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Black and white headshot of author Matthew Wills

Matthew Wills

Matthew Wills has advanced degrees in library science and film studies and is lapsed in both fields. He has published in Poetry, Huffington Post, and Nature Conservancy Magazine, among other places, and blogs regularly about urban natural history at matthewwills.com.

On the left stands King George III surrounded by symbols of British peace and liberty, while across the Channel the figure of Napoleon is stalked by poverty and ‘universal destruction’.
Politics & History

Jacobin Hating, American Style

The most radical faction of the French Revolution was hated by everyone in the United States from reactionaries to abolitionists.
Illustration: Branding Iron by Henry Rasmusen, c. 1937 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Rasmusen,_Branding_Iron,_c._1937,_NGA_21119.jpg
Business

A Fistful of Data: Information and the Cattle Industry

Beef barons needed cowboys less and bookkeepers more as the nineteenth century wore on.
The coronation of Charlemagne
Education & Society

Making Sense of the Divine Right of Kings

The United States threw off the yoke of a king more than two centuries ago. Funny how we can't get enough of our erstwhile sovereigns today.
A troupe of mummers in animal costumes performing in a Medieval Baronial Hall at Christmas, c. 1500
Education & Society

Nittel Nacht: The Jewish Christmas Eve

'Twas the night before Christmas, and an undead Jesus walked the earth. No wonder early modern Jews played games and sang songs to scare him off.
Getty
Politics & History

How the Fascists Rewrote Spanish National History

National origin stories can be the stuff of fancy. Francoist Spain also showed how quickly those stories could be rewritten.
A chef with the turtle he is going to use for a special soup for Independence day celebrations.
Education & Society

Turtle Soup: From Class to Mass to Aghast

During the days of the British Empire, soup made from sea turtles was a delicacy. Now it's almost unheard of. What explains the change?
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie (1921 - 2000) addresses a Drop The Debt rally in Trafalgar Square, 13th June 1999.
Politics & History

Debt Forgiveness and Jubilee 2000

Erasing student loans is a hot topic of conversation now. In the 1990s, debt forgiveness was an international movement.
An image of lettuce from 1926
Politics & History

The Lettuce Workers Strike of 1930

Uniting for better wages and working conditions, a remarkably diverse coalition of laborers faced off against agribusiness.
From a 1703 atlas of the world
Politics & History

Bringing France Back into American History

The current arrangement of nation-states in North America has made the role of the French in colonial history seem less important.
Captain America punching a Nazi
Arts & Culture

Captain America and Wonder Woman, Anti-Fascist Heroes

Who needs black clothing to fight fascism when red, white, and blue will do quite nicely?
A mosaic along the Surrey Diggers Trail, Cobham UK
Politics & History

What Did the Diggers Really Believe?

The early modern Protestant sect has been seen as a predecessor to radical political views. But is that how they saw themselves?
Harriet Taylor Mill
Education & Society

Harriet Taylor Mill, At Last

When you're married to John Stuart Mill, whatever you do or say may be held against you. And so it was.
Diane di Prima
Arts & Culture

Diane di Prima

The Italian American poet and artist's “willingness to speak” about what was culturally unspeakable was a liberation.
View of the West Front of Monticello and Garden by Jane Braddick, 1825
Politics & History

Building A Better Democracy?

Metaphors of construction have been popular in American history from the start. How come?
A historical marker for the Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster
Politics & History

Remembering the Disaster at Hawks Nest

Hundreds of miners, mostly African American men, died from an entirely preventable industrial catastrophe.
Visitors walk past the entrance gate to the Auschwitz death camp, the most notorious of the many Nazi concentration camps
Education & Society

Does Dark Tourism Exploit Tragedy for Profit?

Thanatourism, as one scholar calls it, has a long history. And some historic sites of mass death do offer thoughtful educational experiences.
Children enacting heteronormative gender roles
Education

Bringing Up Baby Straight

Many parents just assume their kids will turn out heterosexual. That's part of heteronormativity.
Gouverneur Morris
Education & Society

Gouverneur Morris’s Secret Sex Diary

The author of the preamble to the Constitution spent years in Europe as a businessman, diplomat, and connoisseur of the pleasures of the flesh.
Birds flying past the windows of a building
Plants & Animals

Migrating Birds Face an Unexpected Danger: Glass Buildings

Research shows that building collisions take a staggering annual toll on North America's bird population.
From From canal boy to president by Horatio Alger, 1881
Arts & Culture

The Creepy Backstory to Horatio Alger’s Bootstrap Capitalism

In a famous essay, a scholar uncovered difficult truths about Alger, whose name has been associated with the "rags to riches" myth.
We-Wa
Politics & History

One Barrier to Two-Spirit History: Settler Archives

Historians need to know more about the roles of two-spirit Native Americans, but relying on written records isn't always productive.
A poster with the famous words 'Big Brother is Watching You' from a BBC TV production of George Orwell's classic novel '1984'.
Politics & History

Is the Authoritarian Personality a Legitimate Concept?

A group of thinkers who fled Europe wanted to explain the rise of Nazism, but their ideas haven't withstood scrutiny.
Christine Jorgenson
Politics & History

A History of Transphobia in the Medical Establishment

At a time when trans people who wanted surgery needed to trust doctors, transphobia made it difficult.
Convicts working at Reed Camp, South Carolina, 1934
Politics & Government

How Mass Incarceration Has Shaped History

A historian argues that it's time to look at the consequences of locking up millions of people over several decades.
Mothers' Crusade for Victory over Communism
Politics & History

The Red Scare and Women in Government

In 1952, a government administrator named Mary Dublin Keyserling was accused of being a communist. The attack on her was also an attack on feminism.

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