The idea of a President Oprah has sparked excitement rather than ridicule. Americans value symbolism as much as political experience; while Oprah has little of the latter, she is practically made of the former.

Robert E. Gilbert argues that the key to understanding Ronald Reagan is knowing that he was the child of an alcoholic.

In our own new Gilded Age, it’s worth asking what the big game hunters have in common with people who hunt to put some extra meat on the table.

The demolition derby was ready-made for the age of planned obsolescence from automobile manufacturers, who happily sponsored demolition derby venues.

In the early 20th century, journalistic exposés, novels, and vice commission reports trumpeted fears about "white slavery" sweeping the country.

The real and supposed resemblances between humans and non-human primates shaped American conversations about race and society.

In an age when the White House is being asked if slavery was a good or bad thing, perhaps we should take a look at the history of the history of slavery.

In colonial New England, moral quandaries were everywhere. A surprisingly big one in the 17th and 18th century was whether it was okay to wear a wig.

The term “sob sisters” was used in the early twentieth century to make fun of women journalists who dared cover the first trial of the century.

In 1919, armed posses and federal troops killed as many as one hundred African-Americans in one of the worst instances of mass violence in U.S. history.