We Descend from the River
Public spaces are often sites of commemoration of events in the nation’s history. But which public is represented in and served by those spatialized celebrations?
Quakers Against Thanksgiving
In colonial America, government “thanksgivings” blurred faith and politics. For Quakers, rejecting them was an act of religious conviction.
The Tamest Grizzly of Yellowstone
Adored by tourists and studied by scientists, a grizzly mother named Sylvia became an emblem of the fragile balance between humans and the wild.
The Victory of Public Lands
Most Americans agree on the value of preserving public lands. How did the idea of public lands come about, and how can we ensure they exist in the future?
The Promise and Problems of Public Lands: A Reading List
Discover key research on U.S. public lands through scholarly works exploring conservation, Indigenous knowledge, and public policy.
The President and the Press Corps
Theodore Roosevelt was the first White House occupant to seek control over how newspapers covered him.
The Erie Canal at 200
Finished in October 1825, the Erie Canal connected increasingly specialized regions, altering the economic landscape of the northeast United States.
The Fifteenth Amendment: Annotated
The brevity of the Fifteenth Amendment of the US Constitution belies its impact on American voting rights.
Los Angeles’s War on Tramps
In the 1880s, Los Angeles began a large-scale project of incarcerating unemployed men whom they viewed as a threat to the vigor of white America.
The Long and Winding Island
New York’s Long Island has long served as a backdrop for social and political conflicts between the newly arrived and the established residents.