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.
President Nixon with his edited transcripts of the White House Tapes subpoenaed by the Special Prosecutor, during his speech to the Nation on Watergate

Power over Presidential Records

By law, all communications seen and/or touched by a United States president are supposed to be preserved. Reality—and executive privilege—is a lot messier.
Grandchildren of slaves.

Reading for Juneteenth

The JSTOR Daily editors have rounded up a collection of stories that discuss the origins, meaning, and legacy of Juneteenth.
A hand colored portrait of Nellie Bly, circa 1890

Nellie Bly Experiences It All

One of the first female investigative reporters, Nellie Bly shone a light on the plight of American women by facing the world head on.
Map depicting existing and proposed structures and modifications to the Hayti neighborhood in Durham, NC, 1960

The Uneven Costs of Cross-Country Connectivity

Promoted as a social and economic savior, the US federal interstate highway system acted as a tool to promote racial injustices.
An 1890s advertising poster showing a woman in fancy clothes (partially vaguely influenced by 16th- and 17th-century styles) drinking Coke

Who Took the Cocaine Out of Coca-Cola?

The medical profession saw nothing wrong with offering a cocaine-laced cola to white, middle-class consumers. Selling it to Black Americans was another matter.
Justice John Marshall Harlan

The Great Dissenter’s Complications

Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan I argued the US Constitution was color-blind. He also believed it stood in defense of white supremacy.