Excerpts

Curated stories from around the web.
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Are White Evangelicals Sacrificing The Future In Search Of The Past?

The religious profile of young adults today differs dramatically from that of older Americans.

Why Doesn't Garfield Assassination Site on the National Mall Have a Marker?

A new campaign by historians seeks to bring recognition to the site where the 20th president was shot.

‘Some Observations on the NFL and Negro Players’

Newly discovered league memo from 1966 anticipates controversies over the Colin Kaepernick protest.

The US Medical System is Still Haunted by Slavery

Medicine’s dark history helps explain why black mothers are dying at alarming rates.

Again with the History

Were the founders really warning us about Trump, or were they just playing politics, too?

How the Kim Kardashians of Yesteryear Helped Women Get the Vote

Now all but forgotten, a group of New York socialites was instrumental to the success of the suffrage movement.

Amazon or Independence Hall? Development vs. Preservation in the City of Philadelphia

A history of Independence Hall offers an example of how old buildings and open spaces are not always ripe sites for development.

On Eve of Trump Visit, Mississippi African Americans Say He’s Brought Back Past Troubles

The president’s decision to attend the opening of a new civil rights museum in Jackson has sparked protests.

The Long History of Black Officers Reforming Policing From Within

Some police are becoming more vocal advocates of change. But the project of ending racial bias in policing is a decades-old one.
Girls in Appalachia in 1935.

The Invention of the 'White Working Class'

A spate of new books explores the composition and motivations of the demographic that has been credited with electing Trump.

Sheeeeeeeee-it: The Secret History of the Politics in ‘The Wire’

An exclusive excerpt from the forthcoming oral history of HBO’s beloved drama.

Thomas Jefferson and Us

The resurgence of the debate over the Sage of Monticello's legacy: Is Jefferson the ultimate patriot or ultimate hypocrite?
Trump at the podium to give a State of the Union address.
partner

The Corrupt, Racist Proposal from the State of the Union Address That Everyone Missed

Trump's plans for the federal workforce sound reasonable, but they would actually undo a century of reforms.

San Francisco’s Queen of Abortions Gets Her Moment of Recognition

Two new biographies look at the life of Inez Burns, an uncompromising and extravagant turn-of--the-century woman.

Slavery and the American University

Determined researchers are finally drawing the lines between higher education and America's original sin.

Mourning John Perry Barlow, Bard of the Internet

Barlow was a poet, a cowboy, a philosopher, and the internet's staunchest ally.

The Last Scan

Inside the desperate fight to keep old TVs alive.

Organized Labor’s Lost Generations

American unions have struggled to make substantial gains since the ’70s, but not for the reasons historians think.

Americans Don't Really Understand Gun Violence

Why? Because there's very little known about the thousands of victims who survive deadly shootings.

Operation Mongoose: The Story of America's Efforts to Overthrow Castro

And how they helped seal America’s fate in Vietnam.

Before #MeToo: The Long Struggle Against Sexual Harassment at Work

An interactive timeline recounts the movement to end sexual harassment.
Lyndon Johnson with advisors including Robert McNamara and Dean Rusk.

How the Tet Offensive Undermined American Faith in Government

Fifty years ago, the January 1968 battle laid bare the way U.S. leaders had misled the public about the war in Vietnam.
Whites at a Trump campaign rally.

Does the White Working Class Really Vote Against Its Own Interests?

Trump has revived an age-old debate about why some people choose race over class—and how far they will go to protect the system.

From Yosemite to Bears Ears, Erasing Native Americans From U.S. National Parks

150 years after Yosemite opened to the public, the park's indigenous inhabitants are still struggling for recognition.

Immigrants Welcome*

Trump’s Muslim ban was not just an abberation: US citizenship has long been predicated on whiteness as it was understood in 1790.

A Brief History of Women’s Figure Skating

You might be surprised to learn that this sport where women now shine was initially seen as solely the purview of male athletes

The World the Cold War Built

A new book says the conflict began in the late 19th century and subsumed even World War II as our defining event.
High school student in Shreveport.

Taking a Knee and Taking Down a Monument

The struggle over Shreveport's Confederate monument converges with talk about a national anthem protest by high-schoolers.

The ‘SNL’ Sketch That Predicted Our Nerd Overlords

In 1986, William Shatner told a roomful of spoof Trekkies to "get a life."

Why Does the U.S. Sentence Children to Life in Prison?

No other nation sentences people to die in prison for offenses committed as minors.

When the Army Planned for a Fight in U.S. Cities

In 1968, a retired colonel warned that urban insurrections could produce “scenes of destruction approaching those of Stalingrad.”

Mail-Order Magazines Did More Than Just Sell Things

The cheap monthly publications that flooded rural homes offered more than just advertising—they also provided companionship.

The Husband Stitch Isn’t Just a Horrifying Childbirth Myth

When repairing tearing from birth, some providers put in an extra stitch “for daddy,” with painful consequences for women.
Goosefoot plant.

Hunting for the Ancient Lost Farms of North America

2,000 years ago, people domesticated these plants. Now they’re wild weeds. What happened?
Painting of a slave auction.

Teaching Hard History

A new study suggests that high school students lack a basic knowledge of the role slavery played in shaping the United States.

The Untold Story of the Pentagon Papers Co-Conspirators

A historian reveals the crucial role that he played in helping Daniel Ellsberg leak the documents to journalists.

The Most Dangerous Gay Man in America Fought Violence With Violence

Four decades ago, Raymond Broshears armed his disciples to keep LGBT people safe from violent homophobes.
1972 Shirley Chisolm campaign poster.

‘Unbought and Unbossed’: Shirley Chisholm’s Feminist Mantra Is Still Relevant 50 Years Later

Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress, constantly defied those who tried to constrain her due to race and gender.

Is It Time for a 21st-Century Version of ‘The Day After’?

It’s beginning to feel like the 1980s all over again.

A Productive-Ass Suffix

An early use of the spoonerism "bass-ackwards" turns up in an 1840s letter by a young Abraham Lincoln.

A Century Ago, Progressives Were the Ones Shouting 'Fake News'

The term "fake news" dates back to the end of the 19th century.

One of History's Foremost Anti-Slavery Organizers Is Often Left Out of Black History Month

The Reverend Dr. Henry Highland Garnet may be the most famous African American you never learned about.

The NFL Has Officially Whitewashed Colin Kaepernick’s Protest

The co-opting of protests against racism has a storied history in our country.

Athlete Activists

The autobiography of NBA star Craig Hodges contains lessons for the pro athletes who are speaking up today.
African American medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos with their fists raised during the national anthem at the 1968 Olympics.

This Isn’t the First Time Professional Athletics, Protest and Politics Have Mixed

The long history of athletes taking a stand for racial justice.
Baseball card featuring Clem Daniels.

This Football Player Fought for Civil Rights in the '60s

Here's what he thinks about national anthem protests.

The Forgotten Origins of Politics in Sports

Black athletes didn’t “politicize” American sports. They’ve been a battleground from the very beginning.
A dairy farm near Charlottesville (Library of Congress).

'Charlottesville': A Government-Commissioned Story About Nuclear War

A fictional 1979 account of how the small Virginia city would weather an all-out nuclear exchange between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.

The NFL’s Pending Hall of Fame Problem

If everyone is breaking records, then who goes to Canton?
Basketball team listening to coach Don McClanen.

The Role of Sports Ministries in the NFL Protests

A number of black athletes are fueling their activism with Christian faith.
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