Tag: History

Revisiting Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel

Revisiting Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel

By Ari Mandel

Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel (New York: Norton, 1997) is one of those books that feels revelatory the first time you read it. It takes a question that most people rarely stop to ask, “Why some societies ended up rich and powerful while others did not?,” and reframes it in a way that is both unsettling and reassuring. Unsettling, because it strips away comforting myths about cultural superiority and human exceptionalism, and reassuring, because it offers an explanation that does not rely on racism, divine favor, or civilizational destiny. Diamond’s central claim is that geography, rather than biology or culture, played the decisive role in shaping global inequality. In the epilogue, he steps back to defend this framework, clarify its limits, and argue that history itself can be studied scientifically.

Diamond’s ambition is enormous; he is trying to explain a great deal of human history with a single organizing framework. Geography, in his telling, shapes the availability of domesticable plants and animals, the timing of agriculture, population density, technological development, and ultimately conquest. By the time Europeans reached the Americas, the outcome was already largely predetermined by thousands of years of environmental advantage. Diamond is careful to insist that geography constrains rather than dictates outcomes, but it is hard to miss how much explanatory weight geography is made to carry.

In the epilogue, Diamond anticipates the charge of environmental determinism and pushes back. History, he argues, can still be studied scientifically, even if we cannot run controlled experiments. Continents and societies function as natural experiments, allowing historians to compare different environments and identify broad, recurring patterns. Diamond is explicit about what he believes his framework does and does not explain. He is not accounting for individual leaders, specific events, or moral responsibility.Instead he is explaining why some societies had early advantages and others did not.

When Diamond stays within these bounds, his arguments are often extremely persuasive. His comparison between Eurasia and the Americas is a good example. Eurasia benefited from an abundance of domesticable plants and animals, including wheat, barley, cattle, pigs, and horses, which supported early agriculture, large populations, and dense settlements. Dense populations, in turn, produced epidemic diseases, and over time, immunity. When Europeans arrived in the Americas, they brought not only steel weapons and guns, but germs to which they had long been exposed. Indigenous populations, lacking similar disease histories, were devastated. Diamond’s point is not that Europeans were smarter or more capable, but that they inherited a vastly different historical trajectory shaped by their environment.

The same logic applies to Diamond’s discussion of continental axes, particularly the contrast between Eurasia’s east-west orientation and the Americas’ north-south orientation. Eurasia’s east-west axis allowed crops, animals, and technologies to spread across similar latitudes and climates with relative ease. Innovations could diffuse over thousands of miles without needing to adapt to radically different environments. In the Americas, by contrast, north-south diffusion meant crossing deserts, jungles, mountains, and sharp climatic transitions. This slowed the spread of agriculture and technology and limited large scale integration. Over millennia, these differences compounded. Geography, in Diamond’s account, does not merely shape local conditions, it shapes connectivity itself.

Where Diamond’s framework begins to strain is when it starts to feel like a master key rather than one tool among many. In the epilogue, he insists that geography is not destiny, yet culture often appears in his account as a thin downstream effect of environmental constraints. Culture adapts to geography, rather than actively shaping how societies respond once similar options exist. This is where the model starts to feel incomplete. Culture is not just decoration layered on top of material conditions. It is the air we breathe, the water we swim in, and the lens through which material realities are interpreted. Societies facing similar geographic constraints can still make very different choices, build different institutions, and value different outcomes.

Diamond acknowledges this problem in theory but tends to underplay it in practice. He is strongest at explaining origins and weakest at explaining persistence and divergence. Geography helps explain why certain possibilities existed, but it does not fully explain why some societies embraced particular paths while others did not, even when those paths were available. Once agriculture, technology, and states exist, culture feeds back into material conditions in complex ways. Institutions, norms, and values can amplify or blunt geographic advantages, and these feedback loops receive less attention than they deserve.

This tension becomes even more apparent when Diamond’s framework is applied to contemporary global developments. Geography still matters enormously. Climate vulnerability, access to arable land, exposure to disease, and proximity to trade routes continue to shape global inequality. The uneven impact of climate change, for example, follows geographic lines Diamond would immediately recognize. At the same time, globalization, technology, and political institutions complicate the picture. Some societies have used technology and collective action to mitigate geographic disadvantages, while others have failed to do so despite favorable conditions. Here again, culture and politics mediate geography’s effects.

Diamond deserves credit for what he is trying to do. He offers a corrective to explanations that blame the victims of history for their own misfortune or attribute inequality to inherent superiority. His framework insists that history’s winners were not morally better or biologically superior, merely luckier in where they happened to have been born. That insight alone makes Guns, Germs, and Steel worth reading.

The epilogue clarifies what Diamond believes his project to be. Geography is not the whole story, but it is an essential part of it. Diamond is at his best when he treats geography as an ingredient rather than a recipe. History is shaped by environments, material conditions, and culture together. No single theory explains everything. Diamond’s contribution is to remind us how much of the story begins long before anyone makes a conscious choice, and how deeply the ground beneath our feet has shaped the world we inherited.

Spreading ‘Liberty’: Chautauqua County Women were a Force in the Underground Railroad

Spreading ‘Liberty’: Chautauqua County Women were a Force in the Underground Railroad

By Wendy Straight

(Reprinted from Observer Today, January 18, 2026) https://www.observertoday.com/news/top-stories/2026/01/spreading-liberty-chautauqua-county-women-were-a-force-in-the-underground-railroad/

From left: Carloyn E. Storum Loguen about 1860; Mary Ann Brigham Brown’s husband Rev. Abel Brown under assault in Westfield NY about 1835.

Chautauqua County women Carolyn Loguen (1817-1867) and Mary Ann Brown (1814-1842) were active in New York state’s anti-slavery movement and in the Underground Railroad. Working mostly in the shadows of their widely known husbands, the women themselves were locally famous for their own efforts in the cause of freedom.

Carolyn E. Storum Loguen of Busti married the formerly enslaved minister Jermain Wesley Loguen (1813-1872). The couple then operated an Underground Railroad station in Syracuse. They had six children, and their daughter, Amelia, married the eldest son of the nationally known abolitionist Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), who also was formerly enslaved.

In 1851, the Rev. Loguen assisted in the rescue of William Henry, a formerly enslaved cooper working in Syracuse. Henry had been arrested under America’s Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, but he was rescued by abolitionists and then sheltered in Canada. Also in 1851, Harrison Williams was arrested under the same law, on Carolyn’s childhood farm in Busti, where her parents operated an Underground Railroad Station. In spite of several attempts to rescue him, Harrison Williams was returned to slavery. The historical marker paying tribute to Harrison Williams and the Storums stands today on Sanbury Road near Northrup Road in Busti. Another historical marker, to both Caroline Loguen and her husband, stands today at NYS Route 92 and Pine Street in Syracuse.

In 1854, Carolyn’s parents coordinated the widely attended Anti-Slavery Convention in Sugar Grove Pa., near Busti. Both Rev. Loguen and Frederick Douglass were featured speakers at that major event. However, Mary Ann Brigham Brown and her husband had been deceased long before the significant convention in Sugar Grove. Mary Ann was from nearby Fredonia, and she married another famous abolitionist, Rev. Abel Brown, Jr. (1810-1844) of nearby Forestville.

In the early 1830s, Mary Ann had met her future husband, while both attended the Fredonia Academy, which formerly stood on the site of today’s Opera House and Village Hall. The couple then traveled throughout the northeast, active in the Underground Railroad. Scholars have speculated that when the Western New Yorker Eber M. Pettit mentioned in his 1879 anti-slavery memoir that there was a “President” of the Underground Railroad, he was referring to the martyr Rev. Brown. Rev. Brown was so outspoken in his beliefs that he was often beaten by angry dissenters. His 1844 death in Canandaigua was said to have been from injuries sustained in just such a beating.

Another assault upon Brown had occurred in Chautauqua County a few years earlier, while he was preaching in Westfield. That was the period when New York State’s Anti-Slavery Society was being organized in central New York State, an endeavor also met with violent protests. However, within a few years of Brown’s beating in Westfield, the collected voices of Chautauqua County’s other abolitionists attracted increasingly more of their neighbors into what became known as “the liberty cause,” and the Underground Railroad became more safely active here, until the 1850 law. Although that law, signed by New York’s own Millard Filmore, generally made life dangerous for those involved in the Underground Railroad, the same law actually backfired in Chautauqua County, by drawing even more people into the anti-slavery movement.

Mary Ann died two years before her husband, shortly after the birth of their second child. Her children were then raised in Fredonia by her mother Mary (Polly) Dix Brigham Taylor (1790-1857), who also opened her home to a freedom seeker in 1844. There is no historical marker to memorialize Mary Ann, her husband, her children, or her mother, but a Fredonia mansion stands today where Mary Ann’s children grew up. The former Taylor farm is located on U.S. Route 20, just west of Fredonia.

After the Civil War, Daniel Fairbanks greatly expanded and modernized the former Taylor home. For the 1881 Chautauqua County Atlas, the elegant, new house was illustrated in the name of Sayles Aldrich.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Wilda B. and J. Carter Rowland operated a gift shop behind the mansion, at the approximate location of part of the former Taylor home.

Lessons for Today from a Landmark New Jersey Desegregation Case

Lessons for Today from a Landmark New Jersey Desegregation Case

By Lamont Repollet

Education has the potential to be the great equalizer that truly changes the trajectory of people’s lives. The struggle to realize that potential has a long history here in New Jersey. Looking back, we know Black activists were demanding civil rights reform in education here in the Garden State more than a decade before the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision desegregated public schools across the nation in 1954. Concerted efforts by the NAACP, other advocates and mothers weary from discrimination in education led to legal battles that paved the way for changes and pivotal federal legislation. One of the precedent-setting cases that helped the arc of the moral universe bend toward justice, to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was New Jersey’s Hedgepeth and Williams v. Board of Education (1944).

In 1943, two mothers from Trenton, Gladys Hedgepeth and Berline Williams, attempted to enroll their children in a neighborhood middle school. The school, the women were told, wasn’t “built for Negroes.” As a result, they enrolled their children in a Blacks-only school more than two miles away while simultaneously filing lawsuits against the Board of Education of Trenton. Represented by Robert Queen of the NAACP, the case made its way to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled intentional segregation in public schools to be a violation of New Jersey law. Schools in New Jersey would no longer be segregated.

In the courts, the Hedgepath-Williams decision proved to be a precedent on which proponents of desegregation could build the historic case that ended legal racial segregation in schools across the nation, Brown v. Board of Education. In his legal brief for that case, attorney Thurgood Marshall cited the Hedgepeth–Williams decision. Ultimately, racial segregation was deemed unconstitutional -– even if the segregated schools were otherwise equal in quality.

The broader impact of the historic ruling was profound. It resulted in a massive shift in the national landscape of racial justice and the American judicial system as a whole. The next year, New Jersey’s state legislature passed a fair employment practices act, with a fledgling enforcement division, that prohibited racial discrimination in hiring practices. The number of Black teachers rose exponentially.

Further racial barrier-breaking developments also occurred. New Jersey’s State Constitution of 1947 codified the desegregation of public schools. In 1949, a civil rights bill in the state banned discrimination in public accommodations. New Jersey became a model for New York and Pennsylvania, and ultimately the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Today, nearly eight decades since the Hedgepeth-Williams ruling laid the groundwork for even more dramatic reforms nationwide, race-based inequalities remain pervasive in our schools. How do we follow in the footsteps of our predecessors and fulfill the mandate secured by trailblazers like Gladys Hedgepeth and Berline Williams? We need to compensate teachers equitably across districts to attract and retain quality candidates of all races to the field, but specifically Black educators. We must offer professional development, research opportunities, and holistic support to new and early-stage educators so they can succeed. Without these resources, we are setting young teachers up for failure before they even begin. When our educators feel whole, their students can be at the top of their game, too.

Furthermore, we cannot underestimate the power and importance of Black students seeing people who look like them in the classroom and in leadership positions across academia. Last year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Trenton’s population was nearly 50 percent Black, 37 percent Hispanic and 13 percent white, yet the hiring of teachers of color there and elsewhere is slow to catch up to the diversity of its students. Imagine how much greater our students’ academic achievement will be when more Black educators teach Black children Black history, as well as all of the other subjects they are taught in school. Or how high their standards and visions of self-actualization will soar when students of color see themselves more fully represented in the sciences and research, the arts, business, sports, civil rights and in positions of leadership in these fields and others.

It’s also high time we invest more in higher education. We must continue to demand funding and resource allocations for our schools and universities, particularly prioritizing underserved communities. From pre-K through college and into graduate school, we must find and reach the undiscovered brilliant minds, the dreamers, the entrepreneurs, the leaders who are right there in our midst waiting to be put on an educational path that lets them become their full selves. Education is a pathway to upward mobility. It is a way for students to break free from the cycle of poverty and oppression in order to achieve their dreams. When we invest in equal education for all, we are building a stronger future for all of us.

