Benjamin Franklin

How Benjamin Franklin’s Almanac Appealed to the Common Man

Why did Benjamin Franklin become an American patriot when he was such a loyal son of the Crown for so long?
White House

How Do White House Transitions Actually Work?

How do presidential transitions really work? Political science scholarship on White House staffers provides some insight.
Sheet music from Barnum's Baby Shows

Babies on Display

In the mid- to late nineteenth century, people showed off their infants at baby shows.
Laura Bridgman

Before Helen Keller, There Was Laura Bridgman

Before Helen Keller, there was Laura Bridgman, the first blind and deaf woman who learned to communicate through language.
Piltdown man

Whatever Happened To Piltdown Man?

Piltdown Man was once considered the missing link between apes and humans. What happened?
voter fraud

Creating the Voter Fraud Myth

Although in-person voter fraud is close to nonexistent, it’s a big concern for many voters.
Smithsonian Institution Building

Why America Went Medieval

In the middle of the nineteenth century, upper-class America went gaga over a vision of the medieval. Carpenter’s Gothic ...
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire

How A Gambling Duchess Changed British Politics

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, won and lost fortunes, giving into a compulsion that pitted her against some of society’s most notorious ne’er-do-wells.
Grover Cleveland cartoon

The Venerable Tradition of the Presidential Sex Scandal

Americans have been obsessed with the sexual character and moral rectitude, or lack thereof, of politicians from the beginning. 
Cars in 1920s LA

How the Women of Los Angeles Protected Their Rights to Drive

In the 1920s, women's love of driving in auto-obsessed Los Angeles created traffic jams and a battle over women’s rightful place.