Georgetown University in 1850

Slavery and the Church

It wasn't just educational institutions like Georgetown University that profited off of slavery; churches, too, were complicit in the system.
Anders Leonard Zor, portrait of Grover Cleveland

History’s Biggest Presidential Health Cover-Up

How important is a President's health? Should the public know all? History suggests that full disclosure is better than not.
coffee

Why Coffee is Sometimes Called Mocha

Coffee. Everybody's favorite stimulant has many nicknames, and every one of these words has a story to tell. Consider "mocha."
Lidice memorial

The Role of Children in War, from Lidice to Aleppo

Images of children in wartime, like those from Aleppo, can shock the world. But what happens after that isn't so clear.
Phyllis Schlafly

Phyllis Schlafly and the Meaning of Antifeminism

From today’s vantage point, many of the anti-feminist ideas Phyllis Schlafly espoused sound extreme. But are they?
Immigrants Arriving in New York City, 1887 Engraving

Constructing the White Race

How race is historically and culturally defined. 
9/11 memorial, New York

The Shrines of September 11th

In the immediate aftermath of September 11th, impromptu shrines appeared.
Thomas Edison with lightbulb

Thomas Edison and the War of the Currents

Thomas Edison had a big stake in the AC/DC war of the currents and would say anything to win. 
Delmonico's dinner, 1906

The Evolution of the New York Restaurant Scene

In colonial America, restaurants as we know them today were virtually unheard of.
Philando Castile shooting video

Viral Black Death: Why We Must Watch Citizen Videos of Police Violence

We should acknowledge and absorb the pain captured in videos of police violence, just as antiracist activists bore witness in the past to lynchings.