How Mail Delivery Has Shaped America
The United States Postal Service is under federal scrutiny. It’s not the first time.
Hoe History: Complex and Knotted
The plantation hoe, a simple, ubiquitous, and historically ignored farming tool, was specific to the Atlantic colonial project, shows historian Chris Evans.
The Treaty of Paris 1783: Annotated
The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the Revolutionary War and the hostilities between Great Britain and the newly independent United States—at least temporarily.
Tree of Peace, Spark of War
The white pines of New England may have done more than any leaf of tea to kick off the American Revolution.
Eleutheria: A Lost Utopia in the Caribbean
The Eleutherian Adventurers departed Bermuda for the Bahamas in 1647, hoping to create the first democracy in the Americas.
The Federalist No. 1: Annotated
Alexander Hamilton’s anonymous essay challenged the voting citizens of New York to hold fast to the truth when deciding to ratify (or not) the US Constitution.
Webster’s Dictionary 1828: Annotated
Noah Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language declared Americans free from the tyranny of British institutions and their vocabularies.
Suppressing the Black Vote in 1811
As more Black men gained the right to vote in New York, the state began to change its laws to reduce their power or disenfranchise them completely.
Indigenous Kings in Londontown
In 1710, Queen Anne of England feted four Native American dignitaries—would-be political allies. Their presence at a performance of Macbeth caused a stir.
Autopsy of a Saint
In the late thirteenth century, followers of the Italian abbess Clare of Montefalco dissected her heart in search of a crucifix.