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What Will Future Historians Say About President Trump's First 100 Days? Here Are 11 Guesses

Experts weigh in on how historians of the future may assess President Trump's achievements after his first 100 days in office.

Patterns Of Death In The South Still Show The Outlines Of Slavery

Blacks continue to die younger than people in other groups in the Black Belt.

Reliving Injustice 75 Years Later: Executive Order 9066 Then and Now

The lessons of Japanese interment for policy makers today.

How the ‘Hamilton Effect’ Distorts the Founders

Too often, we look to history not to understand it, but to seek out confirmation for our preexisting beliefs. That’s a problem.

The Myth of the Criminal Immigrant

The link between immigration and crime exists in the imaginations of Americans, and nowhere else.

Measuring Race and Ethnicity Across the Decades: 1790–2010

U.S. Census classifications through the centuries reflect broad changes in the way Americans understand race and ethnicity.

Activism in the US

The Civil Rights movement led the way, soon followed by anti-war protests and activism for women’s issues and gay rights.

The Confusing and At-Times Counterproductive 1980s Response to the AIDS Epidemic

A new exhibit looks at the posters sent out by non-profits and the government in response to the spread of AIDS.

The Big, Nearly 200-Year-Old Legal Issue at The Heart of the Dakota Access Pipeline Fight

Tribal sovereignty is a concept that even some of the protesters may not be familiar with. But it's important.

The Ambivalence of Appropriation

A new book by Eric Lott frames white appropriation of blackness as containing the possibility of greater racial solidarity.

Where Sunday School Comes From

Sunday school was a major part of nineteenth century reformers’ efforts to improve children’s lives and morals.

Hysterical Cravings

How “pickles and ice cream” became the iconic “crazy” snack for pregnant women.
Map of the arms trade.

The Roots of America’s Gun Culture

How 18th-century British arms sales, the slave trade, and the Revolutionary War contributed to the mess we have today.

Aborted Fetus And Pill Bottle In 19th Century Outhouse Reveal History Of Family Planning

Two 19th century outhouses provide rare archaeological evidence of abortion.

A New Kind Of City Tour Shows The History Of Racist Housing Policy

Redlining tours explain how policies designed to keep minorities out of certain areas shaped the urban landscapes we see today.

The Core Concepts of American Public Broadcasting Turn 50

An analysis of the Carnegie Commission's 1967 report shows that public broadcasting has always been a politically fraught issue.

How American's Rejection of Jews Fleeing Nazi Germany Haunts Our Refugee Policy Today

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it's important to remember why America welcomes refugees.

Let’s Not Pretend That ‘Hamilton’ Is History

America's founders have never enjoyed more sex appeal, but the hit Musical cheats audiences by making democracy look easy

Liberals Love Alexander Hamilton. But Aaron Burr Was a Real Progressive Hero.

Why Broadway's biggest villain is worth a second look.
Alexander Hamilton

The Hamilton Hustle

Why liberals have embraced our most dangerously reactionary founder.

Monroe Work Today

On these pages you will meet Monroe Nathan Work, who lived from 1866- 1945. This website is a rebirth of one piece of his work.

Jefferson: Hero or Villain? It’s Complicated.

An interview with Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf.
Billboard that reads "God Loves You" above an American flag and doves.

One Nation Under Gods

Despite what Steve King says, the U.S. was never a Christian nation.

The Surprising History of the Wolf-Whistle

Wolf-whistling has been at the heart of some of history’s most iconic films and cartoons. But is it time to write its obituary?

"The American People": Current and Historical Meanings

The Founders feared democracy and didn't think too highly of "the people".

At Gilded Age “Poverty Parties,” the Rich Felt Free

This bad old tradition isn’t quite dead.

Trump Lied to Me About His Wealth to Get Onto the Forbes 400

Posing as ‘John Barron,’ he claimed he owned most of his father’s real estate empire.
Shafer Commission
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Nixon Made a Mistake on Pot. Will Trump Do the Same with Opioids?

Decades after Nixon waged war on pot, Trump is doing the some with opioids. It could make things worse.

The Hardest Job in the World

What if the problem isn’t the president—it’s the presidency?

The Captive Aliens Who Remain Our Shame

On the origins of racial exclusion in the society that would become the United States of America.

History of Survivance: Upper Midwest 19th-Century Native American Narratives

A series of objects of both Native and non-Native origin that tell a story of extraordinary culture disruption.

Japanese American WWII Incarceration

FDR cited military necessity as the basis for incarcerating 120,000 Japanese Americans.

A Trip Down Market Street Before the Fire

This film is a rare record of San Francisco's downtown area before its destruction in the 1906 earthquake and fire.
Noah Webster and his dictionary.

How Noah Webster Invented the Word Immigration

Noah Webster, author of An American Dictionary of the English Language published in 1828, invented the word "immigration."
The Beatles

All 214 Beatles Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best

We had to count them all.

Ben Carson, Donald Trump, and the Misuse of American History

The eliding of the ugliness of America's racial history is neither novel nor particularly surprising.

There's No Erasing the Chalkboard

Blackboards will endure as symbols of learning long after they’ve disappeared from schools.

White Supremacy Is the Achilles Heel of American Democracy

Even in a high-tech era, fears about minority political agency are the most reliable way to destabilize the U.S. political system.
Civil War era envelope with a political cartoon with Confederate leaders hung as traitors.

When the Government Refused to Use Slavery to Recruit Soldiers, the Media Had No Qualms

With questionable motives, America finally saw black Union soldiers living and dying alongside their white countrymen.
George Washington resigning his commission as commander of the Army
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Why George Washington Rejected a Military Parade in his Honor

Of all the precedents the first president set, this is one of his most overlooked — and most important.
Salem witch trials

An Embarrassment of Witches

What's the real history behind Trump's 'witch hunt' tweets?

Acquitting Elvis of Cultural Appropriation

His groundbreaking rock-n-roll was neither 'thievery' nor 'derivative blackness.'

The Roots of Segregation

"The Color of Law" offers an indicting critique of the progressive agenda.

The History of 420, in Three Acts

There are many theories about the origin of 420, but five guys named Waldo started it all.

Confederate or Not, Which Monuments Should Stay or Go? We Asked, You Answered.

We asked about monuments in your home town. Here's what you said.

Modern Mindfulness is Rooted in a Racist History

Before Americans turned to Buddhism for life hacks, they treated it like a dangerous cult.
Pearl Jam on stage.

The Story of Pearl Jam, from a Seattle Basement to The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

A look at the first year of the band originally known as Mookie Blaylock.

What the Guys Who Coined '420' Think About Their Place in Marijuana History

And how the term came to be code for pot-smoking in the first place.

Why We Doubt Capable Children

How we inherited our modern understanding of childhood from the 18th-century revolutionary era.
National Guard on the Rio Grande.
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Can President Trump Legally Send Troops to the Border?

Critics argue the move would violate the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act. One problem: There is no 1878 Posse Comitatus Act.
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