In God’s eyes, we are created equal. However, history and current events remind us that we are not all treated equally. Everyone hears a lot about self-determination and being the architect of their own future. That’s easy to say when you are born into privilege and opportunity. It is a much more difficult proposition for anyone facing racism, systemic negligence and prejudice throughout their lives. We as a community cannot ignore the disadvantages that hold so many of our people back. Instead, we must leverage our positions as educators to create programs and deliver resources that will make a difference in students’ lives. Like the activists of today and decades past, we must work relentlessly to make sure that governments and systems of education do their part. Hedgepeth and Williams v. Board of Education is a call to equity in action as much now as it was in 1944, and we must rededicate ourselves to its moral imperative.

Hidden Histories: What the Slave Masters of the Bronx Left Us

Hidden Histories: What the Slave Masters of the Bronx Left Us

By Alice Augustine, Reposted from Amsterdam News, February 5, 2026

This fall, I introduced 42 Lehman College honors students to the Enslaved African Burial Ground at Van Cortlandt Park. As the college’s director of Campus Honors and Scholar Engagement, I have made it mandatory that all Campus Honors students participate in this project, Hidden Histories, in their first year.

Colleagues and students are often surprised to learn that there were enslaved people as far north as the Bronx. However, Jacobus Van Cortlandt, who served two terms as mayor of New York City, profited from the buying and selling of Africans in Manhattan’s markets. A walk through the Bronx reveals streets and parks named after other plantation owners — the Pells, the Morrises, and the Fords.

My students learn firsthand how difficult it is to find information on people of African descent who lived in the colonial Bronx. But it is not impossible. Over the last two years, they have dug through original documents to learn about the talented and resourceful Africans whose labor contributed significantly to making early Bronx residents among the wealthiest in the state.

Their stories are hidden in bills of lading, records of sale, runaway ads, wills, legal actions, and diaries. Little Haneh, age 52; Hager, age 42; Long Betty, age 31; Zibia, age 27 — these are four of over 90 names of enslaved people my students have identified and geotagged on a digital map of the colonial Bronx. 

When we started, our goal was to contribute to the Northeast Slavery Record Index at John Jay College. Our initial search yielded little, but we gravitated toward wills after reading “Blacks in the Colonial Bronx”by Lloyd Ultan. The enslaved mostly appeared in recorded history only when wealth changed hands. Ironically, those diligent records of property are now the cracks where history lets in the light.

There were no birth certificates for Africans enslaved in the colonial Bronx and neither were there recordings of deaths. However, the heirs of enslavers were not deprived of their property. In wills, we learned of bequests of linen, kitchenware, land, rugs, and enslaved Africans that heirs would receive. Bequests quickly became our most trusted source of information on the people we have come to see as our ancestors. 

My hope is that more students sign up for the research-intensive phase of the project — the ongoing module invested in unearthing the hidden stories of highly-skilled enslaved Africans. It is too easy to forget the contributions of Blacks in the Bronx when negative and untrue stereotypes of this borough roll off tongues with reckless abandon.

The project is in its third cycle of joint stewardship with volunteers from the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, which has done much to increase awareness. In 2021, Van Cortlandt Lake was renamed the Hester and Piero’s Mill Pond in honor of an enslaved couple — Piero the Miller and his wife Hester. The park now celebrates Juneteenth and Pinkster, an African American holiday which was originally a Dutch celebration of Pentecost. In 2024, the Mellon Foundation awarded a grant to the alliance to engage the community on ideas for a memorial at the Burial Ground. I serve on an advisory council for the construction, along with four of my students.

However, too much remains unknown. My students and the wider Bronx community deserve the chance to know, mourn, and celebrate our ancestors. My students are not historians; their majors span disciplines from biology to art. But almost all have incorporated lessons from this project as they go on to conduct research in their respective fields.

At the northeast corner of the burial ground, my students created an unofficial altar on top of a jagged rock shaped like a bench. They and community members have left flowers and photos of deceased loved ones there. We pour libations with water from Hester and Piero’s lake and call their names aloud as a collective. 

Our hearts are filled with love as we continue to build the project even as funding sources become scarcer. In July, our digital map disappeared from the StoryMaps website after the free version we used was retired. We are currently seeking grants for software to support our findings long-term. Our goal is to make this a community-based research initiative that can be replicated at other colleges and perhaps high schools.

I created Hidden Histories knowing that the answers we seek may take decades to uncover. The process is beautiful and heart-wrenching. We are eager to learn everything we can about the enslaved in the colonial Bronx, even as we are deeply shaken by the cruelty of enslavement. We are, however, clear that our ancestors wanted us to find them and share their stories, and we will keep learning and searching and listening.

Video, Museum and Book Reviews

Video, Museum and Book Reviews

Edited by Alan Singer

The Price of Silence – The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People

“New Jersey is known as the Garden State,” says author Beverly Mills in the two-part documentary The Price of Silence. “We’re known for our blueberries. We’re known for our corn. We’re known for our peaches. But we’re not known for the slaves that were here tilling the soil. We’re not known for the whole history of slavery connected to New Jersey and how slavery was the underpinning of much of the wealth of New Jersey.” Enslavement was prolific from the very founding of New Jersey in the 1600s as a colony and eventual manufacturing hub that supplied the Southern states with leather goods and other products. Its eye on production and profit created a demand for the cost-effective services of the enslaved, a demand that only grew as New Jersey developed into a major maritime port. What’s more, white slave owners at the time could receive the equivalent of land rebates based upon the number of enslaved working their land. “New Jersey was the last Northern state to even attempt to abolish slavery,” says Linda Caldwell Epps, Ph.D. and CEO of 1804 Consultants, in the film. Mills reports New Jersey “was probably the Northern state with the strongest sympathies towards the South. Because it was the Southern-most Northern state, it had a lucrative trade policy with the Southern states.” She remembers “I never learned about this in school. … If anything, we were taught to feel shame. And today…I feel nothing but pride and I feel empowered.”

  • Part one of the documentary, “The Forgotten Story of New Jersey’s Enslaved People,” begins the series with the stunning fact that by the time New Jersey started the slow process of abolishing slavery in 1804, the state had 12,000 men, women, and children in bondage. The film reveals that New Jersey depended profoundly on enslaved people to drive agricultural and economic growth, was sympathetic to the South, and was the last of the Northeastern states to eliminate this heinous practice. https://www.pbs.org/video/price-of-silence-izsgr1/
  • Part two, “The Lasting Impact of Slavery in New Jersey,” continues with New Jersey’s history of bondage and expounds on the fact that the African American community is still feeling the effects of slavery today due to disparities with the White community in median income, criminal justice, and healthcare.
  • Part three, “The Search for Freedom in New Jersey,” examines the Black community’s Great Migration from the Jim Crow South to Newark, New Jersey, during the early years of the 20th century and tells the story through the eyes of descendants of individuals who made the Great Migration North and found life here to be a far cry from what they had hoped for.

  • By telling these fascinating stories through the eyes of descendants of slavery and individuals who have lived through the heartbreaking events depicted in the films, the audience will most certainly be captivated and inspired to learn more.

The Hidden History of Slavery in New York

The Hidden History of Slavery in New York is an Emmy award-winning 30-minute documentary produced by Larry Epstein and narrated by Richard French, a student at Rye Country Day School. The film features EJI founder Bryan Stevenson. Larry Epstein, an Emmy award-winning journalist and documentary writer/producer, is available to speak at schools and colleges. He can be contacted at larryep13@gmail.com. The Hidden History of Slavery in New York is available on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUzlcZXBHAM

Harlem Urban Civil Rights Museum

The museum is set to open in Fall 2026 in an approximately 20,000-square-foot space within the Urban Justice League’s new 400,000-square-foot Manhattan headquarters at 117 West 125th St., across the street from the Studio Museum. The Urban Civil Rights Museum in Harlem presents the history of the Northern civil rights movement. It is a cultural institution that educates, inspires, and activates visitors through powerful storytelling, cultural engagement, and collective action. Rooted in history and in Harlem, it stands as a local anchor and a global destination for learning, reflection, and empowerment.

Morven Museum and Gardens in Princeton

https://www.morven.org/exhibitions/five-independent-souls

Morven house in Princeton, NJ was home to Richard Stockon one the New Jersey’s signers of the Declaration of Independence and five early governors of New Jersey. Morven house’s current exhibit as part of the national celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence is Five Independent Souls highlighting the lives of the five men from New Jersey who voted for independence including Richard Stockon. As wealthy lawyers, the first two generations of Stocktons at Morven enslaved men, women, and children on site. At the expense of the enslaved, the Stocktons lived a comfortable lifestyle and increased their wealth with forced labor. Like other signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Stockton held people in bondage while signing a document that declared “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The rhetoric of revolutionary America—freedom, equality, and liberty—was inescapably intertwined with the practice of slavery. In 1804, the State of New Jersey passed an act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, making it the last northern state to do so. Records indicate that by the time the third generation of Stocktons took ownership of Morven in 1840, enslaved people no longer lived on the property. At first, they were replaced by free African Americans, and then eventually by immigrants from Ireland and Germany. Morven house’s permanent exhibition is “Historic Morven: A Window into America’s Past.”

NY State Parks Launches ‘Enslavement to Freedom 1627-1827-2027’ Initiative

NY State Parks Launches ‘Enslavement to Freedom 1627-1827-2027’ Initiative

In 2027, New York State will recognize the 200th anniversary of the end of legalized slavery in the state (1827) and the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Africans enslaved in the former New Netherland colony (1627). The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation is working with partners across the state to share new research and resources that explore early Black American history in New York as part of its “Enslavement to Freedom: 1627-1827-2027” initiative. Collaborations include exhibition displays with the Office of General Services, educational resources with ConsidertheSourceNY.org, events and programs, and traveling exhibitions available for non-profit and educational organizations throughout the state. During this multi-year interpretive initiative, State Parks and relevant state historic sites are planning will develop exhibits, public programs, and other educational resources. These are expected to explore New York’s history with the institution of slavery and a pivotal period of transition for the Black community in early New York. It provides better context and understanding for later historic movements, like abolition and the Underground Railroad. State Parks is also inviting educational and nonprofit organizations to host one or more of the four available traveling banner exhibitions:

1) Poisonous Seeds: The Dutch and the Institution of Slavery in New York

2) Redefining the Family: One Descendant’s Journey into History

3) Another Face of War: Enslaved and Free Blacks in the Revolution and

4) Many and Varied Hands: The Work and Labor of the Enslaved.

Compact enough to be displayed in various environments, the traveling exhibitions tell stories from the past that center Black experience. “Enslavement to Freedom: 1627-1827-2027” resources and activities are expected to continue to be developed and shared with the public over the next several years. For up-to-date information about this and other Black history initiatives at State Parks, including how to request the “Enslavement to Freedom” traveling banner exhibitions, visit this website.

Manhattan’s Merchant’s House was an UGRR Safehouse

The Merchant House (https://merchantshouse.org/) at 29 East Fourth Street in New York City is a 19th century brick and marble landmark rowhouse that is now a museum. It was built in 1832 by hatter and merchant Joseph Brewster and sold to the Tredwell family three years later. An Underground Railroad safe space was recently discovered underneath the drawers of a second floor built-in dresser. A cut in the floorboards leads to an enclosed space about 2ft by 2ft with a ladder down to the ground floor. Brewster was a leading New York City abolitionist. There is evidence that he signed at least two antislavery petitions and played a prominent role in three antislavery churches. When a church was being constructed on Rivington Street, he had builders include a false floor there as well.

A Protest History of the United States (Beacon Press, 2025) by Gloria J. Browne-Marshall

The book chronicles the history of protest and resistance in America, from Indigenous peoples’ resistance to colonization through modern movements like Black Lives Matter and climate activism. It highlights both known and forgotten figures and movements.  Drawing on legal documents, archives, and personal accounts to show how dissent has shaped the nation, it argues that protest is a vital force for change. It is part of Beacon’s ReVisioning History series. Browne-Marshall expands the definition of protest beyond traditional marches and rallies. Acts of resistance include journalism, legal battles, boycotts, everyday defiance, and more. There are sections on abolitionist John Brown, who was executed for initiating the 1859 slave revolt at Harpers Ferry; labor organizer Mother Jones, who fought for the enforcement of the 8-hour workday; and civil rights activist Daisy Bates, who played a leading role in the 1957 Little Rock school integration crisis. Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is a writer, educator, legal advocate, and playwright. She is a professor of Constitutional Law and African Studies at John Jay College (CUNY). Her books include She Took Justice: The Black Woman, Law, and Power, The Voting Rights War, and Race, Law, and American Society.

