Who Helped Launch the Gay Rights Movement
Dorr Legg saw the government as homosexuals' enemy.
Neil J. Young | 8.11.2024 6:00 AM
What Causes Capitalism?
British economist Geoffrey M. Hodgson argues private property and individual enterprise fueled the Great Enrichment.
Stephen Davies | 8.10.2024 6:00 AM
Slavery Was a Global Phenomenon
American slavery was horrible—and far from unique.
John Stossel | 8.7.2024 1:20 PM
Review: James Retells Huckleberry Finn From Jim's Perspective
Author Percival Everett reimagines Mark Twain's novel from the enslaved character's point of view.
C.J. Ciaramella | 8.2.2024 6:00 AM
'Heritage Americans' Were Unassimilated Immigrants Once Too
Ellis Island arrivals maintained close ties to the Old World for generations. Nativists want us to forget that.
Matthew Petti | 7.8.2024 12:45 PM
Dan Carlin on Podcasting, History, and Hero Worship
"The past is there to teach us what can happen," the Hardcore History podcaster tells Reason's Nick Gillespie.
Nick Gillespie | 6.29.2024 6:00 AM
Review: Blowback Podcast Exhumes the Seeds of the Afghan Conflict
Hosts Noah Kulwin and Brendan James explain how proxy war fighters can become America's enemies.
Matthew Petti | 6.28.2024 6:00 AM
Mike Rowe: Make America Stand for Something Again
The Dirty Jobs host talks about patriotism, history, and his new movie for Independence Day 2024.
Nick Gillespie | 6.26.2024 11:00 AM
The Best of Reason: What If the U.S. Cuts Off Aid to Israel?
Ending U.S. aid would give Washington less leverage in the Middle East. That's why it's worth doing.
Matt Welch | 6.25.2024 6:00 PM
A Brief, Biased History of the Culture Wars
Kliph Nesteroff's book Outrageous turns into a screed against conservatives.
Steven Kurtz | 6.22.2024 6:00 AM
Reflections on Juneteenth
Juneteenth celebrates a great American achievement, and a triumph for the nation's Founding principles. Also, the culture war over the holiday is lame, and hopefuly coming to an end.
Ilya Somin |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.19.2024 1:03 PM
It Didn't Start With Trump
It didn't start with libertarians either—or the 1990s.
Brian Doherty | 6.18.2024 7:00 AM
The Dark Side of Alexander Hamilton
The first treasury secretary's plans would have created cartels that mainly benefited the wealthy at the expense of small competitors.
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel | 6.16.2024 6:30 AM
Walt's Friend: Puzzle #46
"Stuff slung in debates"
Stella Zawistowski | 6.14.2024 8:00 AM
Review: Charles Fort's Underrated Influence
The eccentric writer cast a long shadow, leaving a mark not only on the world of Bigfoot hunters and UFO buffs but in literature and radical politics.
Jesse Walker | 6.14.2024 6:30 AM
The Black Panther Who Was Banned From the Ballot
A segment of American voters want insurrectionist candidates. Who are election officials to deny them?
Brian Doherty | 6.10.2024 6:00 AM
What If the U.S. Cuts Off Aid to Israel?
Ending U.S. aid would give Washington less leverage in the Middle East. That's why it's worth doing.
Matt Welch | 6.9.2024 6:00 AM
David Boaz, RIP
The longtime Cato Institute executive vice president was one of his era's most effective explainers of libertarianism.
Brian Doherty | 6.7.2024 10:04 AM
Econ History: Puzzle #45
"Protection from a flood"
Stella Zawistowski | 6.7.2024 8:00 AM
'An Embarrassing Mistake': Neil Gorsuch Rails Into Florida's Use of 6-Person Juries
The Sixth Amendment was originally seen as vital to preserving liberty. Yet it has been consistently watered down.
Billy Binion | 5.28.2024 5:04 PM
The Great Black Pope and Asian Nazi Debacle of 2024
Exciting new AI tools are still being shaped by human beings.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 5.28.2024 6:00 AM