Project
Applied History Project
A wide shot of a packed auditorium, Graham Allison is gesturing to the audience.
Project

Applied History Project

Leadership

About the 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. 

Applied History This Week: February 10, 2025

Quote of the Week 

“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” – Karl Marx, “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte” (1852) 

(More Quotes »


Articles of the Week 

Gramm and Summers: A Letter on Tariffs From Economists to Trump” – Phil Gramm and Larry Summers, The Wall Street Journal, January 30, 2025. 

“Like our predecessors in 1930, we oppose the use of tariffs as a general tool for economic policy.” In this op-ed, Summers and Gramm call on professional economists to co-sign their letter urging Congress and the president against proposed tariffs. “In the long history of the country,” they argue, “there is little evidence to substantiate the claim that America prospers more when trade deficits fall than it does when they rise.” In fact, trade deficits often arise when foreign investment into the US increases, and the critique that foreign investment makes the country poorer “flies in the face of recorded history.” Ultimately, Summers and Gramm conclude that “A review of the economic history of our nation yields no credible evidence that broad-based tariffs have benefited the nation as a whole.” 

Engaging Historians and Decisionmakers

James Mattis Applied History Working Group
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Former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, in conversation with Graham Allison: "Ultimately, a real understanding of history means that we face nothing new under the sun."

Mary Sarotte Applied History Working Group
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Niall Ferguson, Graham Allison, and Mary Elise Sarotte at an Applied History event on "The Collapse of the Soviet Union."

Niall Ferguson and Nancy Koehn Applied History Working Group
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Niall Ferguson gave a presentation on "The History of the Future" with Nancy Koehn at a meeting of the Applied History Working Group.

John Lewis Gaddis Applied History Working Group
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John Lewis Gaddis discussing "Grand Strategy" in a seminar with the Applied History Working Group.

Mary Sarotte Applied History Working Group
Niall Ferguson and Nancy Koehn Applied History Working Group
John Lewis Gaddis Applied History Working Group
James Mattis Applied History Working Group

Seminars

The Applied History Working Group of faculty members and affiliates across Harvard University and other institutions organizes discussions with scholars and practitioners to develop and support Applied History research and its use in policymaking.