Human Events
Encyclopedia
Human Events is a weekly American
conservative
magazine
. It takes its name from the first sentence of the United States
Declaration of Independence
("When in the course of human events...")
Human Events is published in Washington, DC by Eagle Publishing (which also owns Regnery Publishing
), a subsidiary of Phillips Publishing. Thomas S. Winter
is editor-in-chief and Jason Mattera
is online editor http://www.humanevents.com/about-editors.php. Regular writers have included Robert Novak
, Ann Coulter
, Terrence P. Jeffery and John Gizzi. Occasional contributors have included Pat Buchanan
, Sean Hannity
, Newt Gingrich
and Oliver North
, as well as conservative celebrities such as Ted Nugent
, Chuck Norris
and Pat Sajak
.
, newspaperman Frank Hanighen
and former New Deal
er Henry Regnery
. In 1951, Frank Chodorov
, former director of the Henry George
School of Social Science in New York
, replaced Morley as editor, merging his newsletter, analysis, into Human Events. By the early 1960s, Allan Ryskind (son of Morrie Ryskind
) and Winter had acquired the publication. In 1993, Human Events was acquired by Eagle Publishing.
Ronald Reagan
's "favorite reading for years," writes biographer Richard Reeves. A loyal subscriber since 1961, Reagan said it “helped me stop being a liberal
Democrat,” calling it "must reading for conservatives who want to know what is really going on in Washington, D.C." During the 1980 presidential campaign, Democrats released a document entitled "Ronald Reagan, Extremist Collaborator—An Exposé," in which, according to biographer Lee Edwards, "[a]mong the proofs of Reagan's extremism was that he read the conservative weekly Human Events." After being elected President, Reagan would occasionally write or call Winter or Ryskind.
"Human Events, however, was no favorite of the new men around Reagan," writes Reeves. "Baker
and Darman
, and Deaver
too, did their best each week to keep it out of the reading material they gave the President." "When he discovered White House aides were blocking its delivery, President Reagan arranged for multiple copies to be sent to the White House residence every weekend," writes Edwards, who adds that Reagan took care "marking and clipping articles and passing them along to his assistants."
Just before his 1982 tax hike, Reagan met with what he called "some of my old friends from Human Events" (he mentioned Ryskind and Stan Evans), who warned him about "disloyal" White House
staff (in particular James Baker
) who favored making a deal on taxes with the Democratic
Congress
. (Reagan subsequently made such a deal, in which for each $1 in higher taxes Congress promised $3 in spending cuts; Reagan delivered the tax hike, but Congress reneged, actually increasing spending.)
At the 1986 Reykjavík Summit
, Reagan told Soviet Premier
Mikhail Gorbachev
that he could not give up the Strategic Defense Initiative
because "'...the people who were the most outspoken critics of the Soviet Union
over the years’—he mentioned his favorite paper, Human Events," according to Reeves, "‘They’re kicking my brains out’."
Twenty books received honorable mention, including The Origin of Species
, by Charles Darwin
, and Silent Spring
, by Rachel Carson
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. It takes its name from the first sentence of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
("When in the course of human events...")
Human Events is published in Washington, DC by Eagle Publishing (which also owns Regnery Publishing
Regnery Publishing
Regnery Publishing in Washington, D.C., is a publisher which specializes in conservative books characterized on their website as "contrary to those of 'mainstream' publishers in New York." Since 1993, Regnery Publishing has been a division of Eagle Publishing, which also owns the weekly magazine...
), a subsidiary of Phillips Publishing. Thomas S. Winter
Thomas Winter (newspaperman)
Thomas S. Winter serves as the president and editor-in-chief of Human Events.-Biography:Thomas Winter earned a bachelor's degree in 1959 and an MBA in 1961, both from Harvard University. He joined Human Events in 1961 at the age of 24 as an assistant editor. In 1964, he took over the paper as its...
is editor-in-chief and Jason Mattera
Jason Mattera
Jason Joseph Mattera is an American writer, activist, radio host, and editor of Human Events magazine. He entered conservative activism while attending Roger Williams University and has worked for Young America's Foundation....
is online editor http://www.humanevents.com/about-editors.php. Regular writers have included Robert Novak
Robert Novak
Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for...
, Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
, Terrence P. Jeffery and John Gizzi. Occasional contributors have included Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
, Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
, Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
and Oliver North
Oliver North
Oliver Laurence North is a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, political commentator, host of War Stories with Oliver North on Fox News Channel, a military historian, and a New York Times best-selling author....
, as well as conservative celebrities such as Ted Nugent
Ted Nugent
Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American guitarist, musician, singer, author, reserve police officer, and activist. From Detroit, Michigan, he originally gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes, before embarking on a lengthy solo career...
, Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
and Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak is a television personality, former weatherman, actor and talk show host, best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune.-Early life:...
.
History
Human Events was founded in 1944 by Washington Post editor (1933–40) Felix MorleyFelix Morley
Felix Muskett Morley was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist from the United States.-Biography:Morley was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, his father being the mathematician Frank Morley. Like his brothers, Christopher and Frank, Felix was educated at Haverford College and enjoyed a Rhodes...
, newspaperman Frank Hanighen
Frank Hanighen
Frank Cleary Hanighen was an American journalist.-Biography:Frank Hanighen graduated from Harvard College. He worked as a foreign correspondent in Europe for The New York Post and The Philadelphia Record. He then worked as a Washington, D.C. correspondent for Common Sense. He later worked as an...
and former New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
er Henry Regnery
Henry Regnery
-Biography:Regnery was born to a textile manufacturer on January 12, 1912 in Hinsdale, Illinois. He obtained a degree in mechanical engineering from MIT in 1934, and an M.A. from Harvard University, where he worked with Joseph Schumpeter. He also studied at Armour Institute of Technology, and from...
. In 1951, Frank Chodorov
Frank Chodorov
Frank Chodorov was an American member of the Old Right, a group of libertarian thinkers who were non-interventionist in foreign policy and anti–New Deal...
, former director of the Henry George
Henry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
School of Social Science in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, replaced Morley as editor, merging his newsletter, analysis, into Human Events. By the early 1960s, Allan Ryskind (son of Morrie Ryskind
Morrie Ryskind
Morrie Ryskind was an American dramatist, lyricist and writer of theatrical productions and motion pictures, who became a conservative political activist later in life.-Biography:...
) and Winter had acquired the publication. In 1993, Human Events was acquired by Eagle Publishing.
Influence on Ronald Reagan
Human Events was former PresidentPresident
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
's "favorite reading for years," writes biographer Richard Reeves. A loyal subscriber since 1961, Reagan said it “helped me stop being a liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
Democrat,” calling it "must reading for conservatives who want to know what is really going on in Washington, D.C." During the 1980 presidential campaign, Democrats released a document entitled "Ronald Reagan, Extremist Collaborator—An Exposé," in which, according to biographer Lee Edwards, "[a]mong the proofs of Reagan's extremism was that he read the conservative weekly Human Events." After being elected President, Reagan would occasionally write or call Winter or Ryskind.
"Human Events, however, was no favorite of the new men around Reagan," writes Reeves. "Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
and Darman
Richard Darman
Richard Gordon Darman , known as Dick Darman, was an American economist and businessman who served under five U.S. presidents but is best remembered as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget during the administration of George H. W...
, and Deaver
Michael Deaver
Michael Keith Deaver was a member of President Ronald Reagan's White House staff serving as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under James Baker III and Donald Regan from January 1981 until May 1985.-Early life:...
too, did their best each week to keep it out of the reading material they gave the President." "When he discovered White House aides were blocking its delivery, President Reagan arranged for multiple copies to be sent to the White House residence every weekend," writes Edwards, who adds that Reagan took care "marking and clipping articles and passing them along to his assistants."
