The Shrines of September 11th
In the immediate aftermath of September 11th, impromptu shrines appeared.
Thomas Edison and the War of the Currents
Thomas Edison had a big stake in the AC/DC war of the currents and would say anything to win.
The Evolution of the New York Restaurant Scene
In colonial America, restaurants as we know them today were virtually unheard of.
The Little-Known History of the Forced Sterilization of Native American Women
Jane Lawrence documents the forced sterilization of thousands of Native American women by the Indian Health Service in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Struggle for Hawaii
Hawaii has been a state for 57 years, but its history goes back much further.
A Brief History of US Drinking
In 1770, the average colonial Americans consumed about three and a half gallons of alcohol per year, about double the modern rate.
When Mexico Was Flooded By Immigrants
In the early nineteenth-century, Mexico had a problem with American immigrants.
The Original Hawks and Doves
Where do the terms hawks and doves come from? The symbolic connections are ancient, but the War of 1812 put them in the political lexicon.
The Significance of Shirley Chisholm’s Presidential Campaign
Shirley Chisholm: the first black female U.S. Representative, first black major-party candidate for President, and the first Democratic Party woman to run.
Racism, the South, and Helen Keller
As one of her day’s most famous Southerners, Helen Keller was uniquely poised to point out—and challenge—that troubled racial heritage.