New York City Monuments of Black Americans: A History and Guide (New York: The History Press, 2025) by David Felsen (Reprinted from New York Almanack, December 10, 2025)

“New York City got its first monument of a real Black American in 1946 when the Hall of Fame for Great Americans in the Bronx dedicated a bronze bust to Booker T. Washington,” David Felsen, a history teacher at Avenues: The World School, writes in the introduction to New York City Monuments of Black Americans: A History and Guide (History Press, 2025). He believes n“Behind every first is a story of triumph over adversity and exclusion.” A 2021 study of the nation’s monuments found that 50% of the top 50 most memorialized people enslaved other people and that only 10% of the top 50 most memorialized people are Black/Indigenous. Just six percent of the Top 50 nationwide are women. It wasn’t until 2007 that the city dedicated its first monument to a Black woman, Harriet Tubman. “At this time, when the media and academics were paying so much attention to problematic Confederate monuments and the white men on them, it seemed too little attention was being paid to the representation of Black people in monuments,” writes Felsen. “As a history teacher living in New York City, I began to wonder how many monuments of Black Americans there were in the city. Who was the first Black American honored, and when did it happen? Who were the artists, activists and civic leaders behind these monuments? Why did they get made? And what could they teach us about New York history, Black history, art history and American history?” According to Felsen, the first Black American represented on a monument in New York City is “a nameless, shoeless former slave help[ing] a Union widow to find her husband’s grave in the South” at the base of the 1876 Civil War Soldiers’ Monument in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. Felsen’s new guide identifies and tells the stories of thirty statues and monuments of Black Americans in the city. It includes maps, and photos and a detailed history of each. This book provides a refreshing take on a subject that has been on the minds of many Americans.

Black Legacy: A History of New York’s African Americans (Seven Stories Press, New Edition, 2026)

by William Loren Katz

Discover the complete Black history of New York — from 1609 to the present — by the award-winning author of Breaking the Chains and Black Indians. For readers 12 and up. Includes a new intro and last chapter with insights on modern-day movements like Black Lives Matter, plus 50+ historical maps, illustrations, and photos. Essential for NY teachers, librarians and teens. From the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in New Amsterdam in 1609, to the Harlem Renaissance, to the impact of Black Lives Matter, here is a concise and newly updated history of Black Americans in New York for readers 12 and up. Black Legacy reasserts the essential work of teacher and historian William Loren Katz, who was committed to documenting and uplifting the stories of Black Americans’ courage and creativity, resilience and rebellion, especially for younger readers. A new introduction by award-winning journalist Herb Boyd gives context to Katz’s “full tableau of Black accomplishments and aspirations,” and a new chapter by historian Alan Singer and social studies teacher Imani Hinson brings the book up to the present day, considering the changing economic, cultural and political influences on Black New Yorkers. Black Legacy includes Black politicians and poets, abolitionists and athletes and activists, and the first Black children to attend public schools; Sojourner Truth, Paul Robeson, W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, and others who fought for Black freedom; Shirley Chisholm, Madame C.J. Walker, NY’s first Black mayor David Dinkins and many other businesspeople and politicians who brought dignity through their work toward equality; and the Black history of Seneca Village and Weeksville, the Savoy and Cotton clubs of the Jazz Age, Harlem Hospital where Martin Luther King Jr. nearly died, the African burial site at Trinity Church, and so much more. Written with economy and flair, Black Legacy is a fascinating read, a necessary teaching tool, and a great addition to the literature of the Black history of New York and of America. According to Haley Pessin, co-editor of Voices of a People’s History of the United States in the 21st Century: Documents of Hope and Resistance, “Dispelling the myth of Northern progressivism, Katz offers a far more compelling account of the bravery and perseverance through which Black people resisted their own subjugation and, in so doing, indelibly altered New York history. Katz reminds us that New York history is Black history, and Black history is the history of New York. This is a book that should be read by all New Yorkers.”

The Power of Quiet Courage (North Carolina Office of Archives, 2025) by Amy Nathan and Sarah Keys Evans; Illustrated by Jermaine Powell
Sarah Keys Evans wasn’t a person anyone thought would spend a night in a jail cell or change the world. But trouble came Sarah’s way in 1952 at a North Carolina bus station. Dressed in her Women’s Army Corps uniform, she was arrested for not moving to the back of a bus, three years before it happened to another Black woman, Rosa Parks. Sarah Keys Evans: The Power of Quiet Courage tells how Sarah stood up for what’s right and helped end that kind of unfairness. Others have now honored her by creating a monument that calls her a “Trailblazer for Justice.” Deborah Menkart wrote, “Sarah Key Evans’ story, along with many others who protested racism on public transportation in the 19th and 20th centuries, are omitted from most history books. Thankfully, Amy Nathan and Evans have broken that silence in a beautifully written book for upper elementary students. Readers learn that standing up for justice requires years’ worth of determination, patience, and courage. Evans was brave when she righteously refused to move on the bus, but there would have been no legal victory were it not for her continued bravery to pursue the case, to face lies about her actions, and to testify at hearings. As the book also makes clear, Evans’ family and attorney Dovey Johnson Roundtree provided crucial support. Evans’s story will inspire readers and offer a roadmap of the pitfalls and possibilities when pursuing justice.”

The Sewards of New York: A Biography of a Leading American Political Family (Ithica, NY: Cornell University Press) by Thomas Slaughter

The Sewards of New York shines a light on one of the most important and fascinating political families of the nineteenth century. Through recently discovered family correspondence, Thomas P. Slaughter unveils the inner lives of the Seward family, tracing their joys and sorrows as the nation grappled with rapid expansion and deepening divisions on its path to the Civil War. William Henry Seward, the family’s most prominent member, was a state senator, governor, U.S. senator, and Secretary of State. Henry, as his family knew him, was often absent from their Auburn, NY, home, serving in Albany or Washington, DC, and remained connected to the family through the long letters numbering in the thousands that they exchanged. These writings reveal Henry as a son, brother, husband, and father, as much as they show him as a politician and statesman. His wife Frances is the hub around which this family story revolves. Slaughter explores the extended Auburn family during a half century of profound change in American homes, marriage, and childrearing. With an eye for the provocative and revealing, Slaughter takes us behind the curtain of the early Victorian era’s private sphere. The Sewards of New York paints a rich portrait of an extraordinary family that played a key role in nineteenth-century New York and national politics.

Women, Immigrants, and the Working-Class Battle in Little Falls, New York: The Textile Strike of 1912-1913 (New York: Algora Publishing) by J.N. Cheney

J.N. Cheney recounts the political and cultural origins that created the conditions for the strike including factors such as immigration law and the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. It carefully considers the plight of the primarily working-class immigrant women from Eastern and Southern Europe (mostly Italy, Poland and Slovakia) and their pursuit of better wages and improved working and living conditions.

The book details the horrific conditions they endured including dangerous, unsanitary factories, rampant tuberculosis, and dilapidated tenement housing, which were courageously exposed by nurse, social reformer, and suffragist M. Helen Schloss. When the workers in two Little Falls mills organized to improve their conditions with the help of the Industrial Workers of the World and the Socialist Party of America, they were met with a brutal campaign of repression. This new research exposes the police violence, the suppression of free speech by local authorities, and the hostile media coverage that sought to demonize the strikers as dangerous agitators.

Jamie’s Decisions (TrueFiktion) by Joe Visconti

The graphic novel follows Jamie, a skilled laborer and formerly enslaved person in Virginia who found refuge in Syracuse, New York. His world is shattered when the federal government passes the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and the U.S. Marshals capture his formerly enslaved friend, Jerry, under the law. Now, Jamie must decide whether to put his own freedom at risk to help the community save Jerry. This graphic novel focuses on the Jerry Rescue, an event that happened in Syracuse on October 1, 1851. A group of abolitionists forcibly liberated William “Jerry” Henry from U.S. custody after he was arrested under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Jamie’s Decisions explores the Jerry Rescue and the Syracuse abolitionist movement to highlight how community members – sometimes with different motives – can come together to seek justice for all.

Sag Harbor in the Revolution (Sag Harbor Museum) edited by Zachary Studenroth 

Have you heard of the Battle of Sag Harbor, the heroic raid on the British fort that still lies beneath our feet in the Old Burying Ground? Or of the mass exodus to Connecticut from Sag Harbor in September 1776, when local residents escaped the British occupation? Or do you know how our village rebuilt its economy after the Revolutionary War? These and many other questions will be answered in “Sag Harbor in the Revolution,” a book that the Museum is publishing to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Thirteen authors, all distinguished historians or specialists in their fields, have been brought together to contribute new research on the subject of Sag Harbor’s role in the American Revolution.

Until the Last Gun is Silent (New York: Viking, 2026) by Matthew Delmont

The book is sub-titled “A Story of Patriotism, The Vietnam War, and the Fight to Save America’s Soul.” While over 300,000 African American young men and women were serving in Vietnam, African Americans stateside played an important role in the anti-war movement, despite facing severe criticism in the media, by government officials, and by prominent leaders of civil rights groups. Anti-war activists included the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, and Medal of Honor recipient Dwight “Skip” Johnson. Much of the book focuses on Coretta Scott King, who the author credits with convincing her husband to support the anti-war movement, and Johnson’s family and friends, who fought to have him receive full honors and his family to receive full benefits. Matthew Delmont is a Professor of History at Dartmouth College.

Plantation Goods: A Material History of American Slavery (Chicago University Press, 2024) by Seth Rockman.

Rockman uses the exchange of products between the North and South to present a fuller picture of slavery as a national institution with economic ties binding different regions of the country. Examples include cloth and shoes manufactured in Massachusetts worn by enslaved Africans on Southern cotton plantations, tools like axes, hoes, and shovels manufactured in the North for sale to Southern planters, slave-produced commodities marketed by Northern companies, and a Northern ship construction industry building vessels to transport cotton to European markets. Seth Rockman is a Professor of History at Brown University.

Stitching Freedom: A True Story of Injustice, Defiance, and Hope in Angola Prison (New York: One Signal, 2025) by Gary Tyler with Ellen Bravo

This book is the memoir of Gary Tyler, written with the assistance of Ellen Bravo, an anti-racist activist involved in campaigns for fair trials and prison reform. In 1975, seventeen-year-old Gary Tyler was sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole at the notorious Angola Prison in Louisiana. Tyler, who is African American, was convicted of the murder of a white teenager by an all-white jury. His case was picked up by Amnesty International, and he was recommended for parole three times; each time the Governor of Louisiana rejected the recommendation. He spent four decades in prison for a crime he did not commit until he was released in 2016. While in prison Tyler took up quilting to remain sane, hence the book’s title Stitching Freedom.

Capitalism: A Global History (New York: Penguin 2025) by Sven Beckert

The text of this book is 1,087 pages. The total book with references, footnotes, and index is 1,325 pages. It is too heavy to hold so you can only read from it if it is positioned on your desk. For global history teachers, it acts more as a reference encyclopedia rather than a book, but it is an incredibly valuable reference. Beckert argues that no phenomenon has shaped human history as powerfully as capitalism. He believes capitalism shapes every facet of human existence including work, leisure, politics, values, and self-definition. Rather than centering the history of capitalism in Western Europe, Beckert examines islands of capitalism emerging all over the world starting about 1,000 AD with the development of trading centers, markets, and long distance merchants. The book starts at the port of Aden on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula and ends as globalization transforms rural, previously isolated regions of Southeast Asia. Along the way we learn how capitalism reshapes the world with the conquest of the Americas, the trans-Atlantic trade in human beings and slave-produced commodities, the Industrial Revolution, and a “neo-liberal age” of unfettered borders and instantaneous electronic transfers of capital around the globe. Key to the development of capitalism is the alliance of producers and traders with states that facilitate commerce and industry. This massive work draws on archives from six continents and countless countries. Sven Beckert is a Professor of History at Harvard University.

Book Reviews on First-Hand Accounts of the European Holocaust

First-Hand Accounts of the European Holocaust

Reviews by Ari Mandel and Josh Wolk

These books are first-person testimonies from survivors of the World War II European Holocaust. Most, but not all, of the survivor stories were written by Jews. The ability of students to meet survivors will soon end, so these accounts take on even greater historical and educational significance. The reviews are ordered by publication date.

The books reviewed are:

Smoke Over Birkenau, Seweryna Szmaglewska

Five Chimneys, Olga Lengyel

The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank

Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl

Night, Elie Wiesel

Auschwitz, Miklos Nyiszli

I Cannot Forgive, Rudolf Vrba and Alan Bestic

Auschwitz and After, Charlotte Delbo

Eyewitness Auschwitz, Filip Müller

Survival in Auschwitz, Primo Levi

Smoke Over Birkenau, Liana Millu

There Is a Place on Earth: A Woman in Birkenau, Giuliana Tedeschi

Europa, Europa, Shlomo Perel

A Gypsy in Auschwitz, Otto Rosenberg

People in Auschwitz, Hermann Langbein

A Lucky Child, Thomas Buergenthal

At the Mind’s Limits, Jean Amery

First One In, Last One Out, Marilyn Shimon

The Survivor, Josef Lewkowicz with Michael Calvin

Lipstick in Auschwitz, Miriam Nick

Smoke Over Birkenau, Seweryna Szmaglewska (Holt, 1945)

Seweryna Szmaglewska was a Polish Catholic writer and journalist arrested in 1942 and imprisoned at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She survived and was liberated in January 1945. Her account of the camp was published in Polish in 1945 making it one of the earliest first-hand descriptions of the extermination process to reach the public. She later testified before the Nuremberg Military Tribunal where her book was entered into the trial record as evidence. Her account focuses on daily life in the women’s section of Birkenau. She explores the routines, the hunger, the selections, and the constant visibility of death. The title of the book refers to the smoke rising continuously from the crematoria that prisoners could see from across the camp. This account shaped the historical and legal understanding of the Holocaust in the years following the war. Its use at Nuremberg gives it a significance beyond testimony alone.

