Henry Kissinger, Who Shaped U.S. Cold War History, Dies at 100
The most powerful secretary of state of the postwar era, he was both celebrated and reviled. His complicated legacy still resonates in relations with China, Russia and the Middle East.
The Secret History of Gun Rights: How Lawmakers Armed the N.R.A.
Long before the National Rifle Association tightened its grip on Congress, won over the Supreme Court and prescribed more guns as a solution to gun violence — before all that, Representative John D. Dingell Jr. had a plan. First jotted on a yellow legal pad in 1975, it would transform the N.R.A. from a fusty…
Biden Creates Monument to Emmett Till Amid Fights Over Black History
In 1955, the mother of Emmett Till wrote to President Dwight D. Eisenhower pleading for justice for her 14-year-old son, whose murder galvanized the civil rights movement. In a telegram sent to the White House, she asked that he personally see to it that “justice is meted out to all persons involved in the beastly…
DeSantis Faces Swell of Criticism Over Florida’s New Standards for Black History
After an overhaul to Florida’s African American history standards, Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state’s firebrand governor campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, is facing a barrage of criticism this week from politicians, educators and historians, who called the state’s guidelines a sanitized version of history. For instance, the standards say that middle schoolers should be…
New Oral History Peers Back at Obama, His Era and the Tradeoffs He Made
WASHINGTON — On a day of high drama at an international climate change conference early in his administration, President Barack Obama confronted a senior Chinese official who offered what the American delegation considered a weak commitment. Mr. Obama dismissed the offer. Not good enough. The Chinese official erupted. “What do you mean that’s not good…
A Brief History of Memorial Day
Memorial Day weekend is among the busiest for travel in the United States and the unofficial start of summer; a day for cookouts, beach trips and auto races. But how did Memorial Day, held on the last Monday of May in honor of America’s war dead, begin? Here is a brief refresher: Honoring the Civil…
Biden Announces Re-election Bid, Defying Trump and History
As Mr. Biden formally kicked off his campaign, he appeared at this point to be a virtual lock to win his party’s nomination. While many Democrats had hoped he would cede to a younger candidate, no formidable challenger for the nomination has emerged. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a son of the iconic assassinated senator and…