Excerpts

The American journalist propelled into the limelight when she went head-to-head with Nellie Bly on a race around the world.

The writings of the late Harvard political scientist anticipate America's political and intellectual battles -- and point to the country we may become.

Edward Rielly tells of the tragic massacre which underpinned the life of resistance fighter Geronimo.

Chinese exclusion in the 19th century exposes the limits of the justices' power.

Here's what to know about the man behind the longstanding rule.

Bipartisanship is the exception, not the rule.

The roots of the student debt crisis are neither economic nor financial in origin, but rather social.

Fifty years after President Johnson signed it into law, the bill has failed to create an integrated society.

A review of Deirdre Cooper Owens' "Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology."

Why is there more than one version of the famous 1851 speech?

How "enlightened" leaders of the early US ignored an Independence Day speech and set in motion indigenous peoples' brutalization.

The document we celebrate today wasn't just the work of Thomas Jefferson's individual genius. Everyone was doing it.

How representative is the U.S. House of Representatives?

Homeowners used to rush to pick up the phone. What happened?

In 1855, prohibitionists set their sights on the wettest day of the year.

On the 50th anniversary of RFK's death, a glimpse inside one of his closest relationships.

Remembering a time when a toxic cocktail of threats, fear, and misunderstanding nearly led us down the path to Armageddon.

Many on the left have learned the wrong lessons from his ill-fated presidential bid.

Until his last breath, RFK insisted that Americans confront their country’s shortcomings—and live up to its potential.

240 years after the American Revolution, debates over how to interpret the conflict and its leaders continue.

For many American liberals, RFK became a symbol of not just a better past, but also a better future that might have been.

The crucial decade was the 1970s, when the industry’s increased consolidation and ever-blander product collided with key social and economic changes.

The accomplishments of the first black president will be erased by a man who rose to power on slandering him.

The answer runs through the history of anti-lynching laws.

In 1883, heavy-weight boxing champion John L. Sullivan embarked on a tour of the country that would make him a sports superstar.

The government's suppression of press freedom was a major component of its attempts to build support for the war effort

Journalism in two different eras of drug waves illustrates how strongly race factors into empathy and policy.

Jane Addams was controversial and independent-minded.

The first revolution articulated American ideals. The second enacted them.

A brief review of history.

A Q&A with the author of "Enlisting Faith: How the Military Chaplaincy Shaped Religion and State in Modern America."

If religious freedom trumps equality under the law, it provides a “cover” that actually encourages discrimination.

Peyote use has been defended with religious liberty arguments. So has Bible reading in public schools.

When a college is named for two slave owners, one of whom was a Confederate hero, history is complicated.

A new biography offers a fair-minded portrait of a vain moralist and political visionary whose certitude exceeded his judgment.

Why did David Clark campaign to keep kids working in the early 20th century? For one thing, it benefited his interests.

The “Laurel or Yanny?” phenomenon was the logical endpoint of 300 years of American media.

These days, Hollywood is more democratic than Washington.

The Mormon church is still grappling with a racial past.

In a new book, top historians discuss the musical’s educational value, historical accuracy and racial revisionism.

Olivia Hooker was 6 at the time of the riot, considered to be one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history.

How can Americans have such different memories of slavery?

The banjo's history and its symbolism of community, slavery, resistance, and ultimately America itself.

Ever wonder how a lifelong urbanite can resent cities as much as Donald Trump does? First you have to understand ’70s and ’80s New York.

Vincent Carretta takes a look at the remarkable life of the first ever African-American woman to be published.

Before the German zeppelin met its fiery demise, it was an object of fascination for U.S. radio listeners.

In order to win universal health care, we have to understand what — and who — we're up against.

The history of the epithet, from its rise among leftists and jazz critics and folkies to its recent fall from favor.

The blurred line between boyhood and manhood.

In the 19th century, Americans abandoned one source of dirty energy. Can they do it again?