Applied History Project

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. 

Quote of the Week 

“Especially if you study history, you realize that our country has been through worse and here’s how they’ve found their way through that. Here’s what leaders did, here’s what educators did, here’s what businesspeople did, here’s what soldiers did, here’s what politicians did, and you can sometimes see, by weaving together that tapestry, how to go forward.” – General James Mattis, interview with The Mercer Island High School Islander, 2017

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Article of the Week 

“Americans Have Always Argued About Presidential Term Limits” – Jeffrey Rosen, The Wall Street Journal, October 31, 2025.

As President Trump muses publicly about pursing a third term in office, Rosen refreshes the historical debate about term limits. He takes aim at the Supreme Court’s seeming embrace of the “unitary executive theory” by showing that even Hamilton—at one point a supporter of a life term—feared a “demagogic president.” Three previous presidents sought third terms (FDR successfully, Grant and Theodore Roosevelt unsuccessfully), but Rosen affirms that this time truly is different: the 22nd Amendment, passed after Americans saw in FDR the trouble with unlimited terms, forecloses another Trump campaign.