Person

Harry S. Truman

Related Excerpts

Hating on Herbert Hoover

Hoover was a brilliant manager, a wizard of logistics, and an effective humanitarian. Why do we remember him as a failure?

When the U.S. Government Tried to Fight Communism With Buddhism

Recent violence in Myanmar reminds us that religion has long been central to Southeast Asian politics.

The Secret History of FEMA

The federal agency in charge of hurricane Harvey cleanup has a weird Cold War legacy.
partner

When ‘Free Speech’ Becomes a Political Weapon

What we can learn from liberal anti-communists.
Putin and Trump.
partner

How a WWI-era Law Set the Stage for the Trump-Russia Controversy

And why Congress should do more to wrest back control of economic sanctions.
partner

The Executive Abroad

An interactive depiction of more than a century's worth of foreign travel by U.S. presidents and secretaries of state.
Franklin Roosevelt in front of news microphones.

The Rise and Fall of the Word 'Monopoly' in American Life

For several decades, the term was a fixture of newspaper headlines and campaign speeches. Then something changed.

The Confederate Flag Largely Disappeared after the Civil War

The fight against civil rights brought it back.

The Racial Segregation of American Cities Was Anything But Accidental

A housing policy expert explains how federal government policies created the suburbs and the inner city.

How America Shed the Taboo Against Preventive War

If Dwight Eisenhower or Ronald Reagan were transported to 2017, they would be shocked that the United States is considering an attack on North Korea.
Billboard that reads "God Loves You" above an American flag and doves.

One Nation Under Gods

Despite what Steve King says, the U.S. was never a Christian nation.

How Medicare Both Salved and Scarred American Health Care

The 52-year-old federal program's successes reflect a complex legacy

“This is Not Who We Are,” Critics Say About the Refugee Ban. But What if it is?

Fighting over immigration is central to the American story.

Victorian Era Drones: How Model Trains Transformed from Cutting-Edge to Quaint

Nostalgia and technological innovation paved the way for the rise of model-train giant Lionel.
The Moore’s Ford Bridge lynching reenactment.

A Lynching in Georgia: The Living Memorial to America’s History of Racist Violence

Activists in Georgia have been re-enacting the infamous 1946 murders of two black men and their wives.
CIA Director George Bush and President Gerald R. Ford during a Meeting in the Cabinet Room

The Art of Administration: On Greg Barnhisel’s “Cold War Modernists”

Cold War modernists of the title do not seem to be the painters, sculptors, poets, and novelists who produced the original works.

The Best Intentions

The Manhattan Project scientists tried to advocate for nuclear de-escalation-instead, they unwittingly abetted the Vietnam War.

The Atomic Bomb and the Nuclear Age

A primary source set and teaching guide created by educators.
Crowd with hands up at World Youth Festival

When the C.I.A. Duped College Students

Inside a famous Cold War deception.
Black and White photograph of George F. Kennan sitting at a microphone.

U.S. Foreign Policy in the Cold War was Designed by a Bigot

George Kennan's diaries reveal just how much he hated America.