What the Reconstruction Meant for Women
Southern legal codes included parallel language pairing “master and slave” and “husband and wife.”
How the Ban on Medical Advertising Hurt Women Doctors
Intended to protect consumers from unscrupulous quackery, a nineteenth-century ban on medical advertising proved to be a double-edged sword.
The New Nomads of #VanLife Reflect an Enduring Divide
A distinctly American restlessness is inspiring some to abandon the idea of a permanent home, while others are displaced by harsh realities.
Subscription Art for the 19th-Century Set
How the American Art-Union brought fine art to the people, via a subscription service, in the 1840s.
When Big Business Backed Social Security
Contemporary conservatives call for the U.S. government to ditch Social Security in favor of private savings. But it wasn't always this way.
What The Great Gatsby Reveals About The Jazz Age
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel embraced jazz, while also falling prey to the racist caricatures associated with it.
What Violent Acts Get Defined as Terrorism
Why was the Weather Underground group labelled as a terrorist organization, while the KKK was not? A brief look at the history of domestic terrorism.
African American Studies: Foundations and Key Concepts
This non-exhaustive list of readings in African American Studies highlights the vibrant history of the discipline and introduces the field.
Jill Lepore: How to Respond to the Crisis of Our Institutions
Lepore talks about presidential deceit, why women are often forgotten by history, and the “epistemological crisis” of our era.
War and Pest Control
Since World War I, the connections between pest control and war have been scientific, technological, institutional, and metaphorical.