This year marks the Semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, an event that announced a new nation in formation and triggered global, far-reaching consequences. Since 2021, the National Council on Public History (NCPH) and the National Park Service (NPS) have co-sponsored plenaries at the NCPH annual meeting to discuss the long and complex legacy of the quest for independence. Read More
The National Park Service’s ability to interpret the breadth of American history that is reflected in its more than four hundred sites is fragile. The fate of one of these, the Blackwell School National Historic Site, serves as an example of how quickly gains made in this effort can be undone. Read More
Within the first few months of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, he and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) waged a war on national parks. Through massive staff layoffs, drastic funding cuts, and attempts to censor interpretation, this administration is undermining public access to our lands and our nation’s diverse histories.Read More
Editors’ Note: We publish the editor’s introduction to the May 2025 issue of The Public Historian here. The entire issue is available online to National Council on Public History members and others with subscription access.
This issue features two research articles and two reports from the field.Read More
What do cherry blossoms and nuclear reactors have in common? They were among the many topics discussed by the National Council on Public History (NCPH) World War II Home Front Working Group, a three-year collaboration between NCPH and the National Park Service (NPS) that brought together practitioners and scholars working on World War II home front history to make connections and learn from each other.Read More
Editors’ Note: We publish the editor’s introduction to the November 2024 issue of The Public Historian here. The entire issue is available online to National Council on Public History members and others with subscription access.
This issue begins with a unique take on the National Council on Public History (NCPH) presidential address, presented at the March 2024 Annual Meeting (held jointly with the Utah Historical Society) in Salt Lake City, Utah.Read More
The National Park Service (NPS) has no official mandate to interpret the lives of people with disabilities across the park system. To address this lack, the NPS Park History Program is creating the Disability History Handbook, a multi-authored anthology slated for publication in late 2024.Read More
Editor’s Note: Want to learn more about the Acadia Job Corps Conservation Center in Maine’s Acadia National Park? We sat down with Laura Miller and Angela Sirna and learned about his program’s impact on the community and individual corpsmen. This post is part of a series of reflections from winners of NCPH awards in 2022.Read More
Editors’ Note: This post is part of a series of reflections from winners of NCPH awards in 2022. Laura Miller, Independent Historical Consultant, with Angela Sirna, National Park Service, won honorable mention-individual for “An Island Apart”: The Job Corps at Acadia National Park, 1966-1969."
What exactly defines a home front?With that question, the U.S. World War II Home Front working group began our first meeting. Very few visitors to WWII sites in the United States, especially those who come from non-white communities, see their history as home front history.Read More
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