Stirring sunken vats in the interior of a soap factory, 1771

A Potash Primer

Ash from burnt wood, weeds, bracken, and kelp helped fuel the Industrial Revolution.
A prisoner under escort at the South Western Front during the Irish Civil War, 1922

Lessons for American Zionism from the “Free Ireland” Cause

In the early twentieth century, American Zionists were inspired by what they saw as parallels with the political objectives of Irish nationalists.
An 1890s advertising poster showing a woman in fancy clothes (partially vaguely influenced by 16th- and 17th-century styles) drinking Coke

Who Took the Cocaine Out of Coca-Cola?

The medical profession saw nothing wrong with offering a cocaine-laced cola to white, middle-class consumers. Selling it to Black Americans was another matter.
Justice John Marshall Harlan

The Great Dissenter’s Complications

Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan I argued the US Constitution was color-blind. He also believed it stood in defense of white supremacy.
Historical Marker sign for Camp Jened in Hunter, NY

Creating Communities for Disability Activism

In the 1960s, young disabled people found each other at camps and colleges, creating ever-expanding networks for challenging discrimination.
Alexander Hamilton by Albert Rosenthal

The Federalist No. 1: Annotated

Alexander Hamilton’s anonymous essay challenged the voting citizens of New York to hold fast to the truth when deciding to ratify (or not) the US Constitution.
US President Ronald Reagan waves as he stands at the top of a stairway, preparing to board Air Force One, Dothan, Alabama, 1986

Ronald Reagan’s Library Legacy

Archival material shows the hefty and careful investment the president and his team put into crafting his image for perpetuity.
Arabs and Jews marching side by side as a Palestinian army for service with the British army as an Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps.

Palestinians against Fascism

Thousands of Palestinian Arabs volunteered to fight against Germany and Italy during World War II, serving alongside Jewish volunteers from Mandate Palestine.
Lucretia Newman Coleman

Finding Lucretia Howe Newman Coleman

Once a powerful voice in the Black press, Coleman all but disappeared from the literary landscape of the American Midwest after her death in 1948.
Dannemora mine, Sweden, before 1852

Humans for Voyage Iron: The Remaking of West Africa

Europeans used standardized bars of iron mined in northern Europe to purchase humans during the slave era, transforming the coastal landscape of West Africa.