Our challenge? To reveal the past, understand the present, and reclaim the future.

The MHP Database provides timelines and relationships for significant people, organizations, and events designed for quick and easy cross-reference with notes, links, and one-click searching. Our News room features commentary on current events and our Article collection includes online books and essays, enhanced with references into the database. The Links directory includes interesting opinion and reference sites.

You can also login with a user name and password to update the database or exchange messages with the Editor. The visitor guide provides instructions for each site feature. We provide the framework -- you can help provide the content!

[Note: This was the original site home page, circa 2004 -- ed]

Introduction

Most individuals are swept along by the flow of history without a clear picture of the key personalities, organizations, events and belief systems which shape the modern world. A vast amount of information is available for students, but much of it is still presented in a one-dimensional format which is difficult to browse through or cross-reference.

The Modern History Project seeks to increase the general level of historic knowledge by presenting such information in a condensed and easy-to-use format. The site features a user-edited Database of timelines and relationships for people, organizations and events, cross-referenced to our collection of Articles and News items.

We are building an index to the best available information, so that students can save time by stopping here first. Contributors are invited to provide additional names, dates, notes and reference links in accordance with our style and quality guidelines. If you are interested in becoming a contributor, then send a message to the site Editor.

This is a self-reinforcing process: as the user community grows, more quality information is provided, which in turn attracts more visitors. Knowledge is power, and by working together we can build a useful tool for all students and researchers attempting to understand the facts and forces of modern history.

All site features are accessed from the main navigation bar at the top of each page, and are described in the sections below.

News Room

The MHP News room provides commentary on current events, and represents history in the making. Each item includes links to both onsite and offsite reference information.

Select "News" from the menu to view all items posted, newest first. Use the search box to find items for a particular topic (eg: Political) or keyword (eg: welfare). Links in the text to onsite or offsite reference sources are indicated by different colors. Hover over a link for preview information, then click to view.

Article Collection

The MHP Article collection includes online books and essays on several topics, with a focus on history, politics and belief systems. All articles include links to the MHP database for persons, organizations and events mentioned in the text. Follow the links for timelines and additional information, including cross-references to related articles. We try to include a wide range of opinions without being restricted to the usual left/right channels. For more on our editorial policy, see "The GOOD and the BAD".

Selecting and Viewing an Article

Select "Articles" from the menu to display the main article index. Then, select any title listed to view the contents. Use the search box to find articles by title keyword (eg: Federal) or author last name (eg: Sutton).

Some of the articles are single-page essays, while others are multi-chapter books. When you select a book, the table of contents will be displayed. Just click on a chapter title to begin reading. Use the navigation controls to continue to the next chapter, or return to the table of contents.

Submitting an Article

If you have an original essay that you'd like to submit to our collection, send a message to the Editor. You can include the text of your article, or a just a link to it. You may remain anonymous if you prefer, or your name/website can be posted with the article.

This site provides a resource for experts and a starting point for someone who has never studied these subjects before. Well-written summary articles showing connections that lead to further investigation are especially welcome.

If we accept your article, we will format it and include links into the database. We may also make other editorial changes (condense text, correct grammar, add footnotes) before adding it to the collection. By submitting an essay, you agree that it may be shared with the public at no cost.

Database

The MHP Database contains timelines for historically significant entities (persons, organizations, events) and their relationships to each other over time, along with notes and links to additional reference information. Each relationship between two entities is recorded as:

[Entity1] is/was a [Relation] of [Entity2] from [StartDate] to [EndDate]

For example: "Bigwheel, John T. was a Director of Mega Corp from 1975 to 1989".

These relationships are displayed using a graphical timeline, with notes and reference links for each entity and each relationship. The reference links are pre-formatted for one-click searching.

Selecting an Entity

Select "Database" from the menu to display the main index, then select a category to view the directory listing.

Select any of the entity names listed to view the detailed profile. The entity display will allow you to quickly view and link to related entities, articles and offsite information.

Use the search box to find a specific entity by name, regardless of category. The search will match any name containing the keyword you enter (example: Roth). For better results, enter only the family name for a person (eg: Bush) or a keyword for an organization (eg: World). Names of organizations often include common acronyms for easy searching (eg: CFR).