Five Chimneys, Olga Lengyel (Original English edition, Ziff-Davis, 1947)

Five Chimneys: The Story of Auschwitz is a memoir by Olga Lengyel, a Jewish woman from Transylvania who survived the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Lengyel was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 along with her parents, husband, and two young sons. Upon arrival, her children and parents were immediately murdered in the gas chambers. Lengyel was assigned to the women’s section of the camp where she endured forced labor, starvation, disease, and constant terror. The title of the book refers to the crematoria at Auschwitz, whose chimneys continually released smoke from the bodies of murdered prisoners. In her memoir, Lengyel describes the daily life of female prisoners and the brutal system that governed the camp. She recounts the roles played by prisoner functionaries, including kapos, as well as the complex moral choices people faced in order to survive. The book also describes the medical experiments and mass killings carried out by the Nazis. Published shortly after the war in 1947, Five Chimneys was one of the earliest detailed accounts of Auschwitz written by a survivor. Lengyel later devoted much of her life to Holocaust education and remembrance. Her memoir remains an important testimony about the experiences of women in Nazi concentration camps.

The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank (Original English edition, New York: Doubleday, 1952 with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt)

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank was originally published in The Netherlands in 1947 as The Annex (Het Achterhuis). Anne Frank was a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl who hid from the Nazis with her family and others in Amsterdam during occupation by Nazi Germany. Anne’s diary documents life in hiding ranging from the food they ate to the interpersonal dynamics within the Annex. The diary serves as a historical document, but also a deeply personal narrative that brings to life the fears of a young person amidst the Holocaust. Anne was captured in a Nazi raid on the secret annex in August 1944 and she died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in either February or March 1945.

Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl (Original English edition, Beacon, 1959)

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl combines memoir and psychological reflection based on the author’s experiences in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Frankl was an Austrian psychiatrist who was deported to camps including Auschwitz, Dachau, and other Nazi labor camps between 1942 and 1945. Much of his family perished in the Holocaust, including his parents and pregnant wife. In the first section of the book, Frankl describes daily life in the camps, including forced labor, starvation, disease, and the constant presence of death. He recounts how prisoners struggled to maintain hope and dignity under brutal conditions. Frankl observed that, while prisoners could not control their circumstances, they could still choose their attitude toward suffering. The second part of the book introduces Frankl’s psychological theory known as logotherapy, which argues that the primary human drive is the search for meaning in life. According to Frankl, individuals who were able to find purpose, whether through love, faith, or future goals, were often better able to endure the extreme hardships of camp life. First published in 1946, Man’s Search for Meaning became one of the most influential psychological and philosophical works of the twentieth century. It offers both a personal account of survival and a reflection on how humans can find meaning in even the most tragic of circumstances.

Night, Elie Wiesel (Original English edition, Hill and Wang, 1960)

Elie Wiesel’s Night is one of the most widely read Holocaust memoirs and recounts his experiences as a Jewish teenager during the Nazi genocide. Wiesel grew up in Sighet, a small town in Transylvania that was then part of Romania. In 1940 the village became part of Hungary and in 1944, when he was fifteen, German forces occupied Hungary and quickly began deporting Jews to concentration camps. Wiesel and his family were sent to Auschwitz, where his mother and younger sister were immediately murdered in the gas chambers. Wiesel remained with his father and endured forced labor, starvation, brutality, and constant fear of death. The memoir follows his movement from Auschwitz to the Buchenwald concentration camp as the Nazis evacuated prisoners during the final months of the war. Throughout the narrative, Wiesel describes the physical and psychological trauma of camp life, including the breakdown of moral norms among prisoners struggling to survive. The book also explores Wiesel’s crisis of faith as he witnesses immense suffering and cruelty. His relationship with his father becomes the emotional center of the story as they try to survive together in the camps. Published in 1956 in Yiddish and later translated into many languages, Night became one of the defining literary accounts of the Holocaust and is widely used in schools to teach about genocide and memory. After reading Night in its original Yiddish, I understand why the versions meant for mass consumption were heavily edited. Setting aside the length, the Yiddish version is more than 800 pages, the content, style and references are way too Jewish for a non-Jewish audience, and way too subversive and racy for the Orthodox world. I suspected few religious Jews could appreciate his yeshiva boy style, while not being scandalized at references to sex, or confronting God, or some Jews for not being “ideal victims.”

Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account, Miklos Nyiszli (Original English edition, Crest, 1961)

Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account is the memoir of Miklos Nyiszli, a Hungarian Jewish doctor who was deported to Auschwitz in 1944. Upon arrival, Nyiszli was selected to work as a pathologist for the notorious SS doctor Josef Mengele. Because of his medical training, Nyiszli was forced to assist Mengele with examinations and autopsies related to the doctor’s experiments on prisoners. This position allowed Nyiszli to witness many aspects of the camp’s operations, including medical experiments and the functioning of the crematoria. Although his role gave him slightly better living conditions than most prisoners, Nyiszli remained a prisoner under constant threat of death. His memoir describes both the horrors of the camp and the moral dilemmas he faced while being forced to participate in the Nazi system.

Nyiszli’s testimony provides a rare perspective on the camp from the viewpoint of a prisoner who worked within the medical system of the camp administration. The memoir remains an important historical source about the activities of Nazi doctors during the Holocaust.

I Cannot Forgive, Rudolf Vrba and Alan Bestic (Sidgwick and Jackson, 1963)

Rudolf Vrba was a Slovakian Jew born Walter Rosenberg in 1924. He was deported to Auschwitz in 1942 where he worked in various parts of the camp including the section where arriving transports were processed. In April 1944, he and fellow prisoner Alfred Wetzler successfully escaped from Auschwitz. After their escape, Vrba and Wetzler compiled a detailed thirty-page report documenting the layout of the camp and the systematic mass murder taking place there. The Vrba-Wetzler Report was delivered to Allied governments and Jewish leaders. Vrba spent the rest of his life as a scientist and pharmacologist and died in 2006. His memoir was written with journalist Alan Bestic. I Cannot Forgive recounts Vrba’s two years inside Auschwitz and the planning and execution of the escape. This book addresses the role of bystanders and the failure of international institutions to respond. It questions the moral responsibilities of governments and organizations that received evidence of genocide and did not act.

Auschwitz and After, Charlotte Delbo (French edition, 1965. Original English Edition, Yale University Press, 1995)

Charlotte Delbo was a French writer and member of the resistance. She was arrested in 1942 and was deported to Auschwitz as part of a convoy of 230 French women. Of the 230 women only 49 survived. Delbo was later transferred to Ravensbrück before being released through a Red Cross negotiation in April 1945. She wrote her account of the camps immediately after the war but chose not to publish it until 1965, believing the story needed time after the war to be fully understood. She went on to write plays and essays and remained a committed voice against fascism until her death in 1985. Auschwitz and After is a three-part work that combines prose and poetry to recount Delbo’s experience in Birkenau. The story explores her transfer, death march, and the long years of psychological aftermath that followed liberation. The final section deals with the difficulty of returning to ordinary life and is one of the most powerful literary testaments of survivor trauma ever written. This account is significant because Delbo approached the Holocaust not only as a witness, but also as a literary artist. The book supports interdisciplinary instruction across history and literature. Her poem “O You Who Know,” (“Vous qui saviez”) challenges the reader to consider the inadequacy of what they think they understand. “O you who know / Could you know that hunger makes the eyes sparkle? / While thirst makes them dim? / You who know, / Could you know that you can see your mother dead, / Without shedding a tear? / You who know, / Could you know how in the morning you crave death, / Only to fear it by evening?”

Eyewitness Auschwitz: Three Years in the Gas Chambers, Filip Müller (Original English edition, Stein, 1979)

Eyewitness Auschwitz is the memoir of Filip Müller, one of the very few members of the Sonderkommando who survived the Holocaust. Müller was a Slovak Jewish prisoner deported to Auschwitz in 1942. Shortly after arriving, he was forced into the Sonderkommando, a special unit of prisoners compelled to work in the gas chambers and crematoria. Members of the Sonderkommando were forced to remove bodies from the gas chambers, extract gold teeth, and burn the corpses in crematoria. Because they witnessed the mass murder of prisoners, the Nazis regularly killed Sonderkommando workers to eliminate witnesses. Müller survived this position for three years, an extremely rare occurrence. In his memoir, Müller provides one of the most detailed first-hand descriptions of how the extermination process at Auschwitz functioned. He describes the arrival of transports, the deception used to send victims into gas chambers, and the mechanics of the crematoria. The book is particularly significant because it reveals the psychological burden faced by prisoners forced to assist in the killing process. Müller’s testimony became an important historical source and was later used in trials against Nazi war criminals. His memoir remains one of the most powerful and disturbing eyewitness accounts of the Holocaust.

Survival in Auschwitz, Primo Levi (Original English edition, Summit, 1986)

Survival in Auschwitz, also known as If This Is a Man, is a memoir by Italian Jewish chemist Primo Levi about his imprisonment in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Levi was arrested by Italian Fascists in 1943 and deported to Auschwitz the following year. Upon arrival, most of the people on his transport were immediately murdered, while Levi was selected for forced labor. Levi spent approximately eleven months in Auschwitz before the camp was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945. His background as a chemist eventually allowed him to work in a laboratory, which slightly improved his chances of survival. In the memoir, Levi describes the harsh realities of camp life, including starvation, disease, violence from guards, and the constant struggle among prisoners for survival. Unlike some memoirs that focus mainly on emotional responses, Levi carefully analyzes the social structure of the camp system. He explains how the Nazis created a brutal hierarchy among prisoners and how survival often depended on luck, resourcefulness, and small advantages. First published in Italy in 1947, the book is widely considered one of the most important literary testimonies of the Holocaust. Levi’s clear and analytical writing style provides readers with a detailed picture of the daily functioning of Auschwitz and the moral challenges faced by those imprisoned there.

Smoke Over Birkenau, Liana Millu (Original English edition, Jewish Publication Society, 1991)

Smoke Over Birkenau is a collection of short memoir stories written by Liana Millu, an Italian Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Millu was deported to Auschwitz in 1944 after being arrested for her involvement with the Italian resistance against Nazi occupation. Unlike many memoirs that follow a single chronological narrative, this book consists of several short accounts describing the lives of women prisoners in Birkenau. Each story focuses on a different individual and highlights the emotional struggles faced by women trying to survive in the camp. Millu writes about friendships, hopes, betrayals, and the desperate attempts by prisoners to maintain dignity in an environment designed to destroy humanity. The stories reveal how small acts of kindness or solidarity sometimes helped prisoners endure the brutal conditions of camp life. First published in Italy in 1947, the book was one of the earliest literary accounts of women’s experiences in Auschwitz. Millu’s writing combines personal memory with a reflective style that captures the emotional impact of life in the camp. The memoir remains an important contribution to Holocaust literature, particularly for its focus on the perspective of female prisoners.

There Is a Place on Earth: A Woman in Birkenau, Giuliana Tedeschi (Random House, 1993)

Giuliana Tedeschi was an Italian Jewish woman and mother of two from Turin who was a teacher and a writer. She was deported from Italy to Auschwitz in April 1944 along with her husband and mother-in-law. Neither of them survived the Holocaust. After liberation, she returned to Italy and dedicated much of her life to Holocaust education and public testimony. Tedeschi died in 2010 at the age of 96. In her memoir, Tedeschi described the squalor, starvation, and torment of the camps and living in the shadow of the crematorium. She explored the daily struggle for survival, the solidarity formed between women prisoners, and the effort to hold onto identity and dignity inside a system built to destroy both. It is an important memoir because it describes relationships between women and solidarity as the basis for psychological survival. During her imprisonment, Tedesci’s daughters were hidden by a Catholic family. Mother and daughters were reunited after the war.

Europa, Europa, Shlomo Perel (Original English edition, Trade Paper, 1999)

Europa, Europa is the memoir of Shlomo Perel, a Jewish boy who survived the Holocaust by hiding his identity and posing as a German. Perel was born in Germany in 1925 to a Jewish family. When the Nazis came to power, his family fled to Poland to escape persecution. After Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Perel became separated from his family and was captured by Soviet forces. Later he fell into German hands but managed to convince them that he was an ethnic German rather than a Jew. Because he spoke fluent German and knew the culture, the Nazis accepted his claim. Perel spent several years living among Germans, even attending a Hitler Youth school while hiding the fact that he was Jewish. His survival depended on constant deception and the fear that his identity might be discovered at any moment.

The memoir describes the strange and dangerous situation of a Jewish teenager living inside Nazi society while secretly belonging to the group the Nazis sought to destroy. After the war, Perel eventually emigrated to Israel. His story was later adapted into a successful film, also titled Europa, Europa, which helped bring his extraordinary survival story to a wider audience.

