Noah Webster, author of An American Dictionary of the English Language published in 1828, invented the word "immigration."

Should you be able to buy your way to citizenship? Economic research reveals some merits behind the idea, but others see classism and discrimination.

Our tendency to view people with mental disorders as monsters instead of patients has a history that dates back to the 1400s.

American bureaucracy used to work through patronage, an informal system of job-distribution by the party in power. Why did it change?

Once it became clear that mosquitoes, not the air itself, carried malaria, early 20th-century Americans went to extreme lengths to enjoy fresh air at night.

Historically speaking, we are living in unusually peaceful times. But does peacetime mean bad things for the economy, which is often boosted by war?

Well-researched stories from around the web that bridge the gap between news and scholarship. Brought to you each Tuesday from the editors of JSTOR Daily.

Was American painter Marsden Hartley an innovator, or an imitator? Some call him a great artist, while others say he didn't know how to paint.

The term "filibuster" used to refer to Americans who went to foreign countries to fight in their wars without the government’s permission.

New research scans three Viking swords and finds that, while well-made, they were not strong enough to withstand a fight.