“Zombie” Anthony Comstock Walks Among US (Again)
Or, how a moribund act of legislation continues to shape the fight for reproductive rights in the United States.
The First Famous Football Team Behind Bars
Sing Sing's football team, The Black Sheep, ascended to fame even though its players were incarcerated. One player was so good, he signed with the Eagles.
The Boston Athenæum
Founded in 1807, the subscription library was a gathering place for local scholars, “men of business,” and members of the upper classes in search of knowledge.
The “Trapeze Disrobing Act”
Strongwoman Charmion used Thomas Edison’s experiments with moving pictures to encourage women to embrace strength and physical activity.
Philanthropy and the Gilded Age
As the HBO series The Gilded Age suggests, charity allowed wealthy women to play a visible role in public life. It was also a site of inter-class animosity.
1929 Women’s Air Derby Changed Views On Women Pilots
Women pilots were seen as oddities, opportunists, and "too scatterbrained" to fly. The 1929 All-Woman Air Race set out to change that.
The Emancipation Proclamation: Annotated
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in America on January 1, 1863. Today, we've annotated the Emancipation Proclamation for readers.
Erasing Women from Science? There’s a Name for That
Countless women scientists have have been shunted to the footnotes, with credit for their work going to male colleagues. This is called the Matilda Effect.
Lydia Maria Child and the American Way of Censorship
Facing ostracism by literary elites and attacks from pro-slavery mobs, an abolitionist blunted her politics.
How Cremation Lost Its Stigma
The pro-cremation movement of the nineteenth century battled religious tradition, not to mention the specter of mass graves during epidemics.