Calvin Coolidge

The Historic Echoes of Trump’s Immigration Ban

Trump's "Muslim ban" is not the first time the United States has attempted to prevent certain groups from entering the country.
Vagrant

The Hidden Subtext of Vagrancy

In recent years, activists in cities across the country have repeatedly clashed with municipal officials over anti-vagrancy laws.
Abraham Lincoln inauguration, 1861

The Most Contentious Presidential Transition in American History

Was Abraham Lincoln's the most tumultuous presidential transition in American history?
Grover Cleveland cartoon

The Venerable Tradition of the Presidential Sex Scandal

Americans have been obsessed with the sexual character and moral rectitude, or lack thereof, of politicians from the beginning. 
Ford Model T, 1908

Henry Ford’s Anti-Semitism

Henry Ford's newspaper, the Dearborn Independent, published years of anti-Semitic articles, prompting Hitler to call him the "single great man."
Immigrants Arriving in New York City, 1887 Engraving

Constructing the White Race

How race is historically and culturally defined. 
"March," John Lewis' Civil Rights Comic Book

Remembering the Civil Rights Movement…With Comics

Congressman John Lewis's graphic autobiography March: Book Two draws on the richly textured oral history of the Civil Rights Movement.
Victoria Woodhull

Free Love and the First Female Presidential Nominee

Victoria Woodhull who was known to her enemies as "Mrs. Satan," was the first woman to run for president of the United States.
A Sandhill Crane walking in a marsh

Western Lands and the Rise of the Political Right

The Sagebrush Rebellion proved pivotal in strengthening the politics of the Republican Party in the West.
Mug shot taken in 1901 when Goldman was implicated in the assassination of President McKinley

From Enemy to Icon: The Life of Emma Goldman

While alive, Emma Goldman was considered an enemy of the state. In death, she became a celebrated American icon.