Temperance Melodrama on the Nineteenth-Century Stage
Produced by the master entertainer P. T. Barnum, a melodrama about the dangers of alcohol was the first show to run for a hundred performances in New York City.
The Legacy of Racial Hatred in the January 6 Insurrection
The U.S.’s politics of racial hatred are sustained by a culture of making political compromises when bold action is required.
Political Divisions Led to Violence in the U.S. Senate in 1856
The horrific caning of Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate in 1856 marked one of the most divisive moments in U.S. political history.
Rural Rent Wars of the 1840s
Anti-rent rebellions in New York State helped to shatter the two-party political system in the nineteenth century.
New Jersey Let (Some) Women Vote from 1776 to 1807
Historians Judith Apter Klinghoffer and Lois Elkis argue that this wasn't oversight. New Jersey legislators knew exactly what they were doing.
The First U.S.-China Trade Deal
The Treaty of Wanghia formalized the burgeoning ties between the two countries, opening the door to new commercial and cultural exchanges.
The Birth of the Modern American Debt Collector
In the 19th century, farm loans changed from a matter between associates into an impersonal, bureaucratic exchange.
The Diverse Whaling Crews of Melville’s Era
The ship from Moby Dick was a fairly accurate portrayal of the multi-racial character of American whaling crews before the Civil War.