Notes: A group of scholars from the US, Egypt, and Jordan have established an archive, Remembering Gaza Scholars, with names, affiliations, and photographs of academic colleagues from universities and colleges in Gaza (82 so far) who have died in the Israeli genocide…. New features on the US Foreign Policy History & Resource Guide, sponsored by the Peace History Society and H-PAD, include a book-length essay on “U.S. Continental Expansion and Native American Dispossession.”
Links to Recent Articles of Interest
By Alfred McCoy, TomDispatch, posted April 23
Consists mainly of historical examples of empires that overreached, from Athens in 413 BC to Portugal in the late sixteenth century and Britain in 1956. The author teaches US history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The most recent of his books is War on Five Continents: A Global History of Empire and Espionage (Haymarket Books, 2025).
“Facing Up to the Horrors of the My Lai Massacre”
By Michael G. Vann, Jacobin, posted April 23
Evokes the memory of what happened on March 16, 1968 when US soldiers shot and killed more than 500 defenseless people, of all ages, in a Vietnamese peasant village. The author takes the reader on a visit to the village today. “It is at once a museum, a graveyard, a pilgrimage site, a land of wandering ghosts, and a living community.” The author teaches history at California State University, Sacramento.
By Timothy Messer-Kruse, Portside, posted April 22 (from CounterPunch)
A critique of bills (recently passed in Idaho and close to passage in Ohio and New Hampshire) that seek in different ways to dictate what is taught (and not taught) in public schools. The author is a historian who teaches Cultural Studies at Bowling Green State University. His most recent book is Slavery’s Fugitives and the Making of the United States Constitution (LSU Press, 2024).
“The Constitutional Origins of the War in Iran”
By Richard Drake, CounterPunch, posted April 22
Evokes the arguments of Patrick Henry and other anti-Federalists who claimed in debates over ratification of the US Constitution in 1787-1789 that the document gave too much power to the president The article elucidates views of the late historian William Appleman Williams on continuities of US foreign policy while noting the extremes represented by Donald Trump. The author is a research professor of history at the University of Montana and has written books on the anti-imperialists Charles A. Beard and Robert LaFollette.
By Lawrence Wittner, Peace & Health Blog, posted April 21
A concise factual account of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action negotiated over two years between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and the European Union, signed in 2015 and discarded by Donald Trump in 2018. The author is a professor emeritus of history at SUNY Albany.
“65 Years after First One, Trump’s ‘Bay of Pigs’ May Take Many Forms”
By Peter Kornbluh, Responsible Statecraft, posted April 20 (from The Nation)
“The CIA-organized paramilitary effort to roll back the Castro revolution remains a cautionary history of the high costs of US intervention – and elsewhere.”. The author is a senior analyst for the National Security Archive at George Washington University.
“Henry Thoreau on Civil Disobedience”
By Alan Singer, Daily Kos, posted April 19
Noting the recently released PBS classroom series on Thoreau’s classic essay “Civil Disobedience,” the author discusses his own ambivalence about civil disobedience while presenting excerpts from Thoreau’s essay that embody themes resonating from Thoreau’s day to our own. The author is a historian who is director of social studies education at Hofstra University.
“This Isn’t Just Trump’s War on Iran. Both Parties Paved the Way for Disaster”
By Stephen Zunes, Truthout, posted April 17
Gives multiple examples of instances in which Democratic platforms and (at times overwhelmingly) Democratic members of Congress have helped to feed a hysterical view of threats allegedly posed by Iran. The author teaches Politics at San Francisco State University, where he chairs the Middle Eastern Studies Program. He has written widely on the Middle East and US foreign policy.
By Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American (on Substack), posted April 16
Starts with the death of Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1865 and runs through a capsule history of American divisiveness up to President Trump’s pardon of January 6 rioters, then ends by recalling Walt Whitman’s tribute to Lincoln. The author teaches US history and is widely known for her “Letters from an American” blog.
By Yakov M. Rabkin, Informed Comment, posted April 11
Offers historical context in the history of Zionism for the Israeli air force’s bombing of a synagogue in Tehran on April 7, during Passover. The author is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Montreal.
“Khamenei’s Killing and the Perilous Death of the Assassination Ban”
By Luca Trenta and Arturo Jimenez-Bacardi, Just Security, posted April 1
A detailed account of the slow erosion of the US policy prohibiting assassinations of foreign leaders, enunciated by President Ford in the 1970s and reaffirmed by Presidents Carter and Reagan. “[T]he killing of Khamenei and the acceptance of it in the United States put the final nail in the coffin” of the no-assassinations policy. The authors both teach International Relations, Luca Trenta at Swansea University, U.K., and Arturo Jimenez-Bacardi at the University of South Florida.
Thanks to Rusti Eisenberg, Jerise Fogel, and an anonymous reader for flagging articles included in the above list, and to Roger Peace for valuable consulting. Suggestions can be sent to jimobrien48@gmail.com.