Excerpts

The reasons Black Union soldiers left their army during the Civil war were varied, with poor pay, family needs and racism among them.

Why can’t America see that?

A century ago, pundits, special interests, and politicians weighed in on what should and shouldn't be taught in history and social studies courses.

The 1876 presidential election, Potter Committee, and European perceptions.

The Midwest's long history as an epicenter in the fight for racial justice is one of the nation's most amazing, important, yet overlooked stories.

Documenting U.S. policy toward Iraq for more than two decades.

Fifty years ago, 160 young Americans defied State Department orders and partied on the streets of Moscow. The Cold War would never be the same.

It was shocking to see the flag greet Trump in Poland. But Europeans — some of them white supremacist — have waved it for years.

Reagan's use of jokes to openly mock the Soviet system were part of his broader Cold War strategy.

The unauthorized removal of the monument took place during the racial justice protests of summer 2020.

Nancy Sinkoff discusses her new biography of Lucy S. Dawidowicz, a Holocaust historian whose role in the neoconservative movement is often forgotten.

A little-known federal body gives official approval to what appears on maps. Now it is caught in the middle of the country’s upheaval over racism and language.

Tennessee’s surprising role in the adoption of life-saving seat belt laws.

On dying and heaven in the time of Longfellow.

Using the word incorrectly oversimplifies history—and won't help us address our current political crisis.

Be Woke presents Black history in two minutes (or so).

How the insurrection on January 6th brought a legendary assassin back to life.

Objects and documents, says the Smithsonian historian Paul Gardullo, offer a profound opportunity for reckoning with a past that still lingers.

An excerpt from the new anthology, “American Cult.”

Ariel Ron discusses the rise of the agricultural state in his book, Grassroots Leviathan: Agricultural Reform and the Rural North in the Slaveholding Republic.

How the Tragedy of the Commons theory played out in reality.

A review of three books about Abraham Lincoln, the 14th Amendment, and Reconstruction.

A new book aims to recover the Constitution’s pivotal role in shaping claims of justice and equality.

The king of ragtime published his hit tune 120 years ago. Pianist Lara Downes believes the piece helped shape the future of American music.

Amidst growing suspicion that equality talk is cheap, a new book explains where egalitarianism went wrong—and what it still has to offer.

Uncovering the life of Rose Dougan, a real Renaissance woman, and her pioneering role in preserving Native American art.

The topic is emotional. That’s not a bad thing.

On the relationships formed and marriages made by the fur trade.

Addressing systemic racism and state violence is not enough.

How the Windy City became a Latinx metropolis in the second half of the twentieth century.

Digging deeper, offering historical context and going beyond official narratives will better serve the audience.

Exclusion and violence in Western U.S. states help explain the Whiteness of winter sports.

Why do some political incumbents adopt aggressive measures to slow the spread of infectious diseases while others do not?

One of the worst snowstorms recorded in Virginia’s history began on Sunday, January 17, 1857. It remained in Virginians' collective memories eighty years later.

Explorer Tara Roberts took up diving to learn about the human side of a tragic era. She wound up connecting with her family’s inspiring past.

The most influential preacher in the country, Beecher aggressively agitated for the Union to extend complete forgiveness to Confederates.

Restriction and deportation exist in opposition to the political traditions of the African American freedom struggle.

How Charlotta Bass, a Black woman and peace activist, anticipated America’s path to militarism.

Black contestants — and winners — have not translated into changed beauty standards or structural transformation.

Marie Bankhead Owen led campaigns to purge anti-Confederate lessons from Southern classrooms, and all but erased Black history from the Alabama state archives.

At the back of the book, the index provides a space for reference—and sometimes revenge.

After abandoning its working-class roots, the news business is in a death spiral as ordinary Americans reject it in growing numbers.

The Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Project explores the meaning of freedom through the example of one extraordinary life.

Long before the Wordle mania, there was the crossword puzzle craze. And newspapers condemned them as a dangerous menace to society.

After the 1927 Great Flood, Black musicians from the Delta produced an outpour of songs testifying to the destruction. The same is true today.

The dropout was not just a hippy-trippy hedonist but a paranoid soul, who feared brainwashing and societal control.

Slavery’s a sensitive subject, but so is the question of who gets to be an authority about language.

To control inflation during WWII, the U.S. government resorted to wide-ranging price controls. Unintended consequences may be the reason they aren't used today.

The crisis that Federici identified in the 1970s has reached a boiling point.

Fights over history like those in the U.S. are happening all over the world.