Viewing the Entity/Relationship Display

The Entity/Relationship display is divided into several sections, with controls for navigating and updating the database. While viewing the information about the entity you have selected, you can quickly link to related entities, articles or other information. One-click internet searches using Google or Bing include specific keywords for quick reference.

The Entity section shows basic information about the entity, along with general notes including links to offsite information. Several pre-formatted search query links are also provided. The entity notes include comments describing the entity along with references to biography pages, organizational websites, and/or articles documenting an event.

The Related Articles section lists all of the on-site articles and news items that contain a direct reference to the selected entity. Click any title listed to open it for viewing. Links to the entity within the article sections are highlighted for easy reference.

The Timeline section lists all of the related entities, with the relationships sorted chronologically. The horizontal bars in the graph indicate the duration of each relationship. Click the name in the left column to jump to the relationship notes below. Use the scroll controls (<< >>) at the bottom of the graph to shift the display timeframe for viewing relationships not currently displayed. For an example containing many relationships, see Harvard University and try the scroll controls.

The Relationship section shows basic information about each relationship, along with notes including links to offsite information. Realtionship notes include comments about the relationship, plus important activities, publications, etc. that occured during the period with references to supporting documentation. Click the name of the related entity to view its profile. The search links contain keywords to locate additional information about the relationship.

This is an ongoing effort, and the database will always be incomplete. Visitors are encouraged to login and add new entities and relationships, and to provide additional notes about entities and relationships that are already listed. If you would like to contribute, send a message to the Editor.

Links Directory

The MHP Links directory includes links to interesting news, opinion and reference sites from around the web, organized by topic.

Select "Links" from the menu to display the main index, then select a category to view the directory listings. Use the search box to find links by keyword, from any category (eg: audio).

The sites listed represent many different points of view, because it is essential to gather facts from many different sources to compensate for particular biases. We do not necessarily endorse any of them. We try to avoid partisan left/right propaganda sites, obvious disinfo sites, etc. If you would like to submit a site to our directory, or feel that a site should be removed from the directory, send a message to the Editor.

Message Board

The MHP Message board allows you to login and exchange messages with the site Editor. Select "Messages" from the menu to access the message page.

To send or view messages, enter a user name and password of your choice then click the 'Login' control. The name and password must be 4 to 10 characters, letters and digits only. NOTE: Your browser settings must allow a "cookie" in order to login successfully. This provides continuity of your session, and is the only use of cookies at this site. When you logout, the cookie is deleted.

Use the "Send Message" control to open the message editing form. Enter a brief subject heading and the message content. Then, click the 'Insert' control to post your message and wait for the message display to reload. Your new message should be listed at the top. If not, use the browser "back" button to return to the editing page and try again. We usually respond to all messages within a couple of days; login anytime to check for replies.

All messages are displayed in date order, newest first. Use the 'Delete' control to delete a message from the list. The scroll control at the bottom of the page allows you to view older messages that may not appear on the current page.

Site Policies

The Modern History Project provides an open forum for ideas from many differing viewpoints. The opinions expressed in any article, news item, or other content posted at this site are solely the responsibility of the author. We cannot verify all of the information entered by our guest contributors, and we accept no responsibility regarding the usefulness or accuracy of that information. We have no control over the content of any off-site information.

The material on this site is provided as a resource on an "as-is" basis strictly for non-profit educational and entertainment purposes only. Visitors are requested to report any problems that they discover, including violations of the rules below. Select the Messages link from the main menu and login to send a message to the site Editor.

The site Editor reserves the right to edit, merge, or delete any information posted at this site, for any reason and without prior notice.

The following actions are prohibited, and may result in users being banned from the site:

• Entry of false or misleading historical information of any type
• Intentional violation of copyright laws beyond "fair use for educational purposes"
• Links to web pages, files or images not relevant to the subject matter (spam, porno, music, etc)
• Links to any site that advocates violence or other illegal activity
• Use of obscene or hostile language in any database entry or message post
• Any other malicious behavior that detracts from the usability of the site

Site access is restricted to prevent excessive bandwidth use or data mining. The use of "web crawlers" and other tools for automatic retrieval of site pages at a rapid rate is not allowed.

If you are using a normal browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, etc.) and encounter a "server busy" message, then slow down and try again after a few minutes. If the problem persists, send a message to the Editor..