People mourning AIDS victims at a vigil.
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Coronavirus Is Different from AIDS

People comparing covid-19 and AIDS may obscure more than they clarify.

States Can't Fight Coronavirus on Their Own—And the Founding Fathers Knew It

It was a lesson they'd learned from experience.

How Generals Fueled 1918 Flu Pandemic to Win Their World War

Just like today, brass and bureaucrats ignored warnings, and sent troops overseas despite the consequences.
Detail from the painting Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States by Howard Chandler Christy, featuring Franklin and Hamilton.

The Founders' Moral Mind Was Revolutionary, and Free

A new history sees the authors of the Declaration as moral agents, and sets out to capture the thinking behind the principles.
Donald Trump.
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President Trump’s Desire to Reopen Businesses Quickly Is Dangerous

History teaches us that prioritizing the economy could kill hundreds of thousands.
Portraits of Donald Trump and Herbert Hoover.
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Covid-19 May Destroy Donald Trump’s Presidency

Has Trump plunged America into another Great Depression?
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President Trump Must Act Immediately to Protect Doctors and Nurses from Covid-19

Using the Defense Production Act is long overdue — and the health of our doctors and nurses is at stake.

George Washington’s Twilight Years

A review of "Washington’s End: The Final Years and Forgotten Struggle," by Jonathan Horn.
People standing in line, social distancing six feet apart.
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Social Distancing Won’t Happen Until Governments Order It

Just like in wartime, compulsion is a must.

John Sherman’s Struggle to Preserve Democracy

This is not the first time that democratic governance appeared to be under assault.

Will This Year’s Census Be the Last?

In the past two centuries, the evolution of the U.S. Census has tracked the country’s social tensions and reflected its political controversies.

The Loser King

Failing upward with Oliver North.

Missouri Compromised

Anti-slavery protest during the Missouri statehood debate.
Wendel Willkie

Around the World in 49 Days

A review of "The Idealist: Wendell Willkie’s Wartime Quest to Build One World."

4 Contested Conventions in Presidential Election History

Having a single candidate by the time of the convention has been a key stepping stone for a party’s victory. But it hasn't always worked out that way.
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How Biden vs. Sanders Echoes a 1964 Republican Party Split

Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are the icons of an ideological split among today’s Democrats, echoing a similar split in the Republican party of 1964.
Shirley Chisolm
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Losing Primary Candidates Still Influence the Race

What Shirley Chisholm can teach 2020 candidates as they exit.
Presidential candidates after a Democratic primary debate.
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South Carolina May Well Determine Whether Democrats Can Win the Presidency

Winning the South Carolina primary requires exciting a crucial constituency.
An illustration from a book of homes published by a Pennsylvania lumber company in 1920

The Latent Racism of the Better Homes in America Program

How Better Homes in America—a collaboration between Herbert Hoover and the editor of a conservative women’s magazine—promoted idealized whiteness.

Slavery Was Defeated Through Mass Politics

The overthrow of slavery in the US was a battle waged and won in the field of democratic mass politics; a battle that holds enormous lessons for radicals today.
George McGovern surrounded by anti-Vietnam War protesters.

Bernie Sanders Is George McGovern

The similarities between 2020 and 1972 are too astonishing to ignore. But there’s one big difference.

The Tyranny of the Minority, from Iowa Caucus to Electoral College

The problem of minority rule isn’t Trumpian or temporary; it’s bipartisan and enduring.
A drawing in the style of a 1980s video game of shooting at rainbows.

Jesse Jackson’s Political Revolution

Before Bernie Bros vs. the DNC, there was Jesse Jackson vs. the Atari Democrats.
Portrait of George Washington in his military uniform.

The Gun Guy and Illegal Militia Founder Who Became President: George Washington

Our first President understood that armed citizens are essential to American freedom.
Painting of George Washington on his death bed, surrounded by family and friends.

The Myth of George Washington’s Post-Presidency

When Washington left the presidency, he didn’t really leave politics at all.

Lincoln’s Forgotten Legacy as America’s First ‘Green President’

Lincoln protected thousands of acres of California forest and wanted to restore the nation’s battle-ravaged countryside before he was assassinated.
Watercolor of Abraham Lincoln with soldiers in swirls of red across his face.

Abraham Lincoln’s Radical Moderation

What the president understood that the zealous Republican reformers in Congress didn’t.

A Post-Mortem

A look at the impeachment of Warren Hastings and the nature of American power.
Illustration of Lincoln consulting with military figures in a tent.

Did Lincoln Really Matter?

What the Civil War tells us about who has the power to shape history.
Victoria Woodhull speaks as the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives receives a group of female suffragists, January 11, 1871

The Scandalous and Pioneering Victoria Woodhull

The first woman to run for president was infamous in her day.