A Gypsy in Auschwitz, Otto Rosenberg (Original English edition, Allison and Busby, 2001)

A Gypsy in Auschwitz is the memoir of Otto Rosenberg, a member of the Roma community who survived Nazi persecution during the Holocaust. Rosenberg was born in Germany in 1927 and was targeted by the Nazi regime because the Roma were considered racially inferior under Nazi ideology. During World War II, Rosenberg was arrested and eventually deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where the Nazis had established a special section for Roma prisoners known as the “Gypsy camp.” Conditions in this camp were extremely harsh, with overcrowding, disease, and starvation common among prisoners. Rosenberg describes witnessing the destruction of the Roma section of the camp in 1944, when thousands of Roma men, women, and children were murdered in the gas chambers. He survived by being transferred to other camps, including Buchenwald, before eventually being liberated near the end of the war. His memoir highlights the often overlooked genocide of the Roma people during the Holocaust. After the war, Rosenberg became an advocate for Roma rights and worked to educate others about the persecution his community suffered under the Nazi regime.

People in Auschwitz, Hermann Langbein (North Carolina Press, 2004)

Hermann Langbein was an Austrian communist who was imprisoned at Dachau before being transferred to Auschwitz. At Auschwitz he worked as a clerk for SS physician Dr. Eduard Wirths. His administrative position gave him access to records, personnel, and encounters with both perpetrators and prisoners. After the war he became one of the most important figures in documenting Nazi crimes and played a central role in organizing the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of the 1960s. While Langbein draws on his own experience, People in Auschwitz is not a personal memoir, but a sweeping historical account of the entire Auschwitz camp complex that covers its administration, its prisoner population, its SS personnel, and the social structures that developed within its walls. This account is important because it documents how Auschwitz functioned as a system, bureaucratic, hierarchical, and deliberately organized. It is an invaluable reference for teachers and students engaged in serious research about the Holocaust.

A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy, Thomas Buergenthal (Original English edition, Hachette, 2007)

A Lucky Child tells the story of Thomas Buergenthal, who survived the Holocaust as a young boy. Buergenthal was born in 1934 to a Jewish family in Czechoslovakia. When the Nazis occupied the region during World War II, his family was forced into a Jewish ghetto and later deported to Auschwitz.

At Auschwitz, Buergenthal was separated from his mother and endured harsh conditions typical of concentration camps, including forced labor, starvation, and illness. As a child prisoner, survival was especially difficult, yet Buergenthal managed to endure through a combination of luck, resilience, and help from other prisoners. Later in the war, he was transferred to another camp and eventually survived a Nazi death march before being liberated by Allied forces. After the war, Buergenthal eventually emigrated to the United States. He went on to become an important figure in international law and human rights, serving as a judge on the International Court of Justice. His memoir reflects not only on his childhood survival, but also on how those experiences shaped his later commitment to justice and human rights. The book provides a unique perspective on the Holocaust through the eyes of a child survivor.

At the Mind’s Limits: Contemplations by a Survivor on Auschwitz and Its Realities, Jean Amery (Indiana University Press, 2009)

Jean Amery was born Hans Maier in Vienna in 1912. After Nazi Germany annexed Austria, he joined the Belgian resistance and was ultimately captured by the Gestapo in 1943. He was tortured by the SS and then deported to Auschwitz and later Bergen-Belsen. He did not publish his reflections on Auschwitz until 1966 and he took his own life in 1978. The book was written under a French name he adopted to conceal his German and Jewish origins. At the Mind’s Limits is a collection of philosophical essays where Amery explores what the Holocaust did to human consciousness. He writes about torture, about being a Jewish intellectual in the camps, about the experience of aging as a survivor, and about resentment. He argued that survivors have a moral obligation not to forgive their persecutors. His essay on torture, in which he wrote, “I dare to assert that torture is the most horrible event a human being can retain within himself,” is considered one of the most important texts ever written on the subject. He argued that “torture was not an accidental quality of this Third Reich, but its essence” and compares it to “rape, a sexual act without the consent of one of the two partners.” This account is important because it moves beyond testimony into analysis.

First One In, Last One Out: Auschwitz Survivor 31321, Marilyn Shimon (Create Space, 2016)

Marilyn Shimon is a Holocaust educator, retired teacher, and volunteer gallery educator at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. She holds a certificate in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Georgetown University as well as a master’s degree from Hofstra University. Her book explores the story of her own uncle, Murray Scheinberg. Scheinberg was a Polish Jew who received prisoner number 31321 and was among the first eight men to enter Auschwitz as a political prisoner in 1940 and was also among the last to escape Dachau in 1945. The memoir traces Scheinberg’s journey through a variety of locations including Pawiak prison in Warsaw, Tarnow prison, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Sachsenhausen, and Dachau. Shimon reconstructed this story from various sources including family testimony and historical records. A publisher originally rejected the manuscript in the 1960s finding the details too extraordinary to be believed. Scheinberg was one of Auschwitz’s earliest prisoners which helps to offer a rare chronological view of how the camp system was built and expanded. The book illustrates how the Holocaust did not begin with gas chambers but with a deliberate and escalating system of imprisonment and dehumanization.

The Survivor: How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter, Josef Lewkowicz with Michael Calvin (HarperCollins, 2025)

Josef Lewkowicz was a Polish Jew who was born near Krakow, Poland in 1926. When German forces occupied Poland in 1939, Lewkowicz was just thirteen years old and he and his family were deported to a Nazi concentration camp. Before being liberated by Allied forces in 1945, Lewkowicz passed through six concentration camps. He was the only member of his extended family of 150 people to survive. After the war Lewkowicz became a Nazi hunter who worked to identify and bring SS perpetrators to justice. Among those he pursued was Amon Goeth, the SS commandant of the Plaszow camp who was later depicted in the film Schindler’s List. Goeth was tried by a Polish court and executed in 1946. Lewkowicz passed away in December 2024 at the age of 98, just weeks before his memoir was published. The memoir was co-written with British journalist Michael Calvin and follows Lewkowicz from the occupation of Krakow through liberation and his postwar pursuit of Nazi perpetrators. The book is as much an account of survival as it is a story of justice. The book is exceptionally useful because it raises questions that go beyond survival. What does justice look like after genocide? What is the difference between simply getting revenge and accountability? The connection to Schindler’s List provides students with a recognizable cultural entry point into a deeper historical discussion.

Lipstick in Auschwitz, Miriam Nick (Valcal, 2025)

Miriam Nick was born and raised in Krakow, Poland and was seventeen when Germany invaded in 1939. She was relocated to the Krakow ghetto with her mother and subsequently deported through a series of seven concentration camps. She survived two death marches over five years of imprisonment. After the war, she studied at the Paris Academy of Arts and later taught art history in Israel. The memoir was originally written for her grandchildren before she died in 2012. The book centers on Nick’s experience alongside her mother in Auschwitz and other camps. The title refers to a pivotal moment upon arrival: facing the SS selection process that would determine whether they lived or died, Nick found a discarded tube of lipstick and applied it to both their cheeks to make them appear healthier and more capable of work. That small act may have saved both their lives. The book is particularly effective for discussing woman-centric experiences in the Holocaust, the moral weight of everyday decisions under Nazi rule, and the meaning of resistance.

Lessons from the Past Help Shape Civic Minds

Lessons from the Past Help Shape Civic Minds

By Carolyn Faggioni

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana, The Life of Reason (1905)

In this era of educational systems dominated by the pursuit of all things STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), this retired social studies teacher would like to buck the trend — stem the tide, if you will — and make the case for the expansion of social studies education.

So, why study social studies? It’s not so you can do well at Trivia Night at the pub or impress your friends with your knowledge of arcane facts. We can Google that stuff.

The Spanish American philosopher George Santayana, in warning of the dire consequence of not knowing history, provided perhaps the strongest argument. We study history to learn from the past, which enables an educated citizenry, the lifeblood of a genuine democracy, to repeat successes while avoiding pitfalls.

Students in social studies classes examine events, movements, ideas and people to uncover lessons that can be applied today and in the future.

Studying global history helps one navigate an increasingly interdependent world, and in a diverse nation like the United States, it will help us to understand and appreciate one another, leading to greater peace and harmony and less tension, animosity and turmoil. With greater understanding of other cultures, international relations will improve.

Studying civics provides students the opportunity to become familiar with the basic features of representative democracy and how to function effectively as citizens. When informed citizens are at the helm, actively participating in our democracy, liberty is safeguarded. Conversely, if citizens are ill-informed, lack the requisite critical thinking skills to analyze information, do not know how to engage with one another in a civil manner, or check out entirely by not bothering to stay informed or participate in the democratic process, the void will be filled by special interests, often narrowly defined and committed to pursuing policies that may not be for the greater good.

As Founding Father James Madison asserted in 1822, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

Social studies education not only equips students with essential knowledge of the past, but a skill set that will empower them as citizens of this nation and members of the global community.

Albert Einstein and the Problem of War

Albert Einstein and the Problem of War

By Lawrence Wittner

Reposted from the Peace and Health Blog of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (https://peaceandhealthblog.com/2025/10/11/albert-einstein-and-the-problem-of-war/)

Although Albert Einstein is best-known as a theoretical physicist, he also spent much of his life grappling with the problem of war. In 1914, shortly after he moved to Berlin to serve as director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Physics, Einstein was horrified by the onset of World War I. “Europe, in her insanity, has started something unbelievable,” he told a friend. “In such times one realizes to what a sad species of animal one belongs.” Writing to the French author Romain Rolland, he wondered whether “centuries of painstaking cultural effort” have “carried us no further than . . . the insanity of nationalism.”

As militarist propaganda swept through Germany, accompanied that fall by a heated patriotic “Manifesto” from 93 prominent German intellectuals, Einstein teamed up with the German pacifist Georg Friedrich Nicolai to draft an antiwar response, the “Manifesto to Europeans.” Condemning “this barbarous war” and the “hostile spirit” of its intellectual apologists, the Einstein-Nicolai statement maintained that “nationalist passions cannot excuse this attitude which is unworthy of what the world has heretofore called culture.”

In the context of the war’s growing destructiveness, Einstein also helped launch and promote a new German antiwar organization, the New Fatherland League, which called for a prompt peace without annexations and the formation of a world government to make future wars impossible. It engaged in petitioning the Reichstag, challenging proposals for territorial gain, and distributing statements by British pacifists. In response, the German government harassed the League and, in 1916, formally suppressed it.

After the World War came to an end, Einstein became one of the Weimar Republic’s most influential pacifists and internationalists. Despite venomous attacks by Germany’s rightwing nationalists, he grew increasingly outspoken. “I believe the world has had enough of war,” he told an American journalist. “Some sort of international agreement must be reached among nations.” Meanwhile, he promoted organized war resistance, denounced military conscription, and, in 1932, drew Sigmund Freud into a famous exchange of letters, later published as Why War.

Although technically a Zionist, Einstein had a rather relaxed view of that term, contending that it meant a respect for Jewish rights around the world. Appalled by Palestinian-Jewish violence in British-ruled Palestine, he pleaded for cooperation between the two constituencies. In 1938, he declared that he would “much rather see reasonable agreement with the Arabs on the basis of living together in peace than the creation of a Jewish state.” He disliked “the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power,” plus “the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks.”

The most serious challenge to Einstein’s pacifism came with the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933 and the advent of that nation’s imperialist juggernaut. “My views have not changed,” he told a French pacifist, “but the European situation has.” As long as “Germany persists in rearming and systematically indoctrinating its citizens in preparation for a war of revenge, the nations of Western Europe depend, unfortunately, on military defense.” In his heart, he said, he continued to “loathe violence and militarism as much as ever; but I cannot shut my eyes to realities.” Consequently, Einstein became a proponent of collective security against fascism.

Fleeing from Nazi Germany, Einstein took refuge in the United States, which became his new home. Thanks to his renown, he was approached in 1939 by one of his former physics students, Leo Szilard, a Hungarian refugee who brought ominous news about advances in nuclear fission research in Nazi Germany. At Szilard’s urging, Einstein sent a warning letter to President Franklin Roosevelt about German nuclear progress. In response, the U.S. government launched the Manhattan Project, a secret program to build an atomic bomb.

Einstein, like Szilard, considered the Manhattan Project necessary solely to prevent Nazi Germany’s employment of nuclear weapons to conquer the world. Therefore, when Germany’s war effort neared collapse and the U.S. bomb project neared completion, Einstein helped facilitate a mission by Szilard to Roosevelt with the goal of preventing the use of atomic bombs by the United States. He also fired off an impassioned appeal to the prominent Danish physicist, Niels Bohr, urging scientists to take the lead in heading off a dangerous postwar nuclear arms race. Neither venture proved successful, and the U.S. government, under the direction of the new president, Harry Truman, launched the nuclear age with the atomic bombing of Japan. Einstein later remarked that his 1939 letter to Roosevelt had been the worst mistake of his life.

Convinced that humanity now faced the prospect of utter annihilation, Einstein resurrected one of his earlier ideas and organized a new campaign against war. “The only salvation for civilization and the human race,” he told an interviewer in September 1945, “lies in the creation of a world government, with security of nations founded upon law.” Again and again, he reiterated this message. In January 1946, he declared: “As long as there exist sovereign states, each with its own, independent armaments, the prevention of war becomes a virtual impossibility.” Consequently, humanity’s “desire for peace can be realized only by the creation of a world government.”

In 1946, he and other prominent scientists, fearful of the world’s future, established the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists. As chair of the new venture, Einstein repeatedly assailed militarism, nuclear weapons, and runaway nationalism. “We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking,” he said, “if mankind is to survive.”

