Webster’s Dictionary 1828: Annotated
Sometimes, a dictionary is more than just words and definitions—it may be intended to serve as a declaration of linguistic independence. When Noah Webster’s first edition of the American Dictionary...
Missouri Compromise of 1820: Annotated
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was neither the first nor the last time the men of American government “compromised” on the issue of slavery, and the freedom of more than...
“Heed Their Rising Voices”: Annotated
On February 1, 1960, four young men, students at the historically Black North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College (NCA&T), went to Woolworth’s in Greensboro and sat down at the lunch...
The Fourteenth Amendment: Annotated
On February 8, 2024, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in Trump v. Anderson: whether a state (Colorado) can remove a presidential candidate from a primary ballot under...
Keeping Time: A New Year’s Collection
...system that determines the High Holy Days is a relatively new creation, dating to around 350 CE. Beware the Ides of March. (But Why?) Liz Tracey March 15, 2022 Everybody...
Editors’ Picks of 2023
...Comstock Walks Among US (Again) Liz Tracey April 19, 2023 Or, how a moribund act of legislation continues to shape the fight for reproductive rights in the United States. Ground...
What We’re Reading 2023
...In just eighty-one words, we’re reminded that violence isn’t new—nor is our apparent indifference to it. Liz Tracey “History is a silent record of people who could not leave, it...
Ulysses Obscenity Decision: Annotated
Ninety years ago this month, Judge John Woolsey of the Southern District of New York issued what would become one of the most widely published (and perhaps even read) legal...
“Tell Me about a Complicated Man”: A Homer Reading List
One could argue that a single man created the first creative franchise, which then spawned the first reboots, spin-offs, sequels, and prequels long before the birth of cinema, the novel,...