Politics and Power in the United States: A Syllabus
Historical and scholarly context for the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Socialism: Foundations and Key Concepts
What is the political, philosophic, and economic system known as socialism? Some starting points for further study.
What Happened to U.S. Public Health?
After the Civil War, support for public health measures was high. Now, some people blast them as part of the "nanny state."
Where Did Zip Codes Come From?
How a plan for getting the mail delivered faster allowed targeted marketing to grow.
Franklin, the American State that Wasn’t
Franklin was the 14th state of America. If you haven't heard of it, that's because it only lasted for four years.
How Natural Gas Helped Make our Industrial World
Gas was in fact one of the first readily available fuels, and shaped spaces and politics in Regency-era London.
How Longleaf Pines Helped Build the U.S.
The dense, resin-saturated, rot-resistant timber of the longleaf pine helped build up U.S. cities. But most of the native stands have already been logged.
Who Wrote the Declaration of Independence?
The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson was not then credited with its authorship.
Happy Flag Day! (What is Flag Day?)
What is Flag Day, again? Early American flags were all over the place. There was no consensus about the flag until 25 years after the Revolution.