Taking Slavery West in the 1850s
Before the Civil War, pro-slavery forces in the South—particularly the future president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis—tried to extend their power westward.
Webster’s Dictionary 1828: Annotated
Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language declared Americans free from the tyranny of British institutions and their vocabularies.
A People’s Bank at the Post Office
The Postal Savings System offered depositors a US government-backed guarantee of security, but it was undone by for-profit private banks.
Postcards Revolutionized Pornography
In the late nineteenth century, the postcard became the ideal medium for expanding the audience for pornography, much to the concern of social elites.
The Border Presidents and Civil Rights
Three US presidents from the South’s borders—Truman, Eisenhower, and Johnson—worked against Southern politicians to support civil and voting rights.
Missouri Compromise of 1820: Annotated
The “compromise” attempted to answer the question of whether the Missouri territory would be admitted to the Union as a “slave” or “free” state.
The Power of Pamphlets in the Anti-Slavery Movement
Black-authored print was central to James G. Birney’s conversion from enslaver to abolitionist and presidential candidate.
Does Adultery Justify Murder?
There’s a popular (mis)perception that, prior to the rise of modern legal systems, a husband was considered justified in killing a straying wife.
Searching for Home in Hmong American Writing
Two significant poetry anthologies deterritorialize home, showing that for Hmong Americans, home can be a process of moving and running despite living in a place.
Birth of the Corporate Person
The defining of corporations as legal “persons” entitled to Fourteenth Amendment rights got a leg up from the fight over a California anti-Chinese immigrant law.