Until his death in 1955, Einstein continued his quest for peace, criticizing the Cold War and the nuclear arms race and calling for strengthened global governance as the only “way out of the impasse.” Today, as we face a violent, nuclear-armed world, Einstein’s warnings about unrestrained nationalism and his proposals to control it are increasingly relevant.

Documenting the Debate Over the Use of Nuclear Weapons Against Japan

Einstein-Szilard Letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, August 2, 1939

Source: https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/key-documents/einstein-szilard-letter/

Background: Albert Einstein was the world’s most renowned physicist and a Nobel Prize winner. He fled Germany in the 1930s and established himself in the United States. Nuclear scientists Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, and Edward Teller, refugees from Nazi occupied Europe, persuaded Einstein to send a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning him of the possibility that Germany could develop an atomic bomb. In this letter, Einstein urged Roosevelt to support a program to develop atomic weapons.

“Some recent work by E. Fermi and L. Szilard, which has been communicated to me in manuscript, leads me to expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy in the immediate future. Certain aspects of the situation which has arisen seem to call for watchfulness and, if necessary, quick action on the part of the Administration. I believe therefore that it is my duty to bring to your attention the following facts and recommendations:

In the course of the last four months it has been made probable — through the work of Joliot in France as well as Fermi and Szilard in America — that it may become possible to set up a nuclear chain reaction in a large mass of uranium by which vast amounts of power and large quantities of new radium-like elements would be generated. Now it appears almost certain that this could be achieved in the immediate future. This phenomenon would also lead to the construction of bombs, and it is conceivable — though much less certain — that extremely powerful bombs of a new type may thus be constructed. A single bomb of this type, carried by boat and exploded in a port, might very well destroy the whole port together with some of the surrounding territory. However, such bombs might very well prove to be too heavy for transportation by air. The United States has only very poor ores of uranium in moderate quantities. There is some good ore in Canada and the former Czechoslovakia, while the most important source of uranium is Belgian Congo.

In view of this situation you may think it desirable to have some permanent contact maintained between the Administration and the group of physicists working on chain reactions in America. One possible way of achieving this might be for you to entrust with this task a person who has your confidence and who could perhaps serve in an unofficial capacity. His task might comprise the following:

a) to approach Government Departments, keep them informed of the further development, and put forward recommendations for Government action, giving particular attention to the problem of securing a supply of uranium ore for the United States.

b)  to speed up the experimental work, which is at present being carried on within the limits of the budgets of University laboratories, by providing funds, if such funds be required, through his contacts with private persons who are willing to make contributions for this cause, and perhaps also by obtaining the co-operation of industrial laboratories which have the necessary equipment.

I understand that Germany has actually stopped the sale of uranium from the Czechoslovakian mines which she has taken over. That she should have taken such early action might perhaps be understood on the ground that the son of the German Under-Secretary of State, von Weizsäcker, is attached to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut in Berlin where some of the American work on uranium is now being repeated.

The Franck Report, Report of the Committee on Political and Social Problems

Manhattan Project “Metallurgical Laboratory,” University of Chicago, June 11, 1945

Sources: https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/key-documents/franck-report/; https://thebulletin.org/2020/08/prominent-nuclear-scientists-did-not-recommend-the-atomic-bombings-of-japan/

Background: As the U.S. drew up plans to drop the first atomic bomb in August 1945, a group of scientists at the University of Chicago prepared a report arguing against the use of the bomb. Headed by James Franck and including notable scientists such as Leo Szilard and Glenn Seaborg, a Nobel laureate. The classified document was submitted to the Interim Committee, a group appointed by President Truman to advise him on the use of the bomb, in June 1945, one month before the Trinity test and two months before Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Interim Committee rejected their recommendations.

A) “The development of nuclear power not only constitutes an important addition to the technological and military power of the United States, but also creates grave political and economic problems for the future of this country.”

B) “Nuclear bombs cannot possibly remain a ‘secret weapon’ at the exclusive disposal of this country, for more than a few years. The scientific facts on which their construction is based are well known to scientists of other countries. Unless an effective international control of nuclear explosives is instituted, a race of nuclear armaments is certain to ensue following the first revelation of our possession of nuclear weapons to the world. Within ten years other countries may have nuclear bombs, each of which, weighing less than a ton, could destroy an urban area of more than ten square miles. In the war to which such an armaments race is likely to lead, the United States, with its agglomeration of population and industry in comparatively few metropolitan districts, will be at a disadvantage compared to the nations whose population and industry are scattered over large areas.”

C) “We believe that these considerations make the use of nuclear bombs for an early, unannounced attack against Japan inadvisable. If the United States would be the first to release this new means of indiscriminate destruction upon mankind, she would sacrifice public support throughout the world, precipitate the race of armaments, and prejudice the possibility of reaching an international agreement on the future control of such weapons.”

D) “Much more favorable conditions for the eventual achievement of such an agreement could be created if nuclear bombs were first revealed to the world by a demonstration in an appropriately selected uninhabited area.”

Recommendation of the Scientific Panel of the Interim Committee

Sources: https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/19.pdf; https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/recommendations-on-the-immediate-use-of-nuclear-weapons/

Background: The panel that issued this report to Secretary of War Henry Stimson consisted of four prominent physicists who were part of the Manhattan Project, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Director of the Los Alamos Laboratory; Enrico Fermi, lead scientist for the first nuclear reactor at the University of Chicago Met Lab; Arthur Compton, Nobel laureate and head of the Metallurgical Laboratory; and Ernest Lawrence, Nobel laureate and head of the Radiation Laboratory at UC Berkeley.

“You have asked us to comment on the initial use of the new weapon. This use, in our opinion, should be such as to promote a satisfactory adjustment of our international relations. At the same time, we recognize our obligation to our nation to use the weapons to help save American lives in the Japanese war.

(1) To accomplish these ends we recommend that before the weapons are used not only Britain, but also Russia, France, and China be advised that we have made considerable progress in our work on atomic weapons, and that we would welcome suggestions as to how we can cooperate in making this development contribute to improved international relations.

(2) The opinions of our scientific colleagues on the initial use of these weapons are not unanimous: they range from the proposal of a purely technical demonstration to that of the military application best designed to induce surrender. Those who advocate a purely technical demonstration would wish to outlaw the use of atomic weapons, and have feared that if we use the weapons now our position in future negotiations will be prejudiced. Others emphasize the opportunity of saving American lives by immediate military use, and believe that such use will improve the international prospects, in that they are more concerned with the prevention of war than with the elimination of this specific weapon. We find ourselves closer to these latter views; we can propose no technical demonstration likely to bring an end to the war; we see no acceptable alternative to direct military use.

(3) With regard to these general aspects of the use of atomic energy, it is clear that we, as scientific men, have no proprietary rights. It is true that we are among the few citizens who have had occasion to give thoughtful consideration to these problems during the past few years. We have, however, no claim to special competence in solving the political, social, and military problems which are presented by the advent of atomic power.”

Petition to the President of the United States, July 17, 1945

Source: https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/key-documents/szilard-petition/

Background: Nuclear physicist Leo Szilard, a refugee from Hungary who worked on the Manhattan Project, drafted a petition to President Harry Truman in the summer of 1945 hoping to avert the use of the atomic bomb against Japan. The petition was signed by seventy other scientists but was not seen by the President or the Secretary of War before the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer were not listed as signers.

Discoveries of which the people of the United States are not aware may affect the welfare of this nation in the near future. The liberation of the atomic power which has been achieved places atomic bombs in the hands of the Army. It places in your hands, as Commander-in-Chief, the fateful decision whether or not to sanction the use of such bombs in the present phase of the war against Japan. We, the undersigned scientists, have been working in the field of atomic power. Until recently we have had to fear that the United States might be attacked by atomic bombs during this war and that her only defense might lie in a counterattack by the same means. Today, with the defeat of Germany, this danger is averted and we feel impelled to say what follows: The war has to be brought speedily to a successful conclusion and attacks by atomic bombs may very well be an effective method of warfare. We feel, however, that such attacks on Japan could not be justified, at least not until the terms which will be imposed after the war on Japan were made public in detail and Japan were given an opportunity to surrender. If such public announcement gave assurance to the Japanese that they could look forward to a life devoted to peaceful pursuit in their homeland and if Japan still refused to surrender, our nation might then, in certain circumstances, find itself forced to resort to the use of atomic bombs. Such a step, however, ought not to be made at any time without seriously considering the moral responsibilities which are involved.

The development of atomic power will provide the nations with new means of destruction. The atomic bombs at our disposal represent only the first step in this direction, and there is almost no limit to the destructive power which will become available in the course of their future development. Thus a nation which sets the precedent of using these newly liberated forces of nature for purposes of destruction may have to bear the responsibility of opening the door to an era of devastation on an unimaginable scale.

If after the war a situation is allowed to develop in the world which permits rival powers to be in uncontrolled possession of these new means of destruction, the cities of the United States as well as the cities of other nations will be in continuous danger of sudden annihilation. All the resources of the United States, moral and material, may have to be mobilized to prevent the advent of such a world situation. Its prevention is at present the solemn responsibility of the United States—singled out by virtue of her lead in the field of atomic power. The added material strength which this lead gives to the United States brings with it the obligation of restraint and if we were to violate this obligation our moral position would be weakened in the eyes of the world and in our own eyes. It would then be more difficult for us to live up to our responsibility of bringing the unloosened forces of destruction under control.

In view of the foregoing, we, the undersigned, respectfully petition: first, that you exercise your power as Commander-in-Chief, to rule that the United States shall not resort to the use of atomic bombs in this war unless the terms which will be imposed upon Japan have been made public in detail and Japan knowing these terms has refused to surrender; second, that in such an event the question whether or not to use atomic bombs be decided by you in the light of the consideration presented in this petition as well as all the other moral responsibilities which are involved.

A Policy for Survival: A Statement by the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists

Published in the June 1948 issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Source: https://thebulletin.org/archive/a-policy-for-survival-a-statement-by-the-emergency-committee-of-atomic-scientists/

Background: The Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists was formed in May, 1946, by Albert Einstein, R.F. Bacher, Hans A. Bethe, Edward U. Condon, R. Hogness, Leo Szilard, Harold C. Urey, and V.F. Weisskopf. Their objective was to encourage and further the peaceful uses of atomic energy and to do this they would solicit private contributions in support of the work of the National Committee for Atomic Information. 

“Two years ago this month the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission was in process of formation. Now the discussions on international control of atomic energy are about to be adjourned indefinitely, perhaps never again to be resumed. One of the most fateful events in history has passed almost unnoticed. Its importance must be realized: its lesson for mankind must be made clear. To clarify the importance of the collapse of these discussions, we reiterate here our Six Point Statement published originally on November 17, 1946:

  1. Atomic bombs can now be made cheaply and in large number. They will become more destructive.
  2. There is no military defense against atomic bombs and none is to be expected.
  3. Other nations can rediscover our secret processes by themselves.
  4. Preparedness against atomic war is futile, and if attempted, will ruin the structure of our social order.
  5. If war breaks out, atomic bombs will be used and they will surely destroy our civilization.
  6. There is no solution to this problem except international control of atomic energy, and ultimately, the elimination of war.”

Book Review: American Struggle By Jon Meacham

American Struggle

By Jon Meacham

Reviewed by Hank Bitten, NJCSS Executive Director

In the middle of the 19th century, the U.S. Supreme Court announced a cataclysmic decision denying the human rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as defined in our declaration of Independence to Black people. Frederick Douglass spoke at the Anti-Slavery Society, “I base my sense of the certain overthrow of slavery, in part, upon the nature of the American Government, the Constitution, the tendencies of the age, and the character of the American people, and this, notwithstanding the important decision of Judge Taney.” (page xxii)

In the middle of the 20th century, the President of the United States led the people of the United States in prayer, beseeching the Almighty God with this closing petition: “With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy.  Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace – a peace invulnerable to the schemings (sic) of unworthy men.  And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil. Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.” (page 221)

In the beginning of the second quartile of the 21st century, the people of America are experiencing an attack on their institutions, the dehumanization of significant populations of its citizens, and strategies restricting their human rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Many educators are rewriting curriculum to teach civics with lessons on our constitution. The contribution of American Struggle by Jon Meacham is the lessons of history as he provides us with an anthology of118 documents that provide a winning strategy for students and ordinary people who want to protect and preserve our republic.

