Gay Panic on Muscle Beach
The skin and strength on display at Santa Monica’s Muscle Beach aggravated American fears of gender transgressions and homosexuality.
Orange Crate Art
California citrus growers drew on mass-printing techniques and advances in color lithography to create distinctive brands for their boxes.
Guns in America: Foundations and Key Concepts
This non-exhaustive list of readings on the role of guns in US history and society introduces the field as a subject of scholarly inquiry.
How the LAPD Guarded California’s Borders in the 1930s
Working well outside their jurisdiction, the officers patrolled their state's borders against white migrants.
How “Measured Militancy” Empowered California’s Fieldworkers
When Mexican-American fieldworkers' strikes didn't net results, César Chávez led the Ventura County Community Service Organization in alternate tactics.
How Nixon Paved the Way for Trump
Richard Nixon's voters had a lot in common with Trump's, especially in their idealization of the self-sufficient, independent American businessperson.
America’s Long Fight Over Single-Payer Healthcare
With new calls for universal single-payer health insurance, President Harry Truman's derailed plan of 1945 is getting renewed attention.
Father Junípero Serra: His Statue and Contested Legacy
While Father Junípero Serra may earn posthumous canonization this fall, his statue in D.C. may be getting the boot.
Sara Plummer Lemmon: Pioneering Botanist
Botany didn’t just intrigue and entertain Sara Plummer Lemmon—it deeply affected her personal life.