The Invisible Struggles of the Civil War’s Veterans
Many Civil War veterans like Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain came out of combat with injuries and lasting disabilities that no one could see.
Before Rush Limbaugh, There Was Boake Carter
When Boake Carter opened his mouth, he whipped up tempers and tempests. But who was he?
The Problem with “Public Charge” Rules
Historically, public charge rules have been a threat to immigrants dismissed as too disabled to be full contributors to the country.
The Lost Paradise of Los Angeles
Los Angeles's bountiful agricultural land was devoured by runaway suburbanization, a process which began long before the post-war era.
A History of Police Violence in Chicago
At the turn of the century, Chicago police killed 307 people, one in eighteen homicides in the city—three times the body count of local gangsters.
Seymour Hersh on the Future of American Journalism
Hersh talks about his career as an investigative reporter, the fate of online media, and feeble responses to Trump.
Puritan True Crime
Cotton Mather and other 17th-century American writers created a genre all their own: Puritan gallows literature, which both terrified and edified.
How Insurance Companies Used Bad Science to Discriminate
In 1881, Prudential announced that insurance policies held by black adults would be worth one-third less than the same plans held by whites.
The Midterms That Changed America
In 1994, Republicans swept the midterms and Newt Gingrich became Speaker of the House. His “Contract with America” was both polarizing and transformative.