When Margarine Was Contraband
Protectionist laws favoring producers of butter meant that getting margarine in Wisconsin was no easy feat.
Tackling Student Homelessness
College students are notoriously strapped for cash. For some, however, that youthful poverty becomes actual homelessness.
How African Americans Supported Evolution in the 1925 Scopes Trial
Dayton, Tennessee has a new statue of Clarence Darrow, the evolutionist and criminal defense attorney of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial.
Charlottesville Syllabus: Readings on the History of Hate in America
The history of racism and ethnic hate in America is long and deep. What are the cultural, economic, and political currents that led us here?
The Forgotten Movement That Changed American Women’s Lives
Chatauquas changed the lives of Midwestern women between 1878 and 1900, setting the stage for new gender roles in the twentieth century.
How Baseball Became a Profession
Sports historian Steven A. Riess writes that the process that transformed baseball into a high-paid profession began in the 1860s.
The Wartime Origins of Farmers Markets
In 1943, the idea of a farmers market at which produce was sold directly to the customer was nearly unheard of, a relic of the distant past.
How Do We Teach Children About Existential Threats?
In 1986, in the midst of the Cold War, psychologists set out to find answers about how to talk to kids about nuclear war.
Is Your Kids’ Summer Reading Actually Helping Them?
Some studies have found that simply getting kids to pick up a book during the summer may not actually help that much. What actually works?
The 19th-Century Activist Who Tried to Transform Teaching
Margaret Haley argued for unionization, insisting that “there is no possible conflict between the interest of the child and the interest of the teacher.”