Logging in the Oregon forests, c. 1917

Water Logs

Log drivers once steered loose timber on rivers across America before railroad expansion put such shepherds out of work.
Ice cutters

On the Rocks

Ice harvesters once made a living from frozen lakes and ponds, and the international ice industry was a booming business. Then refrigeration came along.
Gathering Sap at a Maple Sugar Camp, Vermont

Praising Maple Sugar in the Early American Republic

In Early America, some prestigious residents advocated for the replacement of cane sugar, supplied by enslaved workers, with maple sugar from family farms.
An advertisement for steel

Making Steel All Shiny and New

When it seemed that steel had lost its gleam with American consumers, the industry turned to marketing to make it shine again.
Rosie the Riveter

How Conflict Boosts the Economy

Historically speaking, we are living in unusually peaceful times. But does peacetime mean bad things for the economy, which is often boosted by war?
Steel mill

Rebecca Harding Davis, American Realist

How do we record the voices of those who are silenced? We might do well to remember one of ...