A colorized photograph of Abraham Lincoln in February of 1865

Abraham Lincoln’s Labor Theory of Value

Abraham Lincoln was no Marxist, but his ideas about the relationship of labor and capital mirrored Marx’s in some ways—albeit with a rural American flavor.
Citizens breaking down the door of the parish prison to lynch Italians held for the murder of police chief David Hennessy, 1891

Attacking Italians in Louisiana

Italian immigrants had no qualms about working and living alongside Black Americans, which made them targets for violence by white vigilantes in Louisiana.
Recruiting poster for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps

Battery X: A Secret Test of Women at War during WWII

Although their contributions have been largely forgotten, women played an active role in Washington DC’s air defense system during World War II.
A stylized illustration of a jazz trio including a trumpeter, bassist and drummer

The Barrier-Breaking Ozark Club of Great Falls, Montana

The Black-owned club became a Great Falls hotspot, welcoming all to a music-filled social venue for almost thirty years.
A Punjabi-Mexican American couple, Valentina Alarez and Rullia Singh posing for their wedding photo in 1917

The “Mexican-Hindus” of Rural California

Anti-Asian immigration restrictions led male Punjabi farm workers in California to marry Mexican and Mexican American women, creating new cultural bonds.
Lajpat Rai and W.E.B. Du Bois

Black Freedom and Indian Independence

Activists including W. E .B. Du Bois in the United States and Lajpat Rai in India drew connections between Black American and Indian experiences of white rule.
A map outlining the Proclamation of October 7, 1763, overlaid with a portrait of King George III.

Real Estate and the Revolution

When George III issued a proclamation forbidding settlement west of a line running through the Appalachian Mountains, colonists decided they’d had enough.
An Elberta peach from Georgia, 1901

The Georgia Peach: A Labor History

The peach industry represented a new, scientifically driven economy for Georgia, but it also depended on the rhythms and racial stereotypes of cotton farming.
From the cover of Feeling Asian American by Wen Liu

Racial Hierarchies: Japanese American Immigrants in California

The belief of first-generation Japanese immigrants in their racial superiority over Filipinos was a by-product of the San Joaquin Delta's white hegemony.
A young woman sits on the grass with her baby, USA, circa 1975

Motherhood in America: A Reading List

The experience and work of motherhood remained understudied for generations, but since the 1970s, scholars have engaged with the topic in diverse ways.