Excerpts

Curated stories from around the web.
New on Bunk
Voters casting ballots in 2008.

How Letting Felons Vote Is Changing Virginia

Governor McAuliffe has embarked on a campaign to grant clemency more often, and to restore the civil rights of convicted felons.

Cold War Propaganda: The Truth Belonged to No One Country

During the Cold War, US propagandists worked to provide a counterweight to Communist media, but truth eluded them all.

John Dewey's Experiment in Democratic Socialism

Despite his reputation as a liberal, Dewey's staunch commitment to democracy put him on a collision course with capitalism.

In Memory of Otis Redding and His Revolution

The legacy of the talented singer, songwriter, and producer who died at age twenty-six.
Schoolchildren writing on a chalkboard.
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The New Tax Law Poses a Hidden Threat to American Democracy

Undermining public education will exacerbate polarization and mistrust.
Political cartoon of the Populist Party python eating the Democratic Party donkey.

The Myth of 'Populism'

It's the transatlantic commentariat’s favorite political put-down. It’s also historically illiterate.

How Hoop Skirts Actually Advanced Women's Rights

The difficult-to-wear skirt helped to break down class barriers.

The 19th-Century Swill Milk Scandal That Poisoned Infants With Whiskey Runoff

Vendors hawked the swill as “Pure Country Milk.”

The Strike That Brought MLK to Memphis

In his final days, King stood by striking sanitation workers. We returned to the city to see what has changed—and what hasn’t.

Coates and West in Jackson

America loves pitting black intellectuals against each other, but today's activists need both Coates and West.

Lessons from the Election of 1968

Protests, populism, and progressivism all clashed in a battle royal. But what really drives election results?
W.E.B. Du Bois.

Racial Violence in Black and White

From lynching photos to Black Lives Matter – what does it mean to look at images of African Americans being murdered?
Man giving a speech for the Taxpayers League of Minnesota.

Half a Century of Anti-tax Orthodoxy Is Wrong

Taxation is at the heart of any serious economic growth policy.
Millard Filmore.
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Remembering the Sins of Millard Fillmore

A little-remembered president's most notorious act.

The Book That Incited a Worldwide Fear of Overpopulation

'The Population Bomb' made dire predictions—and triggered a wave of repression around the world.

How Science May Help Us Smell the Past

Characterizing artifacts’ odors provides insight on history and conservation.
Telephone from 1896

Want to Guess When the First Telephone Appeared in Literature?

It's probably further back than you think.

Statues, National Monuments, and Settler-Colonialism

Connections between public history and policy in the wake of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.
Book cover of Octavia Butler's "Parable of the Talents."

The Fictional Presidential Candidate Who Promised to ‘Make America Great Again’

How a work of science fiction anticipated the coming of Trump.

For LSD, What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

It's been reviled and revered, criminalized and exploited by the CIA. And now and other psychedelic drugs are being tested as legitimate medical treatments.

Yosemite and the Future of the National Park

The Trump administration is working to undo one of the guiding principles of U.S. conservation.

50 Years Ago, Protesters Took on Miss America and Electrified the Feminist Movement

Miss America pageant has a long history of controversy—including the 1968 protests.

The Fight Over Andrew Johnson's Impeachment Was a Fight for the Future of the United States

The biggest show in Washington 150 years ago was the trial against the President of the United States.
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How the Korean War Put Presidents in Charge of Nuclear Weapons

The president's unilateral nuclear authority comes from decisions made at the start of the Atomic Age.
Trump smirking.

Was 2017 the Craziest Year in U.S. Political History?

A dozen historians weigh in.
Pope Gregory with his hand on the globe.

On New Year’s, Our Calendar’s Crazy History, and the Switch That Changed Washington’s Birthday

In 1752, the Brits and Americans lopped 11 days off the calendar in one fell swoop.

Before the Bus, Rosa Parks Was a Sexual Assault Investigator

The civil rights icon also played a key role in pursuing justice for the victims of sexual assault.

When Deregulation is Deadly

Eight decades after the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist fire, corporate profits are still being valued more than workers' lives.

The 1968 Book That Tried to Predict the World of 2018

For every amusingly wrong prediction in “Toward the Year 2018,” there’s one unnervingly close to the mark.

A Brief History of the Holiday Card

Americans purchase approximately 1.6 billion holiday cards a year. Why is this tradition so popular?
Santa with sack of toys atop chimney
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Naughty & Nice: A History of the Holiday Season

Tracing the evolution of Christmas from a drunken carnival to the peaceful, family-oriented, consumeristic ritual we celebrate today.

The Music I Love Is a Racial Minefield

How I learned to fiddle my way through America's deeply troubling history.

Why The 'War On Christmas' Just Isn't What It Used To Be

The battle between "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas" goes way deeper than you think.

Slavery, Democracy, and the Racialized Roots of the Electoral College

The Electoral College was created to help white Southerners maintain their disproportionate influence in national governance.
Portrait of Creek men.
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A Federal Court Has Ruled Blood Cannot Determine Tribal Citizenship. Here’s Why That Matters.

The struggle over blood and belonging in American Indian communities.
Title page and verso of the first edition of "A Christmas Carol."

A Plea to Resurrect the Christmas Tradition of Telling Ghost Stories

Though the practice is now more associated with Halloween, spooking out your family is well within the Christmas spirit.

Masher Menace: When American Women First Confronted Their Sexual Harassers

The #MeToo movement is not the first time women have publicly stood up to sexual harassment.
Chuck Schumer talks with a staffer in shadow beneath the seal of the U.S. Senate.
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Secrecy in the Senate

To the framers, working in secret was meant to deliver enlightened legislation.
Voters at the voting booths in 1945.

Felon Disfranchisement Preserves Slavery's Legacy

Nearly six million Americans are prohibited from voting in the United States today due to felony convictions.
Man holding a Veterans for Trump sign at a rally.

Forgotten Men

The long road from FDR to Trump.

In World War II America, Female Santas Took the Reins

Rosie the Riveter wasn’t the only woman who pitched in on the homefront.

A Hillbilly Syllabus

“Some people call me Hillbilly, Some people call me Mountain Man; Well, you can call me Appalachia, ’Cause Appalachia is what I am.” —Del McCoury

An Intimate History of America

A reminder of history's proximity is prompted by a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

U.S. Wildfire Causes 1980-2016

Lighting, trash burning, powerlines, playing with matches – how do they rank as causes of wildfire?

Boston. Racism. Image. Reality.

The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team confronts one of the city’s most vexing issues.
Cartoon drawing of Francis Pharcellus Church.

The Journalist Who Understood The True Meaning Of Christmas

“Yes, Virginia” is the most reprinted newspaper piece in American history, and this guy wrote it.

“Jingle Bells” History Takes Surprising Turn

A researcher in Boston discovers that the beloved Christmas favorite was first performed in a Boston minstrel hall.

Simeon Booker, Intrepid Chronicler of Civil Rights Struggle for Jet and Ebony, Dies at 99

He risked his life to expose Emmett Till’s death and the Freedom Rides to a national audience.

The Republican Tax Bill Is a Poison Pill That Kills the New Deal

Today’s Republicans would have fit right into Herbert Hoover’s administration.
Civil War rifles mounted on wall

The Brutal Origins of Gun Rights

A new history argues that the Second Amendment was intended to perpetuate white settlers' violence toward Native Americans.
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