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A map of Georgia's Yazoo land divided between companies.

How the Yazoo Land Scandal Changed American History

Without the now-obscure land investment affair, Georgia might have been a "super state."
Annabel Battistella photographed at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.

Fanne Foxe, ‘Argentine Firecracker’ at Center of D.C. Sex Scandal, Dies at 84

She ran from the car of a powerful congressman and dove into the Tidal Basin in 1974, generating a splash that would ripple into a political cause celebre.

What Trump Could Learn from America's Long History of Sex Scandals

Too bad Trump isn't a student of history.

The Amplified Age

Jenny Hendrix on the 'Naughty Nineties,' the decade in which America rediscovered sex.

5 Reasons This Still Isn’t Watergate

Read this before you start printing tickets for an impeachment trial.

The Search for Donald Trump’s Own Watergate

Some call it "Russiagate," others "Comeygate." What are we really saying when we apply the Nixonian suffix?

The Original Attack Dog

James Callender spread scurrilous rumors about Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. Then he turned on Thomas Jefferson, too.
Gerry Studds faces reporters outside the U.S. Capitol on July 20, 1983.

Gerry Studds: The Pioneer Gay Congressman Almost Nobody Remembers

His story of coming out was so shrouded in scandal, so drenched in professional embarrassment, that its broader significance may forever be overshadowed.
Black and white photo of Charles B. Warren from 1924.

The Last Time the Senate Rejected a President's Cabinet Nominee of the Same Party

It hasn't happened for 100 years.

A Hundred-and-Nineteen-Year-Old Book That Explains Eric Adams

A collection of political sermons attributed to a crooked machine boss is a handy reference for New York City’s current political chaos.
Political cartoon of a politician with his clothes removed, revealing tattoos showing corruption.
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Campaign Missteps: Gaffes on the Trail

How a single phrase or blunder can end up dominating our political discourse.
The signing of the Alaska Purchase Agreement on March 30, 1867.

Russia’s First Secret Influence Campaign: Convincing the U.S. to Buy Alaska

Russia has been peddling influence for a long time, using a playbook that it still uses today.
Senator Robert Menendez walking into court
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The Long, Sordid History of Foreign Government Lobbying

The many strategies foreign governments have used to shape American policy in their favor.
April 1999 photo of Los Angeles City Council candidate Alex Padilla addressing his supporters in Sylmar.

The Rise and Stumbles of the San Fernando Valley Latino Political Machine

On how Latino political power has changed Los Angeles.
Picture of William Belknap sitting in a chair.
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Mayorkas Almost Became the Second Cabinet Member Impeached. The First Was a Civil War Hero.

Belknap’s downfall was his decision to abuse his authority to appoint “sutlers” or civilian merchants who ran trading posts that served military outposts.
Spiro T. Agnew button.

The Wildest Month of the US Presidency, Part I

The Spiro Agnew Edition.
President Warren G. Harding against a background of news clippings related to his death.

Why President Warren G. Harding's Sudden Death Sparked Rumors of Murder and Suicide

The commander in chief's unexpected death in office 100 years ago fueled decades of conspiracy theories but was most likely the result of a heart attack.
CIA director William Colby, left, and President Gerald Ford, right.

How the Murder of a CIA Officer Was Used to Silence the Agency’s Greatest Critic

A new account sheds light on the Ford administration’s war against Sen. Frank Church and his landmark effort to rein in a lawless intelligence community.
Political cartoon of the Lincoln Administration, reading "Running the 'Machine'", 1864.

Blues, Grays & Greenbacks

How Lincoln's administration financed the Civil War and transformed the nation's decentralized economy into the global juggernaut of the postwar centuries.
Table of election returns printed in newspaper in 1796.

Collusion, Theft, Violence, and Lies: Lurid Tales of American Elections

1796, the first contested presidential election.
Douglas R. Stringfellow reading a statement before the press.

The Congressman Who ‘Embellished’ His Résumé Long Before George Santos

In the 1950's, Rep. Douglas Stringfellow was a promising young congressman with an incredible World War II story. Then the truth came out.
Donald Trump
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Trump’s Call to Suspend the Constitution Betrays the Lawlessness of Law and Order

Trump champions “law and order” while calling for the Constitution’s suspension. But there’s no tension between the two.
Store window selling shirts and ties mentioning the "Nixon Squeeze"

The Burglaries Were Never the Story

The historical insights of one era have been lost to the journalistic instincts of another.
Richard Nixon giving a speech

Why We’re Still Obsessed With Watergate

The reasons that Nixon’s scandal endures when other presidents’ disgraces have not.
Richard Nixon, Pat Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Betty Ford walking away from White House

Regime Change, American Style

A new book about Watergate is the first to stress how much we still do not know many of the basic facts about the burglary at its center.
Eartha Kitt engaged in conversation with Lyndon B. Johnson at the White House

When Eartha Kitt Disrupted the Ladies Who Lunch

The documentary short “Catwoman vs. the White House” reconstructs an unexpected moment of activism during the Vietnam War.
the contra military group

Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair

Reagan's commitment to deregulation, aggressive military spending, and diminished oversight created a cocktail of corruption that was worse than Watergate.
Portrait of Martin Delany in uniform

The Organizer’s Mind of Martin Delany

Why did the man known as the “father of Black nationalism” defect to the Democratic Party during Reconstruction?
Graffito picture of Richard Nixon superimposed on lines an German text.

Richard Nixon, Modular Man

Even knowing every awful thing Richard Nixon would go on to do, you had to respect, as the phrase goes, his hustle.

The Loser King

Failing upward with Oliver North.

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