The organization of the chapters in this book provides a chronological perspective of the challenges our country has faced since its beginning. Jamestown was under martial law in 1618-19 because of the lack of food and the crisis of starvation.  From this crisis came the first meeting of the burgesses on July 30, 1619, with an agreement to meet in the pews of the Jamestown church. One of the first laws passed by the burgess was to establish a fair price for tobacco.  The Mayflower Compact in 1620 was another historic agreement by the first people who left Britain to escape the persecution King Charles I. Jon Meacham selected Thomas Paine’s Common Sense in the selection of documents between 1607 and 1776. This pamphlet was motivated by the tragedy of April 19, 1775, at Lexington and published on January 10, 1776. Paine reminded the 2.5 million colonists, who were predominately English, Irish, Scots, Dutch, German, Swedes, French, Black, and Native Americans…

“Where, say some, is the king of America? I’ll tell you. Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the royal brute of Great Britain…. So far as we approve of monarch… in America the law is king.” (page13)

In Chapter 2, Federalist Paper #1 reminded me of the importance of discipline and rules in my classroom. There will always be students who avoid doing their homework, arrive late, abuse the attendance policy, push the limits of appropriate dress, and take advantage of others. In the debates for and against the ratification of our Constitution, Alexander Hamilton warned us about people who will test the limits of a democracy in Federalist #1:

“An enlightened zeal for the energy and efficiency of government will be stigmatized as the offspring of a temper fond of despotic power and hostile to the principles of liberty.  An overscrupulous jealousy of danger to the rights of the people, which is more commonly the fault of the head than the heart, will be represented as mere pretense and artifice, the stale bait for popularity at the expense of the public good.  It will be forgotten, on the one hand, that jealousy is the usual concomitant of love, and that the noble enthusiasm of liberty is apt to be infected with a spirit of narrow and illiberal districts. On the other hand, it will be equally forgotten that the vigor of government is essential to the security of liberty, that , in the contemplation of a sound and well-informed judgment, their interest can never be separated; and that a dangerous ambition more often lurks behind the specious mask of zeal for the rights of the people than under the forbidden appearance of zeal for the firmness and efficiency of government.” (page 29)

Jon Meacham offers a context through documents which motivate reflective thinking. The challenges for each era are different and yet he reminds us of the continuing theme that our freedom is fragile. The selections in the chapters for the 19th century, “The Union and Its Discontents,” “The Fiery Trial,” and “A Troubled Peace” provide teachers with the diversity of perspectives and valuable insights into the importance of religion as social and intellectual history.

The Tariff of 1828 was issued only two years after the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. During these 50 years, approximately 800,000 immigrants arrived, the cotton gin increased the demand for slave labor and the number of slaves increased to 2 million from 700,000 in 1790, we experienced three contested presidential elections, had several internal rebellions, and experienced two economic crises. Ask your students, what they think motivated Daniel Webster to write the words in the excerpt from his speech below, “Liberty and Union, Now and Forever” on January 26, 1830. What voices did he listen to with his ears? What did his eyes see on the horizon? What memories was he thinking of with his brain?

“God grant that in my day, at least, that curtain may not rise! God grant that on my vision never may be opened what lies behind! When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood!  Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now known and honored through the earth, still full high and advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original luster, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured, bearing for its motto, no such miserable interrogatory as “What is all this worth?” nor those other words of delusion and folly, “Liberty first and Union afterwards”, but everywhere spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear top every true American heart – Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.” (page 53)

Teachers might use this speech to ask their students on the 200th anniversary of this landmark speech and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence if liberty is still the enduring legacy of the American identity or if it is justice or equality. Daniel Webster at the age of 36 argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1818 for his alma mater in Dartmouth College v. Woodward that Dartmouth College had a charter (contract) and that the government could not amend or change to make Dartmouth College a state or public institution. This landmark decision reflects national unity and the decisions on tariffs and wars led to division. Six years before this decision, several New England states met in Hartford, Connecticut to challenge the decision of the Congress to declare war on England in 1812, which negatively impacted their economy and livelihood. The Tariff of 1816 and the Panic of 1819 negatively affected the economy of South Carolina with 10% of its population moving west. Students need to debate if states’ rights matter and to the extent they matter today on issues of elections, immigration, gender, health care, and reproductive rights. A resolution in the Lincoln-Douglas style could be “America was, is, and will continue to be a divided democracy.”

Daniel Webster was elected to Congress in 1812 from New Hampshire as an anti-war Federalist, He was aware that perhaps 50% of the farmers and merchants in New England were out of work because of the Embargo Act, that the federal government ordered Massachusetts to send their state militia to fight in the war, that Britain wanted to sign a separate agreement with the New England states, and that Washington D.C. was burned. Students can debate if the extent of authority granted in the constitution to the three branches of the national government is more important than the individual rights of each state.

After students complete their debate on states’ rights and national unity, they need to answer if liberty is still the enduring legacy of the American identity. Is it the liberty of the people (popular sovereignty), the liberty of the states (compact theory and right to secession), or the authority of the national government (Supremacy Clause) that defines the legacy of liberty in the 21st century? To develop historical thinking, it is necessary to include the context of the primary sources in American Struggle.

The document, “The Arc is a Long One” by Theodore Parker in 1853, speaks to the importance of justice as the enduring legacy of our American identity. This sermon was presented three years after the Compromise of 1850, at a time when African Americans were taken from their homes and jobs in northern states, and at a time when the arguments of the Christian religion were used to support enslavement.

“What an idea democracy now floats before the eyes of earnest and religious men-fairer than the “Republic” of Plato or More’s “Utopia,” or the golden age of fabled memory!  It is justice that we want to organize – justice for all, for rich and poor.  There the slave shall be free from the master.  There shall be no want, no oppression, no fear of man, no fear of God, but only love. “There is a good time coming” – so we all believe when we are young and full of life and healthy hope.” (page 82)

In this context, students are introduced to intellectual history, philosophy, and the importance of moral education. Students might explore the extent this sermon influenced people beyond Parker’s Unitarian congregation on Centre Street in the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston? Consider asking what is meant by the moral arc of justice and examples from history as to when justice prevailed over evil. To enable students to connect with the issues of personal liberty, human trafficking, gun violence, proliferation of narcotics, and greed, consider the speeches by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, in Montgomery (3/25/1965) and in President Barack Obama’s Second Inaugural Address on the ‘arc of history.” (1/21/2013)

The perspective of Edward A. Pollard, editor of the Daily Richmond Examiner and the author of The Lost Cause: A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates, (1866) provides students with the lessons of war. It is important to remember that the battles of war continue after the battles end. The question for students to consider is how should historians determine the outcome of war, conflict, or crisis?

Theodore Parker explains the contributions of the South to the moral and intellectual identity of the American people. The South produced the majority (10/16) of American presidents before the Civil War, and produced influential literature about living in the colonies, on plantations, and in Charleston. Encourage your students to debate the power of the people in the context of their vision of liberty, justice, equality, and freedom in the United States.

“The war has not swallowed up everything.  There are great interests which stand out of the pale of the contest, which is for the South still to cultivate and maintain.  She must submit fairly and truthfully to what the war has properly decided. But the war properly decided only what was put in issue: the restoration of the Union and the excision of slavery; and to these two conditions the South submits. But the war did not decide negro equality; it did not decide negro suffrage; it did not decide State Rights, although it may have exploded their abuse; it did not decide the orthodoxy of the Democratic party; it did not decide the right of a people to show dignity in misfortune; and to maintain self-respect in the face of adversity. And these things which the war did not decide, the Southern people will still cling to, still claim, and still assert in them their rights and views.” (page 126)

The selection of documents within defined time periods provides teachers with an opportunity to have their students read them and then select excerpts from them for a press conference, podcast, or town hall meeting on Reconstruction, the Depression or World War 2.  The 12-20 documents in each chapter of American Struggle are short, represent different points of view, and are relevant to the experiences of Americans today. Do the words of President Franklin Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address on March 4, 1933, or the words of Senator Huey P. Long in his radio address, “Every Man a King” on February 23, 1934 apply to how the students in your school understand America today?

“In such a spirt on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties.  They concern, thank God, only material things.  Values have shrunken to fantastic levels, taxes have risen, our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income, the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.” (Roosevelt, page 193)

“We have in America today more wealth, more goods, more food, more clothing, more houses than we have ever had.  We have everything in abundance here.  We have the farm problem, my friends, because we have too much cotton, because we have too much wheat, and have too much corn, and too much potatoes….

We have in America today, my friends, a condition by which about ten men dominate the means of activity in at least 85 percent of the activities that you own, They either own directly everything or they have got some kind of mortgage on it, with a very small percentage to be excepted.” (Long, page 200)

The section on Rights and Reactions offers teachers the following documents within a six-year time frame.  This defined period offers teachers resources for varying perspectives on civil rights and the Vietnam War. Students can read and analyze these documents and then research the reactions to them in newspapers using Chronicling America on the Library of Congress website, recently updated in April 2026. There are few sources compiling a vivid description of the defining events of the Sixties, enabling teachers to teach the curriculum standards using a thematic, chronological, and interdisciplinary model of instruction.

U.S. Supreme Court decision in Engle v. Vitale, June 25, 1962 on school prayer

George C. Wallace’s Inaugural address, January 14, 1963

John F. Kennedy’s address on Civil Rights, June 11, 1963

New York Times article on Medgar Evans assassination (June 13, 1963 (2 days later)

John Lewis’ address at the March on Washington, August 28, 1963

President Lyndon Johnson’s speech on the Great Society on May 22, 1964

Senator Everett Dirksen’s speech on civil rights bill, June 10, 1964

Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller’s speech at the Republican National Convention, July 14, 1964

Senator Barry Goldwater’s Acceptance Speech to the Republican National Convention, July 16, 1964

Fannie Lou Hamer Testimony before the Democratic National Convention on August 22, 1964

President Lyndon Johnson’s Address to Congress, March 15, 1965

Rev. Jerry Falwell’s sermon, March 21, 1965

James Baldwin’s article in Ebony, August, 1965

President Lyndon Johnson on the Immigration & Nationality Act, October 3, 1965

Walter Cronkite’s Editorial on Vietnam and the Tet Offensive, February 27, 1968

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s sermon on April 3, 1968 (day before his assassination)

Senator Robert F, Kennedy’s remarks on the assassination of Dr. King, Jr. April 4, 1968

The events of this decade will represent a turning point in American history and American Struggle provides a critical perspective through documents from 1969 to the present.  The documents below guide students in an exploration of the changes in America’s role from its zenith in 1969 to the present. Students and teachers need to explore and debate how historians will define this 60-year period in both American and world history. The 19 documents provide the first steps for inquiry using the framework of a chronological outline about the domestic and foreign policy challenges in this era. Each document has relevance to the challenges students see in the world today: Here is a sample:

‘There are No Founding Mothers” – Shirley Chisholm on the ERA

“We are a Government of Laws, Not of Men”- President Ford on his second day as President

“A Crisis of Confidence” – President Jimmy Carter on The Energy Crisis

“The Infrastructure of Democracy” – President Roanld Reagan’s Address to the British Parliament

“They Came from Every Land” – President Ronald Reagan on the 100th Anniversary of the Statue of Liberty

“Take Back Our Culture” – Patrick J. Buchanan’s Address to the Republican national Convention

“Justice Will Prevail” – President Bill Clinton at the Oklahoma City Memorial Prayer Service

“Country Before Party” – Vice-President Al Gore’s Presidential Concession Speech

“That’s Not the America I Know” – President George W. Bush on the Attack on America in 2001

“Love is Love” – President Barack Obama’s Remarks on Marriage Equality

“American Carnage” – President Trump’s First Inaugural Address

A final thought on how the words from President Reagan, 45 years ago, are relevant to what students are studying in high school classes today in relationship to America’s foreign policy”

“The objective I propose is quite simple to state: to foster the infrastructure of democracy – the system of a free press, unions, political parties, universities – which allows a people to choose their own way, to develop their own culture, to reconciles their own differences through peaceful means.

This is not cultural imperialism: it is [providing the means for genuine self-determination and protection for diversity.  Democracy already flourishes in countries with very different cultures and historical experiences. It would be cultural condescension, or worse, to say that any people prefer dictatorship to democracy. Who would voluntarily choose not to have the right to vote, decide to purchase government propaganda handouts instead of independent newspapers, prefer government to worker-controlled unions, opt for land to be owned by the state instead of those who till it, want government repression of religious liberty, a single political party instead of a free choice, a rigid cultural orthodoxy instead of democratic tolerance and diversity?” (page 408)

Era 15 – Contemporary United States: International Policies (1970-Today)

New Jersey Council for the Social Studies

www.njcss.org

Engaging High School Students in Global Civic Education Lessons in U.S. History

The relationship between the individual and the state is present in every country, society, and civilization. Relevant questions about individual liberty, civic engagement, government authority, equality and justice, and protection are important for every demographic group in the population.  In your teaching of World History, consider the examples and questions provided below that should be familiar to students in the history of the United States with application to the experiences of others around the world.

These civic activities are designed to present civics in a global context as civic education happens in every country.  The design is flexible regarding using one of the activities, allowing students to explore multiple activities in groups, and as a lesson for a substitute teacher. The lessons are free, although a donation to the New Jersey Council for the Social Studies is greatly appreciated. www.njcss.org

Era 15 Contemporary United States: International Policies (1970–Today)

The middle of the 20th century marks the foundation of the transformation of the United States into a world power. In this era the United States developed alliances, promoted free trade agreements, advocated for human rights, and assisted developing countries.  Toward the end of the century, the United States was a target of terrorist organizations, had and increasing national debt, and saw its power as a world leader challenged by China and Russia. As the United States entered the 21st century, its role as a leader in the international community was questioned by the Republican Party,

Activity #1:  Department of Homeland Security in the United Kingdom and the United States

In 2026, the Domesday Clock was set at 85 seconds to midnight, the end of the civilized world as we know it.The primary reasons for this are the threats of a nuclear arms race, climate change, and bioterrorism.As a result, every major country is re-evaluating its national security plans at the domestic and international level.  

