Where Did Family-Bible Genealogies Come From?
Royal lineage tracing, British laws of inheritance, and patriarchal Protestantism all contributed to the genealogical literacy of some Americans.
Remembering Emmett Till in Song
The murder of Emmett Till has been memorialized in song by such artists as Langston Hughes and Bob Dylan.
The Female Husband is So Eighteenth Century
Henry Fielding's novel, a fictional account of the life of Charles Hamilton, conflates vagrancy with sexual, gender, and religious deviance.
Black Soldier Desertion in the Civil War
The reasons Black Union soldiers left their army during the Civil war were varied, with poor pay, family needs and racism among them.
Grifting In The 18th Century: The Grift Remains the Same
When faking an identity, it helps to choose something foreign to your audience.
When Harvard Students Couldn’t Get Warm
The early heating systems of New England kept Harvard students cold until the early twentieth century.
Jim Crow’s Civil Defense Plans
The first head of the Federal Civil Defense Administration planned on maintaining segregation in bomb shelters, and in the post-nuclear future.
Buffalo Soldiers and the Bicycle Corps
Buffalo Soldiers were assigned to assess bicycles as military transportation on the frontier at the end of the nineteenth century.
New History of the Illinois Country
The history of French settlement in le pays des Illinois is not well-known by Americans, and what is known is being revisited by historians.
Hot Air Balloon Launch Riot!
In the early days of ballooning, launches were prone to failure. When failure looked imminent, the crowd’s mood would begin to turn.