Jefferson Davis

What Is the Jefferson Davis Highway?

The Jefferson Davis Highway was project of the United Daughters of the Confederacy intended to portray Davis as an American hero.
enslaved women illustration

Two Women of the African Slave Resistance

African women, always a minority in the slave trade, often had to find their own ways of rebellion against slavery if they could.
Obama state of the union 2011

Barack Obama and the Nommo Tradition of Afrocentric Orality

A scholar analyzes two of Barack Obama's commencement speeches, using West African nommo oratory as a guide.
Saco and Vanzetti

Is There a Place in Public History for Sacco and Vanzetti?

How Boston has marked the controversial trial and alleged crimes of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian immigrants executed for murder.
NYC intersection

“Jay Walking” and the Fight for the Streets

Debates over the priorities of cars, public transit and "jay walking" are nothing new. There has long been a story class buried within the disagreements.
charlottesville syllabus: history of hate in america

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?
Cahokia mounds

The Mysterious Pre-Columbian Settlement of Cahokia

Cahokia was the largest pre-columbian settlement north of Mexico. It collapsed centuries before Europeans arrived in the region. What happened?
Dressmaker strike

Does Disunity Hurt the Left?

Does disunity harm a political party? An account of the organizing by unemployed workers in the 1930s may offer some clues.
Guam Beach

Guam For Beginners

How did the island of Guam, over 5,000 miles from the West Coast, get to be the closest piece of US territory to North Korea?
JFK with Caroline on the Honey Fitz (presidential yacht), 1963

The Ideological Slipperiness of the Kennedy Legacy

Politicians from both sides of the aisle have sought to stake a claim to the evocative power of the Kennedy legend. What is it about Camelot?