St. Augustine, the Real First European Settlement in America?
By the time Jamestown, Virginia was settled, St. Augustine, Florida was already 42 years old. The rich history of America's oldest settlement.
Sophie Scholl and the Legacy of Resistance
Sophie Scholl has become the face of resistance to Nazism. That took decades, as the legacy of resistance itself was resisted.
The Battle Over Confederate Heritage Month
A Southern governor has proclaimed April to be Confederate Heritage Month. But how can you celebrate the confederacy without mentioning slavery?
What Are We to Make of Thomas Jefferson?
There is perhaps no more enigmatic figure in American history than Thomas Jefferson, born April 13, 1743. How should his legacy be understood today?
The 1917 Immigration Act That Presaged Trump’s Muslim Ban
Prohibitive laws like the 1917 Immigration Act barred many Asians from entering America. Cultural fears still determine who "deserves" to migrate.
How WWI Sparked an Artistic Movement That Transformed Black America
African-American literary works born out of the ashes of World War I went on to spur the bold spirit of resistance of the African-American protest movement.
The Turkish Origins of the “Deep State”
The "deep state" idea of a shadowy parallel government, heard much in the news now, seems to be a concept borrowed from the Turkish experience.
What Americans Thought of WWI
What did Americans think of World War I before the US entered the conflict 100 years ago? “Public opinion” was no more universal in 1917 than it is today.
The Backfire Effect
The backfire effect is when people double-down on their beliefs even when these beliefs are shown to be factually incorrect.
The U.S. Representative Who Tried to Outlaw War
Jeanette Rankin was the first woman to become a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. And she once tried to outlaw war.