Gerald Ford, University of Michigan.

“Half Right and Half Wrong.”

There's more to Gerald Ford, "the son of a bitch pardoned the son of a bitch,” than Watergate.
President Jimmy Carter and Sen. Edward Kennedy shake hands at the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention

What Being Unpopular Does to a First-Term President

Some lessons for Joe Biden from the ’70s presidents who lived it.
screenshot of primary source archive with "slut" in search browser and primacy source results listed below

Sluts and the Founders

Understanding the meaning of the word "slut" in the Founders' vocabulary.
tintype portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln

The Insanity Trial of Mary Lincoln

How the self-proclaimed "First Widow" used her celebrity to influence public opinion.
Harold Washington on a button

Primary Sources are a Vibe

Historian Melanie Newport turns to eBay.
Elmwood Cemetery, where Henry Ellett, Alice Mitchell and Freda Ward are buried

A Deadly Introduction

Who was Henry Ellett? Looking at his grave you wouldn't know much about him.
Photo of Jane Grant.

Confession of a Feminist I

A serialized biography of Jane Grant (1892-1972), first woman reporter at The New York Times and co-founder of The New Yorker.
A dress worn by Martha Washington.

Why Martha Washington's Life Is So Elusive to Historians

A gown worn by the first First Lady reveals a dimension of her nature that few have been aware of.
Book cover for Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Chernow Gonna Chernow

A Pulitzer Prize winner punches down.

George Washington Saw a Future for America: Mules

A newly minted celebrity to the world, the future president used his position to procure his preferred beast of burden from the king of Spain.
George Washington on the cover of Alexis Coe's "You Never Forget Your First."

A New Book About George Washington Breaks All the Rules on How to Write About George Washington

A cheeky biography of the first president pulls no punches.
Mural of a wedding on a plantation, while African Americans working in fields.

'Until Death or Distance Do You Part'

African American marriages before and after the Civil War.

I Retraced the Gold Rush Trail to Find the American Dream

A disenchanted San Franciscan rides west with a motley crew of pioneers.