Just before his 1982 tax hike, Reagan met with what he called "some of my old friends from Human Events" (he mentioned Ryskind and Stan Evans), who warned him about "disloyal" White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
staff (in particular James Baker
James Baker
James Addison Baker, III is an American attorney, politician and political advisor.Baker served as the Chief of Staff in President Ronald Reagan's first administration and in the final year of the administration of President George H. W. Bush...
) who favored making a deal on taxes with the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. (Reagan subsequently made such a deal, in which for each $1 in higher taxes Congress promised $3 in spending cuts; Reagan delivered the tax hike, but Congress reneged, actually increasing spending.)
At the 1986 Reykjavík Summit
Reykjavik Summit
The Reykjavík Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. president Ronald Reagan and Secretary-General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in the famous house of Höfði in Reykjavík, the capital city of Iceland, on October 11–12, 1986...
, Reagan told Soviet Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev is a former Soviet statesman, having served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and as the last head of state of the USSR, having served from 1988 until its dissolution in 1991...
that he could not give up the Strategic Defense Initiative
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
because "'...the people who were the most outspoken critics of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
over the years’—he mentioned his favorite paper, Human Events," according to Reeves, "‘They’re kicking my brains out’."
"Harmful Books"
In 2005, Human Events published a list of Ten Most Harmful Books of the 19th and 20th Centurieshttp://www.humanevents.com/sarticle.php?id=7591:- The Communist ManifestoThe Communist ManifestoThe Communist Manifesto, originally titled Manifesto of the Communist Party is a short 1848 publication written by the German Marxist political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It has since been recognized as one of the world's most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the...
, by Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and Friedrich EngelsFriedrich EngelsFriedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research... - Mein KampfMein KampfMein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
, by Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945... - Quotations from Chairman Mao ZedongQuotations from Chairman Mao ZedongQuotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung , is a book of selected statements from speeches and writings by Mao Zedong, the former leader of Chinese Communist Party, published from 1964 to about 1976 and widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution...
, by Mao ZedongMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution... - Sexual Behavior in the Human MaleKinsey ReportsThe Kinsey Reports are two books on human sexual behavior, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female , by Dr. Alfred Kinsey, Wardell Pomeroy and others and published by Saunders...
, by Alfred KinseyAlfred KinseyAlfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology, who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, as well as producing the Kinsey Reports and the Kinsey... - Democracy and Education, by John DeweyJohn DeweyJohn Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
- Das KapitalDas KapitalDas Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
, by Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement... - The Feminine MystiqueThe Feminine MystiqueThe Feminine Mystique, published February 19, 1963, by W.W. Norton and Co., is a nonfiction book written by Betty Friedan. It is widely credited with sparking the beginning of second-wave feminism in the United States....
, by Betty FriedanBetty FriedanBetty Friedan was an American writer, activist, and feminist.A leading figure in the Women's Movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the "second wave" of American feminism in the twentieth century... - The Course in Positive PhilosophyThe Course in Positive PhilosophyThe Course in Positivist Philosophy was a series of texts written by the French philosopher of science and founding sociologist, Auguste Comte, between 1830 and 1842. Within it he unveiled the epistemological perspective of positivism...
, by Auguste ComteAuguste ComteIsidore Auguste Marie François Xavier Comte , better known as Auguste Comte , was a French philosopher, a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism... - Beyond Good and Evil, by Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
- General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, by John Maynard KeynesJohn Maynard KeynesJohn Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
Twenty books received honorable mention, including The Origin of Species
The Origin of Species
Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a work of scientific literature which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Its full title was On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the...
, by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, and Silent Spring
Silent Spring
Silent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement....
, by Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
.
Conservative of the Year
| Year | Choice | Lifetime | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 |  Rush LimbaughRush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United... |
b. 1951 | |
| 2008 | Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was... |
b. 1964 | |
| 2009 | Dick Cheney Dick Cheney Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush.... |
b. 1941 | |
| 2010 | Jim DeMint Jim DeMint James Warren "Jim" DeMint is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.-Early life and education:DeMint was born in... |
b. 1951 |