“Doomsday Clock on Jan. 27, 2026.Reuters/Kevin Fogarty

United States

In your United States History classes, you have likely discussed national security strategies since the end of World War II in 1945.  These include containment, brinkmanship NSC-68, co-existence, Mutually Assured Destruction collective security, human rights, and the United States as the world’s policeman. Each of these policies have been rigorously debated within the government and in public opinion.  The debate is often framed in the context of isolationism (U.S. has the military strength to protect itself) and internationalism (U.S. needs the support of alliances and international organizations).  The central part of America’s new strategy is our economic strength. The 2025 National Security Strategy rightly asserts that “strength is the best deterrent,” and elevates economic vitality as central to that strength.

The policy announced by the Trump administration in December 2025 diminishes the threat of Russia and China as a top priority. “Mass migration” is deemed to be the major external threat to the United States—more than China, Russia, or terrorism. The document makes clear that the divide is political between transatlantic liberals and authoritarians.

The Western Hemisphere is the new priority and immigration is elevated to a major national security concern. The U.S. military will focus on the Western Hemisphere. The rules of international law are considered less important than the interests of peace, diplomacy, or human rights. Cybersecurity is considered a major threat and the strategy of the United States will become dependent on the private sector.

It is difficult to identify an exact amount for spending by Homeland Security in the United States because of the increased emphasis on immigration. We will use the number of $332 billion or 2.9% of GDP as a comparison to the 2.5% spent by the United Kingdom.

United Kingdom

The population of the United Kingdom is about 70 million. In addition, the United Kingdom also includes territories around the globe. National security threats include terrorism, organized immigration crime, cybersecurity, bioterrorism, exposure to nuclear radiation, and effects from climate change.  The United Kingdom in 2025 announced a new long-range security strategy for homeland security at a cost of 2.5% of GDP or about 62 billion euros annually.

The strategy involves a network of alliances to address these threats. The recent announcement by the United States to acquire Greenland by purchase or military action has caused the United Kingdom and other NATO countries to increase financial investments in military equipment, NATO, and other regional alliances. The Calais Group is committed to preventing organized immigration crime, the Joint Migration Taskforce addresses human trafficking, and the Border Security Pact targets smuggling.  Homeland security for the United Kingdom also includes agreements promoting economic and financial stability regarding technology, energy, access to minerals, and renewable energy.  Russia, China, North Korea, and Iraq are viewed as the biggest threats to homeland security.

The priorities for Homeland Security in the United Kingdom include the following:

  • Identify and prevent terrorist actors and criminal gangs from entering.
  • Increased investment in armed forces.
  • Strengthen existing alliances (NATO, AUKUS, and GCAP) and form new ones.
  • Pursue deeper trade, technology, and security agreements with the United States, European Union, and India.
  • Protect its underwater fiber optic network and natural gas pipelines.
  • The UK has created a new Border Security Command to secure its borders.

Questions:

  1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the new national security strategies by the United States and the United Kingdom?
  2. How dependent is each country on economic growth to support its strategy?
  3. How significant are the lessons of history regarding national security based on internationalism through alliances and isolationism through dependence on geography and military strength?
  4. Is one strategy better poised for success than the other or are both strategies poised for disappointment or failure?

Breaking Down Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy (Brookings)

Department of Homeland Security Budget (USA Spending)

National Security Strategy: 2025: Security for the British People in a Dangerous World (UK Cabinet Office)

UK Defense Spending (House of Commons Library)

Activity #2: Foreign Aid in Africa: Japan and Norway

Japan

Japan provides significant economic aid to Africa. In 2018, Japan gave $8.6 billion and is currently giving $20 billion. Japan’s foreign aid budget is equal to 0.44% of its gross national income, which is almost double the 0.24% from the United States.

The Japanese government values its relationship with Africa. It understands the importance of rare earth minerals, specifically lithium, nickel, and cobalt. In August 2023 Japan signed contracts with Namibia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to secure minerals. The 54 African countries account for more than a quarter of the 193 members in the United Nations. Japan’s foreign policy values free and open markets based on the rule of law, which is viewed as a deterrent to the coercion used by China in Africa.

Norway

Norway’s oil reserves enabled it to maintain financial assets in its Wealth Management Fund. The fund is valued at $1.8 trillion (USD) Norway contributes 3.1 billion krone to the African Development Fund. There are about 30 Western and non-Western countries contributing to this fund annually, including some countries in Africa. Norway places a high priority on providing Africa’s 300 million people with access to electricity, potable water, and food,. In addition, Norway is actively providing financial resources for sustainable living, women’s rights, education, and human rights.

On a per capita basis, Norwegians contribute $1,160, and Japan contributes $155. The United States was contributing $190 per person before its recent withdrawal of funds in 2025.

Norway’s foreign policy includes the following: 

  1. Multilateral and regional cooperation: Strengthen cooperation in multilateral forums, enhance African representation, and continue close collaboration with the AU (African Union);
  2. Security and peace efforts: Support African-led peace initiatives, integrate gender perspectives in decision-making, and bolster cooperation with the AU and UN on security;
  3. Democracy, human rights, and gender equality: Promote democracy, human rights, and gender equality through civil society engagement, justice reform, and educational access;
  4. Business, clean energy, and knowledge: Boost economic cooperation, promote Norwegian solutions, and support renewable energy development in African markets; and
  5. Climate, environment, food security, and health: Collaborate on climate action, sustainable food systems, and resilient health systems to address environmental and health challenges.

Questions:

  1. How significant are the foreign policy differences of investment in Africa between Japan, and Norway?
  2. How are the foreign policy initiatives of China, Russia, and the United States influencing the foreign policy of Japan?
  3. Why do you think the people of Japan are supporting additional investment in Africa compared to reducing tariffs or improving the quality of life for the people of Japan?
  4. Which foreign policy strategy is aligned with your values?
  5. In 2000, the United Nations adopted ambitious Millennial Development Goals which were on target until the global financial crisis of 2008. Is it possible in today’s political and economic environment to return to them and improve the quality of life for people in the global South?

Japan’s Strategic Interests in Africa

Countering China’s Expansionism: Japan-India Synergy in Africa Amid U.S. Retrenchment

Norway Gives More Foreign Aid Per Capita Than any other OCED Country

Norway to Increase Support for African Development Fund

Strategy for Norwegian Engagement with African Countries

Activity #3: Separation of Powers: North Korea and the United States

North Korea

Authoritarian governments also have constitutions.  Dictatorships may divide power between the supreme ruler, political party, army, or another group.  Democracies may divide power between legislative and judicial branches with the chief executive. The people and media may also have power in a society. A constitution reflects the values of the State and is still one of the best ways to understand how it manages problems and provides for its citizens.

The KPG (Korean Provisional Government) was organized in 1919 and was a government in exile as a result of Japan’s imperialism.  It ended on August 15, 1945 with the surrender of Japan and the Republic of Korea became the new government. A new constitution was ratified on August 15, 1948 and Syngman Rhee was elected as President.After the occupation of Korea during World War II ended, Korea adopted a constitution in 1948. Power was given to the SPA (Supreme People’s Assembly) This Assembly was given the authority to enact basic domestic and foreign policies; create a Presidium to operate on its behalf when the Assembly was not in session; approve laws; revise and amend the Constitution; approve the budget; elect or recall a Prime Minister; and appoint officials such as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The 1972 Constitution stated that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was an independent socialist state representing all the Korean people. The constitution is based on democratic centralism, which states that citizens must obey all the decisions of their elected leaders. There is no system of checks and balances, only submission and loyalty. The Constitution of North Korea gives absolute power to the Workers’ Party. It follows the ‘juche’ ideology of self-reliance and is above the law. It fosters Korean nationalism and requires absolute loyalty to the ruler, currently Kim Jong Il. The Constitution values the superiority of the State over its citizens.  In theory, the cabinet, military, and party check each other, although the loyalty of the military to Kim Jong Il has ended this system of checks and balances. These three groups could conceivably fight one another in a civil war for control or support each other, which they currently are doing.

United States

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) has been amended nine times since 1948 and reflects six republics which reflect political changes. The Constitution of The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) was completely replaced in 1972 and this constitution has had significant amendments.  In contrast, the Constitution of the United States has made changes through 27 amendments and judicial decisions by the Supreme Court. The Constitution of the United States was meant to be flexible.

The powers of government in the United States are also divided between the states and the federal government and between the three branches of the federal government. The framework of the constitution specifically limits the power of the national government and allows the three branches of government to ‘check and balance’ the power of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

The principle of popular sovereignty gives power to the people to make changes to their government every two years through the election of their representatives to Congress and the election of one-third of their senators.  Currently, the United States has a two-party system with the Republican Party and democratic Party as the two major political parties, Although inn theory, the individual members in each party have independence and vote on the interests of the people they represent; in practice they form caucuses or alliances supporting an ideology or regional interest. Currently, the members of the Republican Party are demonstrating loyalty to the agenda of President Trump and the members of the Democratic Party have caucuses representing different views on immigration, the economy, health care, and the role of the federal government.

Questions:

  1. How important is the role of the political party to the stability of the government?
  2. Are there inherent weaknesses in the Constitution of The Republic of Korea (South Korea) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)?
  3. How important is a strong executive to a stable government?
  4. How has President Trump increased the authority of the executive Branch more than previous presidents? (party loyalty, the media, support from the Supreme Court, etc.)

The Constitution of North Korea: Its Changes and Implications

Foreign Relations of the United States, 1948, The Far East and Australasia

Case Studies: Checks and Balances(United States)

How the U.S. Constitution Has Changed and Expanded Since 1787

Activity #4: The Executive Branch: St. Kitts and Nevis and the United States

United States

The United States is the largest country in the Americas with a population of 340 million. It has the largest military and economy in the world. The U.S. GDP is approximately 32 trillion followed by China at 21 billion USD. The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who is the head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress.

The President must be 35 years of age, a natural born citizen, and must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years. The people elect the president every four years by voting for members in their state who are part of the Electoral College. The Electors vote for President. There are currently 538 electors in the Electoral College representing the 435 members of the House of Representatives, the 100 senators, and the three representatives of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.).

The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the enforcement and administration of federal laws. Examples are the Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, Homeland Security, and Social Security Administration.

The President has the power either to sign legislation into law or veto bills passed by Congress, although Congress may override a veto with a two-thirds vote of both houses. The Executive Branch

  • conducts diplomacy with other nations,
  • negotiates and signs treaties, which must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate,
  • issues executive orders, which may clarify and implement existing laws,
  • extend pardons for federal crimes, and
  • gives an annual address to Congress outlining the agenda for the coming year.

The president is subject to impeachment for treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors or smaller crimes. The process to remove a president from office requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate. No American president has been removed from office through the impeachment process, although three presidents have been impeached.

St. Kitts and Nevis

The islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis were created as a federation in 1983 after centuries of British colonial rule. They have the smallest population in the Americas with 46,000, with 11,000 on the island of Nevis and 35,000 on St. Kitts. The population is expected to decline by 20% over the next decade. Nevis has its own assembly, an elected premier and a deputy-governor-general. Tourism, finance, and service sector businesses are the main sources of income.  In 1998, Nevis voted to secede but the resolution did to receive the required 2/3 majority vote of the people.

The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is a parliamentary democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III (United Kingdom) as the head of state. The Governor-General represents the monarch, and the Prime Minister is the head of government and leader of the majority party in the National Assembly. The Cabinet is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The National Assembly is unicameral, consisting of 15 members: 11 elected representatives, 3 senators appointed by the Governor-General, and the Attorney General. Elections are held every five years.  The judiciary is independent and based on the British legal system and uses the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, which serves several islands in the region.

Main PowersElection ProcessElection Cycle 1
ExecutiveMonarch of the United Kingdom acts as a ceremonial figurehead, governor-general represents the king, and prime minister provides advice for the governor-general and leads the cabinet of ministers.Governor-general is appointed by the monarch and prime minister is appointed by the governor-general.Governor-General and Prime Minister: At His Majesty’s discretion
JudicialEastern Caribbean Supreme Court presides over multiple countries, one justice resides in St. Kitts.Appointed by British monarch and the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.Mandatory retirement age of 65
LegislativeResponsible for drafting legislation.National Assembly has 11 members elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies and 3 members are appointed by the governor-general.5 years

Questions:

  1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a constitutional monarchy, federal parliamentary democracy, and a representative democracy?
  2. Is a government of three branches an effective and efficient structure of government for the 21st century?
  3. Is one government structure better for countries with smaller populations of under 100 million than countries with larger populations? (Only 16 countries have populations larger than 100 million.  The ten largest countries are: India, China, U.S. Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, Bangladesh, Russia, and Mexico)
  4. How frequently and for how many years should the President, Prime Minister or Governor serve?
  5. Should the President of the United States be given any additional powers?

The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis (Official Website of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis)

Political Database of the Americas (Georgetown University)

The Executive Branch (White House)

The Executive Branch (National Constitution Center)