The US Sanitary Commission is credited with saving lives during the Civil War, but its leadership hoped it would be remembered for advancing racialized science.

Many servicemen became addicted to opioids prescribed during the war. Society viewed their dependency as a lack of manliness.

In an era of laissez-faire governance, a growing number of federal and state regulations were justified as necessary to protect public health and morality.

For a burgeoning consumer society, store-bought flags and bonnets offered proof that commercialism could go hand in hand with heartfelt emotion.

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in America on January 1, 1863. Today, we've annotated the Emancipation Proclamation for readers.

From "insurrection" to "rebellion" to "Civil War," finding a name for the conflict was always political.

Since its invention in 1743, roller skating has been tied to Black social movements.

Many Civil War veterans like Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain came out of combat with injuries and lasting disabilities that no one could see.