Applied History Project

Article of the Week 

"The Inconvenient Truths of Nixon’s Legacy" by John Plender (senior editorial columnist) in The Financial Times

“The recent urge among Maga Republicans to rehabilitate the reputation of Richard Nixon is, to put the most charitable complexion on it, quixotic,” Plender argues. He notes that Nixon’s decision to end convertibility of the dollar to gold has contributed to higher inflation and public debt over the long run. Moreover, he writes that small-government conservatives forget Nixon established the EPA and OSHA and strengthened the EEOC—although Nixon supported financial liberalization, Plender acknowledges. Plender also predicts, “The instigator of the Watergate scandal will surely not play well with voters increasingly concerned about corruption.”

The mission of Harvard’s Applied History Project is to revitalize applied history by promoting the production and use of historical reasoning to clarify public and private challenges and choices. Founded by Professors Graham Allison and Niall Ferguson in 2016, the Applied History Project builds upon the foundation laid by Professors Ernest May and Richard Neustadt in the 1980s, reflected in their book Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision Makers. 

Advancing its mission, the Project sponsors the Applied History Working Group of faculty members across Harvard University to organize discussions with scholars and practitioners; supports historians and policymakers in producing Applied History; develops courses in Applied History; funds the Ernest May Fellowships in History and Policy for pre- and post-doctoral students; and holds Applied History Events open to the Harvard Community and the public. Harvard’s project is one of the leaders among a rapidly expanding network of universities and think tanks that are furthering the discipline of Applied History by clarifying predicaments and choices to inform better decisions.

The Project gratefully acknowledges the Stanton Foundation's generous support for its Applied History endeavors.