RealClearHistory - Opinion, News, Analysis, Video and Polls

The events and military buildup in the Middle East that led to the U.S. striking Iran on February 2026. Read More

The U.S. and Iran have a long history of tensions, including a CIA-led campaign to topple Iran's prime minister in 1953 and the taking of... Read More

Iran's war with the United States did not begin last week or last year. It began in 1979, when revolutionaries seized the U.S. Embassy in... Read More

The countries were united by weapons and oil until the 1979 Islamic revolution tore their friendship apart Read More

The phrase ‘Middle East’ sounds neutral, but it was born from empire. Coined by Western strategists looking out from London, it placed... Read More

On March 13, 1968, 320 gallons of VX nerve agent spilled into Skull Valley Utah. The following day, over 6,000 sheep were dead, exposing the... Read More

Free and enslaved black soldiers spilled their blood in the revolution for a chance at a freedom they might never experience. Read More

A few days ago, the President closed the longest state of the union on record with a moment of historical introspection. Referencing the two... Read More

What the economists and New Dealers missed after World War II—and why America flourished Read More

Have we ever had a more successful yet somehow forgettable king than Henry VII? A century ago, the Dictionary of National Biography could... Read More

After 18 years of living in Greece’s capital, Rebecca Hall has discovered that some of the city’s most impressive artefacts aren’t in... Read More

Incredible discoveries keep happening in the most unlikely places. Read More

A team of archaeologists in central Italy has uncovered a sealed Etruscan tomb dating back 2,600 years, what they found inside left them... Read More

The limestone oval is carved with a dark, thin rectangle on which ancient people repeatedly moved game pieces Read More

The highs and the lows on the way to modern America. Read More

When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in the middle of the Civil War, he was not just changing the terms of... Read More

Misha Glenny and guests discuss the origins and harsh realities of the gladiator life. Read More

Brothers & Freeborn Black men, William & Ben Frank enlisted in the Continental Army. They gambled military service would earn them a better... Read More

February 24, 1868. The House of Representatives moves to impeach Andrew Johnson, making him the first president impeached in US history. Read More

The Cancelled Prime Minister: The Extraordinary Rise and Tragic Fall of Ramsay MacDonald by Walter Reid finds the romance behind... Read More

Black History Week was launched to correct the record—and show why inclusive American history matters. Read More

Lauren Yee’s play about the early post-Soviet era in St. Petersburg is a very funny tragedy. Read More

Her role as a historic hero or villain depends on the movement in question, but looking at her as a mother and daughter adds depth to her... Read More

Regime change might seem straightforward at first. Not so fast, says history. At least when the United States is involved. Read More

The mutual resentments that have fueled tensions between the US and Iran have simmered for nearly half a century Read More

American patriots began a conflict that spread around the globe. Read More

Britain and France battle over control of North America Read More

When Operation Bribie ended, eight Australians were dead and 27 were wounded. The men who survived were divided over whether to call it a... Read More

From ancient cave drawings to the Internet, men have been reporting their wars almost as long as they have been fighting them. Read More

What the economists and New Dealers missed after World War II—and why America flourished Read More

Unpacking the meaning of an Asafo flag, the military banner first created in the coastal villages of Ghana in the 17th century, can feel like... Read More

An anthropologist has spent years investigating reports of ape-like creatures on Flores Island. Read More

The personal library of Henry Knox encompasses a wide array of topics, from Middle Eastern civilization to philosophy to military tactics. Read More

The Norman Conquest is credited with reshaping England, but was 1066 really all that? Read More

Scientists believe they have found evidence of written thoughts of Stone Age people on ancient objects. Read More

When Charlotte Brontë died—the last of her massively talented family to succumb to an early death—the press entered a feeding frenzy. A... Read More

This collection of maps tells the story of World War II in Europe and Africa (1939–1945), a global conflict that emerged from unresolved... Read More

The highs and the lows on the way to modern America. Read More

Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company and inventor of the iconic Model T, was a towering figure in 20th-century America. A pacifist,... Read More